Selection of spodumene flotation reagents

At present, the beneficiation methods of spodumene mainly include: manual separation, thermal disintegration, magnetic separation, resuspension method, flotation method and combined beneficiation method. Among them, the flotation method of spodumene is the most studied in the laboratory and the most widely used mineral processing method in industry.

1. Cationic collectors

The cationic collectors used in the flotation of spodumene ore are mainly amine collectors, which flotate gangue minerals such as quartz, feldspar and mica under acidic conditions, and leave the spodumene at the bottom of the tank. This method is often used in the roughing of spodumene, and cannot directly obtain spodumene concentrate with higher purity, and needs to be used in conjunction with other sorting methods.

In production practice, Yan Gengsheng used the process of flotation of spodumene with mixed soap and diesel oil under alkaline conditions after flotation of mica with phylloylamine under acidic conditions for a certain pegmatite spodumene ore. Mica concentrate and spodumene concentrate were obtained, and good economic benefits were obtained. In terms of single minerals, Yin Wanzhong and Sun Chuanyao studied the flotation of spodumene with the cationic collector dodecylamine without adding any activator and inhibitor, and obtained the result that the spodumene in the dodecylamine system The stone has better buoyancy conclusions.

2. Anionic collectors

The traditional spodumene anion collectors are mainly fatty acids and their soaps, namely oleic acid, oxidized paraffin soap, naphthenic acid soap, tar oil and sodium oleate, etc., alkyl sulfates and sulfonates, etc. However, due to the difference in ore properties, the increasingly complex ore composition and the comprehensive utilization of low-grade spodumene ore, the use of collectors has developed from a single drug to a mixed drug.

    Ren Wenbin used oximic acid to replace the original oxidized paraffin soap as a collector for the recyclability of spodumene tailings in Cocoto Sea, and the grade of spodumene concentrate was increased from 2.3% to 5.8%.

In terms of mixed drug use, in response to the problem of low recovery rate of high-grade spodumene of a granite pegmatite type in Jiangxi, Zhao Yun used oxidized paraffin soap and tall oil as a collector to obtain better indicators and solved the problem. The problem of low recovery rate.

Sun Wei and Ye Qiang used oxidized paraffin soap and naphthenic acid soap as collectors to conduct a flotation test on pegmatite-type spodumene (Li2O grade 1.42%) in a certain place in Sichuan, and finally obtained a concentrate with a Li2O grade of 6.04. %, a good indicator of the recovery rate of 85.88%. Liu Ningjiang conducted a flotation experiment on V26 and V38 spodumene of rare ore bodies in Keketuohai, Xinjiang, using strong stirring and scrubbing to remove sludge, and using cationic collectors and foaming agents to flotate mica under neutral and weak alkaline conditions. , and then mixed with sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide to adjust the size, so that the pH value is 10.5 to 11.5, and the flotation process of using oxidized paraffin soap and naphthenic acid soap as collectors, obtained 5.65% to 6.37% of the flotation process. Spodumene concentrate, a good indicator of recovery of 80.77%.

3. New collectors

    In the research of spodumene collector selectivity, Wang Yuhua used a new type of chelating collector to replace the traditional oxidized paraffin soap, and realized the flotation separation of spodumene from quartz and feldspar, which not only can significantly reduce the cost of chemicals, And can greatly improve the separation between spodumene and quartz and feldspar, thereby improving the spodumene beneficiation index. At the same time, for the spodumene (Li2O grade 0.46%) and beryl in a granite pegmatite mineral, using the chelating collector YZB-17 can improve the grade and recovery rate of the mixed concentrate of spodumene and beryl. , and can realize the separation of spodumene and beryl.

    In the research on the collection performance of spodumene collector, Wang Yuhua studied sodium oleate, C7-9 hydroxamic acid, sodium dodecyl sulfonate and a new amphoteric collector YOA- The collection performance of 15 pairs of spodumene, the research results show that: the new amphoteric collector YOA-15 has a higher ability to collect spodumene than that of sodium oleate, C7-9 carboxyxamic acid and sodium dodecylsulfonate. Strong collecting ability. For the No. 3 vein spodumene ore and tailings in the tailings pond, the Cocoto Sea Concentration Plant used the new amphoteric collector YOA-15 to carry out flotation tests under different water quality, all of which showed strong collection capacity. With the foaming ability, a rough concentration of Li2O grade of 5.62% and a recovery rate of 83.3% can be achieved in one roughing.

    According to the research of many scholars, it is not difficult to find that there is less research on the reverse flotation process of spodumene, which may be related to the low content and grade of spodumene in the raw ore; in the positive flotation of anionic collectors, the traditional single It is difficult to meet the flotation separation of spodumene by the spodumene, and the combination drug is a new development direction; in terms of new collectors, it mainly focuses on multi-group chelating collectors and amphoteric collectors, but it is necessary to realize industrial production, there is still a long way to go.