THE ZINC BORATE PRODUCTION BY USING ULEXITE MINERAL

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to synthesize zinc borate by using ulexite and to increase efficiency with producing boric acid. In this study, zinc borate production was carried out with two stages. In first stage, boric acid was synthesized from ulexite, in second stage, zinc borate was synthesized from boric acid which was obtained in first stage. When boric acid is synthesized in first stage to produce zinc borate, sodium sulphate and calcium sulphate are separated and they may be evaluated for different applications. The process parameters as the effect of reaction time, the amount of water on boric acid yield have been investigated. Dry, fine powdered zinc borate particles were produced under optimised conditions. The resulting high yield were formed utilizing various amounts of seed. The effects of the parameters such as the reaction time, the amount of water, seed etc. on zinc borate yield were investigated. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that the zinc borate production was carried out successfully.