Journal of Chromatography & Separation Techniques
Open Access

Leaching of alumina from local clays by hydrochloric, sulphuric and nitric acids precipitation

5^th International Conference on Current Trends in Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography

September 25-26, 2017 Atlanta, USA

Inyang V M and Eloka-Eboka A C

University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Chromatogr Sep Tech

Abstract :

Leaching of alumina from three local clays of ukpor, auchi and udi obtained from different locations in Nigeria was carried out using three different acids (HCL, H2SO4 and HNO3) as precipitants. The leaching process involved preparation of the clay sample, dissolution in acid solution, precipitation of basic aluminium sulphate from the filtrate and the use of EDTA titration method to obtain the alumina yield. The effects of process parameters (acid concentration, particle size, leaching temperature and acid to clay weight ratio) on alumina extraction were investigated. Factorial design of experiment techniques was used in the assessment of the influence of experimental factors on the final results. Clay characterization was also carried out on the different clay samples. The highest yield of 36.96% was obtained from auchi clay with HNO3 yielding more alumina than HCl and H2SO4.