Critical contact angle for coarse sphalerite flotation in a fluidised-bed separator vs. a mechanically agitated cell

This work investigates the critical contact angle for the flotation of coarse (850–1180 μm, 425–850 μm and 250–425 μm) sphalerite particles in an aerated fluidised-bed separator (HydroFloat) in comparison to a mechanically agitated flotation cell (Denver flotation cell). In this study, the surface chemistry (contact angles) of the sphalerite particles was controlled by varying collector (sodium isopropyl xanthate) addition rate and/or purging the slurry with either nitrogen (N₂) or oxygen (O₂) before flotation. The flotation performance varied in response to the change in contact angle in both the aerated fluidised-bed separator and the mechanically agitated cell. A critical contact angle threshold, below which flotation was not possible, was determined for each particle size fraction and flotation machine. The results indicate that the critical contact angle required to float coarse sphalerite particles in a mechanically agitated cell was higher than that in the fluidised-bed separator, and increased as the particle size increased. At the same particle size and similar contact angles, the recoveries obtained by the aerated fluidised-bed separator in most cases were significantly higher than those obtained with the mechanically agitated flotation cell.     

Bubble size measurement in electroflotation

A feature of electroflotation is the ability to create very fine bubbles, which are known to improve flotation performance of fine particles. This study was aimed at determining the hydrogen bubble size generated as a function of current density and electrode geometry. Experiments were performed in a viewing cell that allowed direct visualization of hydrogen bubbles being generated and transported away from platinum wire electrodes of 90, 120 and 190 μm in diameter. The detached bubble diameters varied between 15 and 23 μm in diameter, and for each wire diameter, were little influenced by the applied current in the range 150–350 A/m². The measurements were consistent with those predicted from a simple force balance analysis based on a H₂–Pt–0.2M Na₂SO₄ contact angle of 0.18°. Interestingly, upon detachment, the bubble size increased rapidly, recording up to an 8-fold increase in volume in the first few millimeters of rise, before approaching the steady state diameter of between 30 and 50 μm in the bulk. This increase in bubble size was found to be mostly due to the transfer of dissolve hydrogen into growing bubble while moving through the electrolyte super saturated by dissolved hydrogen gas. The equilibrium bulk diameter was found to be a function of the rate of hydrogen production, bubble nucleation rate, and dissolved gas concentration field. Consequently, electroflotation cells need to be designed to optimise the contact between the supersaturated liquid and the rising bubble plume. By doing this, the volumetric flux of bubbles will be maximised leading to improved flotation performance.     

Optimization of operating parameters for coarse sphalerite flotation in the HydroFloat fluidised-bed separator

Increasing the upper size limit of coarse particle flotation has been a long-standing challenge in the minerals processing industry. The HydroFloat separator, an air-assisted fluidised-bed separator, has been used in this study to float 250–1180 μm sphalerite particles in batch flotation tests and compared to results achieved utilizing a laboratory-scale conventional Denver cell. The quiescent environment within the HydroFloat cell significantly reduces the turbulent energy dissipation within the collection zone, hence decreasing the detachment of particles from bubbles during flotation. Three operating parameters including bed-level, superficial water and gas rates have been studied, and their effect on the flotation of coarse sphalerite particles is reported. It is shown that coarse sphalerite recovery increases with increasing bed-level, superficial water and gas flow rates. However, there are thresholds for each operating parameter above which recovery starts to decrease. A comparison of recovery with a conventional Denver flotation cell indicates that the HydroFloat separator vastly outperforms the conventional flotation machine for the very coarse particles (+425 μm), and this is mainly attributable to the absence of turbulence and the minimization of a froth zone, both of which are detrimental to coarse particle flotation.     

