Metallgesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft

Karlheinz Rosenthal

Martin Hirsch

Hans-Werner Schmidt

Walter Koch

Yilmaz Yetmen

In a method of processing contaminated sodium oxalate which becomes available in a separating stage succeeding the digestion of bauxite in accordance with the Bayer process, chemicals used in the digesting process are recovered in that moist sodium oxalate which has been separated is dried with the hot exhaust gases from a rotary kiln jointly with aluminum hydroxide or aluminum oxide hydrate and/or reactive alumina at a mole ratio of aluminum to sodium of at least 0.8 and the dried product is decomposed in said rotary kiln at a temperature of 780.degree. to 1000.degree. C. to form sodium aluminate. Suitably drying is effected by spray drying in direct contact with the exhaust gases of the rotary kiln and decomposition is effected at a temperature in the range from 850.degree. to 950.degree. C. and with an Al:Na ratio not in excess of 1.2.

Method of processing sodium oxalate formed during the digestion of

In a method for processing contaminated sodium oxalate which becomes available in a separating stage succeeding the digestion of bauxite in accordance with the Bayer process, chemicals used in the digesting process are recovered in that the moist sodium oxalate which has been separated is dried with the hot exhaust gases from a fluidized bed, particularly a circulating fluidized bed, jointly with aluminum hydroxide or aluminum oxide hydrate and/or reactive alumina at a mole ratio of aluminum to sodium of at least 0.8 and the dried product is decomposed in said fluidized bed at a temperature of 780.degree. to 1000.degree. C. to form sodium aluminate. Suitably drying is effected by spray drying in direct contact with the exhaust gases of the fluidized bed and decomposition is effected at a temperature in the range from 850.degree. to 950.degree. C. and with an Al:Na mole ratio not in excess of 1.2.

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Neu-Isenburg, Germany

Karlheinz Rosenthal