International Journal of Mineral Processing, 5 (1978) 183--197 183

© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

FLUIDIZED-BED THERMAL TREATMENT OF PHOSPHATE ROCK:

EFFECT OF OPERATING VARIABLES

M.A. DOHEIM, M.M. TARSHAN and M.M. EL-GENDY

Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut Uni-
versity, Assiut (Egypt)
(Received June 9, 1977; revised and accepted December 30, 1977)

ABSTRACT

Doheim, M.A., Tarshan, M.M. and E1-Gendy, M.M., 1978. Fluidized-bed thermal treat-
ment of phosphate rock: effect of operating variables. Int. J. Miner. Process., 5:183---19'7

The presence of huge amounts of low- and intermediate-grade phosphate ore and the
need for high-grade ore for industry, necessitates the availability of economic and effi-
cient upgrading techniques. The fluidized-bed technique is most suitable for upgrading,
by thermal treatment, of ores having high percentages of organic matter, carbonates,
and moisture. In this work, studies were carried out on the process of thermal upgrading
of phosphate rock in a fluidized-bed furnace of 10-cm diameter. The studies involve the
effect of the important operating variables such as process temperature, air-flow rate,
calcine quenching temperature, and the attrition of phosphate particles. A run-of-mine
intermediate-grade phosphate ore was used. Batch and continuous runs were carried out
and the ore was calcined and washed.
It was found that the increase in process temperature favourably affects the % up-
grading of the ore, but this should be studied in close connection with the economic
aspects, especially in the case of ores with low carbonaceous matter contents. The fluid-
izing air-flow rate, and thus, the hydrodynamic condition of the bed, slightly affects the
upgrading process. The use of high air-flow rates increases the extent of attrition of phos-
phate particles. The quenching temperature of the calcine was found to have no effect on
the process product, within the range investigated.

INTRODUCTION

The wide use of phosphorous and phosphatic compounds (Anonymous,

1 9 7 4 ; B a s t a a n d K a m m a r , 1 9 7 4 ) as f e r t i l i z e r s , a n d in c h e m i c a l , m e t a l l u r g i c a l
and other industries, necessitates the availability of high-grade phosphate ore
f o r p r o c e s s i n g . P r o d u c t i o n o f P in a n e l e c t r i c a l f l u i d i z e d - b e d f u r n a c e h a s b e e n
reported (Dorn, 1973), with the reaction occurring between phosphate ore,
coke, and quartizite. The pyrometallurgical thermal-treatment processes of
o r e s a n d m i n e r a l s a r e v e r y e f f e c t i v e in u p g r a d i n g a n d b e n e f i c i a t i n g t h e o r e s
or converting them to compounds from which the metal can be easily ex-
tracted. Among these processes, roasting and calcining are the most impor-
t a n t . R o a s t i n g is u s u a l l y c a r r i e d o u t a t a t e m p e r a t u r e b e l o w t h a t o f c a l c i n a t i o n
184

and it involves the removal of physically and chemically bound water, organic
matter, and easily volatilized substances. The calcining process is usually
carried out at a higher temperature so that the carbonates in the phosphate
are decomposed. The phosphate after roasting is more liable to flotation,
whereas after calcination, with formation of Ca and Mg oxides, the pH of
the pulp would be too high for flotation. Poor phosphate rock, having high
percentages of carbonaceous materials (organic carbon), calcareous materials
(calcite, dolomite), and moisture, is best thermally treated in fluidized-bed
furnaces. This treatment, at the calcination temperature, is sufficient for
highly upgrading the ore, especially low-silica ores. Fluidized-bed calcining is
also used to defluorinate phosphate rock at a temperature of about 1300°C
to make it suitable for animal feed.
The present work is concerned with the thermal treatment of an intermedi-
ate-grade phosphate ore in a fluidized-bed furnace. The intermediate-grade
ore is intended to be processed at intermediate conditions so that the data
obtained can be more representative. The study involves the effect of the
important operating variables such as process temperature, air-flow rate, and
the calcine quenching temperature on the process. The effect of air-flow
rate on the phosphate attrition was also studied. Batch and continuous runs
were carried out.

