A Review on Removal of Iron Impurities from Quartz Mineral

Abstract

Iron is one of the most stubborn impurities in quartz minerals, and the iron content partly determines the various applications of quartz. Iron can exist in quartz in the forms of iron minerals, fluid inclusions, and lattice impurities. The removal of iron and the consequent purification of quartz minerals are the key processes to obtaining high-quality quartz. Iron removal methods including conventional pre-treatment, magnetic separation, acid leaching, microbiological, roasting, and flotation, as well as combined iron removal methods in quartz ore, are herein summarized. The separation mechanism of quartz and iron impurities and the latest research progress were explained and summarized, and the development prospects of quartz purification in the future were proposed based on the current progress and limitations of quartz iron removal.

Advanced Processing Techniques and Impurity Management for High-Purity Quartz in Diverse Industrial Applications

“…Acid leaching emerges as a formidable method for addressing impurities such as iron, aluminum, and inclusions [75,76]. It is frequently harnessed to expunge thin-film iron from quartz particle surfaces and iron impurities nestled within quartz particles, in addition to other deleterious impurities [77].…”

Migration Mechanisms of Al3+/Li+ Lattice Impurities during Phase Transition from α-Quartz to β-Quartz: An Implication for Purification of High-Purity Quartz

“…Normally, quartz and gangue minerals (such as mica, feldspar, limonite, hematite, etc.) can be easily separated via a flotation process [3][4][5], while the impure elements in quartz lattices are the most difficult to remove [6]. Previous studies indicated that there are two kinds of lattice impurities [7][8][9][10], i.e., lattice substitution impurities, such as Si 4+ substituted by Al 3+ , Ga 3+ , Fe 3+ , B 3+ , Ge 4+ , Ti 4+ and P 5+ , in which Al 3+ is the most common ion due to its abundant reserves in Earth's crust and similar ionic radius to Si 4+ (0.54 Å vs. 0.40 Å) [11].…”