Barite is the most important barium-containing mineral. Barite has a high density (4.3-4.7) and a low hardness (3-3.5). Is chemical characteristics are stable. It is nearly insoluble in water and acids. It is nontoxic, nonmagnetic, and can absorb X-rays and gamma radiation. Barite's biggest use at present is as a weighting material in petroleum and gas drilling mud. In this application, barite helps to cool the drill tip, strengthen the well walls, control petroleum and natural gas pressure, stabilize the production of gases, and prevent well blowouts. According to statistics, roughly 85% of global barite consumption is for use as a drilling mud weighting agent.
The second most important use of barite is in the manufacture of various barium-containing chemical products. These include chiefly barium carbonate, barium chloride, barium titanate, barium sulfate, barium nitrate, and barium oxide.
BaSO4
Barite (barium sulfate) is a white powder, and is insoluble in water, acids, alkalis, and organic solvents such as alcohols and ethers. It is soluble in fuming HCl, and is reduced to barium sulfide when heated with carbon. Barite has stable chemical characteristics, and does not undergo any chemical reactions in air at ambient temperature. It will not discolor when the air contains hydrogen sulfide or other toxic gases. It is resistant to heat, acids, and alkalis. It offers good coverage, and can be used for contact products. Hardness is suitable for most applications. Dispersion and durability are good. Barite can absorb harmful radiation (X-rays and gamma radiation), and also has good flame retardant and electrical insulating properties. It has a vitreous luster and is free from magnetic properties and toxicity. It is used as a weighting material in oil and gas drilling muds. It is also used in pigments, ceramics, storage batteries, and enamels. Barite can be used as a surface coating agent and sizing agent. It can be used to produce lithopone, and is used as a filler and paper, paints, coatings, and rubber, etc. It can be used as a raw material for the extraction of metallic barium, which is used as a binding agent and a gas scavenger in televisions and other vacuum tubes. In combination with other metals (aluminum, magnesium, lead, calcium) barium is used to produce an alloy used in bearings. Barite can be used as a partial replacement for titanium white, and can be used in the production of acid-resistant rubber products and other products.
Barite is a non-metallic mineral material consisting mostly of barium sulfate. Barite possesses a wide range of industrial uses.
Drilling mud is used in the drilling of many oil and gas wells. Because the clay in ordinary drilling mud has a specific gravity of only around 2.5. As a result, if relatively low-density mud is unable to counterbalance the upward pressure of oil and gas, a blowout may occur. It is therefore necessary to increase the density of drilling mud when the subsurface pressure is high. Adding barite powder to mud is an effective way of increasing density. Barite powder used in drilling mud ordinarily has a fineness of 325. Insufficient fine barite will lead to settling. Drilling mud should typically contain no less than 95% barite with a specific gravity of over 4.2 and less than 1% soluble salts.
Lithopone is a commonly used superior white pigment which exists in the form of a white powder. Is insoluble in water, and does not react with hydrogen sulfide or alkalis. Lithopone decomposes in acids with the release of hydrogen sulfide. Long-term exposure to sunlight causes lithopone to discolor, but putting it in a dark place will cause it to revert to its original color. It is used as a raw material for paints and paint pigments. Heating barium sulfate with a reducing agent will form barium sulfide (BaS), which is then reacted with zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) to yield a mixture of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide (70% BaSO4, 30% ZnS), which is referred to as lithopone. Barite used to make lithopone must have a BaSO4 content greater than 95%, and may not contain any visible, colored impurities.
The addition of barium sulfate filler to paint can increase paint film thickness, strength, and durability. Lithopone pigment is used in the manufacture of white paint, and is considered superior to lead white and magnesia white in indoor paints. Barium sulfate used as a filler in the paint industry must have sufficient fineness and relatively high whiteness. The rubber and plastic industries also use barium sulfate as a filler, and it can improve the hardness, abrasion resistance, strength, stiffness, and anti-aging performance of rubber and plastic. It also gives products a bright luster, and has an excellent reinforcing effect in natural and synthetic rubber. The paper industry uses barium sulfate as a filler and coating filler in white cardboard and copper printing paper to increase whiteness and coverage. Barium sulfate used as a filler in the rubber and papermaking industries must have a BaSO4 content greater than 98% and a CaO content less than 0.36%; it may not contain any magnesium oxide or lead.