PREVIOUS WORK

The beneficiation of phosphate rock can be accomplished by simple pro-

cesses as well as by complicated ones, depending on the ore and the extent
of upgrading required. The simplest and lowest-cost methods involve grinding
and sizing, which are more suitable for clayey ores. Crushing, screening, and
washing may be involved (Anonymous, 1970). More complicated flow
sheets including crushing, flotation, and roasting plants have been reported
(Anonymous, 1960). The flotation plant includes washing, desliming, grinding,
conditioning, flotation, filtration, and drying. Flotation is the usual practice
for phosphate with high silica contents. Many investigations ( Town et al.,
1967; Orphy et al., 1968a, b; Bibawy, 1969; Hanna, 1969) have been carried
out to study the different factors involved in the flotation process. The flo-
tation technique has the advantage of being applied to the bulk material
without the necessity of prior screening.
The thermal treatment of phosphate ores may involve one or all of the
following processes: drying, roasting, and calcination. Upgraded phosphate
may be produced (Anonymous, 1967) with just screening and drying to give
75% TCP, while a 78.5% grade ore may be produced from the moist-screened
phosphate by calcination at 950°C. The calcining is carried out in rotating
kilns fired by fuel oil. A high-grade phosphate (80--82%) may be produced
by more complicated processes. Beneficiation studies (Rambabu et al., 1973)
on low-grade (16.4% P2Os) calcite-bearing phosphate rock have been reported
using calcination at a temperature of 960°C. The carbonaceous materials in
 185

the phosphatic beds, which may amount to 3.5%, interfere with the produc-
tion of triple superphosphate and they are now successfully removed by
roasting in fluidized beds at temperatures below 760°C (Priestly, 1967). A
5-m diameter three-compartment Fluosolids reactor is used. This percentage
of carbonaceous material furnishes most of the fuel required for the process.
Batch and continuous-circuit beneficiation of western phosphate ore has
been reported (Town et al., 1967). Two flow sheets were developed; the
first involved roasting, attrition scrubbing, sizing to remove a concentrate,
grinding of the oversize, desliming, and flotation; in the other flow sheet
the roasting step was eliminated. Roasting was carried out in fluidized beds.
Fluidized-bed roasting of phosphate rock at 700 ° C to obtain A1 and Fe phos-
phate has been reported (Anonymous, 1966). Calcining of phosphate ores
in a fluidized bed at higher temperatures than 760°C converts the carbonates
to oxides which can be leached out in a washing process (Priestly, 1967).
Studies on the upgrading of the carbonaceous Nile Valley phosphate by cal-
cination of the calcitic samples have been reported by Orphy et al. (1969}.
At the Eleventh International Mineral Processing Congress (Seminar..., 1975)
several authors tackled the beneficiation problems of calcareous phosphate
ores using flotation, leaching, and calcination. No concern was given to the
fluidized phosphate particle attrition and its consequent effect on bed behav-
iour and process performance.
The present study provides data on the important operating variables of
the thermal treatment process for upgrading the phosphate rock, particular-
ly on the attrition behaviour of the fluidized phosphate particles. These
data should be useful and essential in designing and operating larger-scale
units.

EXPERIMENTAL

Materials

A run-of-mine SIBAIYA phosphate rock was used. A detailed mineralogical

study may be found elsewhere (Phillobos, 1969). A limited mineralogical
study through microscopical examination indicated that the phosphorites
consisted mainly of phosphatic material and of carbonates, together with
minor proportions of detritic quartz. These are embedded in a scanty chemi-
cal cement consisting mainly of collophane and subordinate calcite, to-
gether with minor chalcedony. The bone apatite contains parallel streaks and
fine points of organic matter. Some of the carbonates include minute granules
of iron oxide. The chemical composition of the ore is shown in Table I, and
the loss on ignition amounted to about 19%. The ore, containing about 20%
P2Os, is considered to be of an intermediate grade. The minimum fluidization
velocities, U m f , for the different sizes of phosphate rock were determined
by pressure-drop--flow rate measurements. These velocities were determined
at room temperature. Most of the work was carried out on a run-of-mine
186

TABLE I

Chemical analysis of phosphate rock

Component Weight%

CasP20 s 45.93
Carbonates 30.34
Insolubles 11.24
Oxides 2.29
Chlorides 0.70
Sulphates 1.96
Moisture 1.83

TABLE II
Umf values for phosphate rock at room temperature

Size (mesh) --4 --6 --8 --10 --14

Umf (cm/sec) 14.6 12.2 9.7 7.3 6.3

--8 mesh phosphate ore and the Umf values are given in Table iI. The Vmf
values at higher temperatures were obtained from the values at room tem-
peratures through the use of a factor accounting for the change in air vis-
cosity (Singh et al., 1973). Air was used as the fluidizing gas.