Flotation of coarse composite particles in mechanical cell vs. the fluidised-bed separator (The HydroFloat™)

In principle, carrying out flotation of coarse and composite particles in a quiescent flow field is decisive to prevent particles detaching from bubbles. To overcome or limit detachment of coarse composite particles from bubbles in flotation, a fluidised bed separator, the HydroFloat™, which provides a quiescent environment has been used, and the results compared to the performance of a mechanical (Denver) cell. Model synthetic composites of quartz (value mineral) in lead borate (gangue) matrix with simple and complex locking texture were used for the study. The flotation behaviour of particles with different locking textures was studied at a coarse size distribution of 250–600 μm in both the HydroFloat separator and the Denver cell. The recovery of composite particles with the different locking textures was analysed on an un-sized and size-by-size basis. Recovery was improved in the HydroFloat separator, with both simple and complex locking composite particles having almost the same recovery. Again, comparison of recovery with the HydroFloat to the Denver cell indicates that the separator greatly out-performs mechanically agitated cells for the upper particle size of about 500 μm, with a significant effect on complex locking texture composites. This is attributed to the minimum or absence of turbulence and minimal froth zone which causes detachment of coarse particles in most conventional cells.     

Removal of Phormidium sp. by positively charged bubble flotation

The objectives of this study were to investigate the behavior of Phormidium sp. during flocculation and negatively or positively charged bubble flotation in order to optimize algal removal processes and identify mechanisms underlying the efficiency of flotation with positively charged bubbles. The nuisance of Phormidium sp. significantly decreases water quality in natural watershed and clogs filter bed in water treatment plant. Although dissolved air flotation has been recently adopted for algae removal, the best method has not been fully investigated. According to theories on dissolved air flotation, the operational conditions affect removal of the process and in this study, the optimum bubble generations was also investigated for better algal removal. Bubbles were generated at two levels of saturated pressure and measured at different bubble concentrations (10%, 20% and 30%), in the absence and presence of coagulants. Bubbles forming at 6 bars and 3 bars were observed at zeta potentials of −30 mV to + 27 mV. The chain-like algae were cultured in the laboratory for 20 days. At the stationary phase, Phormidium sp. sizes ranged from 2 μm to 10 μm in diameter and about 100–200 μm in length. Over a pH range of 4.0–7.0 (increments of 0.5), the negative zeta potentials were −4 mV to −12 mV. Algal removal by flocculation was determined by jar tests and by the batch dissolved air flotation (BDAF) method with bubble generation and flotation. We obtained optimal Phormidium sp. removal with positively charged bubble flotation at a 30% bubble rate at >16 mV and a bubble formed at 6 bars, with removal of up to 85% and 93% of cells and chlorophyll a, respectively. We also demonstrated the efficacy of using positively charged bubbles to remove Phormidium sp. cells and the importance of positively charged bubbles in the rarely reported interaction between bubbles and chain-like algae.     

Bubble–particle detachment in a turbulent vortex I: Experimental

The mechanics of the detachment of particles from bubbles in the flotation process in a turbulent environment are unclear. The traditional hypothesis assumes a bubble–particle aggregate is trapped inside an eddy of equivalent size, and the attached particles rotate at the same speed as the eddy. The rotational movement subjects the attached particles to a centrifugal force. It is theorised that particles detach when the centrifugal force is greater than the capillary force, but this hypothesis has not yet been experimentally proven.This work is an experimental study of bubble–particle detachment in a rotating eddy. A special experiment was designed to obtain a strong confined vortex, and bubble–particle aggregates were introduced into the cavity without destroying the vortex structure. This newly developed method, which provides a realistic analogue of the turbulent conditions in a flotation cell, is well suited to the study of an important sub-process of flotation in a turbulent field, namely, the stability of single bubble–particle aggregates.Particles can detach from bubbles by a number of ways, including inertial actions induced by rapid changes in direction, and disruption due to coalescence of colliding bubbles. In this paper, we focus on a particular mechanism, in which bubbles are observed to rotate in a turbulent vortex. Particles can be held on the surface of the bubble by surface tension, and the radial centripetal force induced by the rotation is sufficiently high, particles may detach. Experiments are described in which the process of particle detachment due to centrifugal movement, was captured by a high-speed video camera, and the necessary physical parameters, especially the rotational velocity of the particles, were extracted. For the first time, centrifugal movement of the particle on the bubble surface inside a vortex was observed, and the theory of detachment due to centrifugal forces in the turbulent field was experimentally proven.     

