VNII Galurgy Stock Co., St. Petersburg, Russia:

N. N. Panteleeva, Leading Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
T. M. Gurkova, Head of Laboratory, gurkova@galurgy.sp.ru
M. E. Alter, Researcher
I. V. Delyukina, Leading Engineer

The main requirement for frother in the flotation of water soluble salts is their dispersing effect on the colloid-micellar state of amines in the saturated salt solutions of potassium chloride and sodium, so they are used in the form of an aqueous co-emulsion aminefrother-apolar reactant at a frother flow rate of 20–40% of the amine flow rate. Feed the frother in the emulsion of amine provides an introduction to the saline solution the dispersed collector solution, that activates the flotation of sylvite. Foaming agents or frothers are organic surfactants adsorbing themselves primarily on the liquid-gas interface surface. The purpose of frothers is to promote formation – within the slurry volume – air bubbles of some specified size and on the slurry surface – sufficiently stable foam layer of needed structure. Frothers act as follows: they promote air dispersion in a flotation cell; prevent coalescence of air bubbles; reduce velocity of rising the air bubbles in slurry (approximately 2 times), thus promoting their better mineralization; increase the adhesion strength of floating mineral particles to the air bubbles; promote formation of three-phase flotation foam with specific properties and character. This article gives the results of research on finding new frothers which are the part of cationic collector for sylvite flotation, these frothers being the alternatives for those being used at present in the plants of “Uralkali” Public JSC, such as glycol ether (flotation plants at Berezniki area of the Upper Kama deposit) and mixture of oxal and poly-ethylene-glycol (flotation plants at Solikamsk area). The most promising frothers – from the viewpoint of flotation efficiency and the reagent cost – have been determined. There are identified the most promising frother from the standpoint of flotation efficiency and cost of flotation reagents. It is shown that frothers flotanol C-07 and reagents of company Cytec are characterized by the high dispersing action on the colloidal and micellar amine structure in a saturated saline, significantly activated potash flotation and reduced by almost half consumption of the amine compared with a mixture of “Oxalyl” and polyethylene glycol that it allows to reduce the cost of production of potash, despite their higher cost as compared with a mixture of “Oxalyl” + PEG. All frothers having high dispersion properties simultaneously help to increase the sorption properties as KCl, and the insoluble residue. Amplification of a dispersing action on the amine results in an increased sorption of the latter not only on the sylvite, but on the insoluble impurities of the ore located in a dispersed form, as well as on the surface of the salt particles and in the water slurry formations. In this regard, the use of frothers of this type must be pretreated sylvinite flotation feed by sludge depressor for preventing the adsorption of a cationic collector on the surface of the sludge particles.

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