Efficient removal of iron from red gypsum via synergistic regulation of gypsum phase transformation and iron speciation

Red gypsum is a type of iron-rich gypsum residue originated from industrial titanium dioxide process using Ilmenite. Currently, it has a low rate of comprehensive utilization about 20%, and deep removal of iron impurity is the crucial factor that directly limits its multipurpose utilization. In this study, the iron was efficiently removed from red gypsum residue by synergistic controlling the phase transformation of gypsum and the iron speciation under hydrothermal conditions. The iron removal efficiency was more than 99% under the optimized treatment condition (i.e. liquid-solid ratio of 10, with 1.5 M HCl as mineralizer, heating at 140 °C for 6 h). The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses showed that the phase transformation and crystal growth of gypsum accelerated by H+ was the essential reasons to fully remove iron. Moreover, H+ also provided acidic conditions (pH < 1) to change the iron speciation from amorphous oxide or hydroxide fine particles into soluble Fe3+ which release into the solution and easy to be removed by solid-liquid separation. In this work, based on the synergistic regulation of gypsum phase transformation and iron speciation, a feasible method for deep removal of iron from red gypsum was proposed, which is conducive to broadening the comprehensive utilization range of red gypsum. This work would inspire the treatment and resource utilization of industrial gypsum residues containing other contaminants or impurities, including heavy metals and organic matters.