A Review of the Mineral Contact Angle Measurements and Applications in the Froth Flotation Process: Techniques and Influential Parameters, Part II

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ABSTRACT A particularly significant metric in the initial phase and in industrial applications is the contact angle (CA), which arises from the surfaces’ wetting behavior. One of the commonly employed processes for separation in the mineral processing industry is froth flotation. The principal goal of this work is to describe the behavior of flotation (collision, attachment, and detachment to the air bubble) as it corresponds to the requirement and use of CA in surface wetting behavior, especially in the context of minerals. This review and previous part provide information on the CA measurement method, the wetting characteristics of mineral surfaces, the variables affecting CA measurements, and the associated implications for the flotation process. The preceding part (Part I) included a broad examination, the idea of a static and dynamic CA, and a statement of the sessile drop method. The current part (II) for the initial-time examines multiple methods and approaches that employed both historical and existing flotation research to investigate the literature on the foundation of CA of various minerals as function of the approach used for CA assessment, which provides an in-depth analysis of questions relating to the determination of CA on real surfaces or powder materials including the evaluation of the impact of the surface heterogeneity, particle fraction size and shape, roughness, and the drop/bubble size with coordination the foremost later information on how these factors affect surface wettability. At that point, the data could be combined into a flotation demonstration or used to evaluate the viability of increasing flotation productivity and provide further insight into this procedure. There are a lot of publications on the subject of CA across several sciences, but the quantity is likewise low when looking at the CA of minerals or flotation, and much more so if it comes to review articles. Using the data and information gathered from the CA measurement and its connection to flotation recovery, the primary objective is to ascertain if any of these variables considerably impact the hydrophobicity of the mineral surface. At that point, the information could either be incorporated into a flotation demonstration or utilized to evaluate the feasibility of increasing flotation productivity and provide further insight into the process.