Author 1:
Name & Surname: Kalugin A. I.
Company: Apatit JSC (Kirovsk, Russia)
Work Position: Technical Director—Chief Engineer
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Engineering Sciences
Contacts: e-mail: AKalugin@phosagro.ru

Author 2:
Name & Surname: Pleshakov Yu. V.
Company: Apatit JSC (Kirovsk, Russia)
Work Position: Main Specialist, Research Center
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Author 3:
Name & Surname: Gerasimova L. G.
Company: I. V. Tananaev Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements and Mineral Raw Materials, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Science (Apatity, Russia)
Work Position: Divisional Manager
Scientific Degree: Doctor of Engineering Sciences

Author 4:
Name & Surname: Nikolaev A. I.
Company: I. V. Tananaev Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements and Mineral Raw Materials, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Science (Apatity, Russia)
Work Position: Research Manger
Scientific Degree: Doctor of Engineering Sciences

New processes for treatment of sphene and nepheline concentrates obtained from apatite-nepheline ore concentration have been researched and tested. The resulting products are scarce functional materials, including mineral pigments; a complex titanium-aluminum leather tanning agent; sorbents based on hydrated titanium dioxide and titanium phosphates; nano-size titanium dioxide for protective and insulating materials such as coatings, glues and hermetics. The flow sheets incorporate recovery of solid and liquid wastes with ammonium potassium alums and pigment filler for the building and paint-and-varnish industries as by-products. The flow sheet for the tanning agent has been tested on a pilot scale. For the titanium-aluminum tanning agent, technical specifications and process procedures have been worked out for designing a plant with a capacity of 3000 t/yr in terms of sphene concentrate. The production profitability is 38% and the payoff period is 2.5 years. As sorbent, the hydrated titanium dioxide obtained from sphene concentrate is resistant to radiation and chemicals, including acid and alkali solutions. As ion-exchanger, it features an exchange rate meeting the requirements of column processes. Experimental batches of the sorbent have been tested on hyper-filtration of aqueous effluents contaminated with non-ferrous metal cations. Thermolysis of sulphate titanium salts has resulted in nano-size precursors that can be used to produce various hermetics, glues, and coatings. All the aforementioned developments for the production of tanning agents, sorbents, and glue and hermetic precursors are covered by RF patents.

1. Brylyakov Yu. E., Nikolaev A. I., Gerasimova L. G. Perspektivnye napravleniya tekhnologii pererabotki kontsentratov kompleksnogo obogashcheniya apatito-nefelinovykh rud (Prospective lines of technology of processing of concentrates of complex apatite-nepheline ores concentration). Gornyi Zhurnal = Mining Journal. 2009. No. 9. pp. 62–65.
2. Gerasimova L. G., Maslova M. V., Kalinnikov V. T., Alekseev A. I. Sposob pererabotki titansoderzhashchego kontsentrata (Method of processing of titanium-containing concentrate). Patent RF, No. 2367605. Published : November 05, 2009.
3. Pius I. Е., Charyulu M. M., Sivaramakrishnan C. K., Patil S. K. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. 1995. Vol. 199. p. 1.
4. Gerasimova L. G., Maslova M. V., Nikolaev A. I. Ispolzovanie kolloidnogo titansoderzhashchego prekursora v tekhnologii neorganicheskogo ionoobmennika (Use of colloid titanium-containing precursor in inorganic ion-exchanger technology). Fizika i khimiya stekla = Glass Physics and Chemistry. 2011. Vol. 38, No. 4. pp. 67–73.
5. Gerasimova L. G., Maslova M. V., Motina N. V., Shchukina E. S. Sposob polucheniya titansoderzhashchego produkta (Method of obtaining of titaniumcontaining product). Patent RF, No. 2445270. Published: March 20, 2012.
6. Gerasimova L. G., Nikolaev A. I., Maslova M. V. Sposob polucheniya dioksida titana (Method of obtaining of titanium dioxide). Patent RF, No. 2415812. Published: April 10, 2011.