Identification and Quantification of the Organic Matter in the Fouling Industrial of Wet Phosphoric Acid Process

Abstract

The organic matter of rock phosphate has been the subject of numerous studies. The valuation and resolu-tion of some problems, such as fouling, encountered in the industrial production of phosphoric acid are of great interest, and enable better production yields of phosphoric acid. The solid deposits formed in the production of wet process phosphoric acid were characterized and revealed the malladrite, gypsum, trace metals, and the presence of organic matter. The identification of the organic matter was carried out in the fouling samples using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies. The quantitative determination of the total organic matter content of the fouling samples was performed using the Walkley-Black and calcination methods. The knowledge of the organic matter in the fouling layers allows a better understanding of phenomena in processes.