Influence of particles on the formation of bubbles from a submerged capillary

This paper will explore the possibility of using colloidal particles as a bubble stabilising agent in froth flotation. Nearly monodisperse 300 nm silica particles were subjected to surface modification through an esterification reaction using a long chain alcohol to create an advancing contact angle of 73.5 °. To study the influence of particles on the growth and departure of a single bubble, experiments were performed with a capillary tube submerged in the hydrophobised silica suspension. A high-speed camera was used to capture the bubbling phenomena in real time. The acquired videos were then analysed to extract the parameters such as bubble size, departure frequency, and growth time through an image-processing software. Experiments were also carried out with MIBC (methyl isobutyl carbinol) and a polyglycol type surfactant (poly(propylene glycol)), PPG) for comparison. The results showed that an increase in the particle concentration resulted in a decrease in mean bubble size produced at the tip of capillary. The same trend was also observed with both frothers.     

CFD modelling of bubble–particle attachments in flotation cells

In recent years, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modelling of mechanically stirred flotation cells has been used to study the complexity of the flow within the cells. In CFD modelling, the flotation cell is discretized into individual finite volumes where local values of flow properties are calculated. The flotation effect is studied as three sub-processes including collision, attachment and detachment. In the present work, these sub-processes are modelled in a laboratory flotation cell. The flotation kinetics involving a population balance for particles in a semi-batch process has been developed.From turbulent collision models, the local rates of bubble–particle encounters have been estimated from the local turbulent velocities. The probabilities of collision, adhesion and stabilization have been calculated at each location in the flotation cell. The net rate of attachment, after accounting for detachments, has been used in the kinetic model involving transient CFD simulations with removal of bubble–particle aggregates to the froth layer.Comparison of the predicted fraction of particles remaining in the cell and the fraction of free particles to the total number of particles remaining in the cell indicates that the particle recovery rate to the pulp–froth interface is much slower than the net attachment rates. For the case studied, the results indicate that the bubbles are loaded with particles quite quickly, and that the bubble surface area flux is the limiting factor in the recovery rate at the froth interface. This explains why the relationship between flotation rate and bubble surface area flux is generally used as a criterion for designing flotation cells. The predicted flotation rate constants also indicate that fine and large particles do not float as well as intermediate sized particles of 120–240 μm range. This is consistent with the flotation recovery generally observed in flotation practice. The magnitude of the flotation rate constants obtained by CFD modelling indicates that transport rates of the bubble–particle aggregates to the froth layer contribute quite significantly to the overall flotation rate and this is likely to be the case especially in plant-scale equipment.     

Factors affecting the floto-elutriation process efficiency of a copper sulfide mineral

Coarse mineral particles exhibit poor conventional flotation efficiency because of many factors, including the low carrying capacity of bubbles, bubble/particle adhesion problems due to cell turbulence, and low degrees of liberation (low hydrophobicity). Many attempts to improve the recovery of coarse fractions have been explored, such as floto-elutriation operating at a high solid content while dispersed in a fluidized (or expanded) bed formed with a continuous injection of compressed air and an uprising water flow. This work analyzed the comparative performances of floto-elutriation (FE) and conventional flotation (CF) on a classified copper sulfide mineral feed as an example of a difficult-to-liberate low-grade ore. Contrary to expectations, CF and FE (Hydrofloat) displayed similar particle recovery rates with feed size distributions for P80s of 130, 240 and 280 μm. However, metallurgical recoveries from classified fractions of −297+210 μm were 25% higher in FE than in CF and as expected, coarse (+297 μm) particles were not recovered in the CF, but in the FE. The recovery of fine fractions in the FE process was due to high hydraulic entrainment and surprisingly the recovery of intermediate and liberated fractions (+74−149 μm) was very low, due to its low air hold-up. However, the enhancement of the holdup in FE increased the recovery of these mid-sized fractions. Because of the hydraulic carryover caused by the bubbles and water elutriation, the metallurgical grades obtained in all cases were very low compared to conventional bench flotation. It is believed that this FE equipment works better with coarse, narrowly classified particles and high-grade feeds and that performance decreases for low-grade ores requiring high liberation. Certain features of these findings are visualized.     

