Hydrophobization of minerals by sorbitan mono oleate (Span® 80): Selectivity of a novel agglomeration process
2021
Sahasrabudhe, G. | DeIuliis, G. | Galvin, K.P.
The selectivity of a novel mineral beneficiation technology utilizing a water in oil emulsion as the binder for mineral agglomeration has been investigated. This novel technology can agglomerate fine and ultrafine hydrophobic mineral particles in less than 7 s thus providing an option for the beneficiation of low-grade ores or rare earth metal oxides, metal sulphides or platinum group metals (PGMs). However, the selectivity of the process is compromised by the interaction of emulsifier-sorbitan mono oleate (SMO), commonly known as Span® 80, with the gangue. SMO is the emulsifier used to make the emulsion binder. In this work, we show that the SMO interacts with the transition metal ions adsorbed on the gangue particles possibly via the sorbitan sugar group thus hydrophobizing and leading to the agglomeration of the gangue. This gangue-SMO interaction reduces the selectivity of the agglomeration process. Treating the ore slurry with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), prior to agglomeration, prevents the agglomeration of gangue as the EDTA removes the adsorbed metal ions and brings them into the solution. The EDTA treatment is shown to improve the selectivity of the agglomeration process significantly. We also show that SMO can act as a generic collector as it can hydrophobize particles of a variety of transition and rare earth metal oxides.
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