Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing

Polyacrylamides (PAM) are used as flocculants in the copper-molybdenum mining industry to improve the settling rate of flotation tailings. These types of reagents are recirculated to flotation in the water that is recovered from the thickeners, and as a result of this practice they can cause depress...

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Main Authors: Darwin Estrada, Luver Echeverry, Andres Ramirez, Leopoldo Gutierrez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
Series:Minerals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/10/895
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author Darwin Estrada
Luver Echeverry
Andres Ramirez
Leopoldo Gutierrez
author_facet Darwin Estrada
Luver Echeverry
Andres Ramirez
Leopoldo Gutierrez
author_sort Darwin Estrada
collection DOAJ
description Polyacrylamides (PAM) are used as flocculants in the copper-molybdenum mining industry to improve the settling rate of flotation tailings. These types of reagents are recirculated to flotation in the water that is recovered from the thickeners, and as a result of this practice they can cause depression of flotation of some important minerals such as molybdenite. The objective of this work was to study the effect of a PAM of 11.9% of degree of anionicity on the flotation of molybdenite. The effect of the anionic PAM on molybdenite flotation was studied under different levels (three) of flocculant mechanical shearing. The flotation data was discussed along with intrinsic viscosity, adsorption, induction time, and electrophoretic mobility measurements. It was found that the non-sheared PAM (NS–PAM) had the strongest depressing effect on molybdenite flotation, followed by the moderately sheared PAM (MS–PAM). The depressing effect of the strongly sheared PAM (SS–PAM) was negligible. The flotation data correlated with the induction time measurements that showed that molybdenite became more hydrophilic in the presence of the NS–PAM. The SS–PAM has no effect on the induction times. Further work is ongoing to understand the effect of PAM on molybdenite flotation in the presence of clay minerals and different aqueous media.
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spelling doaj.art-89c3d272ceb84179aadcdb33b1a37ee32023-11-20T16:29:51ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2020-10-01101089510.3390/min10100895Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical ShearingDarwin Estrada0Luver Echeverry1Andres Ramirez2Leopoldo Gutierrez3Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Universidad de Concepcion, 4070371 Concepción, ChileDepartment of Metallurgical Engineering, Universidad de Concepcion, 4070371 Concepción, ChileDepartment of Metallurgical Engineering, Universidad de Concepcion, 4070371 Concepción, ChileDepartment of Metallurgical Engineering, Universidad de Concepcion, 4070371 Concepción, ChilePolyacrylamides (PAM) are used as flocculants in the copper-molybdenum mining industry to improve the settling rate of flotation tailings. These types of reagents are recirculated to flotation in the water that is recovered from the thickeners, and as a result of this practice they can cause depression of flotation of some important minerals such as molybdenite. The objective of this work was to study the effect of a PAM of 11.9% of degree of anionicity on the flotation of molybdenite. The effect of the anionic PAM on molybdenite flotation was studied under different levels (three) of flocculant mechanical shearing. The flotation data was discussed along with intrinsic viscosity, adsorption, induction time, and electrophoretic mobility measurements. It was found that the non-sheared PAM (NS–PAM) had the strongest depressing effect on molybdenite flotation, followed by the moderately sheared PAM (MS–PAM). The depressing effect of the strongly sheared PAM (SS–PAM) was negligible. The flotation data correlated with the induction time measurements that showed that molybdenite became more hydrophilic in the presence of the NS–PAM. The SS–PAM has no effect on the induction times. Further work is ongoing to understand the effect of PAM on molybdenite flotation in the presence of clay minerals and different aqueous media.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/10/895flotationmolybdenitepolyacrylamidesshearing
spellingShingle Darwin Estrada
Luver Echeverry
Andres Ramirez
Leopoldo Gutierrez
Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
Minerals
flotation
molybdenite
polyacrylamides
shearing
title Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
title_full Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
title_fullStr Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
title_full_unstemmed Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
title_short Molybdenite Flotation in the Presence of a Polyacrylamide of Low Anionicity Subjected to Different Conditions of Mechanical Shearing
title_sort molybdenite flotation in the presence of a polyacrylamide of low anionicity subjected to different conditions of mechanical shearing
topic flotation
molybdenite
polyacrylamides
shearing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/10/895
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