Removal of Aluminosilicate Bond and Process Optimization on Recovery of Sol Gel Alumina Abrasive Grain from Abrasive Industry Waste

Abstract

Sol-gel alumina abrasive grains are used in high cutting speed and high material removal process. The need of sol gel alumina abrasive grain is huge. So, the waste generated from the grinding process is also high. In grinding operation, flange portion of the grinding wheel is unused and dumped as waste. Recovery of abrasive grains from this unspent portion adds wealth. This study deals with recovery and re-use of sol gel alumina abrasive grains. Chemical method is opted to recover the sol gel abrasive grains. Based on previous studies, the process parameter such as solid liquid ratio, lump size, immersion time and stirring speed were selected as the control factors and extraction efficiency of sol gel alumina abrasive is considered as response parameter. The experimental results show that major influencing control factor sequence were lump size> solid liquid ratio > stirring speed and > immersion time. The optimal combination for the maximum sol gel alumina grain recovery will be smaller lump size, maximum solid liquid ratio, maximum stirring speed and intermediate immersion time. Apart from that, the surface features of the recovered abrasive grains are studied by scanning electron microscopy. The elements during chemical washing process are observed using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Recovered grains from this process can also be reused in the grinding wheel production. This is the feasible and economical method for recovering the sol gel alumina grains from the spent grinding wheel waste.