Selective depression action of gum arabic in flotation separation of specularite and chlorite

Abstract

As a typical iron-containing silicate, it is challenging to separate chlorite from specularite owing to their similar density, magnetic and surface physicochemical characteristics. Gum arabic (GA) was used as selective depressant for the separation of specularite from chlorite using dodecylamine (DDA) as the collector to resolve this issue. Moreover, the depressing mechanism of GA was investigated using flotation experiments, adsorption amounts measurement, Zeta potential detection, contact angle measurement, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The single-mineral flotation results indicated that the recovery of specularite and chlorite reached 22.1% and 82.4%, respectively, with 90 mg/L GA and 20 mg/L DDA at pH=8. Furthermore, artificial mixed ore flotation test verified the selective depressing effect of GA on specularite. Surface adsorption, contact angle, and Zeta potential studies all indicated that GA has a more affinity for adhering to the surface of specularite than chlorite, and that pro-adsorbed GA inhibits the following adsorption of DDA, which reduces specularite’s capacity to float. The FT-IR and XPS analysis results demonstrated that GA adsorbs on the surface of specularite mainly via chemisorption, and the hydroxyl groups of GA interact with iron sites on the mineral surface to form metal chelates.

Keywords

flotation / chlorite / specularite / gum arabic / Fe-bearing silicate / depressant

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