Karakterisasi dan kinetika kalsinasi dolomit characterization and kinetics of dolomite calcination

Calcination is a key processing step to increase added value of dolomite to many end-products, including as a feedstock for magnesium metal, as a flux for steelmaking, and refractory bricks. This research dealt with calcination of dolomite from Gresik, East Java. Calcination was carried out in a tubular reactor with a diameter of 3 cm, at an atmospheric pressure and using nitrogen as an elusion gas with the rate of 50 mL/min. Reaction temperature was varied at 700, 800 and 900C and the reactions were carried out for 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours. The conversion of dolomite calcination reaches 98 to 99% as the calcination conducted at 800 and 900C. The experimental results were presented using various kinetics models. The diffusion Ginstling-Brounshtein model was found as the best for describing the calcination reaction, which implied the reaction was controlled by internal diffusion of reactants. For the Ginstling-Brounshtein model, the apparent activation energy of dolomite calcination was found to be 77.07 kJ/mol.