Relationship between the bubble surface flux that overflows and the mass flow rate of solids in the concentrate of flotation processes

This paper presents the relationship between the bubble surface flux that overflows and the mass flow rate of solids in the concentrate. Even though this study was carried out in a flotation column, the knowledge derived from this paper may be applied to all froth flotation processes. The experimental set up was equipped with an image analysis system to estimate the froth bubble diameter and the air recovery. This study describes the difference between the bubble surface flux entering the froth zone (S_bI) and the flux that arrives to the top of the froth (S_bT) and then overflows to the concentrate (S_bO), the latter being most directly related to the mass flow rate of solids in the concentrate. It was observed that the superficial area of the overflow increased with increasing collector addition and air flow rate, but decreased with increasing froth depth and particle size distribution. Visual evidence and experimental results suggest that, it is common that the superficial area of air that overflows in the concentrate is covered by particles. Only when this condition is almost achieved does overflows occur; otherwise, a high level of coalescence and bubble bursting take place at the froth surface. This was concluded after finding compatible trends between the estimated and predicted mass flow rates of solids in the concentrate, when a tractable geometrical model was used (R² = 0.8).