Physico-Chemical Bases for the Purification of Natural Barite from the Sary-Taal Deposit of the Kyrgyz Republic to Produce Superconducting Ceramics

This paper presents a comprehensive technology for processing natural barite (BaSO4) from the Sary-Taala deposit (Kyrgyzstan) into spectral-grade barium oxide (BaO) (≥99.99%). The study is driven by the critical dependence of the critical current (Jc) and transition temperature (Tc) of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) on the presence of paramagnetic and dielectric impurities. A multi-stage scheme including flotation, acid leaching, and vacuum-thermal decomposition has been developed. The resulting BaO was successfully used in the synthesis of Sb3Ba2Ca2Cu3O10-x ceramics, which demonstrated a record critical temperature of 25.10C.