Abstract
The use of natural hydrophobic mineral nanoparticles as a collector in froth flotation has recently attracted the attention of researchers. In this article, the separation performance and mechanism of pyrophyllite nanoparticles (PNPs) on smithsonite and quartz flotation system were investigated using the method of flotation, zeta potential, contact angle, and scanning electron microscope (SEM)/energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). The results of single mineral flotation showed that the difference in flotation recovery between smithsonite and quartz was large for NaOL, DDA, and PNP collectors in the acidic pH range, the largest of which was the PNP system. At pH 6, the optimal dosage of PNPs was 1,000 mg/L. Separation of mixed minerals of smithsonite and quartz using a PNP collector provides the optimum concentrate index (Zn grade 50.84% and Zn recovery 85.36%). According to the results of zeta potential measurement, PNPs and quartz were negatively charged, and the surface of smithsonite was positively charged at pH 6. This provided conditions for smithsonite to selectively adsorb PNPs due to different electrostatic forces. Selective adsorption of PNPs in the smithsonite/quartz flotation system was directly observed by SEM/EDS detection. Hydrophobic PNPs were adsorbed on the surface of hydrophilic smithsonite to make it hydrophobic, and the surface of quartz remained hydrophilic. This is the mechanism for separating smithsonite and quartz using PNPs.
Highlights
The collector is the most important reagent used in ore flotation, and the pH regulator, activator, depressant, and frother are all used to create conditions for the collector to play a better role (de Medeiros and Baltar, 2018)
When the pyrophyllite nanoparticles (PNPs) was used as the collector, quartz showed the lowest recovery in the whole pH range, while smithsonite floated well when the pH was less than 6
The difference in floatability between smithsonite and quartz reached its maximum at pH 6 with PNPs as the collector
Summary
The collector is the most important reagent used in ore flotation, and the pH regulator, activator, depressant, and frother are all used to create conditions for the collector to play a better role (de Medeiros and Baltar, 2018). Traditional organic collectors direct their hydrophobic chains to the solution, and the hydrophilic head is adsorbed to the active site on the mineral surface, making the mineral surface hydrophobic (Fuerstenau and Jia, 2004). Much research has focused on the development of highly efficient collectors of various minerals. Mixtures thereof are the most commonly used collectors in the flotation process (Vidyadhar and Rao, 2007; Ejtemaei et al, 2014; Shu et al, 2020). There is evidence to suggest that the use of these reagents causes many environmental problems and threatens human health due to their degradation resistance or high toxicity
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