Boron Reserves Research Articles

The citric acid leaching of boron process wastes

ABSTRACT With boron plants belonging to ETI Mine Operations concentrated in Western Anatolia, Turkey has the largest boron reserves in the world (73.6%). The annual wastes of boron plants have a higher B2O3 content than the raw material amount of many regions in the world. These wastes, increasing in abundance every year, cause other environmental problems, in addition to waste dam/pond storage problems. For this reason, it is essential to recover these wastes. In this study, optimisation tests were carried out regarding the production of boric acid from organic acid in the utilisation process of borate (Ca/Na-Ca) wastes (8–12% B2O3) from the Balıkesir/Bigadiç Boron Plant. For this purpose, the Yates technique (ANOVA) was used in the experiments at an 8–12 wt.% solids ratio, 40–80°C temperature, 20–60 min of leaching time, and 0.15–0.45 M citric acid concentration. According to the optimisation test results, recovery efficiencies of 90–95% were identified, and net acid consumption (NAC) values were determined as 22–86 kg/t. Characterisation studies such as FT-IR, SEM, XRD Rietveld's, and XRF were also carried out on the raw ore (primary waste) and treated waste samples.

Investigation of boron waste usage in civil engineering applications

Nowadays, limited natural resources and huge consumption leads to increase in production costs and energy usage. Increasing energy consumption causes environmental damages, which yield climate change. This situation increases the interest in sustainability along with the recycling of waste material in different areas. While sustainability awareness of society is tried to be created in different countries, research and development studies are also carried out on the other hand. Studies regarding sustainability in civil engineering include recycling and reuse of various wastes. Turkey has 73% of the boron reserves, and provides 50% of boron need in the world. The boron mine can be used in a wide variety of applications such as aerospace and aircraft industries and even in disinfectant production due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, boron waste is expected to increase with the increase in production potential. The objective of this study is to introduce the potential of using boron wastes in civil engineering. Applications of boron waste in civil engineering have been researched in the literature and evaluated in detail. As a result of the study, possible boron waste assessment suggestions have been presented for Turkey.

Estimation of the Turkish Boron Exportation to Europe

Borate is an essential material to numerous industries and even to individual countries’ economies, defense, and politics. Almost all industries need borates for production, and almost everybody needs their products. Borate is a compound that contains or supplies boric oxide (B2O3). Among the minerals that contain boric oxide, there are only four minerals significant from an economic standpoint, namely borax (tincal), colemanite, ulexite, and kernite. Turkey has almost 70% of all known reserves in the world. Therefore, borates and their products could be one of the main topics for sustainable development in the whole world. The recent development and pursuit of new boron-consuming technologies and alternative products to existing borate-consuming products introduce additional uncertainty to the sustainability of boron minerals. Therefore, the European Union (EU) Commission also declared borate one of the 30 critical raw materials. Turkey is a prosperous country in terms of boron reserves, and it exports almost 96% of borates’ production. In order to better understand the relation between borate minerals and borate products, a material flow analysis (MFA) study has been carried out within the content of this work in order to update the data about the current status of boron. For this purpose, a system has been established that shows the flow of boron material. The extraction, enrichment, and refining processes of boron products are drawn. The results indicate that about 41% of extracted colemanite ore is converted into refined borate, about 31% of tincal ore is converted to refined borate, and 4% of tincal ore is converted to end-usage products, such as detergent. The correctness of the data and the sensitivity of the processes are all estimated values. The results can help in the development of boron sustainability and boron production strategies. The MFA study on tincal and colemanite ore may be an example of boron studies in different countries.

Artificial Neural Network Modelling for Asphalt Concrete Samples with Boron Waste Modification

Civil engineering science has evolved into the 21st century with concepts of recycling and sustainability. It is one of the most important goals of this century to create sustainable habitats by evaluating waste materials in building materials. This study aims to eliminate the boron waste dunes that have occurred and continue to occur in our country which has the world's largest boron reserves by using in road materials. Solid boron wastes obtained from the field were crushed and added to asphalt samples in certain ratios and the effect of Crushed Boron Waste (CBW) on asphalt samples were investigated. As a result of Marshall Design Method, it has been proved that boron wastes can be used in asphalt concrete within the specification limits. Besides, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was created for the evaluation of obtained data. As a result of Marshall Design Method, it has been proved that boron wastes can be used in asphalt concrete within the specification limits. Furthermore, examination of modelling and statistical analysis, mechanical performance of asphalt concrete samples with and without CBW addition has been predicted in noticeable manner. As a result of regression analysis, training and test sets r2 values are reached 0.95-0.91 for stability and 0.91-0.87 for flow values. Finally, a simulation was prepared with the created model and the effect of boron wastes on asphalt samples were examined in more detail.

