EVALUATION OF CRYOLITE FROM PITINGA (AMAZONAS-BRAZIL) AS A SOURCE OF HYDROGEN FLUORIDE

This paper reports the use of cryolite from the Pitinga Mine (Amazonas state, Brazil) as raw material in hydrogen fluoride production. Samples were initially characterized by chemical and mineralogical analyses. They presented low silica content (< 4 wt.%). After milling, cryolite samples were digested with concentrated sulfuric acid under stirring (200 rpm) and variable temperature, time and liquid to solid ratio conditions. Under the best experimental conditions (140 °C, 3-5 h), 96 wt.% of fluorine was recovered as hydrogen fluoride. The application of a 23 full factorial design showed that temperature and reaction time were relevant parameters during leaching, whereas liquid to solid ratio was not statistically significant