Sedimentation and rheological behavior of reactive and non-reactive magnesium hydroxide pulps for industrial spray dryer processing

Two different reactive concentrated magnesium hydroxide (HM) pulps, produced in a lab reactor mill, and a synthetic and non-reactive HM-pulp, for comparative analyses, have been prepared and studied. Sodium polyacrylate was selected as a dispersant for improving the HM pulp fluidity, with concentrations varying from 0.42% to 2.0% on a dry basis. The two reactive pulps differed from each other mainly by the impurity level and for both, a residual MgO amount was detected, implying that the hydration reaction could proceed. Results (with and without dispersant) confirmed the formation of particle clusters as HM concentration rose until a critical value, above which the pulp behaved as a solid. Reactive HM-pulps with high impurities may represent a limiting factor in the drying operation. Among all HM-pulps studied, the purest reactive pulp with 1% dispersant presented the best flow behavior making this reactive pulp the most suitable to be tested in a pilot spray dryer.