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Microwave-assisted extraction of potassium from K-feldspar in the presence of NaOH and CaO at low temperature

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Abstract

A creative approach for the hydrothermal decomposition of K-feldspar for the extraction of potassium (K) in mixed alkaline solutions containing NaOH and CaO pretreated by microwave was studied. Under the same processing conditions, a systematic comparison of microwave pretreatment and traditional hydrothermal reaction showed that K+ dissolution efficiency was 95% when the mixture was pretreated by microwave. In the test range, the optimum conditions for dissolution of K-feldspar were found to be K-feldspar/H2O of 50 g/L, NaOH concentration of 5.625 mol/L, CaO/NaOH mass ratio of 1:3, reaction temperature of 200 °C and time of 3 h. The changes of K-feldspar before and after reactions were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM analysis indicates perfectly that microwave heating is volumetric and inside-out compared to conventional heating being outside-in. Analysis of XRD spectra results showed that the mechanism of potassium extraction was ion exchange. The anorthite or hydroxyl-cancrinite was precipitated from solution.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (SKL-ChE-13C03). The authors would like to thank the Environmental Engineering Experiment Center for making its facilities available for conducting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Jianhai Zhao, Xinlu Li, Jiao Meng & Wenpu Li

  2. School of Control and Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Wenqi Ge

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  1. Jianhai Zhao
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  2. Xinlu Li
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  3. Jiao Meng
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  4. Wenqi Ge
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  5. Wenpu Li
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Correspondence to Jianhai Zhao.

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Zhao, J., Li, X., Meng, J. et al. Microwave-assisted extraction of potassium from K-feldspar in the presence of NaOH and CaO at low temperature. Environ Earth Sci 78, 275 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8264-6

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