Development of the reverse coal flotation process: Application to column cells

Abstract

This paper describes the continuation of the development of the reverse coal flotation process. Reverse and forward flotation are compared in a laboratory column cell using synthetic feed mixtures consisting of washed coal and quartz. Forward flotation gave slightly better separation performance than reverse flotation; however, the process was limited by the throughput capacity, which is determined by the column carrying capacity in the froth zone. The throughput capacity of reverse flotation was found to be 3 times that of forward flotation, with only a small loss in separation efficiency.