Recovery of vanadium and carbon from low-grade stone coal by flotation

Flotation technology of high-carbon stone coal bearing vanadium was investigated based on mineralogical study. Carbon and vanadium flotation circuits were included in the flotation process for carbon and vanadium mineral concentrates. Carbon and vanadium minerals were efficiently separated via regrinding process in the carbon flotation circuit. The results show that the grade and recovery of V2O5 in flotation concentrate are 1.32% and 88.38%, respectively, and the tailings yield is 38.36%. Meanwhile, the grade and recovery of the carbon mineral are 30.08% and 75.10%, respectively, which may be utilized as the fossil fuels directly. The leaching rates of the flotation products are as high as 85%. The results demonstrate that there is no direct adverse effect of flotation process on vanadium leaching. This technology could potentially reduce cost and increase the treatment capacity of vanadium extraction and provide reference to stone coal flotation technology.