Microflotation of Fine Rutile and Garnet with Different Particle Size Fractions

Abstract

In this paper, −10 μm rutile and −30 μm garnet particles were selected as samples. The effects of different reagents on the flotation of rutile and garnet single minerals were studied, and the mechanism was analyzed by the contact angle, zeta potential, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. The flotation results show that an optimal recovery is obtained with benzohydroxamic acid (BHA) as the collector for rutile and sodium silicofluoride (SSF) as the inhibitor for garnet. Even with BHA having a good collecting performance for both rutile and garnet, there are still some differences. BHA greatly improves the hydrophobicity of rutile and garnet, and changes the chemical environment of rutile but not garnet. SSF significantly reduces the hydrophobicity of rutile and garnet, and slightly affects the environment in which BHA interacts with rutile. However, the above reagents and combinations have little effect on the surface chemical environment of garnet.