Research On Methods To Evaluate Phosphate Flotation Collector

Flotation is the most effective method in phosphate ore dressing, andcollectors play a key role in those flotation processes. Because most collectorsused in phosphate flotation are made from natural fatty acids of variousorigins, and different type of phosphate rocks has quite differentmineralogical and chemical compositions, and needs different flotationreagent, so plenty of phosphate flotation collectors are available on the market.Thus, it is especially important to evaluate different collectors, and understandtheir performances.At present, there are lots of methods to evaluate flotation collectors.The flotation method is the oldest, mature, and widely used one. but theprocedure for flotation method is very complex, laborious andtime-consuming; Through parameters such as the solubility product constant,complex stability constant, calculated potential etc. to evaluate collectors hasbeen widely used in flotation theoretical study, but limited practical use, dueto the complexity of actual flotation process which is usually affected by toomany factors; Using spectrometry and a variety of spectrophotometricmethods to determine the adsorption capacity of collector on the mineralsurface is mature and has found application recently, but the high dependenceon equipment and external environment restricts its wide use. Of the abovemethods, some are closely interrelated, for example, the amount of collectoradsorbed on mineral surface is positively related to the contact angle.Therefore, it is very important to select a exact parameter of the flotation toevaluate a flotation collector. For this purpose, a combustion-adsorptionevaluation method was introduced and studied in this thesis. The principle ofthis method can be generalized as using the combustion method to determinethe adsorption capacity of collector on the mineral surface, then evaluatecollectors according to their adsorption capacity. Firstly, an evaluation model was constructed and appraised usingcollectors such as oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid whose structureand composition is clear, according their flotation performances and theiradsorption capacity on dolomite.Secondly, several commercial collectors in phosphate reverse flotation,i.e. WF-01, WIT-01, TF-5,613A were chosen and evaluated using this model.Finally, several synergists in phosphate reverse floatation was briefly testand discussed using this method.