Advanced purification of industrial quartz using calcination pretreatment combined with ultrasound-assisted leaching

Purification of quartz using an environment-friendly method is important in the contaminants removal. This paper presents advanced method based on calcination pretreatment combined with ultrasound-assisted leaching, for removing iron impurities from industrial quartz. The solvent used is a mixture comprised by diluted hydrochloric acid and oxalic acid. The effects of experimental parameters were investigated and the purification mechanism was discussed using particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscope and polarized light microscope. SiO2 content of concentrate could be increased from 99.6828% to 99.9047%, which achieved 3N level high purity quartz, and Fe2O3 content reduced from 0.0857% to 0.0223%, under the optimal conditions, i.e., calcination temperature of 900 °C, holding time of 2 h, oxalic acid concentration of 10 g/L, hydrochloric acid concentration of 5%, liquid solid ratio of 5, leaching temperature of 60 °C, ultrasound power of 400 W and treatment time of 30 min. Compared to conventional method, the proposed method significantly accelerates the leaching process and increases the iron removal rate. At the same time, the method also can remove gas-liquid inclusions. ; Yang Changqiao, Li Suqin, Bai Jiaxing, Han Shuaishuai.