Abstract
Potassium, which is included in certain contents in the structure of K-feldspar minerals, has a very important function in the growth of plants. Turkey hosts the largest feldspar reserves in the world and is by far the leader in feldspar mining. The production of potassium salts from local natural sources can provide great contributions both socially and economically in the agriculture industry along with glass production, cleaning materials, paint, bleaching powders, and general laboratory purposes. In this study, potassium extraction from K-feldspar ore with an 8.42% K2O content was studied using chloridizing (CaCl2) roasting followed by water leaching. Initially, to produce wollastonite and calcite concentrates, froth flotation tests were conducted on wollastonite-calcite ore after comminution. Thus, wollastonite and calcite concentrates with purities of 99.4% and 91.96% were successfully produced. Then, a calcite concentrate was combined with hydrochloric acid (HCl) under optimal conditions of a 1 mol/L HCl acid concentration, a 60 °C leaching temperature, and a 10 min leaching time to produce CaCl2. To bring out the importance of roasting before the dissolution process, different parameters such as roasting temperature, duration, and feldspar—CaCl2 ratios were tested. Under optimal conditions (a 900 °C roasting temperature, a 60 min duration, and a 1:1.5 feldspar—CaCl2 ratio), 98.6% of the potassium was successfully extracted by the water leaching process described in this article.
Highlights
Potassium is an element that occupies an important place in human life and is widely used in different industries as a component of potash
In this study, using K-feldspar and CaCl2 roasting followed by leaching tests were performed to extract potassium from the natural resources that were located in the same district
The comminuted wollastonite-calcite ore was subjected to flotation tests, and a marketable wollastonite concentrate and a high purity CaCO3 were produced
Summary
Potassium is an element that occupies an important place in human life and is widely used in different industries as a component of potash. Potassium fertilizer is an essential nutrient, for fruit formation and development. It accelerates plant growth and increases crop yields. In addition to the fertilizer industry, large amounts of potassium salts are used annually to produce glass, cleaning materials, paint, and bleaching powders and for general laboratory purposes [1]. The consumption and cost of potassium salts vary annually and are between 25 and 30 million tons and USD 300 and 500, respectively. In Turkey, potassium salts (potassium chloride (KCl) and potassium sulfate (K2 SO4 )), which are needed by the chemical and fertilizer industries are provided by imports
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