Technical note beneficiation of egyptian feldspar for application in the glass and ceramics industries

Abstract

Batch flotation tests were carried out to upgrade an Egyptian feldspar ore to meet the specifications required for the glass and ceramic industries. A flotation scheme consisting of two circuits was suggested. The first circuit was anionic flotation to remove the iron bearing minerals by using a mixture of local collectors (dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid : rice bran oil : kerosene). The second flotation circuit was a cationic one for direct flotation of the feldspar mineral from the associated free silica by using another local surfactant (quaternary ammonium salt) in the presence of HF acid. Both circuits were complimentary to each other and each had its own operating conditions. The results showed that a final concentrate assaying 89.5% feldspar mineral, 0.1% Fe 2O 3 and 18.65% Al 2O 3 was obtained, at the optimum operating conditions, from an ore containing about 11.97% Al 2O 3, 0.53% Fe 2O 3 and 57.5% feldspar mineral, satisfying the requirements of the glass and ceramic industries.