Production of Antimony White
Antimony white, chemically known as antimony trioxide, is also called antimony oxide or antimonous anhydride. At room temperature, it is a white crystalline powder that turns yellow when heated and turns white again after cooling. Antimony white has two crystalline forms: one is cubic and the other is orthorhombic. In nature, they exist as valentinite and senarmontite respectively.
Cubic antimony trioxide has a density of 5.2 g/cm³ and transforms into orthorhombic form when heated to 550-577℃. Therefore, cubic antimony trioxide is the thermodynamically low-temperature stable crystal form, while orthorhombic is the thermodynamically high-temperature stable crystal form.
Orthorhombic antimony trioxide has a density of 5.67 g/cm³, a melting point of 656℃, and a boiling point of 1425℃.
Antimony trioxide is an amphoteric oxide. Its basicity is stronger than that of arsenic trioxide. It is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in dilute sulfuric acid or dilute nitric acid, but soluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid, concentrated sulfuric acid, concentrated nitric acid, concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, sodium sulfide solution, and tartaric acid solution. Inhalation of antimony trioxide can irritate the respiratory system and irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. Skin contact can cause dermatitis.
Industrially produced antimony white is widely used in the enamel, pigment, paint, plastic, glass, ceramic, papermaking, pharmaceutical, and flame retardant industries.
Pure antimony white is not only an opacifier for enamel but also an excellent opacifying agent. It ensures that enamel products have good surface coverage and gloss. The conventional dosage is generally 7%-15% of the total enamel.
The production methods of antimony white are divided into two categories: the dry method and the wet method. Based on the raw materials, equipment, production processes, and product applications used, both dry and wet processes can be further divided into many different methods.
In the wet antimony white production process, antimony concentrate or crude antimony oxygen powder is generally used as the raw material. The raw material is first reacted with hydrochloric acid and FeCL 3 and other oxidizing agents to convert it into antimony trichloride. The purified antimony trichloride is then hydrolyzed and ammonolyzed to obtain the product.
In the dry method for producing antimony white, refined antimony is usually used as a raw material. Pure antimony white is obtained through steps such as melting, oxidative volatilization, and rapid cooling. The dry method can also use high-grade antimony sulfide concentrate with very low harmful impurities as raw materials to produce products that meet user requirements through direct oxidative volatilization. However, since high-grade antimony sulfide concentrates are very rare, this process is rarely used in industrial production.
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