Effects of Leaching Parameters on the Impurity Ion Concentrations at Ulexite Ore Leaching: An Experimental Design Approach

An experimental study was conducted to determine the effects of the leaching parameters on impurity ion concentrations of the liquid phase in ulexite leaching. Powdered ulexite ore was leached in an aqueous medium with sulfur dioxide. The Taguchi experimental design approach and statistical methods were used to evaluate the effects of the leaching parameters (solid/liquid ratio, temperature, pH, particle size, time) on impurity ion concentrations (concentrations of magnesium, calcium, iron ions) in the liquid phase. The average B2O3 leaching ratio of ulexite ore was found as 98.56 % (± 0.95). Statistically effective leaching parameters on impurity concentrations (and delta values for concentrations) were found as pH (770 ppm) for magnesium, solid/liquid ratio (372 ppm) for calcium ion concentrations. The examined parameters were not found effective for iron ion concentrations.