A novel molybdenite depressant for efficient selective flotation separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite

A novel small molecule depressant(M-DEP)was used to separate chalcopyrite and molybdenite via flotation.The results showed that M-DEP had an excellent selective depression on molybdenite,while had little effect on the flotation of chalcopyrite.The adsorption capacity of M-DEP on the surface of molybdenite was greater than that on chalcopyrite surface.The adsorption of M-DEP reduced the floatability of molybdenite and had less effect on the floatability of chalcopyrite,which was due to its different adsorption modes on the surface of the two minerals.Furthermore,the interaction between chalcopyrite and M-DEP was mainly chemical interaction,and almost all of the adsorbed M-DEP molecules were removed and replaced by sodium butyl xanthate(SBX).By contrast,hydrophobic interaction was the main way in which M-DEP was adsorbed on the molybdenite surface with little chemical interaction,which was less interfered by SBX addition.Therefore,M-DEP had a super selective depression on molybdenite.The study provided a novel depressant and approach for the deep separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite via flotation.

Advances in depressants for flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity:A critical review

The flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity can be achieved using selective depressants.In the flotation system of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals,depressants usually preferentially interact with the pyrite surface to render the mineral surface hydrophilic and hinder the adsorption of the collector.This review summarizes the advances in depressants for the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity.These advances include use of inorganic depressants (oxidants and sulfur–oxygen compounds),natural polysaccharides (starch,dextrin,konjac glucomannan,and galactomannan),modified polymers (carboxymethyl cellulose,polyacrylamide,lignosulfonate,and tricarboxylate sodium starch),organic acids (polyglutamic acid,sodium humate,tannic acid,pyrogallic acid,salicylic acid,and lactic acid),sodium dimethyl dithiocarbamate,and diethylenetriamine.The potential application of specific inorganic and organic depressants in the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity is reviewed.The advances in the use of organic depressants with respect to the flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals are comprehensively detailed.Additionally,the depression performances and mechanisms of different types of organic depressants on mineral surfaces are summarized.Finally,several perspectives on depressants vis-à-vis flotation separation of Cu–Fe sulfide minerals at low alkalinity are proposed.

Application of EDTMPS as a novel calcite depressant in scheelite flotation

In this study, the innovative use of ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonic sodium(EDTMPS) as a calcite depressant in scheelite flotation was investigated by flotation experiments, and its selective depression mechanism was revealed by contact angle measurement, FTIR analysis, Zeta potential test and XPS analysis. The flotation experiment results showed that scheelite and calcite could be efficiently separated under the following conditions: pulp p H=9.5, Na OL concentration of 1.5×10^(-4)mol/L, EDTMPS concentration of 3.0×10^(-5)mol/L, a scheelite concentrate with WO3grade of 65.49%, recovery of 83.29%and separation efficiency of 65.29% could be obtained from the artificially mixed minerals. The analysis results of mineral surface properties demonstrated that EDTMPS was strongly adsorbed onto the calcite surface through the reaction between the phosphonate group and the calcium ions, which hindered Na OL adsorption and increased the hydrophilicity of calcite. However, EDTMPS had weak adsorption strength on the scheelite surface, which didn’t affect further adsorption of Na OL, hence, the scheelite remained hydrophobic. Consequently, the selective adsorption of EDTMPS on the two minerals’ surfaces increased a difference in wettability and thus enabling them to be separated by flotation. Finally, the mechanism model of this flotation separation process was established.