P575C - A Qualitative Investigation of Strength and Breakage Behaviour of SGA Produced from Refinery Hydrates
Value
AUD $460,500
Commencement Date
June 2011
Duration
3 years
Program Manager
Gray Bailey
Research Providers
CSIRO Process Science and Engineering - Dr Iztok Livk; Parker CRC for Hydrometallurgy Solutions
Sponsors
BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina; Hatch ; Hydro Aluminium Metal Products; Rio Tinto Alcan Limited
PROJECT SUMMARY
The project focused on alumina quality through: i) quantifying breakage mechanisms of different aluminas ii) establishing the difference in alumina strength measured by different test methods iii) identifying the relationship between precipitation conditions, precursor hydrate features and alumina strength, and iv) quantifying the significance of additional gibbsite growth layers on alumina strength. Studies were conducted on sets of refinery hydrate samples containing fine seed, coarse seed, agglomeration product, and hydrate feed to calciners which were provided by sponsors. A range of hydrate morphologies from radial, mixed to mosaic were included.
HIGHLIGHTS/DELIVERABLES/ADDITIONS
Sponsors received detailed reports to enable them to:
- Improve optimisation and design of downstream processes for handling alumina based on a new quantitative understanding of alumina breakage mechanisms and its strength.
- Understand the influence of different strength test techniques and conditions on alumina strength.
- Improve ability to predict changes in alumina particle size distribution based on quantified alumina breakage mechanisms.
- Enhance understanding of the effect of precipitation conditions on alumina strength to enable further optimisation of precipitation conditions to improve alumina quality.