Elimination of Ferric Ion Effect on Separation between Kyanite and Quartz Using Citric Acid as Regulator

Yanping Niu,Hongfeng Xu,Haoran Sun,Chuanyao Sun,Wanzhong Yin,Ya Li

doi:10.3390/min11060599

Abstract

Ferric ions produced during grinding influence the flotation separation between kyanite and quartz adversely. In this study, citric acid was used as a regulator to eliminate the effect of ferric ions on the separation of kyanite from quartz with sodium oleate (NaOL) as a collector. The microflotation test results indicated that the quartz was selectively activated by FeCl3 and maintained significant quartz recovery. However, the citric acid could selectively eliminate the effect of ferric ions on the quartz and minimally influenced the kyanite. Contact angle tests demonstrated that FeCl3 significantly increased the interaction between NaOL and quartz, resulting in the high hydrophobicity of quartz, and the addition of citric acid made the quartz surface hydrophilic again but slightly influenced the kyanite. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that FeCl3 facilitated NaOL adsorption onto the quartz surface, and the addition of citric acid eliminated the activation of FeCl3 on the quartz, resulting in the nonadsorption of NaOL onto the quartz surface. However, the FeCl3 and citric acid exhibited a negligible effect on NaOL adsorption onto the kyanite surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the citric acid eliminated FeCl3 activation on the quartz.

Highlights

IntroductionKyanite is an essential metamorphic nesosilicate with the chemical formula Al2 SiO5 , and it is widely used in metallurgy, building materials, ceramics, and other industrial sectors [1,2]
Several research studies have illustrated that kyanite and quartz can be efficiently separated in a weakly alkaline environment, and the concentrathe untreated minerals
When citric acid was added after FeCl3, the atomic percentages of Fe 2p on the kyanite and quartz surfaces were 0.12% and 0.09%, respectively. These results showed that ferric ions in the solution were adsorbed onto the kyanite and quartz surfaces, and the citric acid could decrease the ferric ion content adsorbed onto the kyanite and quartz surfaces

Summary

Introduction

Kyanite is an essential metamorphic nesosilicate with the chemical formula Al2 SiO5 , and it is widely used in metallurgy, building materials, ceramics, and other industrial sectors [1,2]. It can be used for preparing silicon–aluminum alloys and metal fibers [3]. With the extensive exploitation of kyanite resources, low-grade kyanite, rich in quartz and muscovite impurities, has become relatively more abundant [4]. Reducing the impurity contents (for example, quartz) is required to improve the quality of kyanite concentration powder

Methods

Results

Conclusion