DEMONSTRATION TRIAL OF AN IMPROVED BAYER LIQUOR ANALYSIS METHOD

Karakyriakos, E., van Emden, B., Finn, M.C., Patrick, R.A., Audet, D.R., Chandrawana, I., Patrick, V.A.

An infra-red based method for Bayer liquor analysis which requires no titrations, liquor dilution or additional reagents was used to analyse a series of process and synthetic Bayer liquors. The results from infra-red liquor analysis were compared with measurements conducted by Rio Tinto Alcan using current routine methods of analysis. The results from the new analysis and from conventional methods showed a close correlation.

A single analytical measurement provided results for alumina, total caustic, total soda, total organic carbon (TOC), chloride, sulfate and liquor density. The same infra-red analysis can include the measurement of organics such as oxalate, acetate, succinate, malonate and formate. The overall measurement time for the infra-red analysis, including automated cleaning and sample delivery, was less than five minutes.

The trial showed that the same infra-red technique can be used to estimate the extent of organic breakdown in Bayer liquors. A factor was derived from the spectral data to estimate the relative amounts of lower to higher molecular weight organics within the liquor.