P1152 - Bayer Precipitation and Alumina Quality
VALUE
AUD 450,000.00
COMMENCEMENT YEAR
2014
DURATION (YEARS)
2.5
COMMENCEMENT MONTH
June
STAGE
Complete
PROGRAM MANAGER
Olga Verezub
RESEARCH PROVIDERS
CSIRO Process Science and Engineering
Dr Iztok Livk
SPONSORS
Alcoa of Australia Limited
MRIWA
Rio Tinto Alcan Limited
South32
PROJECT SUMMARY:
The primary objective of the P1152 project was to quantify the impact of a high shear environment, as may be applied in the precipitation circuits, on the strength of hydrate and alumina quality. Investigating the linkage between slurry shearing and breakage of hydrate particles can provide crucial information on separate roles of precipitation conditions and slurry shearing on strength of hydrate.
HIGHLIGHTS / DELIVERABLES / VALUE ADDITIONS:
Main deliverables included:
- A comprehensive experimental database quantifying the impact of shearing on hydrate and alumina strength under a range of precipitation conditions for different seed morphologies. These conditions included investigating the impact of supersaturation in solution, precipitation temperature, solids concentration, gibbsite particle morphology nd modification of precursor gibbsite samples through additional precipitation.
- Results improved significantly the understanding of the impact of slurry shearing on hydrate and alumina strength under different operating conditions, and lead to
- Recommendations on the potential role of slurry shearing in controlling hydrate and alumina strength under Bayer precipitation conditions.