Dissolution of a Nigerian sourced Muscovite ore for use as an ingredient in paint production

Dissolution and characterization studies on the purification of muscovite ore in hydrochloric acid for use in paint production was investigated. Specific dissolution parameters including the effects of acid concentration as well as temperature on the dissolution of muscovite ore were studied. Important instrumentation techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were employed for the better explanation of the dissolution process so as to fathom the availability of elements and compounds within the ore. The results revealed that the dissolution rates were considerably influenced as the acid concentration and temperature increased, while at optimal leaching conditions, about 85 % of the ore was found to have been reacted by 2.5 mol/L at 75oC temperature and at 120 minutes of leaching time. The reaction order for the dissolution can be deduced to be half order reaction as the value obtained was in the bracket of 0.50. The reaction kinetic data revealed the dissolution mechanism to involve diffusion and surface chemical mechanisms as the rate-controlling mechanisms while the different instrumentation techniques corroborated the dissolution as well as purification of the muscovite ore as an ingredient for possible use in paint production.