Phase equilibrium
of ternary system K2O–Al2O3–H2O is the key in realizing
seeded precipitation process of aluminum hydroxide product from alkaline
leaching solution in the alunite tailings metallurgical industry.
However, little work has been carried out about the solubility of
the K2O–Al2O3–H2O system, especially for the concentrated alkali solution
region. The corresponding phase equilibria at 323.15, 333.15, 343.15,
and 353.15 K were researched by using the isothermal dissolution method
and the Pitzer ion-interaction model. The calculated Al2O3·3H2O solubilities corresponding to
the crystallization region of Al2O3·3H2O in the ternary system at each temperature basically agree
with experimental values when K2O concentration is below
30 wt %. Furthermore, the ternary system at each temperature contains
two invariant points, three univariant isothermal dissolution curves,
and five crystallization fields corresponding to Al2O3·3H2O (gibbsite), K2O·Al2O3·3H2O, KOH·H2O, Al2O3·3H2O + K2O·Al2O3·3H2O, and K2O·Al2O3·3H2O +
KOH·H2O. According to the phase diagrams of the ternary
system, it can be indicated that the low alkali concentration and
temperature are in favor of the crystallization of Al2O3·3H2O, while the high alkali concentration
and low temperature are beneficial to the crystallization of K2O·Al2O3·3H2O.