Influence of entertainment on the grade and recovery in column flotation [Kolon flotasyonunda verim ve tenör üzerine su ile taşinimin etkisi]

Abstract

Entrainment, which is important for concentrate grade and its recovery, refers to materials which are water-entrained without attaching to the foam. The entrainment of fine particles into the foam phase, takes place behind or around the uprising air bubbles, through the pushing of the water or the uprising bubbles at the bubble interface. In this study, a group of experiments were carried out a mixture of pure hydrophobic (talk) and hydrophilic (calcite) minerals (3:1 ratio). Water and particle (talk and calcite) recoveries were calculated in column flotation cell which had a height of 75 cm, diameter of 5 cm and circular cross-section. The effects of frother concentration, pülp density, particle size, superficial air flow rate, superficial feed flow rate, and superficial wash water flow rate on the grade and recovery were investigated. The experimental results showed that this parameters had significant effect on the grade and recovery, flotation time and fine gangue entrainment. Kirjaveinen Model (1989) was used for describing a specific entrained factor (Pi) of hydrophilic particles.