Characterisation of coarse composite sphalerite particles with respect to flotation

The flotation response of a typical zinc-lead (Zn/Pb) ore, with respect to coarse composite (sulphide/non-sulphide) particles is reported. The flotation tests were carried out on a selected feed particle size range (−600 + 75 μm, at P₈₀ of 390 μm) and the recovery of Zn composite particles analysed on a size by size basis. The best results were achieved with the use of 75 g/t sodium isopropyl xanthate (SIPX), obtaining a Zn recovery of 77%, with a significant improvement at the coarse end of the particle size distribution. Computerised scanning electron microscope (QEMSCAN) was used to characterise value mineral grain size and degree of liberation, as well as gangue and sphalerite association in particles reporting to both concentrate and tailings. A new characterisation function (Locking ratio, LR) was developed based on the data from the automated mineralogical analysis to characterise particles into two-phase composites with different degree of locking texture (simple and complex). The function, which is based on the mode of occurrence of sphalerite, grain size, proportion and composition of the constituent minerals in each particle, was used to study the flotation response of the particles with different degrees of locking. The results highlight the difference in recoverability of the sphalerite bearing particles with different degrees of locking, with simple locking texture giving higher recovery than complex locking texture, for the same overall liberation.     

Effect of entrainment in bubble load measurement on froth recovery estimation at industrial scale

Froth recovery was calculated in a 130 m³ mechanical cell of a rougher flotation circuit. This was done by bubble load determinations along with mass balance surveys. Valuable grade in the bubble load decreased in the −38 μm due to fine particles entrained to the chamber of the device. The effect of fine particle entrainment on froth recovery was evaluated. A comparison between results from the raw bubble load data (assuming all particles were transported by true flotation) with those from corrected bubble load information (subtracting fine particle entrainment) was carried out. Entrainment occurred due to hydraulic transport in the bubble rear, which corresponds to the worst case scenario for froth recovery estimation. Results showed that the relative error was less than 0.3%, which allowed validation of the bubble load measurement as an effective methodology for froth recovery estimation at industrial scale.     

Separation of amine-insoluble species by flotation with nano and microbubbles

Amines (alkylamines–ether amines) are employed on a large scale to separate iron ores by reverse flotation of the gangue particles (mostly quartz and silicates). Quartz gangue particles coated with amine collector are dumped in tailings dams as concentrated pulps. Then, the fraction of the amines that detach from the surfaces and the portion that is soluble in water, contaminate surface and ground-water supplies. This work presents a novel flotation technique to remove decyl-trimethyl-ether-amine (collector employed in Brazilian iron mines) from water. This amine forms precipitates at pH > 10.5 which are removed by flotation with microbubbles (MBs: 30–100 μm) and nanobubbles (NBs: 150–800 nm). Bubbles were generated simultaneously by depressurization of air-saturated water (P_sat of 66.1 psi during 25 min) forced through a flow constrictor (needle valve). The flotation by these bubbles is known as DAF-dissolved air flotation, one of the most efficient separation technologies in water and wastewater treatment. Herein, best results (80% amine removal) were obtained only after selective separation of the MBs from the NBs exploring the fact that while the NBs remain dispersed in water, the MBs rise leaving the system. The MBs, because of their buoyancy, rise too rapidly and do not collide and adhere appropriately at the amine colloids/water interface, even causing some precipitates breakage. It was found that the “isolated” NBs attach onto the amine precipitates; aggregate (flocculate) them and entrain inside the flocs before rising by flotation. Because of the low residual amine concentration in water (6 mg L⁻¹), it is believed that this flotation technique have potential in this particular treatment of residual amine-bearing effluents.     

Packing of particles on the surface of bubbles

In this paper, geometrical packing models were derived to determine the coverage of particles on an air bubble. Nearly spherical glass beads of two size fractions and galena particles were used in the study. The coverage of air bubbles by glass beads was carried out in the concentration range 2.74 × 10^?5–1.65 × 10^?3 mM of CTAB. The results indicated that coverage at all concentrations could be approximated with a hexagonal model with monodispersed particles using the value of d_[4,3]. This could be done with a relative deviation of the packing factor within 15%. The coverage of an air bubble by galena particles was carried out in a collectorless environment. The best models were found to be a hexagonal or square cell using the value of d_[1,0]. Experimental observations on particle packing are given and implications for the froth phase of flotation are discussed.     

