Mechanism and Kinetics of Ammonium Sulfate Roasting of Boron-Bearing Iron Tailings for Enhanced Metal Extraction

Xiaoshu Lv,Zhiqiang Ning,Michael L Free,Yuchun Zhai,Fuhui Cui

doi:10.3390/pr7110812

Xiaoshu Lv, Zhiqiang Ning + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7110812

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Abstract

The large amount of boron-bearing iron tailings in China is a resource for metals that needs to be more completely and efficiently utilized. In this evaluation, the ammonium sulfate roasting process was used to make a controllable phase transformation to facilitate the subsequent extraction of valuable metals from boron-bearing iron tailings. The effects of roasting temperature, roasting time, the molar ratio of ammonium sulfate to tailings, and the particle size on the extraction of elements were investigated. The orthogonal experimental design of experiments was used to determine the optimal processing conditions. XRD (X-Ray Diffractomer), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and simultaneous DSC–TG analyzer were used to assist in elucidating the mechanism of ammonium sulfate roasting. The experimental results showed that nearly all Fe, Al, and Mg were extracted under the following conditions: (1) the molar ratio of ammonium sulfate to iron tailings was 3:1; (2) the roasting temperature was 450 °C; (3) the roasting time was 120 min.; and, (4) the particle size was less than 80 μm. The kinetics analysis indicated that the sulfation of metals was controlled by internal diffusion, with the apparent activation energies of 17.10 kJ·mol−1, 17.85 kJ·mol−1, 19.79 kJ·mol−1, and 29.71 kJ·mol−1 for Fe, Al, Mg, and B, respectively.

Highlights

Boron resources are abundant, but they are unevenly distributed around the world [1]
56% of the national boron reserves are in the Liaoning province
The boron-bearing iron tailings were grounded into fine powder in ball mill equipment

Summary

Introduction

But they are unevenly distributed around the world [1]. China’s boron reserves are the fourth largest in the world [2,3,4]. There are large amounts of reserves of boron resources in China, which account for 18% of the world’s boron resources [4,5,6]. The known boron reserves are mainly distributed in northeast Liaoning, Jilin, Qinghai, and Tibet [6]. 56% of the national boron reserves are in the Liaoning province. The boron reserves in our country are extensive, the boron grade of the ore is very low, and the ore is mineralogically complex with a significant occurrence of economically significant metals. The complex nature of the ore requires extensive mineral processing to effectively recover the boron and the desirable metals [7,8]

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