Potassium extraction from the silicate rock Verdete using organic acids

ABSTRACT:

Although Brazil is one of the world's leading exporter of agricultural products, the country is highly dependent on the importation of potassic fertilizers. K-bearing silicate rocks are reported as potential solutions to reduce external K dependency. This work evaluated K extraction from silicate Verdete rock, a glauconite-bearing rock containing 10 % of K₂O, by solubilization with organic acids. Firstly, Verdete rock was reacted during 3-120 h with solutions of citric or oxalic acid at 2 % (m/v) in Erlenmeyer flasks by shaking. Oxalic acid extracted 6.5 % of K in Verdete, while citric acid extracted 2.3 %. Another experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of various oxalic acid concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 %) and differing reaction times (12, 24, 48, and 72 h) on K extraction from Verdete rock. Soluble K concentration nearly doubled with the increase of reaction time from 12 to 72 h, rising from 20 to 37 mg L^–1. Increments in K extraction were obtained by increasing oxalic acid concentrations up to 6 % and above this concentration, no significant gain was observed. The X-ray diffraction data showed that K extraction resulted from the formation of oxalate-metal complexes with metals in Verdete rock.

Keywords:
glauconite; bioleaching; oxalate; fertilizer