Selective Flotation of Calcite from Fluorite: A Novel Reagent Schedule

Abstract

Abstract:Fluorite is an important strategic mineral. In general, fluorite ores will contain a certain amount of calcite gangue mineral. Thus, they need to be separated from each other. For an economic separation, a reverse flotation process is used to float calcite gangue from fluorite. However, little information on the separation is available. In this study, a novel reagent schedule using citric acid (CA) as the depressant, sodium fluoride (NaF) as the regulator and sulfoleic acid (SOA) as the collector, was developed to separate calcite from fluorite. The results demonstrated a high selectivity for the flotation of calcite from fluorite using this new reagent schedule. The best selective separation for a single mineral and mixed binary minerals was obtained when 200 mg/L of NaF, 50 mg/L of CA, and 6 mg/L of SOA were used at pH 9. In addition, a batch flotation experiment was carried out using a run-of-mine feed material. Selective separation was achieved with 85.18% calcite removal while only 11.2% of fluorite was lost. An attempt was made to understand the effect of the new reagent schedule on the flotation of calcite. The results from both microflotation and bench scale flotation demonstrated a great potential for industrial application using this novel reagent schedule to upgrade fluorite ore.

Bastnaesite, Barite, and Calcite Flotation Behaviors with Salicylhydroxamic Acid as the Collector

“…In the absence of SHA, the results show that the isoelectric points (IEP) of bastnaesite, and barite are at pH 8.1 and 8.3, respectively. The IEP of calcite may be located around pH 8.0 [32,33]. In the presence of SHA, the zeta-potentials of bastnaesite, barite, and calcite are all negative at pH 5.0-12.0.…”

Flotation Separation of Scheelite from Fluorite Using Sodium Polyacrylate as Inhibitor

“…The harsh flotation process conditions make mineral processing an expensive and complex process, and the labor intensity of workers increases [4]. However, scheelite and fluorite have similar surface properties and exhibit high surface reactivity with reagents [5,6]; hence, separating the two minerals is almost impossible without inhibitor addition. In recent years, inhibitors such as organic colloids, sodium phosphates, quebracho, and hydrosols have been used for such a purpose [7,8]; these agents also depress scheelite to a considerable extent.…”

Selective Flotation of Pyrite from Galena Using Chitosan with Different Molecular Weights

“…According to the principle of "float less and depress more", it is more cost-effective to reversely float pyrite while depressing lead concentrates, in a bid to upgrade lead concentrates containing pyrite impurities [15]. Our previous studies have also confirmed that reverse flotation is an effective method to improve the grade of desired mineral/metal in flotation concentrate, and the development of a new reagents scheme [16][17][18] is the key to achieve this [19,20]. Therefore, in this study, we explored an efficient and highly selective galena depressant and a pyrite-removal strategy to upgrade lead concentrates.…”

“…The flotation experiments were carried out in an XFG-type flotation machine [19,[35][36][37][38] at a spindle speed of 1850 rpm. In each flotation experiment, a single-mineral sample (2.00 g) or mixed-mineral sample (1.00 g pyrite plus 1.00 g galena) was added to the flotation cell (with 40 mL DI water) to obtain the mineral suspension.…”