Effectively enhancing recovery of fine spodumene via aggregation flotation

The effects of shear strength on aggregation flotation processes for fine spodumene(particle size less than 19μm)were investigated in this study.Sodium oleate was used as a surfactant and collector.The shear strength was controlled by varying the agitation speed of a selfmade stirring apparatus.The aggregation process was studied by measuring the continuous transformations in the size distribution and shape of flocs.The results showed that as the shear strength increased,the distribution of fine spodumene transformed from bimodal to unimodal mode.The flocs tended to bridge more branches with a high shear strength and form globule-like flocs with very high strengths.The parameter"aggregation degree"was introduced to evaluate the aggregation process as a function of shear strength.The flotation rate of flocs formed with different shear strengths was also studied.These results demonstrated that the flotation rate was closely related to shear strength and that there was a close correlation between this and aggregation degree.These results could be used to guide the actual production of fine particles via shear aggregation flotation.

Flotation separation of spodumene and albite with activation of calcium ion hydrolysate components

It is difficult to separate spodumene and albite by flotation with calcium ion as activator.In this study,microflotation experiment,solution chemistry calculation,density functional theory(DFT)calculation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)analysis were conducted to investigate the effect mechanism of c alcium hydrolysate on the flotation separation of spodumene and albite.Results show that the weak interaction intensity of Ca^(2+)with O atoms on the mineral surface makes it difficult to activate minerals effectively.The O atom in the hydroxyl group of Ca(OH)^(+)and Ca(OH)_(2)can be strongly bonded with Al atom on the mineral surface,which greatly improves the adsorption strength.After the activation of Ca(OH)^(+),the adsorption forms of collectors on the surface of spodumene and albite are quite different,and the adsorption intensity on the surface of spodumene is higher,which is conducive to the flotation separation of spodumene and albite.After the action of Ca(OH)_(2),the adsorption of the collector on the albite surface is stronger than that of spodumene,which is not conducive to the flotation separation of the two minerals.By adjusting the initial concentration of calcium ions and pulp pH,Ca(OH)^(+)is the main active component,which is the key to improve the separation effect of spodumene and albite.

Flotation separation of feldspar from quartz using sodium fluosilicate as a selective depressant

The physical and chemical properties of feldspar and quartz are highly similar,thus they cannot be easily separated effectively.In this work,the flotation separation of feldspar from quartz using sodium fluosilicate(Na_(2)SiF_(6);SF)as a selective depressant was investigated.Moreover,the influence mechanism of SF on the selective flotation separation of feldspar and quartz was investigated via flotation tests,chemical analysis of flotation solution,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)and contact angle analysis.The results of the flotation tests show that feld spar and quartz without SF treatment have good floatability.After SF treatment,feldspar still has good floatability,whereas quartz has significantly reduced floatability.Flotation solution chemical analysis shows that the functional group plays an important role in depressing the quartz is[SiF_(6)]^(2-).FTIR,XPS and contact angle analysis results show that[SiF_(6)]^(2-)is adsorbed only on the surface of quartz.Thus,a thin hydrophilic SiOF layer is generated on the surface,which interferes with the adsorption of the collector on the surface of the quartz.This phenomenon leads to a significant reduction in quartz's floatability.Therefore,SF has a good ability to separate feldspar from quartz by flotation.