Dissolution of thermally dehydrated ulexite in ammonium acetate solutions
(Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Inonu University, Malatya 44280, Turkey)
Abstract: Ulexite, a boron mineral, contains a substantial amount of hydration water. Using calcination method, some part of water in the composition of solid can be removed from the solid matrix, and a porous structure can be obtained to increase the reaction rate. The dissolution of the calcined ulexite samples at various temperatures was investigated. Ammonium acetate was used as a leach reagent. The effects of some reaction parameters on the dissolution of the calcined ulexite were examined. It is found that the dissolution rate of calcined samples is higher than that of the uncalcined sample. The dissolution rate of the calcined ulexite is enhanced with increasing calcination temperature up to 150 °C. It is determined that the reaction rate conforms to the chemical reaction model. The activation energy of the dissolution process was calculated to be 41.5 kJ/mol.
Key words: calcination; dissolution kinetics; ulexite; boron mineral