Investigation of the effect of different frother blends on the flotation of selected PGM bearing ores
type: CreativeWork
description: Concentrators processing platinum group mineral (PGM) bearing ores use polysaccharide depressants to reduce the recovery of the naturally floatable gangue minerals (mainly silicates) present in the ores. Recent work has shown that high depressant dosage can completely depress the naturally floatable gangue from reporting to the concentrate. Unfortunately, this high dosage of depressant can have a negative effect on the recovery of valuable minerals present in the ore by reducing the stability of the froth. In order to counterbalance the negative effects of depressant addition, frothers are normally added. The optimum frother provides a balance between the pulp kinetics and the froth recovery (through the effect of the frother on the bubble size and froth stability, respectively) over the range of frother addition. Usually one frother is added to accomplish this but using only one frother gives only one unique hydrodynamic relationship. It would be preferable to have independent control over the bubble size and froth stability, but unfortunately this cannot be achieved because changing the concentration of the frother changes both responses. An alternative strategy for gaining more independent control over the froth characteristics and bubble size would be to use a blend of frothers, such as a weak and a stronger frother. Such a system would give an additional degree of freedom so that changing the ratio of the two frothers would provide more independent control of bubble Sauter mean diameter and froth stability. Little research work has been conducted on frother blends and none suggests the mechanism of blended frother action. This study investigates through the use of batch flotation tests how blending low molecular weight alcohols with commercially available high molecular weight frothers impacts the solids and water recovery, as well as the valuable mineral recovery and concentrate grade, in different PGM ores. The results are compared with laboratory batch flota…
abstract: Concentrators processing platinum group mineral (PGM) bearing ores use polysaccharide depressants to reduce the recovery of the naturally floatable gangue minerals (mainly silicates) present in the ores. Recent work has shown that high depressant dosage can completely depress the naturally floatable gangue from reporting to the concentrate. Unfortunately, this high dosage of depressant can have a negative effect on the recovery of valuable minerals present in the ore by reducing the stability of the froth. In order to counterbalance the negative effects of depressant addition, frothers are normally added. The optimum frother provides a balance between the pulp kinetics and the froth recovery (through the effect of the frother on the bubble size and froth stability, respectively) over the range of frother addition. Usually one frother is added to accomplish this but using only one frother gives only one unique hydrodynamic relationship. It would be preferable to have independent control over the bubble size and froth stability, but unfortunately this cannot be achieved because changing the concentration of the frother changes both responses. An alternative strategy for gaining more independent control over the froth characteristics and bubble size would be to use a blend of frothers, such as a weak and a stronger frother. Such a system would give an additional degree of freedom so that changing the ratio of the two frothers would provide more independent control of bubble Sauter mean diameter and froth stability. Little research work has been conducted on frother blends and none suggests the mechanism of blended frother action. This study investigates through the use of batch flotation tests how blending low molecular weight alcohols with commercially available high molecular weight frothers impacts the solids and water recovery, as well as the valuable mineral recovery and concentrate grade, in different PGM ores. The results are compared with laboratory batch flota…
author: Ngoroma, Faustine
language: eng
date published: 2015
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:29Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Chemical Engineering

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13752