Hydrothermal processing on potassic syenite powder: Zeolite synthesis and potassium release kinetics

摘要

To make potassium accessible to agricultural application from K-silicates, processing on potassic syenite powder under mild alkaline hydrothermal conditions was conducted, as a result of which, potassium became accessible into solution, and to two zeolite powders (analcime and hydroxycancrinite) were successfully obtained. A scale-up operation in 25L-hydrothermal reactor supported the feasibility of further industrial implementation. The kinetic model derived from geochemical study was adopted to describe K+ release behavior, and two kinetic factors, reaction order and apparent activation energy, over temperature range of 477-531 K were 2.61 and 46.61 kJ/mol. The concentrated alkaline solution giving rise to higher reaction order and lower apparent activation energy was a dominated factor accelerating K-feldspar dissolution accomplished within hours. The hydrothermal approach proposed in this work is a simplified and green chemical way for the comprehensive utilization of K-silicates. (C) 2019 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.