Apparatus

An arrangement involving a perspex column was used to determine the

minimum fluidization velocities at room temperature. A sketch of the ther-
m a l t r e a t m e n t apparatus is shown in Fig.1. It consists mainly of a fluidized-
bed steel furnace of 10-cm diameter and 100-cm height. The fluidized-bed
column is terminated with an expanded section with double its diameter,
to inhibit the entrainment of solids and the elutriation of fine materials. The
fluidized phosphate bed was heated electrically through the use of a 1.25-
mm Kanthal wire. Variac transformers were used to regulate the temperature
which was measured by Chromel/Alumel thermocouples. On the average,
temperature adjustments within + 5--10°C were obtained. The furnace was
provided with facilities for carrying out the continuous runs. A belt ore
feeder was used for feeding the phosphate rock and the discharge was con-
trolled through a gate on the discharge opening.

Procedure

The work reported in this paper involves batch and continuous runs. In
batch runs a weighed charge of about 1 kg was dropped slowly into the fur-
 187

I-Control valve •
2_Pressure gouge.
3_Silica gel dryer To cyclone and exhaust
4-Flow meter. =,
5- Water manometer. I
6_Chromet /Alumel ti'lermocouple. (
7- InsuLation.
8_ Furnace
9.Fluidized bed o.f phosphate rock. J
lO_Expanded sect,on k tO /~
1 l_ Distributor . I\ / I
..... \ / J

A)!up
Fig.1. Sketch showing the apparatus for thethermal treatment of ores.
naee, after which the furnace was switched on and regulated to the required
temperature level. While heating, air flow was allowed into the phosphate
bed at about the minimum fluidization rate. This assists in speeding up the
heating process and in uniformly heating the bed. After attaining the re-
quired temperature, the run was carried out at the specified conditions. The
calcined charge was left to cool inside the closed reactor. A sample was taken
for analysis and the calcine underwent a washing process for slaking and
washing out the oxides formed from carbonate decomposition. The washing
process was carried out manually. The calcine was stirred with water, left to
settle, and then the solution was decanted. A sample from the washed cal-
cine was analysed for its P2Os content.
During the continuous operation of the calcining furnace, a belt ore feeder
was used with its hopper loaded with --8 mesh phosphate rock. The dis-
charge gate was adjusted in accordance with the feed to give the required
188

solids flow rate. After reaching steady-state conditions, the calcined ore was
quenched in water at high temperature, and samples were taken for deter-
mining the P2Os c o n t e n t of the initial, calcined, and washed ores.
A volumetric m e t h o d (Vogel, 1961; E1-Shahat, 1964) was used for the
determination of the P205 c o n t e n t of the phosphate ore samples.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The r ep o r ted investigation includes studies on the fluidized-bed roasting

and calcining o f run-of-mine phosphate rock. The studies mainly involve the
effect of the i m p o r t a n t operating variables on the thermal-treatment process.
The attrition of phosphate particles was also observed. Certain design con-
siderations will be discussed later in the paper.

Effect of temperature

In studying the effect of temperature, a --8 mesh ore was used with a bed
weight of ab o u t 1 kg giving an H/D ratio of a b o u t 2.0 for the static bed (H=
height o f bed, D = diameter of bed}. The duration of the thermal t r e a t m e n t
was ab o u t 15 minutes at the different temperatures of 500, 600, 700, 800
and 900°C. The runs at 500, 600, and 700°C m ay be considered as roasting
and those at 800 and 900°C as mainly calcining. The results are given in

TABLE III

Thermal treatment of phosphate rock at different temperatures

Temperature Umf Vf.1 Assay p e r c e n t

(° C) (cm/sec) (i/rain.)
P20s corresponding
T.C.P.

500 5.0 30 20.10 *~ 43.87

24.88 *~ 54.31
25.34 *4 55.32
600 4.6 40 19.93 43.51
25.34 55.32
26.65 58.17
700 4.3 42 19.90 43.44
25.88 56.51
27.39 59.79
800 4.0 45 19.90 43.44
26.65 58.17
29.05 63.41
900 3.8 47 20.01 43.8'7
27.45 59.92
28.19 61.54
, l V f = f l u i d i z i n g - g a s - f l o w r a t e ; , 2 l~~ l"t l"a l o r e ; *~ c a l c i n e d o r e ; , 4 c a l c i n e d a n d w a s h e d o r e .
 189

Table III. As can be seen, the P2Os content of the phosphate ore increased
from about 20 to 30%. The washing step in order to slake and remove the
oxides formed from carbonates decomposition, was most effective at 800°C.
The increase in P2Os content (A P205) was plotted against temperature, as
shown in Fig.2.

