Microwave hydrothermal sulfuric acid leaching of spent cathode carbon from aluminum electrolysis for high efficiency removal of insoluble calcium fluoride

Toxic substances, like fluoride salts present in spent cathode carbon (SCC), have been a great risk to the environment and public health. Our approach involves alkali leaching to eliminate soluble fluoride, followed by microwave hydrothermal acid leaching to efficiently remove insoluble CaF₂ from SCC. The optimized conditions, including a temperature of 353 K, a solid–liquid ratio of 1:20, and a 60-minute reaction time, resulted in an impressive 95.6 % removal of fluoride from SCC. Various characterization techniques were employed to analyze the composition, micro-morphology, and elemental content of the materials before and after the leaching process. Furthermore, critical process parameters on the leaching separation of insoluble CaF₂ during microwave hydrothermal acid leaching were systematically investigated. The study removal mechanism revealed the transformation of insoluble CaF₂ in the process of microwave oxidation insertion-hydrothermal acid leaching for SCC. The kinetic characteristics of the two-stage leaching process of CaF₂ at different temperatures were analyzed according to the shrinkage kernel model. The results indicate that the two-stage leaching process of CaF₂ is affected by mixing control and by diffusion control, severally. The expansion of the graphite flake layer of SCC through oxidative intercalation was identified as a critical process for the thorough removal of CaF₂. Microwave hydrothermal acid leaching demonstrated a 17 % improvement over traditional hydrothermal acid leaching within the same reaction time, showcasing a noteworthy enhancement in fluoride removal. Consequently, the microwave oxidizing intercalation-hydrothermal acid leaching treatment of SCC, as explored in this study, offers an effective approach for achieving deep defluoridation of SCC.