在 A mineralizing agent consisting of mixed barite and fluorite can be used in cement to promote the formation of C3S. Activation of C3S yield significant benefits, improves clinker quality, increases the cement's early strength by approximately 20%-25% and later strength by approximately 10%, and reduces clinker firing temperature from 1,450°C to 1,300±50°C. The admixture of 0.8%-1.5% barite yields the best effect. Use of a mineralizing agent consisting of mixed barite and fluorite in white cement reduces firing temperature from 1,500°C to 1,400°C, reduces free CaO, and increases strength and whiteness.
Adding a suitable amount of barite to cement made with coal gangue as a raw material will greatly increase the strength, especially early strength, of cement with a low clinker saturation ratio. This enables the thorough utilization of coal gangue to produce low-calcium, energy-efficient early-strength, high-strength cement.
Barite's ability to absorb x-rays allows it to be used in barium cement, barite mortar, and barite concrete. These materials can be used instead of lead sheet to shield nuclear reactors and construct laboratory and hospital x-ray shielded buildings.
An asphalt mixture containing rubber and approximately 10% barite forms a highly durable paving material and has been used successful to pave parking facilities. In addition, barite has been added as a filler to the tires of some heavy road construction equipment in order to increase weight and facilitate tamping of the road surface.
Barite is used as a raw material in the production of various barium compounds, including barium oxide, barium carbonate, barium chloride, barium nitrate, precipitated barium sulfate, and barium titanate, etc.
Barium carbonate is primarily used in the production of other barium salts and by the glass industry. Barium carbonate is added to TV picture tubes and computer monitors to absorb x-rays. Addition of barium carbonate to ceramics yields and even texture and improves abrasion and corrosion resistance. It is used to remove sulfate radicals in the production of sodium tripolyphosphate. Barium carbonate is an important raw material in optical glass. It introduces BaO into glass, which increases the index of refraction and improves other optical properties.
Barium chloride is used in pigments, coatings, leather-making, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, inks, water softening agents, metal heat treatment, and purification in the chloride industry.
Barium nitrate is used by the fireworks and glass industries. It is mainly used in tracer bullets, detonators, blasting fuses, ceramic glazes, and pharmaceuticals.
Barium oxide is mainly used in surface hardening and heat treatment vessels, artificial leather, and magnesium refining. It can prolong the life of metallurgical furnaces.
Barium titanate is a major raw material in the manufacture of electronics ceramics. It is a basic strong dielectric material, and is used in the cores of integrated ceramic capacitors.
Precipitated barium sulfate is used as a white pigment and as a filler and coloring agent in rubber. It is used in medical barium meals for imaging patients' digestive tracts, and is also used as a coating on photographic paper. Chemical-grade barium sulfide is used as a standard for measuring whiteness. Precipitated barium sulfate consists of a white crystalline powder. It is almost totally insoluble in water, but soluble in fuming sulfuric acid. It readily forms mixed crystals with potassium permanganate, calcium carbonate, and alkali metal nitrates. It can be reduced to barium sulfide by heating with carbon.
Barium sulfate is produced via either the purification of barite or the Glauber's salt-barium sulfide method. The former method involves the calcining of barite with coal, followed by reaction with Na2SO4. The latter method involves reaction of barium sulfide with Glauber's salt, followed by pressure filtration, drying, and separation.
| Grade | BS-1 | BS-2 | YLB-1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average particle diameter(μm) | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum particle size(μm) | 6~8 | 12 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| pH (5% H2O solution) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9.0±1.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density(g/cm3) | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0±0.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oil absorption(cc/100g) | 13 | 11 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whiteness(%) | 96.5 | 96.5 | 92.0±2.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture(%) | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.5max | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical analysis |
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| Grade |
YLB-3(precipitated) |
YLB-4(precipitated) | ||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average particle diameter(μm) | 1.0 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Maximum particle size(μm) | 6 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| pH (5% H2O solution) | 8.0±1.0 | 8.0±1.0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Density(g/cm3) | 4.2±0.2 | 4.2±0.2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Oil absorption(cc/100g) | 30 | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| Whiteness(%) | 96±1.0 | 96±1.0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Moisture(%) | 0.1max | 0.1max | ||||||||||||||||
| Chemical analysis |
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*The foregoing specifications are provided for reference only.