7.5

7.0

6,5

O~ 6.0 G

<3
D
5.5
Uf / Umf = 2

5.0

4.5

Z,.O
5'00 6'00 700 8'o0 '
9O0
Temperature °C
Fig. 2. Effect of process temperature on the thermal upgrading of phosphate ores.

The thermal dissociation of carbonates associated with the phosphate in-

creases with temperature, as indicated by the above results. The decompo-
sition of carbonates is an endothermic reaction and is accompanied by a loss
in weight o f the calcined ore. The ignition losses amounted to a b o u t 20% by
weight of the initial ore. These losses consist mainly of CO2 liberated by dis-
sociation of carbonates, plus the evaporated moisture and burnt-out organic
matter. This weight loss is accompanied b y an increase in porosity of the ore
particles with simultaneous decrease in mechanical strength and higher at-
trition effects.
The washing process was most effective at 800°C. At 900°C it was not
effective, probably due to the increased a m o u n t of fines. The generation of
fines may be attributed to the attrition o f the weakened phosphate par-
ticles.
190

Effect of fluidizing-gas-flow rate

The --8 mesh phosphate rock was calcined at different flow rates corre-
sponding to Uf/Umf values of 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, (Uf = fluidizing-gas velocity)
at a process temperature of a b o u t 800 ° C and H/D of about 2. The results
are given in Table IV. It can be noticed that the P:Os content of the phos-
phate increased from 20 to about 30%, in some runs, by thermal treatment
and washing. A metallurigcal balance of some runs at different flow rates is
given in Table VII. The data in the table indicates that the P2Os content of
the elutriated fines is much less than the initial phosphate, indicating that
elutriation of fines contributes to the upgrading process. The effect of flow
rate can best be shown by plotting AP2Os against Uf/Umf a s given in Fig.3.
It can be seen that there is only a slight improvement in the P2Os content
of the calcine. This may probably be due to the particle/particle interaction
which causes attrition and size degradation of the fluidized phosphate. The
extent of this effect increases with flow-rate increase. This effect improves
the degree of liberation and makes the thermal-treatment process more effi-
cient.
Besides particle/particle interaction, the flow-rate increase affects, par-
ticularly, the heat-transfer characteristics of the bed. The increase in flow
rate increases the mixing of solids (Baeyens and Geldart, 1974) and this
improves heat transfer and leads to temperature uniformity throughout the

T A B L E IV

T h e r m a l t r e a t m e n t o f p h o s p h a t e r o c k a t d i f f e r e n t flow rates at 8 0 0 ° C

Vf UflUmf Assay p e r c e n t
(l/rain.)
P20s corresponding
Ca3PiOs

20 1.02 1 9 . 9 0 .1 43.44
25.11 *= 54.81
2 6 . 2 4 *3 57.30
40 2.02 19.90 43.44
25.89 56.52
29.05 63.41
80 4.08 19.90 43.44
26.59 57.87
26.71 58.29
120 6.12 19.90 43.44
26.82 58.55
26.82 58.55
160 8.16 19.90 43.44
26.65 58.17
26.82 58.54

* ' Initial ore; ,2 calcined ore; * 3 calcined and washed ore.

 191

7C

6,5 ¸

v
L~ 6 . 0 o
0

<7
o

5.5

• = - 8 mesh

5.0

4,5 I I I I I I I I
1.0 2 3 a 5 6 7 8

Uf / Umf

Fig. 3. Effect of gas flow on the thermal upgrading process.

bed. This is very important in the present case where the endothermic reac-
tion of CaCO3 decomposition is involved in the thermal-treatment process.
The washing process was effective up to a certain flow rate as shown in
Table IV. At high flow rates it becomes ineffective; this may be attributed
to the formation of appreciable amounts of phosphate fines. These fines are
washed away, during the washing process, due to the inefficiency of decan-
tation.

