Abstract:
A process for alumina and carbonate production from aluminium rich materials with integrated CO 2 utilization, comprising: comminuting and leaching Al-rich materials in concentrated HCI; separating unreacted material from metal chloride solution; separating Al 3+ from solution by crystallization of AlCl 3 ·6H 2 O; calcination of AlCl 3 ·6H 2 O with HCl recovery; precipitation of metal carbonates from CO 2 ; regeneration of HCl and extractive amines; the Al 3+ separation the facilitated by increasing HCl concentration; the calcination being performed in two steps, one in the range 400 and 600°C to generate a HCl-rich gas and one above 600°C to produce Al 2 O 3 ; for precipitating metal carbonates, mixing the metal chloride solution with an organic solution containing a selected amine and contacting the mixture with a CO 2 -containing gas, thereby also extracting HCl by formation of an ammonium chloride salt complex; processing thermally or chemically the organic solution to regenerate the amine for recirculation.