Effectiveness of bacterial sulfidation flotation for the separation of malachite: Impact of pH, sulfide concentration and sulfidation time

Abstract

Abstract Previous research paid less attention on the mechanism and application of bacterial sulfidation in mineral flotation. In this study, sulfate reducing bacteria strains reduce sulfate to produce sulfides, which are used as sulfidizing reagents for malachite. Then, the system influence factors such as pH, sulfides concentration and sulfidation time are controlled. The results showed that the most suitable conditions of malachite bacterial sulfidation system were pH of 9.0, sulfide concentration of 140mg/L and sulfidation time of 15mins. For further study, SEM and FTIR were used to perform of sulfide film formed on the surface of malachite. The result of sulfide film on the malachite surface is compact, and the malachite flotation properties are greatly improved after bacterial sulfidation.