Addressing potential resource scarcity for boron mineral: A system dynamics perspective

Unlike some critical minerals that are expected to have imminent shortages of supply such as indium, for a relatively high number of minerals, there is great uncertainty regarding their remaining years of supply. Boron mineral is one of these minerals with controversial reserve and years of supply estimates in the literature. Recent development and pursuit of new boron-consuming technologies and alternative products to existing boron-consuming products introduce additional uncertainty to sustainability of boron mineral. There is a need to explore how boron mineral can meet future demand given its diffusion and use in primary boron-consuming sectors, determine how diffusion may change its price and intensity of exploration activities along with key growth parameters GDP and population, and explore whether it may become a critical resource at the global level or not. For this purpose, a model was constructed to determine how diffusion of products containing boron can change at the global scale and how long boron reserves can be used to meet the respective demand by capturing dynamics of the system and partial treatment of complexity. It was determined that boron mineral may move from its current class of no criticality to high criticality when fast diffusion scenario is realized. In the slow diffusion scenario, boron mineral meets the demand for the next one hundered years and its annual consumption increases from 1,800 kilotons of borate in 2017 to 12,200 kilotons in 2117. The price of boron mineral gradually decreases to the one third of its current price of 1,620 dollars per ton of borate as the reserve of boron has an increasing trend up to the year 2078. In the fast diffusion scenario, boron mineral is can not meet the demand as the reserve is depleted in 2061 and the boron price rises to 17,400 dollars per ton of borate with a decreasing trend after this threshold point.

Evaluation of boron waste and barite against radiation

Turkey has the world’s largest boron reserves. Colemanite is one of these minerals. A large amount of waste is produced during the production of boric acid from colemanite. In this study, usability of boron wastes (BW, borogypsum) and barite as a radiation shielding materials was investigated. Six compositions were shaped with various ratios of borogypsum and barite. After drying, shaped samples were sintered at 1050 °C. Sintered samples were evaluated for density, water absorption, porosity and gamma ray radiation shielding. The best attenuation coefficients were 0.225678, 0.148848 and 0.142652 cm−1 at 662, 1173 and 1332 keV photon energies, respectively.

THE USAGE OF BORON/ BORON COMPOUNDS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND ITS SITUATION IN TURKEY

Commonly found in the earth’s crust, boron happens to be the 51st element of the periodic table and is not found in its elemental state in nature. It is known that there are about 230 different boron minerals in nature. Turkey has the largest boron reserves in the world. In addition to this, Turkey’s boron minerals have the highest quality and production conditions that are more economical than other boron producing countries. For this reason, boron has great importance for Turkey and there is a significant demand for new areas of usage so that Turkey would be able to contribute to the national economy with these resources. The institute of BOREN (National Boron Research Institute) was established for this purpose in Turkey. This institute funds related projects for the extension of boron usage areas. One of the open sectors for innovation is textile technology.This study investigates the history of boron and its current situation in Turkey as well as the studies conducted regarding boron and its compounds especially in the textile field. Taking the available boron reserves in Turkey into consideration, the need for more research and development studies on boron as an environment-friendly element is clear for the textile industry.

Effect of using colemanite waste and silica fume as partial replacement on the performance of metakaolin-based geopolymer mortars

In this work, metakaolin was partially replaced with two waste materials and the effect of adding those materials on the behavior of the resulted geopolymer composites was investigated regarding physical properties. A comparison was then made between non-fibrous samples and polypropylene fiber reinforced ones in terms of ultrasonic pulse velocity, abrasion resistance, flexural and compressive strength tests together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD analyses. In general, results revealed the fact that replacement materials proved to be beneficial. When compared to control sample, colemanite and silica fume samples yielded an improvement of 14.61% and 29.44% in flexural strength, 2.02% and 11.48 in compressive strength, 10.59% and 20% in abrasion resistance. Addition of polypropylene fibers generally helped in improving flexural strength and abrasion resistance of the samples. Microstructural analysis showed a good degree of geopolymerization of the resulted matrix. Colemanite represents a potential usable material in the geopolymer technology especially in Turkey which possesses the world’s largest boron reserves.

