Pressure leaching of beta-spodumene by sodium chloride

Abstract

AbstractThe applicability of the pressure leaching technique in the recovery of lithium from a beta-spodumene bearing concentrate has been investigated using sodium chloride as reactant in alkaline medium. Factors such as the concentration of sodium chloride and calcium hydroxide, the temperature, the pulp density, the reaction time and the particle size, which influence the rate and the extent of the lithium dissolution were studied When ever applicable the optimum values were determined. It has been suggested that the kinetics of this reaction are controlled by the diffusion phenomena. This hypothesis is supported by the relatively low activation energy ∆Ha=3.6±0.2 Kcal/mol. The possibility of recovering pure lithium chloride from the .leach solutions containing large quantities of sodium chloride is indicated. Resume L'application de la methode de lixiviation sous pression a l'extraction du lithium d'un concentre de spodumene-beta a ete etudiee en employant le chlorure de sodium comme reactif en milieu...