Galal Mahmoud Abdel Wahab Dabbour

Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530 El Maad, Cairo, Egypt.

Summary: A tourmaline ore sample from Sikait area in south eastern desert of Egypt and assaying 10 % B₂O₃ is subjected for boron recovery through an alkali fusion followed by solvent extraction. A flux mixture of Na₂CO₃ + ZnO was used for ore sample fusion in a weight ratio of 1.5 to 1 respectively for 30 minutes at 900^оC before boron was selectively leached. Subsequent solvent extraction of boron was performed using 2-ethyl-1,3-hexandiol (EHD) in benzene however boron extraction efficiency achieved 94.5 %. While boron stripping process was carried out using 1 % NaOH solution with efficiency reached 90 %. The solvent factors of boron extraction and stripping have been adequately studied. From the alkali strip solution borax was crystallized as a final product and its composition was conformed using XRD analysis technique. Overall borax recovery 95 % has actually been realized.