Diversification of the Industrial Use of the Land River Layer: Obtaining Aluminum Sulfate for Water Treatment

Abstract

With the objective of obtaining aluminum sulphate to be used as a coagulant in the water treatment, experimental test works were conducted with a sample of the kaolin ore body Río del Callejón located in the special municipality of the Isle of Youth. The sample was characterized from the chemical and granulometric point of view and was subjected to a technological process with calcination and sulphuric acid leaching being the main operations. The Plackett–Burman screening design was used in the technological tests taking calcination temperature, calcination time, leaching temperature, leaching time, agitation velocity, acid concentration and liquid-solid ratio as independent variables. An aluminum sulphate with suitable characteristics to be used as a coagulant substance in water treatment (human consumption and residual) was obtained. The experimental results revealed that the aluminum sulphate obtained shows better quality than that of the one currently obtained in the industry using aluminum hydroxide.

Keywords

• caolín
• calcinación
• diseño de Plackett–Burman
• lixiviación ácida
• sulfato de aluminio.