Thermodynamic analyses and kinetic studies were performed on zinc oxide ore treatment by(NH4)2SO4 roasting technology. The results show that it is theoretically feasible to realize a roasting reaction between the zinc oxide ore and(NH4)2SO4 in a temperature range of 573–723 K. The effects of reaction temperature and particle size on the extraction rate of zinc were also examined. It is found that a surface chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step in roasting kinetics. The calculated activation energy of this process is about 45.57 k J/mol, and the kinetic model can be expressed as follows: 1-(1- α)1/3 = 30.85 exp(-45.57/RT)·t. An extraction ratio of zinc as high as 92% could be achieved under the optimum conditions.
A novel process was developed for the preparation of ultrafine silica from potash feldspar. In the first step, potash feldspar was roasted with Na_2CO_3 and was followed by leaching using Na OH solution to increase the levels of potassium, sodium, and aluminum in the solid residue. The leaching solution was then carbonated to yield ultrafine silica. The optimized reaction conditions in the roasting process were as follows: an Na_2CO_3-to-potash feldspar molar ratio of 1.1, a reaction temperature of 875°C, and a reaction time of 1.5 h. Under these conditions, the extraction rate of SiO_2 was 98.13%. The optimized carbonation conditions included a final solution p H value of 9.0, a temperature of 40°C, a CO_2 flow rate of 6 m L/min, a stirring intensity of 600 r/min, and an ethanol-to-water volume ratio of 1:9. The precipitation rate and granularity of the SiO_2 particles were 99.63% and 200 nm, respectively. We confirmed the quality of the obtained ultrafine silica by comparing the recorded indexes with those specified in Chinese National Standard GB 25576―2010.
A novel process was proposed for the utilization of potash feldspar by roasting in the presence of sodium carbonate.The effects of roasting temperature,granularity,molar ratio of sodium carbonate to potash feldspar and roasting time on the silica extraction rate were investigated.Under the optimal roasting conditions,the silica extraction rate was 98%.The optimal conditions,determined using an orthogonal experiment,were found to be roasting temperature of 875 °C,potash feldspar granularity of 74– 89 μm,molar ratio of sodium carbonate to potash feldspar of 1.2:1,and roasting time of 80 min.The kinetics of potash feldspar roasting in the presence of sodium carbonate was described by the shrinking core model and the reaction rate was found to be controlled by the chemical reaction at the particle surface.According to the Arrhenius expression,the activation energy was 164.99 k J/mol,and the process could be expressed as [1-(1-α)1/3]=2.66×105 exp[-164990/(RT)] t.
By employing zinc acetate and sodium hydroxide as raw materials, ultrafine ZnO powders with different morphologies were successfully synthesized through hydrothermal method. The influences of the reaction temperature, the OH-/Zn2+ mol ratio and the reaction time on the morphologies of the ZnO powders were discussed. The reaction conditions were obtained, under which the ZnO of flower-like particles, micro-rods and flake particles was synthesized, respectively. The crystal structures and morphologies of those ZnO particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ZnO with flower-like structures was composed of lots of micro-rods with hexagon morphology. The XRD patterns indicated that the ZnO powders were hexagonal wurtzite structures with high purity. Finally, the growth mechanism of the ZnO particles was discussed.