Mechanical Properties of Cement Mortar Containing Heat-Treated Boron Derivative Waste at Elevated Temperatures

AbstractThe largest boron reserves in the world are located in Turkey. The production of boron compounds and use of generated boron derivative waste during this production are extremely important f...

A novel approach for synthesis of monticellite based bioactive ceramic powders from boron derivative waste

Monticellite bioactive ceramics have a high usage potential as bone graft substitutes due to their superior mechanical properties compared to hydroxyapatite and excellent bioactivity. Turkey has almost 72% of the global boron reserves and the fairly high amount of emerged boron derivative waste causes storage problems and environmental pollutions. The aim of this study was the solid state synthesis of monticellite based ceramic powders from boron derivative waste and the evaluation of bioactivity characteristic of produced powders. The monticellite based ceramic powders were synthesized at low temperature (800°C). The powders were incubated in Simulated Body Fluid and their surfaces were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The surfaces of synthesized powders were bioactive and allowed formation of bone-like apatite layer within 15days. Results of the study confirmed that cost-effective and eco-friendly monticellite based bioactive ceramic powders can be synthesized from boron derivative waste.

Boron Waste Concentration Using Shaking Table

The most important Iranian boron reserves are in the basin of GHEZEL-OUZAN, a river in the West and Northwest area of Zanjan. The majority of these mines have been extracted with a non-advanced way. There are many great waste damps next to the mines which are a threat to the environment for releasing boric acid and because of an average grade of Boron are valuable from financial point as well. Present paper studies possibility of concentration a low-grade boron waste from Moshampa boron mine using shaking table. In order to concentration, 6 factors in 5 levels were considered. The factors included: particle size, water flow rate, frequency, liberation range, tilt angle and feed rate. Optimization was carried out by classic method (one factor at the time). As a result, optimum condition obtained under particle size of +1.18 -2 mm, water flow rate of 3.5 lit/min, frequency of 320 cycle/min, liberation range of 15 mm, tilt angle of 8 degrees and feed rate of 250 g/min. This test yielded 58.43% of B2O3 recovery under optimum conditions performance, and a concentrate with 26.45% B2O3 was produced.

Boric Acid Production from a Low-Grade Boron Ore with Kinetic Considerations

The most important Iranian boron reserves are in the basin of Ghezel Ozan, a river in the West and Northwest area of Zanjan. In the present study, boric acid production from an Iranian low-grade borate ore by hydrometallurgical process was investigated. In order to produce boric acid, boron ore was reacted with sulphuric acid. The influence of four parameters on the course of reaction such as pH, temperature, liquid to solid ratio, and reaction time was examined. Optimum condition for leaching part was obtained in temperature of 90°C, reaction time of 2 hours, L/S ratio of 3, and pH of 1. Under these conditions, the recovery of boron acidic leaching was reported to be 92.21%. Neutralization of pulp was done by lime. Finally, boric acid was obtained by crystallization. The purity of produced boric acid was 99.56%. The data obtained from the acidic leaching kinetics indicated that the dissolution of boron ore is fluid film diffusion controlled reaction and the reaction activation energy equals to 11.6 kJ/mol. Enthalpy of activation and entropy of activation were 11.2 kJ/mol and -246.3 J/(mol.K) respectively.

