Abstract
Reuse of process water in the flotation of sulfide ores has crucial importance for environmental sustainability and improved process economy. However, the chemistry of process water may be a critical subject for the flotation efficiency as the dissolved ion concentration increases with water reuse. In this study, the effects of water reuse on the flotation efficiency of a Cu-Zn sulfide ore were investigated. The flotation flowsheet consists of a pre-flotation section to remove the naturally floatable talc particles, and sequential copper and zinc flotation sections. Calcium, sulfate, thiosulfate, and xanthate were found as major contaminating ionic species in the process water discharged from flotation circuits. The flotation tests with recirculated water from the zinc rougher tailing revealed that the presence of residual xanthate caused unintentional activation of copper minerals in the pre-float section. Copper recovery increased in the pre-flotation section and resulted in the loss of copper to the pre-float concentrate, which is considered as a tailing stream in the current flowsheet. Various types of activated carbon samples were tested to remove the residual xanthate from the tailing water. The carbon samples could be regenerated by heat treatment and reused for water treatment. Performance of the activated carbon samples was directly related to the pore size and surface area. Carbon-treated tailing water could be re-used in flotation without affecting the flotation performance.
Highlights
In mineral processing plants, depending on the method of concentration, there is so much need for water as a medium and for transferring the pulps in the circuit from one point to another
The activated carbon adsorption method was applied to remove the residual xanthate from process water
The uptake of the activated carbon, Qe, at equilibrium was calculated by the following equation: Qe where C0 is the initial and Ce is the concentration of the xanthate in solution at equilibrium; V is the volume of the solution (L) and m is the weight of the activated carbon (g)
Summary
In mineral processing plants, depending on the method of concentration, there is so much need for water as a medium and for transferring the pulps in the circuit from one point to another. Usually freshwater is fed to the concentration plants to maintain a certain level of pollution This increases freshwater consumption and may cause process water discharge without any treatment. Residual xanthate and its by-products in the recirculated water may cause the loss of selectivity between minerals and affect flotation efficiency adversely [8]. As deleterious effects on flotation plant efficiency have been considered, removal of residual xanthate is highly desirable. In the first phase of the research, batch scale flotation tests were conducted to demonstrate the effect of water recirculation on process water chemistry and flotation efficiency. The activated carbon adsorption method was applied to remove the residual xanthate from process water. Flotation tests were performed with treated water to observe the impact of water treatment on flotation performance
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