Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, Vol.53, No.9, 555-561, 2020
Synthesis of CaMg(CO3)(2) from Concentrated Brine by CO2 Fine Bubble Injection and Conversion to Inorganic Phosphor
In this study, to synthesize dolomite (CaMg(CO3)(2)) with desired crystal properties, the minute gas-liquid interfaces of CO2 fine bubbles were utilized as new crystallization regions where crystal nucleation is dominant. Furthermore, the synthesized CaMg(CO3)(2) crystals were converted to inorganic phosphor by doping emission center ions and sensitizing ions. To improve the emission characteristics of the inorganic phosphor based on CaMg(CO3)(2), an effective method to achieve a high Mg/Ca ratio and particle size reduction is indispensable for the crystallization process. In the regions near the minute gas-liquid interfaces, local supersaturation is generated because of the accumulation of Ca2+ and Mg2+ and acceleration of CO2 gas absorption due to minimized bubble formation. Hence, CaMg(CO3)(2) fine particles with a higher Mg/Ca ratio can be expected to crystallize. At a solution pH of 6.8 and a reaction temperature of 298K, CO2 fine bubbles with an average diameter (d(bbi)) of 40 mu m were continuously supplied to removed-K brine from the salt manufacture discharge using a self-supporting bubble generator, and CaMg(CO3)(2) was crystallized within 120 min. The CO2 flow rate (F-CO2) was maintained between 5.96 and 23.8 mmol/(L.min). For comparison, reactive crystallization with CO2 bubbles at a d(bbi )of 2,000 mu m was also conducted using a dispersing-type generator. Moreover, the obtained CaMg(CO3)(2) with different Mg/Ca ratios and average particle sizes (d(p)) was converted to inorganic phosphor by immersion for 60min into a TbCl3/CeCl3 aqueous solution of 0.10 mol/L Tb3+ and Ce3+ each. Consequently, during reactive crystallization of CaMg(CO3)(2) from removed-K brine, CO2 fine bubble injection at a high F-CO2 helped to achieve a higher Mg/Ca ratio and micronization of CaMg(CO3)(2) owing to the generation of numerous local regions with higher supersaturation around the minute gas-liquid interfaces. Additionally, when CaMg(CO3)(2) obtained from removed-K brine was converted to the inorganic phosphor, CaMg(CO3)(2) fine particles with d(p) less than 10 mu m and a Mg/Ca ratio of approximately 0.5 were found to be suitable for the synthesis of green inorganic phosphor with a high emission intensity under the experimental conditions employed in this study.