Name the process how potassium nitrate can be separated from a mixture of potassium nitrate and potassium chloride ?
Answers
The present invention provides a process for manufacture of potassium nitrate from potassium chloride and nitric acid. A source of potassium chloride may be screened and separated into fine and coarse fractions, or the screening may be eliminated and the source may be separated into equal coarse fractions. The coarse fraction, when screening has occurred, or one of the equal fractions, where no screening has occurred, is dissolved in a dilute solution of nitric acid prior to any reaction. Thereafter, either the fine fraction (if screening occurred) or the other equal fraction (if no screening occurred) reacts with the dilute nitric acid-potassium chloride solution and additional nitric acid having a concentration of about 60% at ambient temperature. The resulting solution may be crystallized with or without the prior separation of solid potassium nitrate. Nitric acid is recovered by solvents from a residual brine solution after crystallization. The recovered nitric acid is washed to provide a nitric acid solution having a concentration of 3% to 10% which is recycled for use at the beginning of the process to dissolve the coarse fraction of potassium chloride prior to the reaction stage.