Kinetic study of celestite reduction by methane

Abstract

Strontium carbonate is an important industrial material. Conventional method of SrCO₃ preparation is based on high temperature reduction of celestite (natural strontium sulphate) by coal. This method produces a great amount of CO₂ (greenhouse gas). This research offers a new clean method for the production of SrCO₃ with methane as the reducing agent. This new process can decrease the CO₂ emission up to 50%. In this work the kinetics of SrSO₄ reduction by CH₄ was studied between 850 and 1000°C by thermogravimetry. The gaseous products of the reaction were also detected by an online mass spectrometer. Then by applying the grain model, the kinetic parameters were determined. These parameters are essential for design of the industrial plants. This study shows other advantages such as lower operating temperatures, condition with no ash as impurity and the decrease in residence time with respect to the common coal based method.

Keywords:

• STRONTIUM CARBONATE
• CELESTITE
• METHANE REDUCTION
• KINETIC STUDY
• CLEAN PROCESS
• REDUCED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION