Green Process for Industrial Waste Transformation into Super-Oxidizing Materials Named Alkali Metal Ferrates (VI)
The investigation presented here features the design of a cleaner and greener chemical process for the conversion of industrial wastes into super-oxidizing materials. The waste of interest is the iron sulfate heptahydrate (FeSO4·7H2O) mainly generated through the sulfate route used for titanium dioxide industrial production. The products of this transformation process are alkali ferrates (A2FeO4, A = Na, K) containing iron in its hexavalent state and considered as powerful oxidants characterized by properties useful for cleaning waters, wastewaters, and industrial effluents. The proposed process includes two steps: (i) The first step consisting of the pre-mixing of two solids (AOH with FeSO4·xH2O) in a rotary reactor allowing the coating of iron sulfate in the alkali hydroxides through solid–solid reactions; and (ii) the second step involves the synthesis of alkali ferrates in a fluidized bed by oxidation of the single solid obtained in the first step in diluted chlorine. The chemical synthesis of alkali ferrates can be carried out within a timeframe of a few minutes. The usage of a fluidized bed enhanced the energy and mass transfer allowing a quasi-complete control of the ferrate synthesis process. The alkali ferrate synthesis process described here possesses many characteristics aligned with the principles of the “green chemistry”.