Improving collecting performance of sodium oleate using a polyoxyethylene ether in scheelite flotation

Abstract

In order to improve the scheelite flotation with sodium oleate (NaOL), the effect of a non-ionic polyoxyethylene ether (JFC-5) on the floatability of scheelite was investigated through flotation experiments at 10 °C, compared with 60 mg/L NaOL alone, the recovery of scheelite is improved from 22% to 85% in the presence of JFC-5 with a mass ratio of 20% at pH 10. Moreover, the resistance to Ca2+ of NaOL is increased. The adsorption mechanism was analyzed by zeta potential measurement, contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The results show that the adsorption of NaOL on scheelite surface is enhanced after adding JFC-5 due to the more negative zeta potentials and larger contact angles of scheelite. And the co-adsorption of NaOL and JFC-5 is confirmed by XPS analysis, so it is indicated that the adsorption of JFC-5 decreases the electrostatic repulsion between the oleate ions, resulting in the stronger adsorption of NaOL on scheelite surface. In short, the mixed NaOL/JFC-5 collector can effectively improve scheelite flotation.