Flotation Of Quartz Research Articles

Flotation and adsorption of quartz with the new collector butane-3-heptyloxy-1,2-diamine

A new surfactant butane-3-heptyloxy-1,2-diamine [CH3(CH2)6OCH(CH3)CH(NH2)CH2NH2; BHLD] was synthesized. It has been innovatively used as a collector in the flotation of quartz. In this present study, the flotation behaviors of quartz with BHLD were investigated by micro-flotation of quartz. It was found that the recovery of the quartz reaches 98.9%. Furthermore, the hydrogen bond lengths were measured, calculated and simulated in a molecular dynamics (MD) model, and the interaction energy between the four species of BHLD and the quartz surface were determined under vacuum and aqueous conditions. Based on the results of the zeta potential measurements, the FT-IR measurements and the MD simulation in this paper, it is revealed that the BHLD collector adsorbs onto the quartz surface through electrostatic adsorption and hydrogen bond adsorption. Furthermore, micro-flotations were studied by the radial distribution function (RDF) and the relative concentrations. The results show that the hydrogen bond adsorption between the O atom on the quartz surface and the H atom in BHLD are the main interactive forces causing BHLD to adsorb onto the quartz surface. The BHLD cations adsorb significantly more strongly than the BHLD molecules, which agrees well with the results of the micro-flotation tests.

Flotation separation of limonite from quartz with sodium oleate: effects of limonite dissolution and addition of sodium hexametaphosphate

ABSTRACT The utilisation of limonite ore is potentially important to China as the high quality iron resource, such as magnetite and hematite of high grade, are rapidly depleting, but many detrimental impurities, such quartz and calcite etc, are difficult to upgrade to make suitable concentrates for the blast furnace. The flotation behaviour of limonite, quartz and their mixture by using sodium oleate as collector were studied systematically in this paper. Single-mineral flotation tests showed that the flotation recovery of limonite was much higher than that of quartz in a broad range of pH. However, flotation tests for the mixture of limonite and quartz showed rather poor mineral separation efficiency with the flotation recovery of both minerals being high in froth products. The flotation separation efficiency of limonite from quartz was substantially improved by adding sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) as a depressant for quartz flotation. To elucidate these phenomena, the solution species calculation of limonite dissolution and the measurements of iron ions content were carried out. It was found that iron ions or its species released into the pulp from the dissolving of limonite could effectively activate the flotation of quartz but have little influence on the flotation of limonite. In the presence of SHMP, iron ions or its species lost their activating power on quartz flotation which caused by the chemical reaction between SHMP and iron ions or its species, and then removed iron ions or its species from quartz surface into the solution.

Effects of nanobubble and hydrodynamic parameters on coarse quartz flotation

Quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust, is a gangue mineral in practically every flotation process. Coarse quartz flotation has been a long standing problem in various mineral processing plants to reduce milling cost and increase valuable mineral recovery. Based on this, the effects of nanobubbles (NBs) and hydrodynamic parameters on coarse quartz particle flotation were systematically investigated. Mechanical flotation experiments were carried out using the 7 cm and 9 cm diameter impellers in order to produce different hydrodynamic conditions. 900–1300 rpm impeller speeds were used for the 7 cm diameter impeller and 554–786 rpm for the 9 cm diameter impeller. The results show that the presence of NBs increased the flotation recovery of −425 + 106 μm quartz by up to 21%. For the 7 cm diameter impeller, the maximum flotation recoveries of 86.4% and 98% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Reynolds number (Re) of 81,000 and 66,000, respectively. For the 9 cm diameter impeller, the maximum recoveries of 86.3% and 97.5% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Re of 90,000 and 75,000, respectively. NBs increased the flotation rate constant up to 36%.

