Influence on Ratio of NaOH/ZrSiO4 in Alkali Fusion for Amang Zircon Sand

Amang Zircon Sand from Amang Onn Sdn. Bhd. mineral company has a high composition of zirconium at 61.63 wt% and low silicon composition at 4.90 wt%. The high composition of zirconium in Amang zircon sand indicates the possibility to synthesise it into a zirconia. Zirconium was synthesised using alkali fusion method with different ratio of NaOH/ZrSiO4 to determine the optimum ratio based on the zirconium yield. Alkali fusion method is coupled with thermal treatment as it will produce a higher yield of zirconium with lower impurities. Then it will be leached with deionised water and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The synthesised zirconium was characterised through X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size distribution (PSD) analysis. The XRF analysis after the fusion and thermal treatment shows a high composition of zirconium as well as great reduction of silicon. 1.2NaOH/ZrSiO4 is determined to be the optimum ratio as it has the lowest silicon impurity of 2.11 wt% and high yield of zirconium at 71.40 wt%. The low impurities will reduce the chance of cracking and maximising the efficiency of zirconia. It is supported by XRD patterns that are dominated by high zirconium peaks. The zirconium oxychloride obtained after acid leaching has a high zirconium composition. This shows that it is possible to use Amang zircon sand as a precursor to synthesis a zirconia using alkali fusion method with sodium hydroxide.