The Effect of Oleic Acid Emulsification using SPE on Fluorite and Dolomite Flotation**
Dr. Weiwei Wang,
Dr. Shaochun Hou,
Dr. Erdou Li,
Prof. Dr. Zhanfeng Yang,
Dr. Chunlei Guo,
Dr. Qiang Li,
Dr. Hailong Jin,
Prof. Dr. Qiwei Wang,
Dr. Wei Wei
Affiliations
Dr. Weiwei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Shaochun Hou
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Erdou Li
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Prof. Dr. Zhanfeng Yang
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Chunlei Guo
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Qiang Li
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Hailong Jin
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Prof. Dr. Qiwei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Dr. Wei Wei
State Key Laboratory of Bayan Obo Rare Earth Resource Researches Comprehensive Utilization Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths Baotou 014030 Inner Mongolia China
Abstract Collector OA, oleic acid, is widely used industrially for fluorite flotation. Low selectivity, dispersibility and collecting capability of the OA collector are always observed. In this study, compared with flotation of dolomite, a collector mixture of OA and SPE (styrylphenol polyoxyethylene ether) demonstrated significantly better performances for the fluorite. An optimal mass ratio 4 : 1 OA : SPE was found, and the recovery of fluorite was increased from over 85 % to more than 94 % compared with pure OA. Furthermore, the dosage of the collector agent was reduced from 50 mg mL−1 to 20 mg mL−1, which did not negatively impact the recovery of dolomite. The results from the contact angle tests indicated that SPE selectively increased the surface hydrophobicity of fluorite but had little effect on dolomite. Besides, zeta potential measurements and IR analyses revealed that the addition of SPE led to strong chemical adsorption on the surface of fluorite, resulting in a significant difference in the flotation performances of the two minerals. Therefore, SPE‐emulsified OA is corroborated to prompt more selectivity and collecting capability on flotation of fluorite over dolomite.
