Dissolution kinetics of calcined ulexite in ammonium sulfate solutions

Ulexite is one of the boron minerals, which include a respectable amount of hydration water. It can be used as a raw material in the production of boron compounds. Some part of water in the composition of ulexite can be removed from the solid matrix applying dehydration treatment, and a porous structure can be obtained to increase the reaction rate. In the present study, the effect of dehydration temperature on dissolution kinetics of ulexite in ammonium sulfate solutions was researched in a batch reactor utilizing the parameters of solution concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, stirring speed and reaction temperature. It was determined that the dissolution rate of calcined material increased with increasing solution concentration and reaction temperature and with decreasing solid-to-liquid ratio. The highest dissolution rate was attained with the sample calcined at 150 degrees C. It was found that the dissolution rate fit to the first order pseudo-homogeneous model. The activation energy of the dissolution process was estimated to be 42 kJ.mol(-1).