DEMONSTRATION OF FROTH FLOTATION
Aim:
To observe the froth floatation process.
Theory:
The froth flotation process exploits the differences in surface properties of minerals to
facilitate the separation of particles into concentrate and gangue.
In the flotation process, a slurry (or pulp, containing solid and water in the ratio of about 1:2
by volume) is fed into a tank, which is the floatation cell. Compressed air is injected through
a rotating agitator at the base of the cell that disperses the bubbles throughout the cell
volume. The following floatation agents are added to aid the process, all in small but
calculated quantities:
1. Frother – to create stable bubbles that rise and collect at the top of the cell called as
froth. Pine oil is a very common frothing agent.
2. Collector – this modifies the surface of particles in the slurry so that it becomes
hydrophobic and attaches itself to a bubble when encountered. Various forms of
Xanthates are commonly used as collectors.
3. Activator – acts to enhance the action of Collector by modifying the particle surface
suitable to the action of Collector.
4. Depressor – acts to suppress the action of collector.
A particle is said to be hydrophobic if it is not wetter by water. A hydrophobic particle thus
prefers a bubble over water and will eventually be floated to the surface by the bubble.
However, coarser particles might not float due to their weight. Hence griding to fine size is
essential for efficient floatation.
Most minerals are not hydrophobic in their natural state and hence suitable floatation agents
are necessary for modifying the surface properties. The combination of collector, activator
and depressor can be manipulated to selectively target the particles containing the mineral of
interest such that only they are collected in the froth and the rest sink to the bottom of cell as
tailings.
Process:
A weighed quantity of sulphide ore powder is taken.
About 2 times by volume of the sample powder, water is added to prepare a slurry that is
poured into the floatation cell.
Few drops of pine oil are added to the slurry
Compressed air is blown into the slurry through an agitator.
A froth rises up and overflows via a launder which is collected in a bucket. Solid particles
are seen to be attached to the bubbles of froth.
The process is continued until particles cease to appear on the bubbles in the froth.
The collected froth is washed in water and is screened to separate the particulate matter,
which is the concentrate.
The concentrate is dried and weighed.
The mass % of mineral of interest in both the initial sample and the concentrate is
determined by chemical analysis.
The recovery of the mineral of interest is deduced from the measured mass and grade of the
feed and concentrate using the standard formula for recovery.
