Dissolution behavior of aluminum and silicon from kaolinite diaspore symbiotic low-grade bauxite in low alkali system

Abstract

China produces over 50 % of global alumina, but its dependence on imported bauxite is as high as 65 %. Local bauxite in China is of low grade. During mining, high-grade ores were sold, while low-grade ores were left piled up on site. This practice not only occupied a large land area but also caused serious pollution. Additionally, kaolinite and diaspore are embedded in a complex and dispersed distribution on the micron scale. The physical separation and ore phase dissociation of these two (kaolinite and diaspore) are very difficult, thereby preventing the economical and efficient utilization of Chinese bauxite using existing mineral flotation and sintering technologies. Based on the analysis of the molecular structure of kaolinite, this study found a significant difference in the dissolution rates of kaolinite and diaspore in a low-alkali solution. This conclusion was drawn through a combination of kinetic analysis and experimental exploration. Therefore, a new chemical pre desilication method of diaspore bauxite rich in kaolinite was proposed. The experiment found that at temperature of 180 ℃ and Na2O concentration of 20 g/L, the solubility of kaolinite in a low alkali solution was 3.3 g/L. After 40 minutes of reaction, the maximum dissolution of kaolinite reached 4.2 g/L. Under the same conditions, the solubility of diaspore was 0.064 g/L. The results of kinetic study showed that the activation energy of pure kaolinite dissolution reaction was 26.77 kJ/mol, which belongs to diffusion control. Conversely, the dissolution reaction activation energy of pure diaspore was 84.30 kJ/mol, which belongs to chemical reaction control. In low alkali systems, there was a significant difference in dissolution rate between the two. By optimizing the process conditions, the optimal process conditions were found. Under the optimal conditions, the aluminum silicon ratio increased from 3.22, 2.91, and 2.68–7.92, 8.42, and 8.17, respectively, by processing three types of low-grade bauxite with different particle sizes. It is noteworthy that this method can achieve a significant increase in bauxite A/S only requiring two simple processing steps: alkali dissolution and liquid-solid separation. This study not only fills the research and application gap of low alkali solutions in the field of bauxite beneficiation, but also helps to support the green and sustainable development of the world's alumina industry.