Improved Flotation of Fine Flake Graphite Using a Modified Thickening Process

Abstract

Natural graphite ores are usually upgraded by froth flotation. However, complex processes with multistage grinding and flotation are required to achieve decent liberation and separation of graphite and gangue minerals. This study reports a short and improved flotation process for fine flake graphite ore by employing a thickening stage. The results indicated that increasing the regrinding concentration via thickening can improve the grinding efficiency and, thus, shorten the separation process. With thickening, a high-grade intermediate concentrate of 96.01% was obtained after three steps of cleaner flotation, which is close to the final concentrate after five steps. Particle size distribution analysis and FIB-SEM-EDS studies suggested that the main contribution of thickening–regrinding was to achieve better abrasion rather than attrition of the graphite flakes, thus liberating the interlayer impurities without reducing the size of the graphite flakes. This study offers a more cost-effective pathway for the simplified flotation of natural graphite ores.

Numerical Simulation of Air–Water–Flake Graphite Triple-Phase Flow Field in a Homemade Double-Nozzle Jet Micro-Bubble Generator

“…These beneficiation processes can improve the grade of flake graphite; however, the process is long and complex, and it is straightforward to damage the graphite structure on large scales. Therefore, optimizing the beneficiation process while ensuring the grade recovery and extraction of the flake graphite concentrate has emerged as a pressing issue that necessitates resolution within the existing flake graphite beneficiation procedure [5,6].…”