Abstract
Bubble-particle attachment is one of the most fundamental sub-processes in froth flotation. It is of critical importance in achieving the separation of value from non-value. This sub-process is affected by many factors such as the chemistry of the pulp, action of the reagents, hydrodynamics and operational factors. Understanding the effects of these factors on bubble-particle attachment is thus crucial as they may in turn affect the mineral recoveries attained. With the current drive towards zero effluent discharge on mineral concentrators water quality is an important factor to understand as it can change the pulp chemistry and subsequently affect mineral recoveries. This study thus considers the effect of specific ions found in process water on the bubble-particle attachment of chalcopyrite and galena. Adsorption studies and zeta potential measurements were conducted to interpret the outcomes of the bubble-particle attachment tests. Pulps containing Ca2+ resulted in lower bubble-particle attachment probability and recovery of galena and chalcopyrite. Adsorption studies complemented the bubble-particle attachment findings well and showed that in Ca2+ containing waters, less xanthate was adsorbed on both the chalcopyrite and galena surfaces. The zeta potential measurements showed an increase in mineral potential with Ca2+ containing salts compared to the very negative mineral potential in NaNO3. This work provides evidence of the passivation of the mineral surface with Ca2+; which hindered the adsorption of xanthate on the mineral surface in Ca2+ containing solutions and subsequently resulted in poor bubble-particle attachment.
Highlights
Froth flotation is used as a method of separation in several industrial applications such as in the treatment of wastewater and domestic sewage by dissolved air flotation, de-inking of paper and in mineral processing
This study considers the effect of specific ions present in process water on bubble-particle interactions by means of fundamental bubbleparticle attachment and flotation methods
CaSO4 and Ca(NO3)2 showed very similar recoveries with sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX), when the collector was absent from the system a cation and anion effect is observed between the three single salt solutions with both sulfide minerals; Na+ performs better than its Ca2+ counterpart in the NO3− solution and NO3− outperforms SO42− in the Ca2+ containing solutions in the chalcopyrite system
Summary
Froth flotation is used as a method of separation in several industrial applications such as in the treatment of wastewater and domestic sewage by dissolved air flotation, de-inking of paper and in mineral processing. Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the most abundant and important cupriferous mineral on earth while galena (PbS) is the most important lead mineral These respective minerals are often associated with other sulfide minerals and separated by means of froth flotation. Water scarcities challenging parts of the world have led to recycled process water and sea water usage gaining huge interest in the mining industry. These water types are of high ionic strength and their water chemistry is very different to that of fresh water and may negatively affect the efficiency of the separation in froth flotation (Rao and Finch, 1989)
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