Selective depressing mechanism of H-acid monosodium salt on flotation separation of graphite and sphalerite
(1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Clean and Efficient Utilization of Strategic Calcium-containing Mineral Resources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
3. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China)
2. Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Clean and Efficient Utilization of Strategic Calcium-containing Mineral Resources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
3. State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China)
Abstract: Micro-flotation experiments, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) tests, Zeta potential tests, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis and molecular dynamics simulation were used to study the flotation behavior, separation and depressing mechanisms of graphite and sphalerite in the presence of H-acid monosodium salt (HAMS). Under the optimum flotation conditions, the recovery of sphalerite and graphite in the concentrate of mixed mineral flotation was 93.37% and 4.98%, respectively. Zeta potential tests and XPS analysis indicated that HAMS was considerably adsorbed on graphite surfaces but virtually absent on sphalerite surfaces. The FT-IR tests revealed that HAMS had no significant chemisorption on graphite surfaces. Molecular dynamics simulation inferred that the hydrophobic interaction between the naphthalene ring in HAMS and graphite was responsible for the adsorption of HAMS on the graphite surface.
Key words: H-acid monosodium salt; graphite; sphalerite; flotation separation; molecular dynamics simulation