On the role of nanobubbles in particle–bubble adhesion for the flotation of quartz and apatitic minerals

This work evaluated the influence of nanobubbles (150–200 nm, mean diameter) on the visual adhesion of microbubbles (70 μm mean diameter) and macrobubbles (1 mm mean diameter) onto selected mineral particles (quartz and apatite) and on the flotation of both minerals, at bench scale. The adhesion of bubbles to high purity grains of quartz and apatite was monitored using a specially designed photographic technique. The results showed that the highest adhesion of bubbles onto the mineral grains occurred only after “conditioning” with nanobubbles. The nanobubbles appear to adhere to hydrophobic surfaces and confined to the rough surfaces of the grains, probably due to the dissipation of the free surface energy of the solids. As a result, the nanobubbles appear to serve as nuclei for enhanced adhesion of micro and/or macrobubbles, assisting the flotation of both minerals. In the case of quartz (D50 = 290 μm), the recovery increase was about 23% compared to a standard test of flotation with macrobubbles only. Furthermore, flotation kinetics was rapid and quartz recovery, at the first min, was double that obtained in the absence of nanobubbles. In the case of a fine apatitic ore (35% < 37 μm particles), best results were obtained with a combination of nano, micro and macrobubbles, with a 500–1000 g t−1 saponified soybean oil collector and a 300–600 g t−1 gelatinized corn starch depressant of iron bearing minerals. The P2O5 recoveries increased about 9% compared to flotation with macrobubbles only, and separation also occurred at a higher rate. The total recovered phosphate (4 min standard test) was obtained in the first 1.5 min, after conditioning with nanobubbles, followed by injection of and microbubbles. Results validated the reported high potential for nanobubbles in “surface conditioning”, the first stage of mineral flotation and were explained in terms of the solution and interfacial phenomena involved.

Effects of alkyl ether amine and calcium ions on fine quartz flotation and its guidance for upgrading vanadium from stone coal

Great progress has been made in reverse flotation of fine quartz, especially many new reagents were proved their excellent effects. However, the influences of complex flotation system on fine quartz flotation still need to be scrutinized. In this study, alkyl ether amine (Flotigam EDA-C from Clariant) was used as a collector for the flotation of quartz. It shows better collectability for the flotation of quartz at about pH 10.0 (±0.2). The adsorption mechanism of EDA-C on quartz and the influence of calcium ions on the flotation of quartz were investigated by adsorption tests, zeta-potential measurements, FTIR spectra measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic and atomic force microscopy imaging. Results show that EDA-C adsorbs on the quartz surface in physical adsorption with no new products, changing its zeta potentials and increasing its hydrophobicity. Calcium ion concentration of 20 mg/L, 40 mg/L, 60 mg/L and 1 g/L can inhibit the quartz surface strongly and decrease its recovery sharply. Inhibition action of 2 g/L Ca2+ decreased, even disappeared when the collector concentration increased to 90 mg/L. Calcium ions changed the chemical environment of Si atoms and O1s on the quartz surface. After positively charged CaOH+ adsorbed on quartz surface, the amount of EDA-C adsorbed on quartz surface and the recovery decreased. It was greatly inspired to explore quartz separation application from these results.

Comparative evaluation between mechanical and pneumatic cells for quartz flotation in the iron ore industry

Comparative evaluation between mechanical and pneumatic cells for quartz flotation in the iron ore industry

Interaction mechanism of magnesium ions with cassiterite and quartz surfaces and its response to flotation separation

• The interaction mechanism of magnesium ions with cassiterite and quartz surfaces was proposed. • Magnesium ions suppressed the floatation of cassiterite and activated the flotation of quartz, and it was related to pH. • Magnesium ions considerably affected the adsorption of oleate species onto cassiterite and quartz surfaces. • Magnesium ions interacted with the mineral surfaces via specific adsorption of hydrated Mg(OH) + and Mg(OH) 2 . The interaction behavior and mechanism of magnesium ions with cassiterite and quartz surfaces and their effects on flotation separation of cassiterite from quartz were investigated by micro-flotation tests, surface adsorption experiments, zeta potential measurements, solution chemistry calculation, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The micro-flotation tests showed that solution pH significantly affected the floatability of cassiterite and quartz in the absence and presence of magnesium ions, and the preferred flotation separation of cassiterite from quartz was obtained at pH 6.8–8.2. Adsorption experiments and zeta potential measurements indicated that magnesium ions significantly affected the adsorption of sodium oleate on the mineral surface. The effect gradually aggravated with increasing pH due to the specific adsorption of hydrated Mg(OH) + and Mg(OH) 2 on the mineral surface. The adsorption mechanism of magnesium species onto the mineral surface was ascertained by XPS measurement. Magnesium species were adsorbed onto the mineral surface through interaction with the O sites of cassiterite and quartz particles, and a strong interaction occurred in the solution with high pH.

