Positive role of regulator in desulfurization of chalcopyrite in seawater based on chelation and dispersion

Abstract

The chemical composition of seawater affects the desulfurization of chalcopyrite in flotation. In this study, desulfurization experiments of chalcopyrite were conducted in both deionized (DI) water and seawater. The results showed that, the copper grade of the concentrate obtained from seawater flotation decreased to 24.30%, compared to 24.60% in DI water. Concurrently, the recovery of chalcopyrite decreased from 51.39% to 38.67%, while the selectivity index (SI) also had a reduction from 2.006 to 1.798. The incorporation of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), sodium silicate (SS), and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) yielded an enhancement in the SI value, elevating it from 1.798 to 1.897, 2.250 and 2.153, separately. It is particularly noteworthy that an excess of EDTA resulted in a SI value of merely 1.831. The mechanism of action was elucidated through analysis of surface charge measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (E-DLVO) theory, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Keywords

chalcopyrite / desulfurization / chelation / dispersion / E-DLVO theory

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