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Sustainable Collectors for Lithium Flotation
Clayton Bhondayi, Mikhail Golets, Krzysztof Kolman, Henrik Nordberg
Mining Chemicals, Nouryon Surface Chemistry, AB, Sweden
ABSTRACT: The main lithium bearing minerals of economic value include spodumene, lepidolite, petalite etc.
Spodumene is commonly floated directly with fatty acids or reverse-floated with cationic surfactants. Lepidolite
and petalite are commonly floated with cationic collectors, which are associated with some environmental
concerns. In the direct flotation of spodumene, fatty acids are the most common collectors they, however, tend
to deliver suboptimal results. Secondary collectors, such as anionic surfactants, can be used as boosters. In this
work, both direct and reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation of lepidolite were carried out.
Direct flotation of spodumene was done using a tall oil fatty acid (TOFA) and TOFA blended with a specially
formulated non-classified anionic surfactant (Atrac ® 2600 product), and two different anionic-nonionic blends
i.e., Berol ® 8305 and Berol ® 8313 products. The reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation
of lepidolite were carried out using Armeen ® T product (mica flotation) and a 2:1 blend of Armeen T and
Armeen ® C. These were compared to a new family of environmentally friendly (low-tox) cationic surfactants,
Armoflote ® 940 and Armoflote ® 945 products. Results from the flotation tests indicate that the addition of
Atrac ® 2600 product to the fatty acid significantly improves selectivity thereby increasing overall flotation
performance. The flotation performance of Berol ® 8305 and Berol ® 8313 products was similar and comparable
to the blend of TOFA and Atrac ® 2600 product. The new collectors, Armoflote ® 945 and Armoflote ® 940
products, delivered higher or comparable Li2O recovery and grade in the reverse flotation of spodumene and
the direct flotation lepidolite respectively, demonstrating how this new technology improves performance over
the standard cationic collectors. These studies illustrate that more sustainable solutions, such as non-classified
anionic surfactants combined with fatty acids or low-tox cationic surfactants, can be applied to deliver improved
results for lithium flotation.
Keywords: cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, lithium flotation, low toxicity, biodegradability
INTRODUCTION
The demand for lithium for energy storage uses grew from
0.5GWh in 2010 to 526GWh in 2020 and is expected to
reach 9300GWh by 2030 (Bullard, 2020). The demand is
linked to the growth in the electrical vehicles market where
14% of cars sold in 2022 were electrical vehicles compared
to less than 5% in 2020 (IEA, 2023). The global sources
of lithium are primarily continental brines, hydrother-
mally altered clays and pegmatites (Kesler et al., 2012).
Continental brines contribute over 60% of the global
lithium according to Peiró et al., (2013) while Munk et
al. (2016) estimated that the continental brines provide
approximately three‐fourths of the world’s lithium produc-
tion. Lithium production from pegmatites is also on the
rise with several major producers increasing their produc-
tion capacity while the worldwide identified resources have
been revised upwards due to extensive exploration (US
Geological Survey, 2023).
Sustainable Collectors for Lithium Flotation
Clayton Bhondayi, Mikhail Golets, Krzysztof Kolman, Henrik Nordberg
Mining Chemicals, Nouryon Surface Chemistry, AB, Sweden
ABSTRACT: The main lithium bearing minerals of economic value include spodumene, lepidolite, petalite etc.
Spodumene is commonly floated directly with fatty acids or reverse-floated with cationic surfactants. Lepidolite
and petalite are commonly floated with cationic collectors, which are associated with some environmental
concerns. In the direct flotation of spodumene, fatty acids are the most common collectors they, however, tend
to deliver suboptimal results. Secondary collectors, such as anionic surfactants, can be used as boosters. In this
work, both direct and reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation of lepidolite were carried out.
Direct flotation of spodumene was done using a tall oil fatty acid (TOFA) and TOFA blended with a specially
formulated non-classified anionic surfactant (Atrac ® 2600 product), and two different anionic-nonionic blends
i.e., Berol ® 8305 and Berol ® 8313 products. The reverse flotation of spodumene and the direct flotation
of lepidolite were carried out using Armeen ® T product (mica flotation) and a 2:1 blend of Armeen T and
Armeen ® C. These were compared to a new family of environmentally friendly (low-tox) cationic surfactants,
Armoflote ® 940 and Armoflote ® 945 products. Results from the flotation tests indicate that the addition of
Atrac ® 2600 product to the fatty acid significantly improves selectivity thereby increasing overall flotation
performance. The flotation performance of Berol ® 8305 and Berol ® 8313 products was similar and comparable
to the blend of TOFA and Atrac ® 2600 product. The new collectors, Armoflote ® 945 and Armoflote ® 940
products, delivered higher or comparable Li2O recovery and grade in the reverse flotation of spodumene and
the direct flotation lepidolite respectively, demonstrating how this new technology improves performance over
the standard cationic collectors. These studies illustrate that more sustainable solutions, such as non-classified
anionic surfactants combined with fatty acids or low-tox cationic surfactants, can be applied to deliver improved
results for lithium flotation.
Keywords: cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, lithium flotation, low toxicity, biodegradability
INTRODUCTION
The demand for lithium for energy storage uses grew from
0.5GWh in 2010 to 526GWh in 2020 and is expected to
reach 9300GWh by 2030 (Bullard, 2020). The demand is
linked to the growth in the electrical vehicles market where
14% of cars sold in 2022 were electrical vehicles compared
to less than 5% in 2020 (IEA, 2023). The global sources
of lithium are primarily continental brines, hydrother-
mally altered clays and pegmatites (Kesler et al., 2012).
Continental brines contribute over 60% of the global
lithium according to Peiró et al., (2013) while Munk et
al. (2016) estimated that the continental brines provide
approximately three‐fourths of the world’s lithium produc-
tion. Lithium production from pegmatites is also on the
rise with several major producers increasing their produc-
tion capacity while the worldwide identified resources have
been revised upwards due to extensive exploration (US
Geological Survey, 2023).