Assessing the Combined Effect of Water Temperature and Complex Water Matrices on Xanthate Adsorption Using Multiple Linear Regression

Abstract

The combined effect of dissolved ions and water temperature on the adsorption of a xanthate collector on chalcopyrite and pentlandite was investigated using multiple linear regression. Cationic species improved the adsorption of the collector on sulphide minerals through xanthate adsorption activation. Thiosulphate ions generally had a negative effect on collector adsorption, and the interaction of thiosulphate ions and cations effectively reduced collector adsorption on the sulphide minerals. With regards to temperature variation caused by seasonal variation, this study suggests that temperature can influence the adsorption of collectors in the flotation process and this should be approached on a case by case basis as it seems to differ with the type of mineral under investigation. These fundamental results prompt a discussion on how complex water matrices can affect interactions of reagents and sulphide minerals at the solid–liquid interface and the possible effect on flotation performance.

Reduction of Amine Consumption in Iron Ore Flotation through Direct Reuse of Process Water on Bench Scale

“…Indeed, factors such as the nature and concentration of dissolved ions or combinations of ions are possibly more signi cant than overall water conductivity. The experimental ndings obtained from recent research [32][33][34][35][36] utilizing intricate water matrices and xanthate as a collector demonstrate that varying concentrations of ions have distinct effects on collector adsorption and otation. Bornival et al [37] reported that coal preparation plants utilize recycled water, and the ionic composition of the process water exhibits a conductivity that ranges between 240 and 15,960 S/cm, thereby demonstrating the signi cant variability in water quality.…”

The Impact of Pulp Temperature on the Water Chemistry and Flotation Performance

“…Effects of high temperature on xanthate adsorption is considered to be mineral and ore specific. High temperature (50 -60 °C) enhances xanthate adsorption on chalcopyrite, particularly at high dosages, but it negatively impacts on the adsorption on pentlandite [18,33,34]. This is attributed to weaker floatability of pentlandite and faster surface oxidation than chalcopyrite.…”

“…The zinc recovery was not affected significantly in this test, but in the test with the highest concentrations of calcium, sulfate and thiosulfate. High ion concentration may enhance formation of colloidal calcium-sulfoxy compounds on mineral surfaces [18].…”

“…The effects of the major contaminating ions, such as calcium, magnesium, sulfate, thiosulfate, and residual organics are investigated using different experimental methods. However, the temperature of the process water is also considered a significant parameter affecting dissolution and surface characteristics of minerals, water chemistry and hence the flotation performance [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Seasonal variations and the grinding/regrinding processes can significantly change the water temperature in a process plant.…”

“…This effect has been observed particularly for fluorspar [22], for the rate of pyrite flotation [13] and for mixtures of sphalerite and chalcopyrite [23]. However, elevated pulp temperatures (>40 °C) may adversely affect the flotation performance through desorption of the collector molecules from mineral surfaces, decomposition of the collector molecules, increasing dissolution of minerals, and precipitation of sulfoxy complex species in the pulp [18,19,24]. The pulp temperature may also affect the flotation performance through the changes in hydrodynamics (pulp viscosity, gas solubility, bubble size and velocity, froth stability and bubble-particle interactions [25][26][27][28].…”