Production of Gypsum from Clam Shells and Waste Acid Recovered from End-of-Life Lead Acid Batteries

Authors

  • James Ransford Dankwah University of Mines and Technology
  • Hilarus Dela Gohoho Ghana Standards Authority

Keywords:

Gypsum, Lead acid batteries, Pulverised clamshells, Waste battery acid, Extent of Calcination

Abstract

Gypsum exists in the Dihydrate (CaSO4 2H2O), Hemihydrate (CaSO4. ½H2O) and the Anhydrite (CaSO4) forms. The exploitation of the natural rock form deposit of gypsum is on the increase, necessitating the need to find alternative and efficient sources of gypsum so as to sustain all the industries dependent on gypsum as raw material. This work investigates the production of gypsum from clamshells and waste sulphuric acid from end-of-life car batteries. Clamshells obtained from the Volta Region of Ghana were calcined at a temperature of about 1150 ˚C with a view to producing CaO which was pulverised to particle size of 87.4 % passing 106 μm. Samples of the Pulverised Clam Shells (PCS) were then reacted with five different concentrations of the Waste Battery Acid (WBA). The reaction was observed to be very exothermic; a temperature of 101 ˚C was obtained for the 6.5 M concentration of WBA. The resulting mixture was filtered and an XRD analysis was performed on the oven dried residue to ascertain its composition. The findings from the work evaluated that the purity of CaO produced is dependent on the calcination temperature and time; this is evident in the mass of the dried residue obtained to be an average of 134 grams and the peaks of SiO2 from the XRD analysis. The CaCO3 peaks also indicated that the reaction between PCS and WBA was incomplete. Conclusively, the results from the XRD analysis showed peaks of the three forms of gypsum that was successfully produced.

Author Biography

James Ransford Dankwah, University of Mines and Technology

Associate Professor and Head, Minerals Engineering Department

References

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Published

2019-06-29

Issue

Section

Minerals Eng. Articles