Effect of air-flow rate on phosphate attrition

In examining the effect of gaseous flow rate on the attrition of fluidized

phosphate particles, the change in the particle-size distribution and the in-
crease in fines content were taken as measures. Phosphate beds of sizes --4,
--6, --8, --10 and --14 mesh were calcined at different flow rates correspond-
ing to Uf/Umf values of about 2, 4, 6 and 8. The obtained particle-size dis-
tributions, by size analysis, were divided into two main fractions; relatively
coarse from +3.15 m m to --1.0 + 0.63 m m and relatively fine from --0.63 +
0.5 to --0.20 mm. A summary of the results is given in Table V. As can be
seen from the table, the percentage of the so-called coarse fraction decreases
and the so-called fine fraction increases with flow-rate increase. The extent
192

TABLE V

Coarse and fine fractions of treated phosphate rock at different flow rates and different
size cuts

Size of Umf Vf Starting Treated phosphate at different

phosphate (cm/sec) (1/min.) phosphate flow conditions
batch
(mesh) 2 .1 4 6 8

- 4 6.1 90 30.24 *2 28.08 24.19 19.64 16.34

69.64 *3 71.91 75.81 80.39 83.66
--6 5.0 75 29.22 24.37 21.00 16.77 12.78
70.71 75.60 79.00 83.26 86.70
--8 4.0 60 28.80 22.75 19.92 16.46 13.21
71.70 76.80 80.02 83.46 86.73
-10 3.0 45 26.45 22.36 18.59 16.05 12.97
74.25 78.11 81.38 83.87 86.88
--14 2.6 40 18.33 16.50 15.20 14.00 13.30
81.63 83.60 84.80 86.60 86.70

*' Uf/Umf values.

,2 The coarse fraction (from +3.15 to -1.0 + 0.63 ram).
,3 The fine fraction (from--0.63 + 0.5 to --0.20 ram).

o f this e f f e c t decreases as the size o f t h e p h o s p h a t e b a t c h decreases f r o m - - 4

to - - 1 4 mesh. This m a y be a t t r i b u t e d t o the d e c r e a s e d average particle size
and t h e increased a m o u n t o f original fines w h i c h serve as a l u b r i c a n t b e t w e e n
the c o a r s e r particles a n d gives m o r e u n i f o r m fluidization. T h e p r e s e n c e of
fines r e d u c e s particle a t t r i t i o n ( Z a b r o d s k y , 1966).
A m o r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e p i c t u r e o f t h e b e h a v i o u r can be o b t a i n e d b y p l o t t i n g
the t o t a l particle size d i s t r i b u t i o n s at t h e d i f f e r e n t f l o w c o n d i t i o n s . E x a m p l e s
of such p l o t s are given in Figs. 4 a n d 5 f o r - - 4 a n d - - 6 m e s h sizes.
The behaviour explained above may be attributed to attrition effects
w h i c h are e n h a n c e d w i t h friable ores. I n v o l v e d in t h e causes o f a t t r i t i o n are
the p a r t i c l e / p a r t i c l e i n t e r a c t i o n a n d particle collision w i t h the walls o f t h e
c o n t a i n e r . This a t t r i t i o n is n o t a c o n t r o l l e d a t t r i t i o n and it was n o t t a k e n in-
to c o n s i d e r a t i o n in designing t h e fluidized-bed u n i t f o r t h e r m a l t r e a t m e n t .
T h e increased degree o f l i b e r a t i o n a n d t h e increased a m o u n t o f fines d u e to
a t t r i t i o n are a c c o m p a n i e d b y increased e l u t r i a t i o n effects, p a r t i c u l a r l y at high
gas-flow rates. T h e a b o v e a t t r i t i o n b e h a v i o u r a n d e x t e n t indicate t h a t a t t r i t i o n
e f f e c t s c a n n o t be ignored in t h e design a n d o p e r a t i o n o f f l u i d i z e d - b e d u n i t s
for thermal t r e a t m e n t of phosphate rock.

Effect o f quenching temperature

T h e e f f e c t o f q u e n c h i n g t e m p e r a t u r e was s t u d i e d during t h e c o n t i n u o u s
o p e r a t i o n o f the calcining furnace. T h e q u e n c h i n g o f the calcined p h o s p h a t e
in w a t e r c o n v e r t s t h e c a l c i u m a n d m a g n e s i u m oxides, f o r m e d f r o m carbo-
 193

o i n i t i a l run of mine ore of size-4 mesh

zL p r o c e s s e d = 2

15
;totes °'
Uf /Umf
=4
=6
m values of =8

0J

10
Y:
ol

I
2.6 2.4 21.2 2'0 1.8 1.6 1'.4 1',2 110 0.'8 0.16 0.~4 O.2
p a r t i c l e size , m m
Fig.4. E f f e c t o f gas f l o w o n t h e a t t r i t i o n o f p h o s p h a t e r o c k (--4 mesh).

nate decomposition, into hydroxides. The quenching temperature is im-

portant with regard to recarbonation and it should be highoenough to mini-
mize recarbonation of the calcined phosphate. The effect of quenching tem-
perature was studied at three temperature levels: 450, 600 and 800°C. The
calcination was carried out at a temperature of about 800°C and a flow rate
of about double that for minimum fluidization. The results are given in
Table VI at two values of the H/D ratio. As can be seen from the table, the
quenching temperature has no effect on the process product within the range
investigated, and thus there is no fear of recarbonation.