Developing Effective Separation of Feldspar and Quartz While Recycling Tailwater by HF Pretreatment

The effect of hydrofluoric acid (HF) pretreatment on flotation of feldspar and quartz using dodecylamine (DDA) as collector was investigated by micro-flotation, zeta potential, pyrene fluorescence spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection flourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and bench scale flotation. The micro-flotation tests revealed that there was little difference in the flotation of feldspar and quartz at pH 2, using H2SO4 as pH regulator. After HF pretreatment, the floatability of feldspar significantly increased while the floatability of quartz showed no change. HF pretreatment resulted in leaching of SiO2 and enrichment of Na, K and Al on the feldspar surface. Consequently, the negative surface charge of feldspar increased at pH 2, which allowed for the flotation separation of the feasible minerals. This took place via an increased electrostatic adsorption between DDA and Na, K, Al on the feldspar surface, which effectively increased its hydrophobicity and as a result, improved the floatability of feldspar. An alternative process which exhibited effective separation of quartz and feldspar while recycling the tailwater from the flotation was proposed.

Contribution on fluid inclusion abundance to activation of quartz flotation

Contribution on fluid inclusion abundance to activation of quartz flotation

Effects of Metal Ions on the Flotation of Apatite, Dolomite and Quartz

The effects of Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, and Fe3+ on the flotation behaviors of apatite, dolomite and quartz were investigated through a micro-flotation test, and the influence of calcium ions on the flotation of these minerals was further elucidated by solution chemistry study, zeta potential measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The results indicate that an appropriate amount of Ca2+ and Mg2+ can improve the floatability of apatite but had a negligible effect on the flotation performance of dolomite, whereas Al3+, Fe3+, and excessive amounts of Ca2+ decreased the recovery of apatite and dolomite. The studied metal cations can activate quartz at a particular pH. It can be inferred from solution chemistry and zeta potential measurement that the influence of metal ions on the flotation of different minerals should be attributed to the adsorption of various hydrolysis species on the mineral surfaces. XPS analyses reveal that calcium ions can enhance the adsorption of anionic collector on apatite and quartz surfaces, and there are no apparent changes to be observed on the surface of dolomite in the absence and presence of calcium ions at a concentration of 2.5 × 10−3 M, which was in good agreement with the micro-flotation results.

Effects and Activation Mechanism of Calcium Ion on the Flotation of Quartz with Fatty Acid Collector

Effects and Activation Mechanism of Calcium Ion on the Flotation of Quartz with Fatty Acid Collector

Smart collectors: Control of the wettability and floatability of quartz with UV irradiation

Quartz is a hydrophilic mineral that usually associates with other ores. In this paper, the effect of UV stimuli on the wettability and floatability of quartz was studied. An azobenzene-containing surfactant was synthesized and its structure was identified by 1H NMR. We used UV–vis and 1H NMR spectra of the surfactant to study its photoisomerization. After UV irradiation of the surfactant molecular, the trans isomer concentration decreases and the cis isomer concentration increases; both the aromatic protons of the azobenzene moiety and aliphatic protons experience an upfield shift, indicating that the surfactant molecular isomerizes from the trans isomer to the cis form. We used contact angle measurements to demonstrate that UV irradiation decreases the hydrophobicity of the quartz and increases the adhesion tension of the surfactant on quartz. The results of flotation tests demonstrate that the azobenzene-containing surfactant has higher performances than alkyl amine salt, and UV irradiation improves the selectivity of the azobenzene-containing surfactant in the flotation of quartz. This study demonstrates that the azobenzene-containing surfactant can be used as a light-responsive collector for quartz in the flotation of phosphate ores.

