Abstract

---

Talc by its intrinsic properties is an important material with diverse industrial applications. In the present work, the evaluation of a Nigeria sourced talc ore for industrial utilization by sulphuric acid leaching was studied and accordingly characterized. During the experiments, it was found that the increase in acid concentration, reaction temperature and decreased particle size increase the extent of the ore dissolution. At optimal conditions (2.0 mol/L H2SO4, 75°C, -90+75µm), 71.2% of the ore reacted within 120 minutes with moderate stirring. The unleached product was analysed to contain silica. The estimated activation energy of 28.72 kJ/mol supported the proposed diffusion-controlled reaction kinetics. The leached product is hydrophilic having specific surface area increased from 0.15 m2 /g to 3.76 m2 /g with total cumulative pore volume of 0.010986 ml/g. Finally, a decrease in the ore’s iron content from 3.75% to 0.16% yielded 95.73% product purity

Keywords: Talc ore; Nigeria; Leaching; Sulphuric acid; Dissolution kinetics; High surface area; Product purity.