| Phosphate ore deposits high in dolomite are not economically viable to process using current techniques. One solution to facilitate the processing of this ore is through the selective flotation of dolomite. In an attempt to develop a selective collector for this system, malonate, citrate, betaine, and sarcosine collectors have been synthesized and tested for their ability to serve as dolomite collectors. Microflotation tests were conducted to determine the initial response of mineral samples of dolomite and apatite to the various collectors. Since the sarcosine collectors showed the most potential for floating dolomite, these collectors were analyzed further. Zeta potential and FTIR analysis have been conducted to determine the methods of adsorption. Benchtop flotation with a Denver cell showed that significant concentrations of dolomite are affected with sarcosine as collector, but a phosphate concentration containing less than 1% MgO was not achieved with the experimental conditions employed. |