Effect of some heating parameters on volume expansion of borax

About 70% of the world’s total boron reserves are located in Turkey. Boron minerals are typically concentrated by attrition scrubbing followed by screening and classification to remove clay minerals and other impurities. These wet concentration methods, however, result in a considerable amount of accumulated tailings in large tailings dams. The tailings are approximately 28% solids and contain 14% B2O3. Problems caused by these tailings can be minimized by employing dry beneficiation techniques involving heat treatment. This method has been successfully tested on laboratory and pilot scales. During heat treatment, borax undergoes expansion in volume. The amount of expansion is dependent on the particle size, temperature and duration of heat treatment. Because the optimum temperature and the duration of the heat treatment are not well defined, the boron ore acts as a calcined clay mineral and is discarded along with the gangue. It is important to predict such parameters using mathematical formulations. Thus, a mathematical model is used to predict the required temperature and duration period prior to heat treatment. In the experimental study presented here, a series of systematic thermal tests was carried out in a muffle furnace. Two variables, temperature and time, were studied in a response surface design. A quadratic regression model was chosen and regression coefficients were calculated. Using a regression equation, the volume expansion of the particles in various circumstances can be predicted. The mathematical test results are then correlated with the experimental results to relate the optimum expansion of borax with heating time and temperature and with borax grades and recoveries.

Boron Minerals in Turkey, Their Application Areas and Importance for the Country's Economy

In the wealth and development of a country, mining activities have great significance. They contribute the most added value to the economy of a country. Developed countries owe much of their prosperity to their mineral resources and utilizing them efficiently. Turkey has substantial mineral reserves such as boron, marble, trona, chromium and some other industrial raw materials which make the country rich in terms of mining resources. Turkey holds approximately a 72% share of the total boron deposits of the world at 803 million tonnes. Eti Holding, being the most important producer, possesses 31% of total world production on a B2O3 basis. These boron reserves are high in tenor and quality. Also, 60% of the boron reserves is sufficient to supply 250–500 years of the world's boron consumption. The most important boron minerals that Turkey owns are tincal, colemanite, and ulexite. Turkey is the second highest producer of boron after the USA. Eight percent of its boron minerals is used domestically, and 92% is exported. With regard to the situation in the USA, the pattern is the opposite. While 60–65% of boron reserves are used indigenously, the rest of the reserves are exported. Turkey's total income from boron export was 192 million US$ in 2002 and was 213 million US$ in 2003. Turkey targets 254 million US$ income for the year 2004, and 295 million US$ for the year 2005.

Quaternary geochemical evolution of the salars of Uyuni and Coipasa, Central Altiplano, Bolivia

The central trough of the Bolivian Altiplano is occupied by two wide salt crusts: the salar of Uyuni, which is probably the largest salt pan in the world (10,000 km 2) and the salar of Coipasa (2,500 km 2). Both crusts are essentially made of porous halite filled with an interstitial brine very rich in Li, K, Mg, B (up to 4.7 g/l Li, 4.3 g/l B, 30 g/l K and 75 g/l Mg). Lithium reserves are the highest known in the world, around 9 × 10 6 tons. Potassium, magnesium and boron reserves in brines are also important (around 194 × 10 6 tons K, 8 × 10 6 tons B and 211 × 10 6 tons Mg). The crusts are the remnant of saline Lake Tauca (13,000–10,000 yr BP). Its salinity was estimated approximately at 80 g/l. Its paleochemistry was derived in two ways: (1) by dissolving the present amounts of all chemical components in the former lake volume, and (2) by simulating the evaporation of the major inflows to the basin. The resulting chemical compositions are quite different. The dissolution-derived one is 5 to 50 times less concentrated in Li, K, Mg, B than the evaporation-simulated ones. However all compositions present the same Na and Cl contents. This suggests either a removal of bittern salts or an enrichment of the former lake water in Na and Cl. The most probable interpretation is that Lake Tauca redissolved a salt crust akin to that existing today. Several older lakes have been detected on the Altiplano. Nevertheless, such an explanation only pushes the problem back. It is likely that the anomaly was transferred from one lake to an other. Three hypotheses may be put forward: (1) bittern seepage through bottom sediments, (2) uptake of the missing components by minerals, and (3) leaching of ancient evaporites from the catchment area at the beginning of the lacustrine history of the basin. The excess halite could have been recycled from lake to lake. This latter process seems to be the most effective to explain the large excess of Na and Cl over the bittern solutes — Li, K, Mg and B. The occurrence of almost pure Na/1bCl saline springs flowing out from a gypsum diapir in the northern Altiplano gives substantial support to this hypothesis.