Enhanced Liberation and Acid Leaching Kinetics of Ilmenite through Mechno-Chemical processing

Phase constitution, particle size distribution, surface area changes, crystallite size, strain, lattice parameters as well as HCl and H2SO4 leaching kinetics were investi-gated on mechanically activated beach sand ilmenite form the Chatrapur and Manavalakurichin region. It was obser-ved that mechanical activation significantly enhances the dissolution of both iron and titanium in H2SO4 as well as in HCL. However, hydrolysis of titanium occurs in HCL medium, especially for activated samples at lower acid concentration and higher temperature leading to lower solution recoveries. The enhanced dissolution rate is over and above the effect of increased surface area as obse-rved from the behavior of surface area normalized rate constant. The activation energy or iron and that of tita-nium were similar in both HCL and H2SO$ medium. However, there was a clear correlation between activation energy and the time of activation.