Comprehensive utilization of complex rubidium ore resources: Mineral dissociation and selective leaching of rubidium and potassium

Quankuang Zhang; Baozhong Ma; Chengyan Wang; Yongqiang Chen; Wenjuan Zhang

doi:10.1007/s12613-022-2436-1

Volume 30 Issue 5

May 2023

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2023 > 30(5): 857-867

Quankuang Zhang, Baozhong Ma, Chengyan Wang, Yongqiang Chen, and Wenjuan Zhang, Comprehensive utilization of complex rubidium ore resources: Mineral dissociation and selective leaching of rubidium and potassium, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 30(2023), No. 5, pp. 857-867. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2436-1

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Quankuang Zhang, Baozhong Ma, Chengyan Wang, Yongqiang Chen, and Wenjuan Zhang, Comprehensive utilization of complex rubidium ore resources: Mineral dissociation and selective leaching of rubidium and potassium, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 30(2023), No. 5, pp. 857-867. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2436-1

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Research Article

Comprehensive utilization of complex rubidium ore resources: Mineral dissociation and selective leaching of rubidium and potassium

+ Author Affiliations

Corresponding authors:
Baozhong Ma E-mail: bzhma_ustb@yeah.net

Chengyan Wang E-mail: chywang@yeah.net
Received: 3 December 2021; Revised: 9 February 2022; Accepted: 11 February 2022; Available online: 12 February 2022

Abstract

Abstract

Currently, the process of extracting rubidium from ores has attracted a great deal of attention due to the increasing application of rubidium in high-technology field. A novel process for the comprehensive utilization of rubidium ore resources is proposed in this paper. The process consists mainly of mineral dissociation, selective leaching, and desilication. The results showed that the stable silicon–oxygen tetrahedral structure of the rubidium ore was completely disrupted by thermal activation and the mineral was completely dissociated, which was conducive to subsequent selective leaching. Under the optimal conditions, extractions of 98.67% Rb and 96.23% K were obtained by leaching the rubidium ore. Moreover, the addition of a certain amount of activated Al(OH)₃ during leaching can effectively inhibit the leaching of silicon. In the meantime, the leach residue was sodalite, which was successfully synthesized to zeolite A by hydrothermal conversion. The proposed process provided a feasible strategy for the green extraction of rubidium and the sustainable utilization of various resources.
- rubidium;
- mineral dissociation;
- selective leaching;
- zeolite A;
- desilication

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References(48)

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