Extraction of lithium from beta-spodumene using chlorination roasting with calcium chloride

LUCÍA I. BARBOSA; JORGE A. GONZÁLEZ; MARÍA DEL C. RUIZ

THERMOCHIMICA ACTA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 605 p. 63 - 67

0040-6031

Chlorination roasting was used to extract lithium as lithium chloride from beta-spodumene. The  roasting was carried out in a fixed bed reactor using calcium chloride as chlorinating agent. The mineral was mixed with CaCl2 on a molar ratio of 1:2. Reaction temperature and time were investigated. The reactants and roasted materials were characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic  absorption  spectrophotometry (AAS).  The mineral starts to react with CaCl2 at around 700 C. The optimal conditions of lithium extraction were found to be 900 C and 120 min of chlorination roasting, under  which it is attained a conversion degree of 90.2%. The characterization results indicate that the  major phases present in the chlorinating roasting residue are CaAl2Si2O8, SiO2, and CaSiO3.