Abstract
Lead hydroxyl compounds are known as rutile flotation of the traditional activated component, but the optimum pH range for flotation is 2–3 using styryl phosphoric acid (SPA) as collector, without lead hydroxyl compounds in slurry solution. In this study, Bi3+ ions as a novel activator was investigated. The results revealed that the presence of Bi3+ ions increased the surface potential, due to the specific adsorption of hydroxyl compounds, which greatly increases the adsorption capacity of SPA on the rutile surface. Bi3+ ions increased the activation sites through the form of hydroxyl species adsorbing on the rutile surface and occupying the steric position of the original Ca2+ ions. The proton substitution reaction occurred between the hydroxyl species of Bi3+ ions (Bi(OH)n+(3−n)) and the hydroxylated rutile surface, producing the compounds of Ti-O-Bi2+. The micro-flotation tests results suggested that Bi3+ ions could improve the flotation recovery of rutile from 61% to 90%, and from 61% to 64% for Pb2+ ions.
Highlights
Rutile is the best raw material for high-end titanium pigment production and a high grade titanium to extract, which has important implications for the defense industry and high-end coating market [1,2]
Li et al [8] found that Pb(NO3 )2 was an activator to effectively improve rutile floatability using salicyl hydroxamic acid as a collector, and the optimal pH range for the activating processing was 5.5–6.8
We found that Bi3+ ions could significantly improve the recovery rate of rutile flotation in pure minerals
Summary
Rutile is the best raw material for high-end titanium pigment production and a high grade titanium to extract, which has important implications for the defense industry and high-end coating market [1,2]. The concentration of rutile ores is obtained by a combination of gravity, magnetic and electrostatic separation techniques, flotation is one of the most efficient methods to solve the issue [4]. Water-soluble petroleum sulfonate, styryl phosphoric acid (SPA), benzyl arsenic acid, alkyl imino bismethylene phosphoric acid and hydroximic acid are commonly used as collectors in rutile flotation [5,6,7]. Liu and Peng [5] thought SPA was considered to be the most selective collector for rutile, but high consumption has limited its use. We investigated some activators to enhance the flotation effects of SPA. Li et al [8] found that Pb(NO3 ) was an activator to effectively improve rutile floatability using salicyl hydroxamic acid as a collector, and the optimal pH range for the activating processing was 5.5–6.8. Fan and Rowson [9] investigated the effects of
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