THE EFFECT OF CALCINATION TEMPERATURE ON THE DECOMPOSITION OF DOLOMITE. Decomposition of dolomite to MgO and CaO is important because both these oxides are widely used in various applications. To determine the effect of calcination temperature on the decomposition of dolomite to MgO and CaO, the calcination was investigated. The Muffle furnace was used to calcination process at temperatures of 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 oC. A total of dolomite (100 gram) was put in a furnace and heated with a heating rate of 10 oC /min at various temperatures and then arrested with holding time 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hours, respectively. The calcined samples were then weight measured and characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The experimental results indicated that the decomposition of dolomite increases with the increases of the calcination temperature. The optimum calcination conditions are achieved at 900 °C for 4 hours. Under the optimum conditions, the weight loss of dolomite can reach 46.74%. Based on stoichiometry calculations 46.74% weight reduction showed that 97.78% of dolomite decomposed into MgO and CaO. The decomposition of dolomite into CaO and MgO through two stages, namely stages of formation of MgO-CaCO3 at 700 oC and CaO at 800 °C - 900 °C. The conclusions obtained from this calcination of dolomite is the raising of calcination temperature can improve the process of decomposition of dolomite into MgO and CaO.
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