Design considerations

In designing fluidized-bed units for thermal treatment of phosphate rock,

the friable nature of many phosphate ores raises some problems. The most
important of these is the increased attrition of such ores with the generation
of appreciable amounts of fines and its consequences. Even with less friable
and more dense ores, the solid decomposition reactions occurring weaken
the solids strength and enhance attrition. The consequences of attrition and
fines generation include the need for complicated heavy-duty dust separa-
tion equipment to avoid any environmental pollution problems, and the
disturbance of the system performance. The extent of attrition of solids
194

initial run of mine ore of size - 6 mesh

15 v 1 Processed = 2
a I ores at =4
x / U f l Umf =6
Jvalues of =8

c
u
10

2_

[ I l L
2.6 214 212 210 II+8 I]6 11.4 1.2 1,0 O,B 01.6 0L4 0*.2
pclrticle s i z e , mm
Fig.5. Effect o f gas f l o w on the attrition of phosphate rock (--6 mesh).

T A B L E VI

P~O 5 c o n t e n t o f calcine quenched at different temperatures

H/D Quenching temperature (° C)

450 600 800

4.0 20.10 .1 20.10 20.10

25.59 *2 25.59 25.59
28.81 *3 28.93 28.98
6.0 20.10 20.10 20.10
26.36 26.36 26.36
28.87 28.98 29.04

, i Initial ore; ,2 calcined ore; ,3 calcined and washed ore.

may be decreased through the consideration of certain design and operating

aspects (Doheim et al., 1976).
Another important design aspect is the necessity of multi-staging for, at
least, energy economy. The thermal efficiency of the fluidized-bed treat-
ment of phosphate ores increases with multi-staging. In designing multi-stage
T A B L E VII

Metallurgical balance of s o m e r u n s *a d u r i n g p h o s p h a t e r o c k c a l c i n a t i o n

Product Weight (g) Weight (%) Assay (% PsOs) D i s t r i b u t i o n (% P~O s )

2 *~ 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8

Non-Calcined 930 930 930 930 100 100 100 100 19.9 19.9 19.9 19.9 100 100 100 100
ore
Calcined ore 645 637 638 562 69.35 68.49 68.78 60.43 25.89 26159 26.82 26.65 98.36 98.24 97.75 96.89
Elutriated 18 20 24 31 1.94 2.15 2.58 3.33 15.4 15.2 15.3 15.6 1.64 1.76 2.25 3.11
ore
Unaccounted 267 273 268 337 28.71 29.36 28.64 36.24 . . . .
lo~m*3
100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

*~ Temp. --'- 800° C, --8 mesh size, H/D "-- 2.

** These figures stand for Uf/Umf values.
*s U n a c c o u n t e d loss includes organic matter, CO, f r o m carbonates, moisture, c h e m i c a l l y b o u n d water, a n d fine dust loss.

cD
c~
196

fluidized-bed systems, there are many problems which include: gas distribu-
tor plates, solid transfer system from a bed to a lower one, and the working
stability (Lago et al., 1967). A design procedure for multi-stage systems of
industrial application is given by Toei and Akao (1968). Their fluidized-bed
apparatus is characterised by having perforated plates instead of the conven-
tional overflow pipes (down-comers). Improved stability is expected with
the system having perforated plates.

CONCLUSIONS

The fluidized bed technique is very efficient in the thermal treatment of

phosphate ores having high contents of carbonaceous and calcareous matter,
giving an appreciable degree of upgrading. The upgrading efficiency of the
technique increases as the degree of liberation of the ore increases. The in-
crease in process temperature favourably affects the % upgrading of the ore
but this should be studied in close connection with the economic aspects,
especially with ores with low carbonaceous matter contents. The fluidizing
gas-flow rate and thus the hydrodynamic condition of the bed slightly af-
fects the thermal upgrading process. However, the use of high air-flow rates
was found to affect the particle-size distribution of the bed greatly through
increasing the extent of attrition. The attrition generates an appreciable amount
of fines.
The quenching temperature is an important parameter with regard to re-
carbonation but it was found to have no effect on the process product with-
in the investigated range. The washing of the calcined ore was inefficient
with the fine sizes and at low temperatures.

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