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Powder X-Ray Diffraction Study of the Hydration and Leaching Behavior of Nontronite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Nicola V. Y. Scarlett ,
Mark Raven  and
Ian Madsen
Nicola V. Y. Scarlett*
Affiliation:
CSIRO Process Science and Engineering, Box 312, Clayton South, Victoria, 3169, Australia
Mark Raven
Affiliation:
CSIRO Land & Water, Waite Rd, Urrbrae, South Australia, 5064, Australia
Ian Madsen
Affiliation:
CSIRO Process Science and Engineering, Box 312, Clayton South, Victoria, 3169, Australia
*
* E-mail address of corresponding author: Nicola.scarlett@csiro.au
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Abstract

Nontronite is a significant component of commercially important nickel laterite ores. Its behavior during high-pressure acid leaching of such ores may have an impact upon the efficiency of the process. The present study was conducted in order to further investigate the response of this material during high-pressure acid leaching. In situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data were collected from a number of nontronite samples during hydration and leaching reactions at ambient and elevated temperatures. The present study followed previous high-pressure acid-leaching studies of nontronite where unexpected contraction and expansion behavior of the clay was observed by means of in situ X-ray diffraction. In the earlier studies the data sets only extended to ~20 Å so that when the nontronite expanded to greater than 19.5 Å (hydrated) the main 001 peak was only partially visible in the observed d-spacing range. The aim of the current work was to collect similar in situ diffraction data over a greater d-spacing range to observe more fully the movement of the main 001 reflection in order to better understand the changes taking place. This work was undertaken at the powder diffraction beamline of the Australian Synchrotron which was configured such that an upper d-spacing limit of ~34.5 Å could be achieved. Suggestions arising out of the previous work were confirmed along with additional information from testing of samples from the Source Clays Repository of The ClayMinerals Society. These results also show contradictory behavior of clays with the layer charge distributed over tetrahedral and octahedral sheets.

Keywords

High-pressure Acid LeachingNontronitePowder XRDTime-resolved XRDSynchrotron
Type
Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 59 , Issue 6 , December 2011 , pp. 560 - 567
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 2011

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