Effects of grinding media on the flotation behavior of spodumene in mixed anionic/cationic collectors system

Abstract

Grinding, an essential pretreatment procedure before flotation, has particularly significance in spodumene flotation. The effects of grinding media on the flotation behavior of spodumene were investigated through zeta potential measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) test, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The particle size of spodumene ground by a corundum ball is concentrated around −74 + 38 µm, and the flotation recovery of spodumene upon grinding with a corundum ball was higher than that with an agate ball when DDA/NaOL are used as mixed collectors with a dosage of 0.4 mM (molar ratio = 1:6). Spodumene ground with corundum balls had a more exposed {110} cleavage plane and more Al active sites, while a more exposed {010} surface and less Al active sites were found in particles ground by agate balls. It also proved that spodumene milled by corundum balls has a higher adsorption density under the anion and cation mixed collector system. Given these results, it can be inferred that spodumene milled by corundum balls enhanced the adsorption of collectors on the surfaces.