Beneficiation of phosphate rock

Claim 1

In a fluid bed process for beneficiating phosphate rock containing a substantial amount of calcium carbonate as an impurity, which includes the steps of calcining the phosphate rock thereby driving off CO 2 gas and producing a quantity of lime, cooling the calcined rock product, slaking the lime contained therein and separating the slaked lime from the rock product, the improvement comprising conducting the cooling, slaking and separation operations in a fluid bed reactor, including passing a gas stream through a single bed of particulate calcined phosphate rock in said reactor to fluidize the bed and cool the calcined rock, spraying water into the freeboard region of said reactor to cool the calcined rock, injecting water directly into said fluidized bed of calcined rock below the upper surface thereof to obtain an intimate mixture of the water and rock thereby effecting further cooling of the rock and slaking the lime associated therewith, the fluidizing gas effecting elutriation and separation of the slaked lime from the phosphate rock product, removing the gas from the reactor with the elutriated slaked lime entrained therein and disposing of the gas and the solid matter carried thereby.