Flotation is the method with high frequency of spodumene beneficiation. In the flotation process, in addition to rational design of flotation process and selection of suitable flotation equipment, flotation reagents are also a very important link. Proper selection of flotation reagents can help improve the flotation index of spodumene. Here we introduce two commonly used spodumene flotation reagents and the correct selection method.
There are two commonly used flotation reagents for spodumene, namely collector and regulator.
Single collector
Single collector is mostly used for laboratory research. At present, spodumene ore flotation is mainly divided into two processes: reverse flotation cation collector and positive flotation anion collector.
The cationic collector for reverse flotation is amine collector, such as dodecylamine. Such agents can reverse float quartz, mica and other gangue minerals in acid pulp. This method is mainly applicable to rough separation, but it is not widely used.
The anionic collectors of traditional positive flotation spodumene ore are mostly fatty acids and soap collectors, such as oleic acid, sodium oleate, naphthenic acid soap, oxidized paraffin soap, etc. The advantages of such collectors are wide range of use, low price, strong collection capacity, and the disadvantages are poor selectivity, sensitive to temperature, not resistant to hard water, and significant fluctuation of beneficiation indexes.
Combined collector
The use of combined collectors can usually bring into play the synergistic effect of various reagents, so as to obtain ideal flotation separation indicators.
A spodumene concentrate with a Li2O grade of 6% and a recovery of 62% was obtained by treating a domestic spodumene ore with sodium oleate and oxidized paraffin soap as the combined collector.
With oxidized paraffin soap+oximic acid as the combined collector, the raw ore with a Li2O grade of 1.25% was floated to obtain a concentrate with a Li2O grade of 6.21% and a recovery of 76.30%.
The use of combined collectors can significantly improve the mineral flotation separation effect, reduce the dosage of reagents, and thus significantly improve the economic benefits of enterprises.
New collector
In recent years, new efficient collectors for spodumene flotation have been emerging. At present, most of the efficient collectors developed for spodumene flotation are chelating collectors. Although they have the characteristics of good selectivity and excellent performance, they are generally expensive and difficult to promote in practical production and application.
The flotation regulator of spodumene ore is mainly "three alkalis", namely Na2CO3, NaOH, Na2S and CaCl2.
Activation effect of regulator and metal ions: the hydroxyl complex formed by metal ions under neutral or weak alkaline conditions has high adsorption, which can greatly improve the mineral collection ability, thereby improving the flotation effect.
Effect of regulator and traditional inhibitor: When adding alkaline regulator such as calcium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, etc., the slime composed of silicate minerals in the pulp will react with alkali to form a certain amount of sodium silicate, which itself is an inorganic inhibitor with the same impact on flotation as adding traditional inhibitors. Therefore, inorganic inhibitors are not added specially in flotation practice.
Effects of regulators and new inhibitors: Among the new inhibitors, citric acid and lactic acid have weak selectivity on spodumene and beryl, tartaric acid and oxalic acid have strong but no selectivity on the two minerals, Na2S, sodium hexametaphosphate and disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate have both strong inhibition and strong selectivity, among which disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate has a better selectivity on spodumene.
There are many kinds of spodumene flotation reagents. In addition to the commonly used flotation reagents in the traditional flotation process, there are also some new reagents emerging in the last two years. How to choose them?
It is suggested that you first conduct flotation tests on representative spodumene ore samples. It is a scientific and rigorous method to determine the type and amount of reagents to be used through flotation tests. At the same time, flotation tests can reduce trial and error costs and ensure greater benefits for the concentrator. Xinhai is an old mineral processing service provider established for more than 20 years. With rich mineral processing experience and strong factory strength, it can undertake spodumene mineral processing test projects.
The above are the flotation reagents commonly used for spodumene and the methods for correct selection of flotation reagents.
