Enhancing Quartz-Amine Flotation with Oily Bubbles

One of the methods used to increase the flotation efficiency of low-grade and complex ores is oily bubble flotation, in which the air bubbles are surrounded by a thin oil film used as a separation medium. This study focused on the investigation of bubble-particle and bubble-bubble interactions of quartz mineral (212 × 38 μm) in the oily bubble flotation system in the presence of dodecylamine hydrochloride (DAH) as a collector and methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) as a frother using micro-flotation experiments, bubble-particle attachment time (BPAT) and bubble coalescence time (BCT) measurements. In this study, the oily bubbles were formed using oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions by emulsifying kerosene in water with ultrasonic application. The results of the studies carried out in the presence of conventional and oily bubbles indicated that higher flotation efficiencies and shorter bubble-particle attachment times were obtained in the presence of oily bubbles. Additionally, kerosene was found to have a bubble coalescence-promoting effect, unlike DAH and MIBC. It can be concluded from the overall results of this study that oily bubble flotation is a promising technique for improving the flotation success. Meanwhile, the flotation conditions should be optimized for each case.