The effect of aqueous caustic and various acid treatments on the removal of mineral matter in asphaltite

Abstract

In this present study, high mineral matter ( ash) asphaltites from Silopi, Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey were investigated using aqueous sodium hydroxide followed by various mineral acids such as HNO3, HCl, H2SO4, and HF. The extraction with 5% NaOH followed by leaching with 10% H2SO4 plus 40% HF was the optimum approach for chemical cleaning of the asphaltite and the maximum degree of the demineralization was found as 59.56%. At the same time, the calorific value increased to 20.86% according to the original sample. In addition, the spectrometric analyses of treated asphaltite samples were performed by FTIR and X-ray diffraction.