Abstract
Talc has found a steadily increasing number of uses such as cosmetics, steatite and cordierite ceramics, for pitch control in the paper industry and as a reinforcing filler in rubber, etc. In this research, the amenability of some Egyptian carboniferous finely disseminated talc ores to beneficiation by flotation was investigated on laboratory scale. The original talc sample is characterized by low MgO content (25.40%), low SiO2 (45.71%), high CaO content (6.32%) and high L.O.I. (11.35%), indicating its low grade. Attrition scrubbing of the crushed ores was found to be an unconventional process, not only for fine talc production, but also for proper separation of the harder carbonaceous gangue. Talc pre-concentrates, less than 0.074 μm, were prepared by attrition scrubbing in the laboratory having 8.40% L.O.I. with a yield reaching 74.70%. Cleaner talc concentrate with L.O.I. content averaging 6.70% was obtained by flotation in the presence of Aerofroth 71 with a yield reaching 64.71%. This was relatively improved by the use of a selective (quaternary amine) talc collector and in presence of a selective carbonate depressant (soda ash). Flotation of the fine ground talc (less than 22 μm) produced a talc concentrate assaying 6.90% L.O.I. with a yield recovery of 62.91%. However, different talc concentrates obtained by just natural floatability or by the use of small dose of Aerofroth 71, or by the application of quaternary amine in presence of carbonate depressant, satisfy the requirement of paper coating, ceramics production, functional filler, and pharmaceuticals applications. Tailings could also be used in carpets, roofs, and tiles production industries.
Highlights
The basic concept of native floatability of a mineral is that a naturally hydrophobic surface results when clea-How to cite this paper: Boulos, T.R., Ibrahim, S.S. and Yehia, A. (2016) The Art of Talc Flotation for Different Industrial Applications
Complete chemical analysis of the talc sample, supported with the results of the XRD (Figure 1), indicates that it is high in undesirable ingredients, e.g. iron oxides and CaO (Table 1)
This study shows that the talc sample is characterized by fine-grained talc fragments with apple green color, enclosed in white color harder carbonate matrix
Summary
The basic concept of native floatability of a mineral is that a naturally hydrophobic surface results when clea-How to cite this paper: Boulos, T.R., Ibrahim, S.S. and Yehia, A. (2016) The Art of Talc Flotation for Different Industrial Applications. The basic concept of native floatability of a mineral is that a naturally hydrophobic surface results when clea-. It is recognized that the crystalline structure is one of the main factors that determines the wettability of layered silicate minerals such as talc. Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate, Mg3Si4O10(OH) , which is related to the sheet structure of the phyllosilicate (Yehia and Al Wakeel, 2000 [1]). Natural floatability of talc is closely related to its three-layer sheet crystal structure (Fuerstenau et al, 2003 [2] and Fuerstenau et al, 2007 [3]). Positive charge of magnesium layer is compensated from two sides by silicon tetrahedral layers creating the lack of surface polarization responsible for its natural hydrophobicity
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