Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite
Despite the importance of solid concentration in froth flotation, its effect on flotation kinetics and entrainment has rarely been studied. In this study, the flotation kinetics and entrainment in quartz and hematite single-mineral flotation systems as a function of the solid concentration and parti...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Metals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/1/53 |
| _version_ | 1797438714288275456 |
|---|---|
| author | Espoir Murhula Mahamudul Hashan Akira Otsuki |
| author_facet | Espoir Murhula Mahamudul Hashan Akira Otsuki |
| author_sort | Espoir Murhula |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the importance of solid concentration in froth flotation, its effect on flotation kinetics and entrainment has rarely been studied. In this study, the flotation kinetics and entrainment in quartz and hematite single-mineral flotation systems as a function of the solid concentration and particle size were investigated using dodecylamine acetate as a collector. Kinetics modeling showed that the Gamma distribution achieved the best agreement with the experimental data, whereas the Classical and Klimpel models poorly fit the data (e.g., RMSE). The flotation rate constants (<i>k</i>) of both quartz and hematite at a higher solid concentration showed a concave shape, with the inflexion point at the middle-size range, whereas this trend altered at lower solid concentrations. Overall, quartz exhibited higher equilibrium recoveries (<i>R</i><sub>∞</sub>) than hematite, which indicates its better overall rate constants. The degree of water recovery in both the quartz and hematite systems was higher at higher solid concentrations, but the hematite system exhibited higher water <i>R</i><sub>∞</sub> than the quartz system, meaning that the entrainment of gangue could be higher in direct hematite flotation than the reverse one. Therefore, a higher solid concentration is associated with better overall quartz recovery and can reduce hematite loss by entrainment during reverse flotation. An inverse relationship was identified between the solid concentration and particle size in terms of the ratio of water recovery to the concentrate. In the reverse flotation of iron ore, refraining from achieving equilibrium recovery could help limit entrainment, but this was not necessarily the case in direct flotation. No entrainment model or method other than the Warren and Ross model approximated the overall trends of flotation at the finest size range (−38 µm). However, extending the Warren method to polynomial distribution led to an improved fit with the experimental results. In addition to the solid concentration, particle density and size were revealed to be key to developing new entrainment models. Finally, after the fast recovery period (true flotation) was over, the slow recoveries were mainly driven by the slow-floating water fraction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:42:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2da58eb1f73049d1a73717496fc36e31 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4701 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:42:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metals |
| spelling | doaj.art-2da58eb1f73049d1a73717496fc36e312023-11-30T23:30:04ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012022-12-011315310.3390/met13010053Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and HematiteEspoir Murhula0Mahamudul Hashan1Akira Otsuki2Département de Géologie, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Site de Karhale, Bukavu 570, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, BangladeshFacultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolén, Santiago 7941169, ChileDespite the importance of solid concentration in froth flotation, its effect on flotation kinetics and entrainment has rarely been studied. In this study, the flotation kinetics and entrainment in quartz and hematite single-mineral flotation systems as a function of the solid concentration and particle size were investigated using dodecylamine acetate as a collector. Kinetics modeling showed that the Gamma distribution achieved the best agreement with the experimental data, whereas the Classical and Klimpel models poorly fit the data (e.g., RMSE). The flotation rate constants (<i>k</i>) of both quartz and hematite at a higher solid concentration showed a concave shape, with the inflexion point at the middle-size range, whereas this trend altered at lower solid concentrations. Overall, quartz exhibited higher equilibrium recoveries (<i>R</i><sub>∞</sub>) than hematite, which indicates its better overall rate constants. The degree of water recovery in both the quartz and hematite systems was higher at higher solid concentrations, but the hematite system exhibited higher water <i>R</i><sub>∞</sub> than the quartz system, meaning that the entrainment of gangue could be higher in direct hematite flotation than the reverse one. Therefore, a higher solid concentration is associated with better overall quartz recovery and can reduce hematite loss by entrainment during reverse flotation. An inverse relationship was identified between the solid concentration and particle size in terms of the ratio of water recovery to the concentrate. In the reverse flotation of iron ore, refraining from achieving equilibrium recovery could help limit entrainment, but this was not necessarily the case in direct flotation. No entrainment model or method other than the Warren and Ross model approximated the overall trends of flotation at the finest size range (−38 µm). However, extending the Warren method to polynomial distribution led to an improved fit with the experimental results. In addition to the solid concentration, particle density and size were revealed to be key to developing new entrainment models. Finally, after the fast recovery period (true flotation) was over, the slow recoveries were mainly driven by the slow-floating water fraction.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/1/53rate constantequilibrium recoverysolid concentrationiron ore flotation |
| spellingShingle | Espoir Murhula Mahamudul Hashan Akira Otsuki Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite Metals rate constant equilibrium recovery solid concentration iron ore flotation |
| title | Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite |
| title_full | Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite |
| title_short | Effect of Solid Concentration and Particle Size on the Flotation Kinetics and Entrainment of Quartz and Hematite |
| title_sort | effect of solid concentration and particle size on the flotation kinetics and entrainment of quartz and hematite |
| topic | rate constant equilibrium recovery solid concentration iron ore flotation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/1/53 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT espoirmurhula effectofsolidconcentrationandparticlesizeontheflotationkineticsandentrainmentofquartzandhematite AT mahamudulhashan effectofsolidconcentrationandparticlesizeontheflotationkineticsandentrainmentofquartzandhematite AT akiraotsuki effectofsolidconcentrationandparticlesizeontheflotationkineticsandentrainmentofquartzandhematite |