The hydrophobic mechanism of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid to hemimorphite flotation

In this paper, the flotation separation of hemimorphite from quartz was investigated by using di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) as a collector. The results elucidated that DEHPA exhibited better flotation performances to hemimorphite than dibutyl phosphoric acid (DBP), tributyl phosphate (TBP), octanoic acid (OA) and palmitic acid (PA). And DEHPA also possessed good selectivity against quartz flotation and could realize the effective flotation separation of hemimorphite from quartz under pH 6.0–10.0. The adsorption and contact angle findings clearly indicated that DEHPA selectively adsorbed on hemimorphite, hardly on quartz. After DEHPA treatment, the hydrophobicity of hemimorphite was dramatically improved. Zeta potential suggested that DEHPA anion anchored on hemimorphite surfaces mainly through chemical bonds. FTIR inferred that DEHPA chemisorbed on to hemimorphite surfaces by formation of the ZnO bonds between the O atoms of the P(O)(OH) group and the surface zinc atoms, simultaneously with splitting the OH bonds of the POH group. XPS gave clear evidences that the adsorbed DEHPA combined with Zn(II) species on hemimorphite surfaces to generate the Zn(II)-DEHPA surface complexes.

Selective flotation of siderite and quartz from a carbonate-containing refractory iron ore using a novel amino-acid-based collector

Selective flotation of siderite and quartz from a carbonate-containing refractory iron ore using a novel amino-acid-based collector

Hemimorphite Flotation with 1-hydroxydodecylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid and Its Mechanism

1-hydroxydodecylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HDDPA) was prepared and first applied in flotation of hemimorphite. HDDPA exhibited superior flotation performances for recovery of hemimorphite in comparison with lauric acid, and it also possessed good selectivity against quartz flotation under pH 7.0–11.0. Contact angle results revealed that HDDPA preferred to attach on hemimorphite rather than quartz and promoted the hydrophobicity of hemimorphite surfaces. In the presence of HDDPA anions, the zeta potential of hemimorphite particles shifted to more negative value even if hemimorphite was negatively charged, inferring a strong chemisorption of hemimorphite to HDDPA. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) recommended that HDDPA might anchor on hemimorphite surfaces through bonding the oxygen atoms of its P(=O)–O groups with surface Zn(II) atoms. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) gave additional evidence that the Zn(II)-HDDPA surface complexes were formed on hemimorphite.

Selective flotation of smithsonite, quartz and calcite using alkyl diamine ether as collector

Abstract The flotation separation of smithsonite from calcite and quartz using a alkyl diamine ether (GE-609) as the collector was investigated through micro-flotation experiments and the real ore flotation experiments. The results show that GE-609 exhibits good collecting capability to three minerals without selectivity. The presence of sodium sulfide enhances the flotation of smithsonite and calcite while inhibits quartz. Moreover, both sodium silicate and sodium hexametaphosphate exhibit good selective inhibition to calcite. The real ore test results show that a zinc concentrate containing 23.51% Zn with the recovery of 71.02% is obtained in the closed-circuit test. To understand the adsorption of GE-609 on smithsonite surface, zeta potential measurement and FTIR analysis were carried out, and the results indicate that the collector GE-609 can adsorb on smithsonite surface through both electrostatic adsorption and chemical adsorption, and the presence of sodium sulfide enhances the adsorption of GE-609.

Process route for low grade itabirites concentration: Magnetic separation preceding flotation

ABSTRACTCationic reverse flotation of quartz is the standard or reference concentration route for itabirites containing at least 45% iron. Preceding the flotation stage, desliming in hydrocyclones must be conducted to remove ultrafine and colloidal particles from the flotation feed. The flotation performance assessed by weight and metallurgical recoveries and silica contamination in the concentrate is impaired by lower iron feed grades. Exploratory experiments of magnetic separation indicated that iron oxide particles in the size range <37 µm are entrained toward the non-magnetic product. This finding suggested a campaign of testing an alternative circuit consisting of magnetic separation preceding reverse flotation. Magnetic separation plays the roles of desliming and pre-concentration. The achieved content of silica in the alternative route concentrate was 1.46%, meeting the market specification for blast furnace pellet of 2%. The alternative route yielded significant gains in weight and metallurgical recoveries, reaching values 3.3% and 4.4% higher, respectively.

