Data for: Extraction of Alumina from Kaolin by a combination of Pyrometallurgical and Hydrometallurgical Processes

This paper studies the extraction of alumina from the crude kaolin excavated from the Irkutsk region, Russia through the leaching process, using aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate as a leaching agent. Before the leaching process, the crude kaolin and limestone charge was sintered.

The sintering process achieves the dehydroxylation of the kaolinite, which is the main mineralogical phase in the kaolin and activates its transformation to metakaolin. Metakaolin is an amorphous Al-Si phase, from which alumina could be easily leached. The annealed sintered material transform into dust that is suitable for the leaching process without any additional grinding.