How to improve the recovery rate of barite through flotation technology?

Barite, with its high density, low hardness, chemical stability and non-toxicity, has become a key material in many industries such as petroleum, chemicals, building materials and paints. In the process of purifying this valuable mineral, flotation technology plays a vital role, especially in the purification of complex ores and salt minerals.

In the flotation process, the role of collectors is crucial, which determines whether barite minerals can be effectively separated from other minerals. Collectors are divided into three categories: anionic, such as fatty acids and alkyl sulfates; cationic, usually represented by amines; and amphoteric collectors with both functional groups. These collectors interact with barite minerals through different adsorption mechanisms, among which anionic collectors are particularly critical to improving concentrate grade and recovery rate on the basis of controlling the pH value of the slurry.

Cationic collectors, especially amines, react with the mineral surface through a variety of adsorption actions, including physical electrostatic adsorption and chemical adsorption, to form amine salts and enhance the hydrophobicity of the mineral.

Amphoteric collectors show excellent selectivity due to their stability under various water conditions and resistance to low temperatures, as well as their electrostatic and chemical adsorption capabilities on the surface of minerals.

The use of inhibitors is crucial when dealing with minerals with similar floatability, such as barite and fluorite. Barite inhibitors, such as tannin extract, starch, dextrin, sodium lignin sulfonate, and inorganic salt compounds, effectively increase the floatability difference between barite and associated minerals through the "heavy-floating-fluorite inhibition" process, and optimize the separation process.

For common gangue minerals such as quartz in barite mines, water glass, as an effective inhibitor, can improve the floatability of barite in a weakly alkaline flotation environment, while inhibiting minerals such as quartz, further improving the flotation efficiency and concentrate quality of barite. Through these finely regulated flotation technologies, the purification and application of barite can achieve maximum resource utilization and environmental friendliness.