The Effect of Quartz on the Flotation of Fine Wolframite with Octyl Hydroxamic Acid

Abstract

Abstract:The influence of quartz on the flotation of fine wolframite using octyl hydroxamic acid (OHA) as the collector was investigated by micro-flotation tests, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) measurements, adsorption experiments, zeta potential, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. Micro-flotation tests showed that a large difference in floatability existed between fine wolframite and quartz in the pH range of 7.0 to 10.0. However, in a synthetic mixture, the flotation separation of fine wolframite from quartz became more difficult as the particle size of the latter decreased. When a dissolved solution of wolframite was used as the flotation medium, quartz floatability improved significantly. Zeta potentials of quartz particles shifted positively in the dissolved solution of wolframite compared to distilled water, especially at a pH level of 7.0-10.0, which was attributed to the metal ions dissolved from the wolframite being adsorbed onto the quartz surface. The surface activation of quartz led to an increase in the OHA adsorption and made the surface hydrophobic. FT-IR analysis further demonstrated that OHA could adsorb onto the activated quartz surface through a dominantly chemical process.

Structural and Electronic Properties of Different Terminations for Quartz (001) Surfaces as Well as Water Molecule Adsorption on It: A First-Principles Study

“…Each silicon atom was coordinated with four oxygen atoms. 4 , and H 1s 1 . Before adsorption, the H2O was placed inside a 10 Å × 10 Å × 10 Å cubic cell for an optimization calculation.…”

“…It is the main component mineral of a series of important mineral resources such as siliceous phosphate ore, iron ore, tungsten ore, fluorite, and mica. Flotation is a widely accepted way to separate and utilize these ore resources based on the difference in wettability (hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics at a macroscopic-level) of the mineral particle surfaces by froth, which occurs at the interfaces of solid/air/water in the solution [4,5]. Furthermore, the surface chemical activities of minerals in flotation has a close relationship with its surface structure and properties.…”

Preparation of Aliphatic Hydroxamic Acid from Litsea cubeba Kernel Oil and Its Application to Flotation of Fe(III)-Activated Wolframite

“…At present, the main wolframite collectors used for industrial applications are benzohydroxamic acid, salicylhydroxamic acid, C5–9 hydroxamic acid, and naphthohydroxamic acid [ 6 , 7 ]. However, these traditional hydroxamic acids have some problems in practical applications, such as weak collecting ability, large pharmaceutical consumption, and low flotation recovery rate of tungsten ore [ 8 , 9 ].…”