Abstract
A considerable amount of very fine particles can be found, e.g., stored in tailing ponds, and they can include valuable or hazardous minerals that have the potential to be recovered. Selective flocculation, i.e., the formation of larger aggregates from specific minerals, offers a promising approach to improve the recovery of ultrafine particles. This study focuses on the use of a new bio-based flocculation agent made of silylated cellulose nanofibers containing a thiol-functional moiety (SiCNF). Flocculation was performed in separated systems of ultrafine mineral dispersions of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and quartz in aqueous alkaline medium. The flocculation performance of SiCNF was addressed in terms of the turbidity reduction of mineral dispersions and the floc size, and the results were compared with the performance of a commercial anionic polyacrylamide. SiCNF exhibited a turbidity removal efficiency of approximately 90%–99% at a concentration of 4000–8000 ppm with chalcopyrite and pyrite, whereas the turbidity removal of quartz suspension was significantly lower (a maximum of approximately 30%). The sulfide particles formed flocs with a size of several hundreds of micrometers. The quartz in turn did not form any visible flocs, and the dispersion still had a milky appearance after dosing 12,000 ppm of the flocculant. These results open a promising path for the investigation of SiCNF as a selective flocculation agent for sulfide minerals.Graphical
Highlights
To enable mineral processing, it is usually necessary for the ore to pass through successive fragmentation stages
The elemental composition of the minerals was revealed via inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis, and these data were used in combination with the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results (Fig. 1 and Table 1) to determine the mineral composition of the samples
The performance of silylated cellulose nanofibers (SiCNF) was evaluated on flocculation of ultrafine mineral particles of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and quartz, separately in single mineral systems
Summary
It is usually necessary for the ore to pass through successive fragmentation stages Along these stages, fine and ultrafine particles, technically known as slimes, are inevitably produced. In froth flotation, slimes present a decline in recovery, which is usually attributed to low collision probability and fine particles having insufficient inertia to cross the water streamlines around the coursing bubble. Problems such as surface oxidation, adsorption of metal ions, and slime coating can be noticed [1, 2]. As the number and grade of mineral deposits and large ore bodies have been decreasing over the years, the beneficiation of valuable minerals attributed to the fine particles has become increasingly important; there has been an increasing demand to improve conventional methods in the beneficiation of slimes [3, 4]
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