Journal
MINERALS
Volume 12, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/min12050586
Keywords
flotation; copper sulfides; tailings; carrier flotation; flocculation; oil agglomeration
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This article discusses the mechanism of tailing loss in flotation process and reviews and discusses the flotation methods for fine particles recovery such as microbubble flotation, column flotation, polymer flocculation, etc., as well as their applications and limitations.
Flotation is a common mineral processing method used to upgrade copper sulfide ores; in this method, copper sulfide mineral particles are concentrated in froth, and associated gangue minerals are separated as tailings. However, a significant amount of copper is lost into tailings during the processing; therefore, tailings can be considered secondary resources or future deposits of copper. Particle-bubble collision efficiency and particle-bubble aggregate stability determines the recovery of target particles; this attachment efficiency plays a vital role in the selectivity process. The presence of fine particles in the flotation circuit is because of excessive grinding, which is to achieve a higher degree of liberation. Complex sulfide ores of markedly low grade further necessitate excessive grinding to achieve the maximum degree of liberation. In the flotation process, fine particles due to their small mass and momentum are unable to collide with rising bubbles, and their rate of flotation is very slow, further lowering the recovery of target minerals. This collision efficiency mainly depends on the particle-bubble size ratio and the concentration of particles present in the pulp. To overcome this problem and to maintain a favorable particle-bubble size ratio, different techniques have been employed by researchers to enhance particle-bubble collision efficiency either by increasing particle size or by decreasing bubble size. In this article, the mechanism of tailing loss is discussed in detail. In addition, flotation methods for fine particles recovery such as microbubble flotation, column flotation, nanobubble flotation, polymer flocculation, shear flocculation, oil agglomeration, and carrier flotation are reviewed, and their applications and limitations are discussed in detail.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available