Recovery of High-Alkali-Grade Feldspar Substitute from Phonolite Tailings
Processes, cilt.13, sa.8, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 8
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.3390/pr13082334
- Dergi Adı: Processes
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Communication Abstracts, INSPEC, Metadex, Directory of Open Access Journals, Civil Engineering Abstracts
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Fe2O3 + TiO2 removal, feldspar substitute, flotation, magnetic separation, phonolite
- Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Phonolite is a fine-grained, shallow extrusive rock rich in alkali minerals and containing iron/titanium-bearing minerals. This rock is widely used as a construction material for building exteriors due to its excellent abrasion resistance and insulation properties. However, during the cutting process, approximately 70% of the rock is discarded as tailing. So, this study aims to repurpose tailings from a phonolite cutting and sizing plant into a high-alkali ceramic raw mineral concentrate. To enable the use of phonolite tailings in ceramic manufacturing, it is necessary to remove coloring iron/titanium-bearing minerals, which negatively affect the final product. To achieve this removal, dry/wet magnetic separation processes, along with flotation, were employed both individually and in combination. The results demonstrated that using dry high-intensity magnetic separation (DHIMS) resulted in a concentrate with an Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade of 0.95% and a removal efficiency of 85%. The wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) process reduced the Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade of the concentrate to 1.2%, with 70% removal efficiency. During flotation tests, both pH levels and collector concentration impacted the efficiency and Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade (%) of the concentrate. The lowest Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade of 1.65% was achieved at a pH level of 10 with a collector concentration of 2000 g/t. Flotation concentrates processed with DHIMS achieved a minimum Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade of 0.90%, while those processed with WHIMS exhibited higher Fe2O3 + TiO2 grades (>1.1%) and higher recovery rates (80%). Additionally, studies on flotation applied to WHIMS concentrates showed that collector concentration, pulp density, and conditioning time significantly influenced the Fe2O3 + TiO2 grade of the final concentrate.