Investigation of acidulation and coating of Saudi phosphate rocks. 1. Batch acidulation

Abstract

A mathematical model is used for the simulation of the acidulation of phosphate rock using both sulfuric acid and sulfuric acid/phosphoric acid mixtures. The attack on the rock by the acid and crystallization of the dihydrate are taking place in the same reactor vessel. The model has been tested by using a batch laboratory-scale reactor in a wide range of conditions. The matching between the model and the experimental results is used to obtain the effective diffusivity for the system. The effect of different parameters and the speed of acidulation on the coating of the rock particles is also investigated