Authors : A. Nasiru, A.N. Isah, S.I. Bello, Y.S. Mohammed, M.M. Usman and A.S. Shettima
Abstract: Kaolin is a very important substance commonly used in many industrial chemical production processes due to its physical properties such as whiteness and brightness in addition to its chemically inert nature. In its raw form, kaolin contains quite a few numbers of different kinds of impurities that must be removed before it is used for production of other chemicals. Kaolin is beneficiated (treated) for removal of impurities capable of distorting its usage in chemical processes. Thus, this article presents the design and construction of a highly efficient parallel air cyclone system with a feeding capacity of 182 kgh–1 using Computer Aided Process and Equipment Design (CAPED) Software package. The system was tested and the yield obtained is 30.1%. This result is a significant improvement compare to the average yield of 15% reported in literature for a single state cyclone system. In addition, the parallel cyclone has an average pressure drop of 746.7 Pa and the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) analysis shows that the clay content significantly improves from 46% to an average of 65% after beneficiation. The X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) analysis also showed that the level of beneficiation obtained using the rig improved the kaolinite content in the raw kaolin to an average of 67.8%, the quartz in the feed was reduced to an average of 86.3% while the mica in the feed was reduced by an average of 56.7%.
A. Nasiru, A.N. Isah, S.I. Bello, Y.S. Mohammed, M.M. Usman and A.S. Shettima, 2019. Design and Construction of a Parallel Cyclone System for Kaolin Beneficiation. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 14: 365-369.