Microemulsions and nanoemulsions applied to iron ore flotation

Abstract

The present work investigates the microflotation of hematite and quartz using microemulsion and nanoemulsion systems as well as alkyl ether monoamine solutions. This application is based on the ability of such systems to reduce interfacial tension, which favors their application in separation processes. In these systems, the collector was composed by alkyl ether monoamine (Flotigam EDA®), n-butyl alcohol, and kerosene. Corn starch with a high degree of purity was the depressant in the process. Results show that the performance of nanoemulsions is higher than those of the microemulsions and alkyl ether monoamine solutions; by simplifying and leading to an improvement of the process. Keywords: Iron ore, Alkyl ether monoamine, Microflotation, Microemulsion, Nanoemulsion