Beneficiation of Kaolins by Hydrocycloning

Kaolin is a white clay, formed by hydrated aluminum silicates, which has several industrial applications. Since it is associated to impurities and presents considerable contents of contaminant elements that interfere in its performance and in its applications, kaolin must pass through a beneficiation process in order to meet the market's demands. The purpose of this work is to study the use of a hydrocyclone in the beneficiation of primary kaolins from Província Pegmatítica da Borborema. The samples were characterized by cation-exchange capacity (CEC), granulometric analysis by laser diffraction (GA), chemical composition by X-ray fluorescence (EDX), X-ray diffraction (DRX), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The purification process did not show good results for kaolin in ABNT 200 mesh in the attempt to obtain colloidal kaolin. On the other hand, it presented very promising results for the beneficiation of raw kaolin, proving the feasibility of the application of this technology to the granulometric classification of this mineral, being an alternative route for the processes adopted in the regional kaolin beneficiation plants, which use washing and sieving.