Abstract
The role of sodium silicate in the anionic flotation of a Floridaphosphate ore was investigated using laboratory continuous flotation tests, frothability tests and SEM observations.
In the absence of sodium silicate, Ca++ promoted the unwanted activation of quartz by forming calcium bearing precipitates.
The addition of sodium silicate enhanced the flotation efficiency through:
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1)
the removal of impurity minerals and calcium-bearing precipitates from quartz surfaces by dispersion,
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2)
drier and more persistent froths stabilized by oily droplets containing calcium silicate precipitates, and
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3)
higher specific flotation rates of phosphate relative to quartz, leading to faster flotation rates and increased selectivity of separation.
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SME preprint 90-130, SME Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, Feb. 26–March 1, 1990.
Discussion of this paper must be submitted, in duplicate, prior to March 1, 1991.
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Dho, H., Iwasaki, I. Role of sodium silicate in phosphate flotation. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 7, 215–221 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402921
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402921