Particles association study of a Borate sample from sijes district, Argentina

R. M. TORRES SÁNCHEZ; L. E. MATTENELLA

Rev. Chilena de Ingenieria

Universidad de Tarapacá

Lugar: Tarapacá; Año: 2006 vol. 14

0718-3305

The increasing range of borate uses, mainly in the ceramic frit market, led borate producers to improve competitiveness through concentration and/or purification steps in the mill circuit as well as to the characterization of high content B2O3 minerals. Minerals coming from Sijes, Salta Province, Argentina, identified mainly as colemanite and hydroboracite, with 50.84 % and 50.54 % B2O3 respectively, are potentially interesting for the industrial point of view. The desliming purification technique in hydrocyclones used to upgrade B2O3 and downgrade undesirable impurities to the borate market (Rietveld method) mainly iron oxides, chlorides and sulphates) not only eliminates slimes but also generates pores, which is realized by a decreasing of the specific surface of the particles. Two samples under different purification steps were analyzed: deslimed and without desliming. The chemical and mineralogical (analyses of both samples indicate that colemanite, smectite and illite percentages decrease in the deslimed sample arising a small relative hydroboracite increasing. The parameters of surface electric charge (PZC and IEP) matching the observations under the electronic microscopy, reveal mineral associations only in the sample without desliming.2O3 minerals. Minerals coming from Sijes, Salta Province, Argentina, identified mainly as colemanite and hydroboracite, with 50.84 % and 50.54 % B2O3 respectively, are potentially interesting for the industrial point of view. The desliming purification technique in hydrocyclones used to upgrade B2O3 and downgrade undesirable impurities to the borate market (Rietveld method) mainly iron oxides, chlorides and sulphates) not only eliminates slimes but also generates pores, which is realized by a decreasing of the specific surface of the particles. Two samples under different purification steps were analyzed: deslimed and without desliming. The chemical and mineralogical (analyses of both samples indicate that colemanite, smectite and illite percentages decrease in the deslimed sample arising a small relative hydroboracite increasing. The parameters of surface electric charge (PZC and IEP) matching the observations under the electronic microscopy, reveal mineral associations only in the sample without desliming.2O3 respectively, are potentially interesting for the industrial point of view. The desliming purification technique in hydrocyclones used to upgrade B2O3 and downgrade undesirable impurities to the borate market (Rietveld method) mainly iron oxides, chlorides and sulphates) not only eliminates slimes but also generates pores, which is realized by a decreasing of the specific surface of the particles. Two samples under different purification steps were analyzed: deslimed and without desliming. The chemical and mineralogical (analyses of both samples indicate that colemanite, smectite and illite percentages decrease in the deslimed sample arising a small relative hydroboracite increasing. The parameters of surface electric charge (PZC and IEP) matching the observations under the electronic microscopy, reveal mineral associations only in the sample without desliming.2O3 and downgrade undesirable impurities to the borate market (Rietveld method) mainly iron oxides, chlorides and sulphates) not only eliminates slimes but also generates pores, which is realized by a decreasing of the specific surface of the particles. Two samples under different purification steps were analyzed: deslimed and without desliming. The chemical and mineralogical (analyses of both samples indicate that colemanite, smectite and illite percentages decrease in the deslimed sample arising a small relative hydroboracite increasing. The parameters of surface electric charge (PZC and IEP) matching the observations under the electronic microscopy, reveal mineral associations only in the sample without desliming.