Mixed Anionic/Cationic Collectors for Pyrite Flotation: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

ABSTRACT

The presence of pyrite causes harmful environmental and metallurgical effects during the pyrometallurgical processes of metals. Hence, various processing methods should minimize the amount in the feed. Meanwhile, flotation is one of the most common methods due to the natural hydrophobic property of the pyrite surface. Based on this premise, this research focuses on the efficiency of pyrite flotation using mixed anionic/cationic collectors as one of the significant factors of flotation. This study is organized and performed in two laboratory and simulation sections. Lab-scale studies consider the kind of collector(s), collector(s) concentration, size, frother concentration, and pH as practical factors. Dodecyl amine (DDA), potassium amyl xanthate (PAX), and Sodium Isopropyl Xanthate (SIPX) are three types of collectors examined in the single and mixed forms for pyrite flotation. In the simulation part, adsorption of a single form and mixed forms of collectors on the pyrite (001) surface and its effects on the wetting property of the surface is investigated using the molecular dynamics approach. In sum, the results of this study show that, although pyrite has the favorable ability of flotation with anionic collectors from the xanthate family (PAX and SIPX) due to its natural hydrophobic feature, the presence of a cationic collector (DDA) significantly enhances its flotation performance so that a 1:1 mixture of DDA and PAX with a concentration of 15 $g.to{n}^{-1}$ for each collector, at pH 7, and the presence of an A65 as frother (30 $\mathrm{p}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{m}$), increases the flotation recovery of pyrite by more than 95%.

KEYWORDS:

• Pyrite flotation
• mix collectors
• dodecylamine
• xanthate collectors
• cationic amine collectors
• molecular dynamics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).