Process of separating asbestos fibers and product thereof
AssigneeICI Australia Limited
InventorsVictor J. Absolon, George T. Hurst, John C. Worboys, George H. Barnett, Ross P. Dickson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process of separating fibres from asbestos-bearing material which process comprises the steps by treating said asbestos-bearing material with a chemical agent capable of reacting with, or adsorbing on, asbestos fibres to form a dispersion, and agglomerating said dispersion. The process gives high yields of novel fibres characterized in that the said fibres provide reinforcement in cementitious compositions.
Claims43
A process for separating asbestos fibres from asbestos-bearing material selected from the group consisting of crude ore, fibre concentrates, mine wastes and tailings, which process includes the following steps:
- (1) a contacting step where the asbestos-bearing material is treated with a solution containing a surfactant adsorbable on or reactable with asbestos to form a viscous slurry dispersion,
- (2) a mechanical fiberising step,
- (3) a dilution step to reduce slurry viscosity without inducing coagulation of the fibres,
- (4) a classification step to remove unwanted grit,
- (5) a slurry dilution step sufficient to induce coagulation of fibres and form stringy fibre agglomerates, and
- (6) a dewatering step to recover the asbestos fibres.
A process according to claim 51 wherein the recovered asbestos fibres are treated with a solution of an alkaline reagent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.