Nvestigating the efects of mechanical activation on potassiumchloride production from potassium feldspar

In this thesis, mechanical activaton of the potassium chloride production process by roasting the potassium feldspar ore with calcium chloride was investigated. %10.89 K2O contained ore was milled with planetary ball mill at various times, then mixed with calcium chloride (CaCl2); the prepared mixture was roasted for one hour in the temperature range of 500 -1000 °C. The roasts were leached with distilled water and the potassium chloride formed during the roasting was transferred to the aqueous medium. Intensively milled ore, roasts, brine solution and leaching residues obtained by water leaching were identified by physical (XRD, SEM, BET) and chemical (FAAS, ICP-ES) analyzes. According to the results, the potassium chloride recovery obtained from raw ore roasted with CaCl2 was 4.48% at 500 °C and 95.66% at 850 °C; After this temperature, the recovery decreased due to the vaporisation of potassium chloride. On the other hand, the potassium recovery from leaching the roasts obtained by roasting mechanicaly activated ore (through amorphization of minerals by excessive milling at different times) with CaCl2 was higher than those obtained from unmilled ore in each temperature: Considering the 120 min milled ore, the potassium recovery increased from 34.90% by roasting at 500°C to 93.74% at 750°C. Keyword: KCl, K-Feldspar, Chlorination Roasting, Leaching, Mechanical Activation