Preparation of Y-Alumina from Kankara Kaolin in Nigeria by Acid Leaching Using Hydrochloric Acid

Investigation has been done concerning Kaolin based alumina prepared by acid leaching method. This was initially fired at 600℃ for 4 hours to increase its reactivity. For better yield Hydrochloric Acid ( HCl) was used for the digestion as against the conventional Sulphuric acid (H2SO4). The gelatinous precipitate of the hydrated alumina was further filtered under vacuum 400°C for 2h, which resulted the formation of γ-alumina. The structure of γ-alumina was confirmed by XRD and its corresponding diffractogram parameters and SEM and the mean particles size of γ-alumina was determined by SEM to be 3 - 9 μm.. Foamy agglomerates at low magnification and the presence of larger voids in theirs structures at high magnification were visible from the SEM images. The study revealed that kaolin could be promising material for preparation of γ-alumina