1976 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
the raw material, ethanol as the solvent, and chloroacetic
acid as the etherification agent to prepare carboxymethyl
chitosan. According to the experimental results, when the
volume fraction of ethanol is 90%, the yield of carboxy-
methyl chitosan is the highest. Li et al. [11] proposed a
new process of selective dispersion-flocculation-magnetic
separation. The process involves using the reagent YL-1
for selective flocculation of iron tailings from the Yunnan
Shangchang factory, followed by high-gradient magnetic
separation. Ultimately, a concentrate with an iron grade of
59.63% and an iron recovery rate of 50.41% was obtained.
This article explores the development of modified
agents based on starch flocculants to enhance the mag-
netic separation efficiency of fine-grained iron minerals.
Through flocculation-magnetic separation experiments
on fine-grained specularite, the study investigates the
enhanced recovery effects of carboxymethyl corn starch
and carboxymethyl cassava starch with different degrees of
substitution on single minerals. The objective is to identify
the polymer flocculant with the optimal flocculation effect.
Additionally, the article employs electron microscopy, Zeta
potential measurements, and FTIR analysis to observe and
analyze the selectivity of modified agents and the interac-
tion mechanisms between the agents and minerals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples and Reagents
Chemical composition analysis was conducted on a specu-
larite sample taken from Brazil, and the result is presented
in Table 1. The sample’s total iron (TFe) content is 68.95%,
including 0.16% of FeO. The impurity SiO2 content is
1.31%, followed by small amounts of CaO and Al2O3. The
harmful elements S and P are present in concentrations less
than 0.1%. XRD was employed to determine the mineral
composition of the specularite sample, and the results are
depicted in Figure 1a. In Figure 1a, it is evident that the
predominant iron mineral in the sample is hematite. After
grinding, a specularite single mineral was prepared with
–12.5 μm particle size by hydraulic analysis method, and
its particle size characteristic is shown in Figure 2a. From
Figure 2a, the average particle size of the specularite single
mineral is 8.29 μm, and the particle size distribution of
each particle grade is uniform, meeting the experimental
requirements.
The procedure involved the use of a ceramic ball mill for
the fine grinding of quartz powder ore. Subsequently, the
quartz was soaked in hydrochloric acid with a concentration
of 10%, followed by repeated washing with deionized water
Table 1. Chemical composition analysis of samples (wt%)
Composition of Specularite TFe FeO SiO
2 Al
2 O
3 S P
Content 68.95 0.16 1.31 0.20 0.005 0.01
Composition of Quartz SiO2 Al2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O
Content 99.11 0.18 0.18 0.05 0.05 0.01
Figure 1. XRD pattern of specularite (a) and quartz (b)
the raw material, ethanol as the solvent, and chloroacetic
acid as the etherification agent to prepare carboxymethyl
chitosan. According to the experimental results, when the
volume fraction of ethanol is 90%, the yield of carboxy-
methyl chitosan is the highest. Li et al. [11] proposed a
new process of selective dispersion-flocculation-magnetic
separation. The process involves using the reagent YL-1
for selective flocculation of iron tailings from the Yunnan
Shangchang factory, followed by high-gradient magnetic
separation. Ultimately, a concentrate with an iron grade of
59.63% and an iron recovery rate of 50.41% was obtained.
This article explores the development of modified
agents based on starch flocculants to enhance the mag-
netic separation efficiency of fine-grained iron minerals.
Through flocculation-magnetic separation experiments
on fine-grained specularite, the study investigates the
enhanced recovery effects of carboxymethyl corn starch
and carboxymethyl cassava starch with different degrees of
substitution on single minerals. The objective is to identify
the polymer flocculant with the optimal flocculation effect.
Additionally, the article employs electron microscopy, Zeta
potential measurements, and FTIR analysis to observe and
analyze the selectivity of modified agents and the interac-
tion mechanisms between the agents and minerals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples and Reagents
Chemical composition analysis was conducted on a specu-
larite sample taken from Brazil, and the result is presented
in Table 1. The sample’s total iron (TFe) content is 68.95%,
including 0.16% of FeO. The impurity SiO2 content is
1.31%, followed by small amounts of CaO and Al2O3. The
harmful elements S and P are present in concentrations less
than 0.1%. XRD was employed to determine the mineral
composition of the specularite sample, and the results are
depicted in Figure 1a. In Figure 1a, it is evident that the
predominant iron mineral in the sample is hematite. After
grinding, a specularite single mineral was prepared with
–12.5 μm particle size by hydraulic analysis method, and
its particle size characteristic is shown in Figure 2a. From
Figure 2a, the average particle size of the specularite single
mineral is 8.29 μm, and the particle size distribution of
each particle grade is uniform, meeting the experimental
requirements.
The procedure involved the use of a ceramic ball mill for
the fine grinding of quartz powder ore. Subsequently, the
quartz was soaked in hydrochloric acid with a concentration
of 10%, followed by repeated washing with deionized water
Table 1. Chemical composition analysis of samples (wt%)
Composition of Specularite TFe FeO SiO
2 Al
2 O
3 S P
Content 68.95 0.16 1.31 0.20 0.005 0.01
Composition of Quartz SiO2 Al2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O
Content 99.11 0.18 0.18 0.05 0.05 0.01
Figure 1. XRD pattern of specularite (a) and quartz (b)