Leaching kinetics of gibbsitic bauxite with sodium hydroxide

Abstract

In this paper the results of a leaching kinetics study of bauxite ore with sodium hydroxide are presented. The effect of ore particle size, sodium hydroxide concentration and reaction temperature on the Al2O3 extraction rate was determined. The results obtained showed that 99% of Al2O3 was leached out using -200+270 mesh ore particle size at a reaction temperature of 105°C for 60 min reaction time with 250 g/L NaOH. The solid-to-liquid ratio was maintained constant at 1:20. The results indicated that leaching of bauxite is the rate controlling process. The activation energy was determined to be 46.04 kJ/mole, which was characteristic for a chemically controlled process.