Nanobubble generation and its applications in froth flotation(part Ⅱ):fundamental study and theoretical analysis

Froth flotation is a commonly employed technology to improve the quality of raw coal and minerals.Coal and minerals particle size and surface hydrophobicity are two main parameters that affect three key steps in froth flotation process:particle-bubble collision,adhesion,and detachment.This paper fundamentally investigated the effects of nanobubble on coal and phosphate flotation.It has been found that the presence of nanobubble in flotation pulp could widen the coal and phosphate flotation particle size range,increase the particle surface hydrophobicity,and thus improve the coal and phosphate froth flotation recovery.

Froth flotation of refuse coal fines and process optimization using 2D surface plots

Refuse coal fines of size <500 μm was collected from a metallurgical coal preparation plant located in the eastern coalfield region of India. The coal was beneficiated using froth flotation technique to recover clean coal with ash content of about 20% with the highest possible yield. Diesel oil as collector and pine oil as frother were used. Box-Behnken statistical design was followed for analyzing the performance at varying pulp density, collector and frother dosage. Results were discussed using 2D surface plots. Response function predictions determined by the regression analysis show coefficient of correlation(R^2) for yield and the ash content as 0.72 and 0.86, respectively. The highest yield of 45.79% is obtained at pulp density 10%, collector dose 2 kg/t and frother dose 1.5 kg/t. The lowest ash content of 18.9% is obtained at pulp density 10%, collector dose 1 kg/t and frother dose 1 kg/t.

Kinetic approach to the study of froth flotation applied to a lepidolite ore

The number of published studies related to the optimization of lithium extraction from low-grade ores has increased as the demand for lithium has grown. However, no study related to the kinetics of the concentration stage of lithium-containing minerals by froth flotation has yet been reported. To establish a factorial design of batch flotation experiments, we conducted a set of kinetic tests to determine the most selective alternative collector, define a range of pulp p H values, and estimate a near-optimum flotation time. Both collectors（Aeromine 3000 C and Armeen 12D） provided the required flotation selectivity, although this selectivity was lost in the case of pulp p H values outside the range between 2 and 4. Cumulative mineral recovery curves were used to adjust a classical kinetic model that was modified with a non-negative parameter representing a delay time. The computation of the near-optimum flotation time as the maximizer of a separation efficiency（SE） function must be performed with caution. We instead propose to define the near-optimum flotation time as the time interval required to achieve 95%–99% of the maximum value of the SE function.

Minimalization of Ash from Iranian Gilsonite by Froth Flotation

Gilsonite is a natural, brittle, and glisten tar hydrocarbon, which widely uses in the chemical, paint, and oil industry, besides asphalt production and thermal insulation. Major gangues of Gilsonite are gypsum, pyrite, silica, dolomite, calcite, and shale which are known as ash. Due to the fine liberation degree of gangue minerals from Gilsonite, most of the physical mineral processing methods are not applicable. Gilsonite has partially a behavior like coal in flotation due to its high carbon content and the similar composition of ash. As a result, flotation is one of the best methods to decrease the ash content of Gilsonite. In this study, four factors i.e. the dosage of collector, frother, and depressant, and solid to liquid ratio in three levels were examined in flotation to reduce the ash content and increase the recovery of Gilsonite. These tests were designed with the Taguchi method by Design-Expert software. Our results showed the lowest ash content of 5.2% was obtained in the condition which 200 g/t Gasoil as collector, 100 g/t MIBC as a frother, 300 g/t sodium silicate as a depressant, and pulp density was 5% solid to liquid weight ratio.

STUDIES ON THE FROTH CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE COLLECTORS IN NONMETALLIC MINERAL FLOTATION

The flotation results of a phosphate ore are improved by replacing the conventional collectors of fatty acids with composite collectors. The synergistic effect on the froth characteristics in systems using composite collectors has then been studied, and the concept of 'mixed hemimicellae' has been proposed in the adsorption of composite collectors at the air/solution interfaces.

Flotation of indium-beard marmatite from multi-metallic ore

Flotation of indium-beard marmatite from Dulong multi-metallic ore in Yunnan Province of China was studied to improve the grades and recoveries of zinc and indium of the zinc concentrate in Dulong concentration plant. The experimental results indicated that copper sulfate mixed with a chemical reagent X- 1 as the activator in the marmatite flotation produced a much better beneficiation than copper sulfate alone, increasing the zinc and indium recoveries of 10% and 6%, respectively, while the concentrate grades remained unchanged. Also, the new activator acted well around pH 10, allowing large savings on lime consumption in the marmatite flotation. In addition, it has been found that a sufficient activated time of activator with ore slurry in the flotation is needed to achieve good beneficiation of the marmatite ore.

Surface chemical study of the selective separation of chalcopyrite and marmatite

FCLS (Ferric Chromium Lignin Sulfonate) was used to aid the separation of chalcopyrite from marmatite. Flotation, adsorption and zeta-potential tests of treated marmatite and chalcopyrite were performed. The flotation of marmatite was strongly depressed, while that of chalcopyrite was only slightly depressed, over a wide range of pH values when FCLS was used as depressant in the presence of Butyl Xanthate (BX). The adsorption of BX onto chalcopyrite or marmatite takes place over a wide pH range. The adsorption density of BX on chalcopyrite and marmatite decreases as the pH increases. The adsorption density of FCLS onto marmatite is greater than the adsorption density onto chalcopyrite. The zeta potentials of chalcopyrite and marmatite become more negative due to the addition of xanthate and FCLS.

First-principle study on the surface atomic relaxation properties of sphalerite

The surface properties of sphalerite （ZnS） were theoretically investigated using first principle calculations based on the density functional theory （DFT）. DFT results indicate that both the （110） and the （220） surfaces of sphalerite undergo surface atom relaxation after geometry optimization, which results in a considerable distortion of the surface region. In the normal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the sur- face, S atoms in the first surface layer move outward from the bulk （dl）, whereas Zn atoms move toward the bulk （d2）, forming an S-enriched surface. The values of these displacements are 0.003 nm for dl and 0.021 nm for d2 on the （110） surface, and 0.002 nm for dl and 0.011 nm for d2 on the （220） surface. Such a relaxation process is visually interpreted through the qualitative analysis of molecular mechanics. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic （XPS） analysis provides the evidence for the S-enriched surface. A polysulphide （S n^2- ） surface layer with a bind- ing energy of 163.21 eV is formed on the surface of sphalerite after its grinding under ambient atmosphere. This S-enriched surface and the S 2- surface layer have important influence on the flotation properties ofsphalerite. Keywords：

A Novel Minkowski-distance-based Consensus Clustering Algorithm

Consensus clustering is the problem of coordinating clustering information about the same data set coming from different runs of the same algorithm. Consensus clustering is becoming a state-of-the-art approach in an increasing number of applications. However, determining the optimal cluster number is still an open problem. In this paper, we propose a novel consensus clustering algorithm that is based on the Minkowski distance. Fusing with the Newman greedy algorithm in complex networks, the proposed clustering algorithm can automatically set the number of clusters. It is less sensitive to noise and can integrate solutions from multiple samples of data or attributes for processing data in the processing industry. A numerical simulation is also given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Finally, this consensus clustering algorithm is applied to a froth flotation process.