Dissolving behavior and calcium release from fibrous wollastonite in acetic acid solution

The degradability of fibrous wollastonite (CaSiO3) in an aqueous solution of acetic acid and leaching of Ca2+ ions were investigated in the temperature range from 22 to 50 °C. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used for the assessment of calcium and other selected cations in the leaching medium. The amount of calcium in the solvent can be significantly enhanced through leaching at higher temperature. Fibrous silica particles are the main by-product of the leaching process. The properties of by-product were examined by thermal analysis (simultaneous TG-DTA-EGA), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The formation of silica layer on the surface of fibrous wollastonite particles is an important factor in the leaching process. Particles were covered by the silica layer and wollastonite core size was continually decreasing during leaching. The shape of resulting silica particles shows no significant changes during this process. Specific surface of the formed fibrous silica particles strongly depends on the leaching temperature.