XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 3121
Afterwards, the collector was added and a further 5 min of
conditioning time was allowed. A 100g/t of frother Methyl
Iso Butyl Carbinol (MIBC) was then added, and the col-
lection of froth was started. The process of one-stage flota-
tion is shown in Figure 2. Finally, the obtained concentrate
and tailings were dried, weighed, and analyzed for chemical
composition by MP-AES. For the two-stage flotation of the
copper sulfide ore, the roughing stage (1st flotation) was
performed on a flotation machine with a cell volume of 5 L,
and the cleaning stage (2nd flotation) was performed on a
flotation machine with a cell volume of 1 L. The two-stage
flotation process is shown in Figure 3. The concentrate and
tailings were analyzed by MP-AES.
Flotation Kinetics
Flotation kinetics, which considers the processes of con-
tact, adsorption, and collision between bubbles and ore
particles, plays an important role in the flotation process.
In terms of inter-particle interactions, it can be considered
that the flotation process is similar to chemical reactions
therefore, the flotation rate equation can be analogized with
the chemical reaction rate equation. The equation ln(1-R)
=-kt is commonly used to define the flotation process at
present, where R is the cumulative copper recovery at time
t, k (min–1) is the flotation rate constant, and t (min) is the
flotation time (Wills and Finch, 2016 Polat and Chander,
2000 Ahmed and Jameson, 1989).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of Collector Dosage
The effect of collector dosage using collector PAX and
2-OA in the one-stage flotation of the copper sulfide ore
is shown in Figure 4. The pH of the pulp was kept con-
stant at 9. It can be seen from Figure 4 that the copper
recovery increased gradually with the increase of collector
dosage from 10 g/t to 100 g/t. The highest copper recovery
of the novel collector 2-OA was 78% achieved at a collec-
tor dosage of 100 g/t. The copper recovery of the collector
2-OA decreased when the collector dosage was increased to
200 g/t. This is probably due to the decrease in the stability
of the bubbles caused by the excessive amount of collec-
tor, which affects the flotation efficiency (Yao et al., 2021).
Overall, the capacity of collecting copper for 2-OA is stron-
ger than that for PAX because the amino group in collector
2-OA can enhance the affinity to copper in flotation.
Effect of Pulp pH
Figure 5 displays the variation in copper recovery with pulp
pH using collector 2-OA and PAX. As the pulp pH was
increased, the flotation environment changed from acidic
to alkaline and the copper recovery increased continuously.
Figure 2. One-stage flotation process
Figure 3. Two-stage flotation process
Afterwards, the collector was added and a further 5 min of
conditioning time was allowed. A 100g/t of frother Methyl
Iso Butyl Carbinol (MIBC) was then added, and the col-
lection of froth was started. The process of one-stage flota-
tion is shown in Figure 2. Finally, the obtained concentrate
and tailings were dried, weighed, and analyzed for chemical
composition by MP-AES. For the two-stage flotation of the
copper sulfide ore, the roughing stage (1st flotation) was
performed on a flotation machine with a cell volume of 5 L,
and the cleaning stage (2nd flotation) was performed on a
flotation machine with a cell volume of 1 L. The two-stage
flotation process is shown in Figure 3. The concentrate and
tailings were analyzed by MP-AES.
Flotation Kinetics
Flotation kinetics, which considers the processes of con-
tact, adsorption, and collision between bubbles and ore
particles, plays an important role in the flotation process.
In terms of inter-particle interactions, it can be considered
that the flotation process is similar to chemical reactions
therefore, the flotation rate equation can be analogized with
the chemical reaction rate equation. The equation ln(1-R)
=-kt is commonly used to define the flotation process at
present, where R is the cumulative copper recovery at time
t, k (min–1) is the flotation rate constant, and t (min) is the
flotation time (Wills and Finch, 2016 Polat and Chander,
2000 Ahmed and Jameson, 1989).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of Collector Dosage
The effect of collector dosage using collector PAX and
2-OA in the one-stage flotation of the copper sulfide ore
is shown in Figure 4. The pH of the pulp was kept con-
stant at 9. It can be seen from Figure 4 that the copper
recovery increased gradually with the increase of collector
dosage from 10 g/t to 100 g/t. The highest copper recovery
of the novel collector 2-OA was 78% achieved at a collec-
tor dosage of 100 g/t. The copper recovery of the collector
2-OA decreased when the collector dosage was increased to
200 g/t. This is probably due to the decrease in the stability
of the bubbles caused by the excessive amount of collec-
tor, which affects the flotation efficiency (Yao et al., 2021).
Overall, the capacity of collecting copper for 2-OA is stron-
ger than that for PAX because the amino group in collector
2-OA can enhance the affinity to copper in flotation.
Effect of Pulp pH
Figure 5 displays the variation in copper recovery with pulp
pH using collector 2-OA and PAX. As the pulp pH was
increased, the flotation environment changed from acidic
to alkaline and the copper recovery increased continuously.
Figure 2. One-stage flotation process
Figure 3. Two-stage flotation process