Beneficiation of phosphate-siliceous slates via acetic acid
Abstract Low grade phosphate-siliceous slates dump samples (about 11.98% P2O5) from Zhanatas deposit, Karatau basin, Kazakhstan were subjected to upgrading in the present study. The suggested upgrading route was to get rid of most of the inorganic carbonates via leaching using organic acids like acetic acid. The effect of leaching temperature, dissolution time, and solid/liquid ratio were studied as the main determental working parameters. It was concluded that a concentrate product containing about 21% P2O5 was produced after leaching with acetic acid at optimum conditions: 30 C0, 15 min, and 3:1 liquid/solid ratio. The calculated apparent activation energy of the leaching process showed that the process took place in the intra-diffusion region.