Authors:
Mousa Gougazeh;
Abstract:
Kaolin deposits are found all over the world. The increasing demand for product quality in paper and fine ceramic industries and the increasing efficiency in the production processes make greater requirements in terms of the quality of raw materials and additives, such as kaolin. Raw kaolin contains various amounts of discoloring
elements, such as anatase (TiO2), mica and iron oxide (Fe2O3), which give low brightness and are detrimental in use. In order to improve the quality of kaolin for more demanding applications, it was upgraded by using wet high-intensity magnetic separation for removing the iron oxide and titanium oxide impurities from lowgrade Jordanian kaolin. This is the first trial to upgrade low grade. Different variables affecting magnetic separation processes, such as solid percent, magnetic field and retention time, were studied. The results showed
a dramatic reduction of Fe2O3 (from 1.71 wt. % to 0.54 wt. % with about 68 % removal) and TiO2 (from 1.55 wt. % to 0.35 wt. %, with about 77% removal) contents. The results obtained in the present study are quite promising. It was possible to diminish Fe2O3 and TiO2 contents improve the brightness index of kaolin concentrate from approximately 69% to 89%. As a result, it can be concluded that high-quality kaolin products can be used for many industries, such as white cement, ceramic and paper filling. The new laws of investment
make such economic pre-feasibility more profitable in terms of return on investment (ROI) and pay back period (PBP).
Keywords:
Kaolin, Beneficiation, Magnetic separation, Attrition scrubbing, Brightness index, Flowsheet