Effective Desulfurization and Alumina Digestion of High-Sulfur Bauxite by New Roasting Process with Conveying Bed

Abstract

A new roasting process with a conveying bed was constructed and used to remove sulfur of high-sulfur bauxite. Roasting temperature, phase transformation, microcrystal, specific surface area of high-sulfur bauxite, and the mechanism of the reaction during the roasting process were analyzed. The digestion properties of roasted bauxite were also investigated. The results showed that the sulfur in high-sulfur bauxite can be efficiently removed by roasting in the conveying bed at 520–720 °C for 2 s. Major reactions of high-sulfur bauxite during roasting were the dehydration of minerals, desulfurization of pyrite, sulfation of SO2, and decomposition of sulfate. The rate of mineral dehydration reaction was significantly slower than that of the desulfurization reaction. The specific surface area of roasted ore greatly increased, and the microcrystal of Al-O mineral was refined, which was conducive to Al2O3 digestion. The mass fraction of sulfide sulfur in high-sulfur bauxite was reduced from 1.20% to 0.01%, and the relative digestibility of alumina reached more than 99% when roasting at 600 °C for 2 s. This paper provides revelations and instructions for the process development and application of high-sulfur bauxite.