The action of cellulose-based and conventional flotation reagents under dry and wet conditions correlating inverse gas chromatography to microflotation studies

The fundamental formation of the three phase contact in flotation is an intensively and controversially discussed phenomenon and the contact angle method is usually employed to characterise the wettability of solid surfaces. A more recent technique to explore the hydrophobicity of solid particulate phases is inverse gas chromatography (iGC) which is used to quantify the wettability of solid surfaces through thermodynamic parameters. In this article, the recently introduced net free energy of interaction between particles and bubbles immersed in water ΔGpwb is derived from the surface free energy analysis and its correlation to the flotability of solid phases is evaluated. At the same time, a more detailed analysis on the action of flotation reagents is presented performing iGC measurements under dry and flotation experiments under aqueous conditions. In general, flotation reagents have to satisfy required features to adsorb selectively, render the solid surface wetting property sufficiently, and comply current regulations concerning the preservation of the environment. Consequently, many conventional reagents are increasingly subjected to restrictions. One potential alternative candidate is nanocellulose due to the versatile chemical composition and functionality. The synthesis of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) includes different mechanical and chemical modification routes to lower the crystal sizes and integrate specific functional groups and organic components into the cellulose structure. This study is concentrated on the investigation of aminated CNCs for the flotation of quartz in comparison to conventional reagents. The employment of CNCs asa renewable and sustainable alternative to conventional chemicals is challenging due to the more complex structure of cellulose crystals and leads to new perspectives regarding the action of flotation reagents at the interface of a mineral under dry and wet environments.

Non-polar oil assisted DDA flotation of quartz II: Effect of different polarity oil components on the flotation of quartz

It is well accepted that non-polar oils can be used as collector extender in oil agglomeration flotation of many different types of mineral. In this paper, in order to study the influences of oil structures on the non-polar oil assisted dodecylamine (DDA) flotation of quartz, the research focuses on the interaction of DDA (collector) and non-polar oil (collector extender) in aqueous phase. In this work, saturated hydrocarbon dodecane and cyclohexane, unsaturated hydrocarbon dodecene, aromatic hydrocarbon dimethylbenzene and 1-methylnaphthalene were chosen as researched subjects, and the influences of oil structures on interfacial activity of oil–DDA–water ternary models were investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. The flotation results demonstrated that the collecting capability of the oil and DDA combination follows the order of 1-methylnaphthalene>dimethylbenzene>dodecene>cyclohexane>dodecane. Moreover, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation is performed to investigate the interfacial property of these five non-polar oil-DDA-water systems, and five parameters, radial distribution functions, interaction energy, density distribution, interfacial thickness and self-diffusion coefficient are proposed to reveal the influence mechanism of molecular structure on interfacial activity of the ternary oil-DDA-water systems. The same trends are obtained from the parameters described above, aromatic hydrocarbon dimethylbenzene and 1-methylnaphthalene performance better than saturate hydrocarbon and unsaturated hydrocarbon. The researched results indicate the interaction between non-polar oil and DDA hydrophobic alkyl tail would enhance the mobility of oil component, which induce significant change of interfacial thickness and diffusivity. Additionally, the interaction between DDA hydrophilic head group and water molecules via strong hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions and weak electrostatic attraction would lead to water molecules penetrate through DDA monolayer and adsorb on oil surface. The researches enable us to obtain a deeper microscopic-level understanding of the interaction between oil-DDA-water ternary components, and maybe have some references for designing of oil-assisted flotation agent.

Non-polar oil assisted DDA flotation of quartz I: Interfacial interaction between dodecane oil drop and mineral particle

In this paper, in order to study the interaction mechanism of non-polar oil assisted dodecylamine (DDA) flotation of quartz, the particle-oil drops system were treated the same as the hydrophobic particles system. Pure dodecane was chosen as research object, the interfacial interactions between quartz particle and oil drop were investigated through calculation of the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (EDLVO) potential energy profile. Based on the calculations of the van der Waals attractive interaction potential, hydrophobic interaction potential, hydrocarbon chain association potential, and electrostatic interaction potential, the results indicated that the mineral particle and oil drop attachment state was mainly dominated by hydrophobic interaction potential. In the modification of oil agglomeration flotation process, the adsorption of DDA on the dodecane/water interface presented significant effects on the interfacial interactions between quartz particle and oil drop. It was found that the adsorption of DDA at dodecane/water interface changed the zeta potential value of oil drop from negative to positive. In this case, the attachment of the particles would occur spontaneously, which was due to the contribution of electric double layer attractive interaction. On the contrary, in the traditional oil agglomeration flotation process, a mechanical agitation was required to overcome a potential barrier due to the existence of electric double layer repulsive interaction between the negatively charged oil drops and mineral particles. This study was focus on the theoretical level, and provided some insights into mechanism of oil agglomeration flotation.