Patent ID: 8967383
Filing Date: 2015-03-03
Classification: C01B,C04B

Abstract:
1. A process for treating mined kaolin, said process comprising: (a) providing a kaolin material comprising kaolin clay and titania with titania-associated impurities, wherein said kaolin material has a crude brightness less than 90; (b) blunging said kaolin material with water at high shear to form a slurry; (c) introducing said slurry to one or more beneficiation units for flocculation of said titania and said titania-associated impurities; (d) introducing a sodium silicate composition, or precursors thereof, to said one or more beneficiation units, wherein said sodium silicate composition has a Na (e) recovering a suspension comprising at least 70% of said kaolin clay and subjecting said suspension to one or more chemical leaching reactions to generate a treated kaolin that has a brightness of about 90 or higher.