Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns
Magnesium has been listed among the 30 critical raw materials by the European Union. In recent years, many green and sustainable alternative Mg<sup>2+</sup> sources have been sought to satisfy the EU’s demand and to avoid mineral ore consumption. In this context, saltwork bitterns, the b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/1/29 |
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| author | Giuseppe Battaglia Maria Alda Domina Rita Lo Brutto Julio Lopez Rodriguez Marc Fernandez de Labastida Jose Luis Cortina Alberto Pettignano Andrea Cipollina Alessandro Tamburini Giorgio Micale |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Battaglia Maria Alda Domina Rita Lo Brutto Julio Lopez Rodriguez Marc Fernandez de Labastida Jose Luis Cortina Alberto Pettignano Andrea Cipollina Alessandro Tamburini Giorgio Micale |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Battaglia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Magnesium has been listed among the 30 critical raw materials by the European Union. In recent years, many green and sustainable alternative Mg<sup>2+</sup> sources have been sought to satisfy the EU’s demand and to avoid mineral ore consumption. In this context, saltwork bitterns, the by-products of solar sea salt production, have attracted much attention thanks to their high Mg<sup>2+</sup> concentrations (up to 80 g/L) and low Ca<sup>2+</sup> and bicarbonate contents (<0.5 g/L). Although investigations on Mg<sup>2+</sup> extraction from bitterns in the form of Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) have already been performed, product purity has never been properly addressed. Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) is a chemical compound of great interest and extensive utility in numerous industrial applications only if the powder’s purity is >95% (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>). This work presents a comprehensive experimental effort of reactive precipitation tests with NaOH solutions at stoichiometric and over-stoichiometric concentrations to: (i) assess the technical feasibility of Mg<sup>2+</sup> recovery from real bitterns collected in saltworks of the Trapani district (Italy) and, (ii) for the first time, conduct an extensive purity investigation of the precipitated magnesium hydroxide powders as brucite. This experimental investigation demonstrates the possibility of extracting highly valuable compounds from saltwork bittern waste, embracing the water valorization and resource recovery approach. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:49:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57b788b0a5bc4b4d934b8da3ec9377b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:49:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-57b788b0a5bc4b4d934b8da3ec9377b12023-11-30T23:16:19ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-12-011512910.3390/w15010029Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork BitternsGiuseppe Battaglia0Maria Alda Domina1Rita Lo Brutto2Julio Lopez Rodriguez3Marc Fernandez de Labastida4Jose Luis Cortina5Alberto Pettignano6Andrea Cipollina7Alessandro Tamburini8Giorgio Micale9Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica e Chimica—Emilio Segrè, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyUPC-BarcelonaTECH, 08930 Barcelona, SpainUPC-BarcelonaTECH, 08930 Barcelona, SpainUPC-BarcelonaTECH, 08930 Barcelona, SpainDipartimento di Fisica e Chimica—Emilio Segrè, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, ItalyMagnesium has been listed among the 30 critical raw materials by the European Union. In recent years, many green and sustainable alternative Mg<sup>2+</sup> sources have been sought to satisfy the EU’s demand and to avoid mineral ore consumption. In this context, saltwork bitterns, the by-products of solar sea salt production, have attracted much attention thanks to their high Mg<sup>2+</sup> concentrations (up to 80 g/L) and low Ca<sup>2+</sup> and bicarbonate contents (<0.5 g/L). Although investigations on Mg<sup>2+</sup> extraction from bitterns in the form of Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) have already been performed, product purity has never been properly addressed. Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) is a chemical compound of great interest and extensive utility in numerous industrial applications only if the powder’s purity is >95% (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>). This work presents a comprehensive experimental effort of reactive precipitation tests with NaOH solutions at stoichiometric and over-stoichiometric concentrations to: (i) assess the technical feasibility of Mg<sup>2+</sup> recovery from real bitterns collected in saltworks of the Trapani district (Italy) and, (ii) for the first time, conduct an extensive purity investigation of the precipitated magnesium hydroxide powders as brucite. This experimental investigation demonstrates the possibility of extracting highly valuable compounds from saltwork bittern waste, embracing the water valorization and resource recovery approach.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/1/29Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s)bruciteprecipitationmineral recoverycircular economyseawater valorization |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Battaglia Maria Alda Domina Rita Lo Brutto Julio Lopez Rodriguez Marc Fernandez de Labastida Jose Luis Cortina Alberto Pettignano Andrea Cipollina Alessandro Tamburini Giorgio Micale Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns Water Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) brucite precipitation mineral recovery circular economy seawater valorization |
| title | Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Purity of Magnesium Hydroxide Recovered from Saltwork Bitterns |
| title_sort | evaluation of the purity of magnesium hydroxide recovered from saltwork bitterns |
| topic | Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>(s) brucite precipitation mineral recovery circular economy seawater valorization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/1/29 |
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