Impact of Magnetic Separation on Biotite Purification and Feldspar Pre-concentration from Granite Waste for Ceramic Applications
摘要
Granite waste regarded as an environmental burden require careful disposal for environment safeguarding. Their recovery seems to be the preferred solution for an economic-environmental balance. The aim of this research is to recover two different products from granite waste broadly used in the glass and ceramics manufacturing industries, using an economical and eco-friendly method, high-intensity magnetic separation. Its application, in both dry and wet modes, is influenced by mineral composition, liberation size, magnetic susceptibility and operating conditions. Preference for a particular magnetic separation route stems from factors such water availability, drying costs, commercial requirements and sustainability. Therefore, SEM-EDS, XRD and ICP-OES techniques are used to evaluate the separation performance through the chemical profiling of magnetic fractions, particularly biotite, and non-magnetic fractions. The results attained prove the efficiency of the process, achieving an iron recovery of 90–95% for the biotite and an iron content 0.12% Fe with a yield of 90% for the non-magnetic fraction. These results, while encouraging, also point to some of the technical factors that need to be taken into account to obtain commercial products that meet the requirements of the glass and ceramics industries from granite wastes.