Copper sulfide minerals have differences in properties. The four common copper sulfide minerals, chalcopyrite, chalcopyrite, copper blue, and bornite, have slight differences in floatability and reaction with reagents. At the same time, the properties of copper sulfide minerals are generally similar to other sulfide minerals, and copper sulfide minerals are often composed of several different copper sulfide minerals, resulting in differences in the type and dosage of reagents required, as well as pH values. In summary, the main objectives of selecting flotation reagents for copper sulfide minerals include two aspects: separating sulfide minerals from gangue minerals; Separate copper sulfide minerals from other sulfide minerals.
Flotation reagents are usually composed of three types of reagents: collectors, inhibitors, and medium regulators. Therefore, in this article, we will describe the reagent system for copper sulfide flotation from three aspects: collectors, inhibitors, and medium regulators, and explore how to achieve these two objectives.
Common copper sulfide collectors include xanthate collectors, black powder collectors, thiocarbamate collectors, sulfur nitrogen collectors, and so on. Among these reagents, xanthate type collectors are commonly used for copper sulfide minerals, with strong collection power. However, there is also a problem of poor selectivity. They can not only capture copper sulfide minerals, but also sulfide minerals of other metals. In copper sulfide minerals, the reaction strength with xanthate is also different, and the order of reaction strength with xanthate is chalcopyrite, copper blue, bornite, and chalcopyrite in descending order.
Black medicine collectors have the characteristics of diverse types and good selectivity, but their disadvantage is that their ability to collect copper sulfide minerals is weaker than that of yellow medicine. Thioamine collectors are also important collectors, with better selectivity than xanthate collectors and black powder collectors, but their disadvantage is their high cost.
Therefore, in the reagent system for flotation of copper sulfide ore, combination collectors are often used to increase selectivity for copper sulfide minerals and ensure their collection ability. At the same time, new collectors such as BK901h, EMZ-91, and CSU31 with stronger selectivity for copper sulfide minerals have also been developed.
In the process of separating copper sulfide minerals from other metal minerals, it is necessary to suppress other metal minerals to ensure the purity of mineral composition. For example, copper sulfide minerals are often associated with minerals such as galena and sphalerite, and gangue minerals may contain easily floating toxic sand and other minerals. Among them, inhibitors can be divided into inorganic inhibitors and organic inhibitors.
Commonly used inorganic inhibitors include lime, cyanide, sulfite, potassium permanganate, sodium carbonate, etc. Among them, lime not only serves as an inhibitor of pyrite, but also as a pH regulator. The effects of lime, calcium oxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and sodium carbonate are similar, all of which can effectively reduce the floatability of pyrite. Cyanide is also an effective inhibitor of pyrite, which can form a complex with the surface of pyrite to remove xanthate from the mineral surface. Cyanide is also an inhibitor of sphalerite. In the flotation of complex copper sulfide minerals, reagents such as dichromate and sodium sulfite are often used to suppress galena. For ores containing arsenopyrite, arsenopyrite, and arsenopyrite, lime is used to maintain the slurry in a strong alkaline environment, which inhibits the oxidation of arsenic minerals.
Common organic inhibitors include starch, lactic acid, dextrin, tannic acid, etc. Compared with a single inorganic inhibitor, organic inhibitors can achieve better results in the flotation of complex copper sulfide minerals, and have the characteristics of safety, environmental protection, and strong selectivity. However, there are still certain issues in terms of usage and cost.
When flotation different copper sulfide minerals, the main flotation environmental factor is pH value, which can be adjusted using reagents such as lime and sodium carbonate. However, for different compositions of copper sulfide minerals, the range of pH values varies. For example, chalcopyrite has good floatability under weakly alkaline conditions, so the pH value should not be too high. According to the selection of different collectors, the appropriate pH value also varies. For example, when using black powder, a relatively lower pH value is required to achieve better collection effects.
The above is a description of the reagents used for flotation separation of copper sulfide minerals. For copper sulfide minerals in different regions, the separation reagent system is different, and targeted beneficiation tests should be conducted to determine the suitable reagent and dosage. Before constructing a beneficiation plant, one can consult with a beneficiation equipment supplier with a beneficiation laboratory to determine the process flow and reagent system for flotation of copper sulfide minerals through experiments, in order to avoid economic losses caused by mismatches between the reagent system and the process flow.
