Chemical beneficiation of phosphatic limestone and phosphate rock with .alpha.-hydroxysulfonic acids

A process for removing calcite and dolomite from calcined, uncalcined phosphate rock, phosphatic limestone, or mixtures thereof, which contains up to about 60 percent calcite and up to about 60 percent dolomite by the use of sulfur dioxide, water, and cyclohexanone which comprises the following steps:

• (1) mixing said phosphate rock, said phosphatic limestone, or both, with water, sulfur dioxide and cyclohexanone while maintaining the temperature of said reaction mixture between 60.degree. C. and 90.degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to add up to about 50 percent excess sulfur dioxide over the stoichiometric amount required to form magnesium and calcium bisulfite salts wherein for each 100 g of solvent used, phosphate rock or phosphatic limestone containing about 1 to 15 grams of dolomite is used and wherein the cyclohexanone concentration of the water-cyclohexanone solvent ranges from 4.8 percent to 23 percent;
• (2) separating the solids from the liquid from step 1, supra;
• (3) drying said solids from step 2, supra;
• (4) condensing gaseous products from step 3, supra, and returning said condensate to step 1, supra;
• (5) distilling filtrate from step 2 supra until the distillate temperature reaches about 55.degree. C.;
• (6) condensing the distillate from step 5 supra and returning said condensate to step 1, supra;
• (7) separating calcium sulfite hemihydrate from the undistilled filtrate of step 5, supra;
• (8) heating the separated calcium sulfite hemihydrate of step 7, supra, to remove sulfur dioxide, water, and cyclohexanone from the calcium sulfite;
• (9) condensing the offgas from step 8, supra, and returning it to step 1, supra;
• (10) distilling sulfur dioxide, water, and cyclohexanone from the filtrate of step 7, supra, until the distillate temperature reaches between about 90.degree. C. and about 100.degree. C.;
• (11) separating magnesium sulfite trihydrate from the undistilled liquid of step 10, supra;
• and
• (12) returning the liquid back to step 1, supra;
• (13) condensing the distillate step 10, supra, and returning the condensate back to step 1, supra;
• (14) heating the separated magnesium sulfite crystals recovered from step 11, supra;
• (15) condensing the offgas from step 14, supra;
• and
• (16) returning the condensate to step 1, supra.