Bacillus licheniformis a potential bio-collector for Barite-Quartz selective separation

Employing microorganisms and their metabolites as a potentially low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative for the synthetic compounds in many of the current mineral beneficiation techniques is receiving increasing attention. For the first time, the influence of the Bacillus licheniformis cells and its metabolites for selective flotation of barite from quartz was studied. The maximum adsorption density of 1.33 x 10(10) cells/g was achieved at pH = 3 for barite, six times higher than quartz. Flotation experiments revealed that cell-assisted separation was more effective than metabolite-facilitated flotation, either for single mineral or the mixed sample (barite mixed with quartz). Barite was recovered up to 87% (at pH = 3) in sole-mineral flotation experiments, and flotation of the mixed sample, also, proved a successful selective separation of barite (76% recovery) from quartz at the bio-collector dosage of 6.55 x 10(3) cells/ml. Adsorption kinetics study showed that the pseudo second-order model could represent cell adsorption densities for both minerals, while the Langmuir model simulated adsorption isotherms. Finally, it was shown that B. licheniformis cells could selectively enhance particles hydrophobicity and successfully be utilized as a bio-collector.

Automated summary

The use of Bacillus licheniformis cells and their metabolites shows potential as a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative for synthetic compounds in mineral beneficiation techniques. Selective flotation of barite from quartz was achieved, with the cell-assisted separation proving more effective than metabolite-facilitated flotation in both single mineral and mixed samples. The study also demonstrated the ability of B. licheniformis cells to selectively enhance particles hydrophobicity and act as a successful bio-collector.