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New insights into the flotation responses of brucite and serpentine for different conditioning times: Surface dissolution behavior

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Abstract

The inadvertent dissolution of gangue minerals is frequently detrimental to the flotation of valuable minerals. We investigated the effect of conditioning time on the separation of brucite and serpentine by flotation. By analyzing the Mg2+ concentration, relative element content, and pulp viscosity, we studied the effect of mineral dissolution on brucite flotation. The results of artificially mixed mineral flotation tests (with −10 µm serpentine) showed that by extending the conditioning time from 60 to 360 s, a large amount of Mg2+ on the mineral surface gradually dissolved into the pulp, resulting in a decreased brucite recovery (from 83.83% to 76.79%) and an increased recovery of serpentine from 52.12% to 64.03%. To analyze the agglomeration behavior of brucite and serpentine, we used scanning electron microscopy, which clearly showed the different adhesion behaviors of different conditioning times. Lastly, the total interaction energy, as determined based on the extended DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek) theory, also supports the conclusion that the gravitational force between brucite and serpentine increases significantly with increased conditioning time.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Project funded by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2020M670709), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51974064), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (No. N2101025), and the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Mineral Processing (No. BGRIMM-KJSKL-2017-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Ya-feng Fu, Xian-shu Dong & Hong-liang Li

  2. School of Resources & Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Ya-feng Fu, Wan-zhong Yin, Bin Yang, Jin Yao & Chuang Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Mineral Processing, Beijing, 102628, China

    Chuan-yao Sun

  4. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2V4, Canada

    Hong-liang Li

  5. Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, 561-756, Republic of Korea

    Hyunjung Kim

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  1. Ya-feng Fu
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Correspondence to Hong-liang Li or Chuang Li.

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Fu, Yf., Yin, Wz., Dong, Xs. et al. New insights into the flotation responses of brucite and serpentine for different conditioning times: Surface dissolution behavior. Int J Miner Metall Mater 28, 1898–1907 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2158-1

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