Selective separation of fine albite from feldspathic slime containing colored minerals (Fe-Min) by batch scale dissolved air flotation (DAF)

In this study, the separation of feldspar minerals (albite) from slimes containing feldspar and iron containing minerals (Fe-Min) was studied using dissolved air flotation (DAF) technique whereby bubbles less than 100 μm in size are produced. Before the flotation experiments with slimes, single flotation experiments with albite and Fe-Min were carried out using DAF in order to obtain optimum flotation conditions for the selective separation of feldspar from the slimes. Flotation experiments were performed with anionic collectors; BD-15 (commercial collector) and Na-oleat. The two methods of reagent conditioning were tested on the flotation performance; traditional conditioning and charged bubble technique. In addition, the effect of pH, flotation time, rising time, and drainage time which influence the selective separation in the DAF system were studied in detail. Overall, the flotation results indicated that the separation of albite from Fe-Min can be achieved with DAF at 5 min of rising time and 5 min of drainage time. Interestingly, these results also showed that the conditioning of the particles with the charged bubbles increased the flotation recovery of Fe-Min compared to the traditional conditioning. Furthermore, the flotation tests with the feldspathic slime sample were carried out under the optimum conditions obtained from the systematic studies using the single minerals. The charged bubble technique produced an albite concentrate assaying 0.33% Fe₂O₃ + TiO₂ and 11.07% Na₂O + K₂O from a slime feed consisting of 1.06% Fe₂O₃ + TiO₂ and 10.36% Na₂O + K₂O.     

Evaluation of the selective detachment process in flotation froth

The improved selectivity between particles of varying degrees of hydrophobicity in flotation froths has been well documented in literature, especially in the deep froths utilized in flotation columns. The phenomenon is believed to be due to the selective detachment process whereby the least hydrophobic particles are released from the bubble surface upon bubble coalescence. To quantify the selective detachment process, column flotation experiments were performed under various operating conditions that provided varying amounts of reflux between the froth and collection zones. Entrainment was eliminated by the use of relatively coarse 250 × 75 micron material. The flotation column incorporated the ability to provide instantaneous stoppage of the process streams and separation between the collection and froth zones after ensuring steady-state operation of the column. The samples collected from the two zones and process streams were evaluated to quantify the flotation rate distribution of the particles comprising each sample. The flotation rate was used as an indicator of the degree of hydrophobicity and thus a relative measure of the binding force between the particle and bubble in the froth zone. The flotation rate data was used as input into well known flotation models to obtain the froth zone recovery rate and the quantity of material that refluxes between the collection and froth zones.     

Operating parameters that affect the carrying capacity of column flotation of a zinc sulfide mineral

Test work performed in a pilot-scale flotation column (4 m height × 0.057 m diameter) processing an industrial zinc concentrate (51% w/w Zn as sphalerite, 10.5% Fe, 0.77% Pb, 0.62% Cu, 7.3% NSG, d₈₀ = 110 μm), confirmed the findings of previous work conducted by the authors, that showed there exists a limit in the mass flow rate of solids that can be processed in the column without adversely affecting recovery and solids carrying-rate; this limit is related to the onset of an unusual accumulation of gas in the lower section of the cell due to overloading of gas bubbles. In the present work, the effect of slurry rate (J_t = 0.3–1.7 cm/s) and slurry density (15–35% w/w solids) onto solids recovery and solids carrying-rate were studied under the following experimental conditions: J_g = 1.45 cm/s, 15 ppm Dowfroth, pH = 9.5 and 60 g isopropyl xanthate/ton; froth depth = 0.3 m. The results showed that solids carrying-rate may be maximized by operating the column with a combination of a relatively dense slurry and a relatively small slurry rate. The above behavior is explained in terms of the solids load that air bubble transport under the different operating conditions imposed, which is reflected by the axial air-holdup profile established in the column, as a result of the accumulation of overloaded bubbles in the lower part of the collection zone. It is argued that the slurry rate plays an important role on the onset of this phenomenon since it directly affects the rising velocity of overloaded bubbles, thus being the responsible of such unusual accumulation of gas and of phenomena such as bubble coalescence and lost of bubble surface area.     

