SLURRY FILTRATION AND CAKE WASHING AFTER THE HCL-LEACH OF MAGNESITE AND SERPENTINE - CONTINUOUS WASHING MODEL

Four different ores of magnesite and serpentine were leached with hydr ochloric acid to produce concentrated magnesium chloride liquors. The neutralized slurries were filtered at a constant pressure, and the cak es were washed with water. As for filtration, the mass balance was cal culated based on magnesium analyses, while the Darcy-Ruth equation was used to investigate the kinetics and assess the specific resistance o f cakes. As for washing, the mass balance and kinetics were accounted for in terms of a continuous mathematical model, which is compatible w ith the Moncrieff equation. This new model explains well the washing t est results. Washing operations can be optimized only in economical te rms, and a complete set of mathematical formulae was presented for the optimization procedure.