Enhancing Fines Recovery by Hybrid Flotation Column and Mixed Collectors

The froth flotation technique can be considered one of the most efficient methods for the separation of minerals. Prior to utilizing any physicochemical separation method, the size of the mined ore must be decreased to facilitate the release of the valuable materials. This practice, along with the increased exploitation of ores that carry fine mineral particles, causes the production of fine and ultrafine particles which are difficult to recover with classical enrichment methods due to their different characteristics compared to coarser particles. It is established that fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float, leading to losses of valuable minerals, mainly due to their low collision efficiency with bubbles. Moreover, fine particles require higher reagent consumption due to their higher specific area, and finally, their flotation is limited by low kinetic energy. Flotation of fines can be enhanced by either decreasing bubble diameter or increasing their apparent size, or moreover, by enhancing the collector's adsorption (their hydrophobic behavior) using alternative reagents (non-ionic co-collectors). In the present research, flotation experiments on a hybrid electrolytic flotation column that can produce microbubbles (−50 µm) were carried out for recovery.