Froth transport characterization in a two-dimensional flotation cell

A study of the froth bubble transport in a two-dimensional (2D) flotation cell was performed. Experiments were developed as a 2 × 2 factorial design, in which the effect of superficial air rate (1.2–1.8 cm/s) and froth depth (2–4 cm) on the froth transport for a two phase (air–water) system was characterized.Using image analysis techniques, bubble residence times, air recovery, bubble path and bubble size increase through the froth were obtained. This information was complemented by froth surface velocity measurements using the Visiofroth system.It was found that bubbles transported from the pulp–froth interface up to the overflow, showed a minimum residence time for bubbles entering the froth near the lip wall. Also, the air-recovery significantly changes in a range of 7–20% at different operating conditions.Higher residence times promoted bubble size increase by coalescence for bubbles transported from the interface. Conversely, for lower residence times, a smaller increase in bubble size was observed.     

Froth flotation of sphalerite: Collector concentration,gas dispersion and particle size effects

This experimental work on sphalerite flotation investigated the effect on flotation performance of three particle size fractions, namely, coarse (d₈₀ = 100 μm), medium (d₈₀ = 39 μm) and fine (d₈₀ = 15 μm), bubble size distribution, superficial air velocity, and collector dosage. Bubble size distributions were characterized with the image analysis technique. The two-phase (liquid–gas) centrifugal pump and frother addition (MIBC, 5–30 ppm) allowed generating bubble diameters between 150 and 1050 μm, and air holdup ranging from 0.2% and 1.3%. Main results showed that each particle-size distribution required an optimal bubble-size profile, and that sphalerite recovery proceeded from mechanisms involving true flotation (when J_g = 0.04 cm/s and 1.9 × 10⁻⁴ M SIPX). However, cluster-flotation occurs at high collector dosage (when J_g = 0.04 cm/s and d₃₂ between 285 and 1030 μm), and requiring further investigation.     

Flotation of methylated roughened glass particles and analysis of particle–bubble energy barrier

The impact of the shape and/or anisotropy of particles (in terms of surface energy, surface charge, or wetting) on their flotation separation has been receiving more attention in recent years. The effect of particle surface roughness on interactions with other surfaces or gas bubbles has rarely been studied. The objective of this study was, therefore, to prepare spherical particles of different surface roughness characteristics and test them for their response to flotation separation. Towards this aim, glass particles with a size of 106–150 μm were either acid etched or abraded to manipulate their surface roughness. The particles were also methylated using trimethylchlorosilane to enhance their hydrophobicity and interactions with air bubbles. Micro-flotation separations were then carried out with methylated smooth and roughened particles to examine the effect of particle surface nano-roughness on flotation kinetics and their corresponding recoveries. The results confirmed that the flotation rate constants of roughened particles increased consistently with increasing dimensions of surface asperities. To explain the effect of particle surface roughness on flotation, a theoretical model based on the extended-DLVO interactions was formulated and used to quantify the effect of hydrophobic asperities on particle–bubble surface interactions. The theoretical modeling results suggest, for the first time, that the size of nano-sized hydrophobic asperities distributed over spherical microscopic particles dictate the magnitude of the energetic barrier that particles need to overcome in order to attach to bubbles.     

基于高速动态的颗粒气泡脱附过程动力学研究

通过颗粒气泡脱附高速动态测试系统,研究了颗粒气泡脱附过程动力学。运用Image-Pro Plus图像处理软件测量颗粒气泡间接触角、三相润湿周边,计算颗粒气泡间毛细黏附力随颗粒运动时间的变化。结果表明：颗粒从气泡表面脱附主要分为气泡拉伸变形接触角增大和气泡滑动三相润湿周边减小两个阶段。气泡拉伸阶段,三相润湿周边固定在颗粒表面,接触角由平衡接触角增大到前进接触角;气泡滑动阶段,接触角保持不变,三相润湿周边滑动减小。毛细黏附力在气泡脱附过程中随接触角增大而增大,随三相润湿周边滑动而减小,当外力超过颗粒气泡间临界黏附力时,颗粒从气泡表面脱附。