The role of calcium and carbonate ions in the separation of pyrite and talc. (April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jin, Saizhen; Shi, Qing; Feng, Qiming; Zhang, Guofan; Chang, Ziyong
• Is Part Of: Minerals engineering. Volume 119(2018)
• Page Start: 205
• Page End: 211
• Publication Date: 2018-04
• Subjects: Talc -- Pyrite -- CMC -- Calcium ions -- AFM; Mines and mineral resources -- Periodicals; Ressources minérales -- Périodiques; Mines and mineral resources; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 622
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2018.01.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0892-6875

Abstract

Highlights: CO 3 2 - . can eliminate the adsorption of Ca 2+ and CMC on pyrite. CO 3 2 - . and Ca 2+ ions can effectively promote the depression CMC on talc. CaCO3(S) precipitates on the talc surface at pH 8.5. There are differences in the morphology of the CMC layers in presence and absence of CO 3 2 - . . Abstract: Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), a negatively charged polymer, is commonly used as a depressant of talc. However, the separation of pyrite and talc can be deteriorated by the presence of calcium ions, which can facilitate the absorption of CMC onto both talc surfaces and pyrite. In this work, carbonate ions were introduced to solve this problem, and the effects of calcium and carbonate ions on the adsorption of CMC were also studied. Micro-flotation results revealed that CO 3 2 - . not only eliminated the inhibition of pyrite by Ca 2+ and CMC, but also had no influence on the depression of talc at pH 6–10. The surface-specific study confirmed that the adsorption of Ca 2+ onto talc basal planes at pH 8.5 was negligible and could be improved by the presence of CO 3 2 - . . The atomic force microscopy analysis showed the correlation between the coverage of CMC onto talc surfaces in the presence and absence of CO 3 2 - . . A mechanism for the adsorption of CMC onto talc surfaces was proposed based on the morphological differences in the presence and absence of CO 3 2 - .