Collectorless flotation of marmatite with pine oil

Abstract

The interaction between pine oil and marmatite without collectors and activators was investigated by flotation, scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Zeta potential, and first-principle theory calculations. The flotation results show that marmatite exhibits considerable floatability with the addition of pine oil. SEM-EDS results show that carbon atomic ratios on the surface are significantly high, which suggests that the flotation of marmatite is caused by the adsorption of pine oil. Further evidence of the adsorption mechanism was given by IR, and Zeta potential examining pine oil depends on the physical adsorption on the surface independently. The first-principle theory calculations indicate that pine oil molecule adsorbs on Zn and Fe atom surfaces by ionic bond and covalent bond of adsorption energies of -1.23and -1.51 eV, respectively. P orbital of O atom, s orbital of Zn atom, and d orbital of Fe are the major participants.

Influence of Terpenic Oil on Flotation Behavior of Sphalerite and Implication for the Selective Separation

“…For sphalerite, the zeta potential was decreased with increasing pH with the absence of TO or TA in the suspension. The isoelectric point (IEP) of sphalerite without other reagents was approximately 3.3, which is similar to the value reported by Laskowski et al and Deng et al [21, 29]. Without the addition of reagents, the ions determining the electrical property of the sphalerite surface were principally protons and hydroxyl ions.…”

“…Terpenic oil (TO), a mixture of terpene alcohol (TA) and nonpolar oil, is widely used as a flotation frother in China because of excellent foaming performance and low cost. TO is mainly obtained from the hydration reaction of turpentine, which is derived from pine wood distillation or byproducts of the chemical industry [19][20][21]. TA, with a content of 80% to 85%, is the predominant component in TO that acts as a frother.…”