Froth Phase Study using a Naturally Hydrophobic Coal in a Mechanical Flotation Column
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Abstract
The correlation between froth recovery and air recovery was established in a top-feeding mechanical flotation column. It was also found that the particles were stratified in froth layer, with hydrophobic particles (organic phase) concentrated in the upper region, and hydrophilic particles (quartz) in the lower region.
Subsequently, wash water and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were used to lower entrainment of the hydrophilic minerals. In the batch flotation tests of -15 µm quartz, the addition of both wash water and PEO were found to reduce the entrainment within a certain range of superficial water flow rate or PEO concentration, but it increased the entrainment beyond the range. In the batch flotation of 1:1 mixtures of the -15 µm quartz and oxidized coal, wash water improved the separation efficiency somewhat, but the combined use of wash water and PEO dramatically increase the separation efficiency from about 30% to over 70%.