Digestion mechanism and crystal simulation of roasted low-grade high-sulfur bauxite

Low-grade high-sulfur bauxite was pretreated via suspension roasting and muffle furnace roasting to remove sulfur and enhance digestion properties.The results show that sulfur can be efficiently removed,and the alumina digestion properties are significantly improved after suspension roasting.Under optimal conditions(t=70 min,T=280°C,w(CaO)=8%and Nk=245 g/L),the digestion ratios are 94.45%and 92.08%for the suspension-roasted and muffle-roasted ore,respectively,and the apparent activation energies are 63.26 and 64.24 kJ/mol,respectively.Two crystal models were established by Materials Studio based on the XRD patterns.The DFT simulation shows that the existing Al—O bands after suspension roasting can improve alumina digestion.The(104)and(113)planes of Al2O3 after suspension roasting are found to combine with NaOH more easily than those of Al2O3 treated in a muffle furnace.

Removal and recovery of titanium(Ⅳ) from leach liquor of high-sulfur bauxite using calcium alginate microspheres impregnated with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid

In the leaching solution of high-sulfur bauxite roasted by sulfuric acid,a high concentration of aluminum presented along with titanium and iron.The present work was to remove Ti(IV)from the leach liquor by calcium alginate microsphere sorbent material(CA-P204)based on natural alginate impregnated with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid(D2EHPA)to purify leaching solution.Cation exchange and chelation make major contributions to the adsorption mechanism according to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.The results showed that Ti(IV)was successfully removed by the CA-P204 adsorbent from the Ti(IV)-Al(III)-Fe(III)ternary system with a dynamic column experiment.The removal rate of titanium was nearly 95%under optimal conditions and the maximum adsorption capacity was 66.79 mg/g at pH 1.0.Reusability of CA-P204 was evaluated over three consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles.The adsorption process was simple,low-cost,and had no waste discharge,suggesting that the CA-P204 was promising,efficient,and economical for removing Ti(IV)from high-sulfur bauxite leaching solution.

Interaction of sulfur with iron compounds in sodium aluminate solutions

Reaction behaviors of sulfur and iron compounds in sodium aluminate solutions were investigated. The results show that iron compounds can remarkably remove the S2 but cannot get rid of S2Oc2-, SO^2- and SO4^-2 in sodium aluminate solutions. The removal efficiency of S^2- using ferrous compound and ferric compound can reach 86.10% and 92.70% respectively when the iron compounds were added with a molar ratio of 2：1 compared with the sulfur in liquors at 100℃. Moreover, several same compounds are formed in those two desulfurization processes with ferrous or ferric compounds, including erdite, hematite, amorphous ferrous sulfide, polymerized sulfur-iron compounds and ferric sulfate. The major difference between these two processes is that the erdite generated from ferrous compounds at the initial reaction stage will convert to a sodium-free product FeS2 at the subsequent stage.

Efficient separation of alumina and silica in reduction-roasted kaolin by alkali leaching

Alkali leaching was employed to investigate the separation of alumina and silica in roasted kaolin obtained by roasting kaolin alone in air at 1273 K for 60 min and in clinker prepared by roasting the mixed raw meal of kaolin,ferric oxide and coal powder with Fe2O3/Al2O3/C molar ratio of 1.2:2.0:1.2 in reducing atmosphere at 1373 K for 60 min.The thermodynamic analyses and alkali leaching results show that the composition of the Al-Si spinel in roasted kaolin is close to that of 3Al2O3·2SiO2 and the spinel is dissolved with increasing leaching time,resulting in difficulty in deeply separating alumina and silica in kaolin by the traditional roasting-leaching process.On the contrary,the efficient separation of alumina and silica in kaolin can be reached by fully converting kaolinite into insoluble hercynite and soluble free silica,namely quartz solid solution and cristobalite solid solution,during reduction roasting,followed by alkali leaching of the obtained clinker.Furthermore,experimental results from treating high-silica diasporic bauxite indicate that the reduction roasting-alkali leaching process is potential to separate silica and alumina in aluminosilicates.

Comparison of deep desulfurization methods in alumina production process

Several methods of deep desulfurization in alumina production process were studied, and the costs of these methods were compared. It is found that most of the S2- in sodium aluminate solution can be removed by adding sodium nitrate or hydrogen peroxide in digestion process, and in this way the effect of S2- on alumina product quality is eliminated. However, the removal efficiency of 2?32OS in sodium aluminate solution is very low by this method. Both S2- and 2?32OS in sodium aluminate solution can be removed completely by wet oxidation method in digestion process. The cost of desulfurization by wet oxidation is lower than by adding sodium nitrate or hydrogen peroxide. The results of this research reveal that wet oxidation is an economical and feasible method for the removal of sulfur in alumina production process to improve alumina quality, and provide valuable guidelines for alumina production by high-sulfur bauxite.

Effects of iron-containing phases on transformation of sulfur-bearing ions in sodium aluminate solution

Sulfides in the high-sulfur bauxite lead to serious steel equipment corrosion and alumina product degradation via theBayer process,owing to the reactions of sulfur and iron-containing phases in the sodium aluminate solution.The effects ofiron-containing phases on the transformation of sulfur-bearing ions(S2?,223S O?,23SO?and24SO?)in sodium aluminate solutionwere investigated.Fe,Fe2O3and Fe3O4barely react with23SO?and24SO?,but all of them,particularly Fe,can promote theconversion of223S O?to23SO?and S2?in sodium aluminate solution.Fe can convert to3Fe(OH)?in solution at elevatedtemperatures,and further react with S2?to form FeS2,but Fe2O3and Fe3O4have little influence on the reaction behavior of S2?insodium aluminate solution.Increasing temperature,duration,dosage of Fe,mole ratio of Na2Ok to Al2O3and caustic sodaconcentration are beneficial to the transformation of223S O?to23SO?and S2?.The results may contribute to the development oftechnologies for alleviating the equipment corrosion and reducing caustic consumption during the high-sulfur bauxite treatment bythe Bayer process.

Thermodynamic analysis of Na−S−Fe−H_(2)O system for Bayer process

Thermodynamic diagrams of Na−S−Fe−H_(2)O system were constructed to analyze the behavior of sulfur and iron in the Bayer process.After digestion,iron mainly exists as Fe_(3)O_(4) and Fe_(2)O_(3) in red mud,and partial iron transfers into solution as Fe(OH)_(3)^(−),HFeO_(2)^(−),Fe(OH)_(4)^(−)and Fe(OH)_(4)^(2−).The dominant species of sulfur is S^(2−),followed by SO_(4)^(2−),and then SO_(3)^(2−)and S_(2)O_(3)^(2−).The thermodynamic analysis is consistent with the iron and sulfur species distribution in the solution obtained by experiments.When the temperature decreases,sulfur and iron can combine and precipitate.Controlling low potential and reducing temperature are beneficial to removing them from the solution.XRD patterns show that NaFeS_(2)·2H_(2)O,FeS and FeS_(2) widely appear in red mud and precipitates of pyrite and high-sulfur bauxite digestion solution.Thermodynamic analysis can be utilized to guide the simultaneous removal of sulfur and iron in the Bayer process.