Flotation frothers for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, their preparation methods and applications

Abstract

This application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, its preparation method, and its application, belonging to the field of mineral flotation reagent synthesis technology. This application obtains a mineral flotation frother by mixing dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol in a specific ratio, followed by thorough stirring and settling. Compared with commonly used domestic frothers such as pine oil and pine alcohol oil, the mineral flotation frother prepared in this application has better flotation indicators, higher concentrate grade, and lower unit consumption. Compared with commonly used foreign frothers such as methyl pentanol, it has lower usage costs, wider raw material sources, and comparable flotation indicators. The frother provided in this application is widely available and inexpensive, and is suitable for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony and other metallic sulfide ores with high content of easily mud-forming gangue.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mineral flotation reagent synthesis technology, specifically to a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, its preparation method, and its application. Background Technology

[0002] my country's mineral resources are characterized by being poor, fine-grained, and complex, making the efficient recovery and utilization of fine-grained minerals particularly important. Flotation, as a primary separation technology, with froth flotation being one of the effective methods for separating fine-grained minerals, is crucial. Frothing agents, as one of the most important flotation reagents in the froth flotation process of mineral resources, not only affect the quantity and quality of bubbles but also the contact between mineral particles. Furthermore, within the froth layer, they promote the separation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic mineral particles adhering to the bubbles, and their performance directly impacts flotation indicators.

[0003] For the flotation of metal sulfides such as copper, lead, zinc, and antimony, there are relatively few domestically synthesized frothers. Pine oil or pine alcohol oil is commonly used, while methyl pentanol (MIBC) is the most widely used frother abroad. White oil, cresol, and ether alcohol oil are rarely used in industrial production. Pine oil or pine alcohol oil is suitable for the flotation of most non-ferrous metal sulfides in China, but for ores with a high content of easily muddy gangue minerals, it is difficult to obtain qualified concentrates using pine oil or pine alcohol oil. Methyl pentanol (MIBC) is beneficial for improving the grade of flotation concentrates from ores with high mud content, but because this reagent is an imported product, its price is high, resulting in high reagent usage costs and limiting its application in China. Currently, the domestic market urgently needs a flotation frother that is affordable, has good flotation performance, and is suitable for ores with a high content of easily muddy gangue minerals. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the technical problems existing in the background art, this application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, its preparation method and application, aiming to solve the problems of poor flotation concentrate grade of existing domestic flotation frothers and high price of foreign flotation frothers.

[0005] In one aspect, this application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, comprising dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol, with a volume percentage ratio of 7-8:2-3.

[0006] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, a mineral flotation frother is obtained by blending dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol in a specific ratio. The resulting frother not only has a simple composition ratio, but also has good flotation indicators, high concentrate grade, low raw material cost, and wide availability.

[0007] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a method for preparing a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, comprising the following steps:

[0008] S1. Add dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol to a container and stir until homogeneous to obtain a mixture;

[0009] S2. Seal the mixture and let it stand to obtain a frother for mineral flotation.

[0010] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, a flotation frother is obtained by blending dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol and allowing them to stand. The production process of this frother is very simple.

[0011] In some embodiments, in step S1, the stirring time is more than 10 minutes; in step S2, the settling temperature is room temperature and the settling time is more than 30 minutes.

[0012] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, the raw materials are fully mixed and reacted by stirring and letting them stand to obtain a flotation frother.

[0013] Thirdly, this application provides an application of a frothing agent for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores. This frothing agent is applied to mineral flotation and is particularly suitable for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony and other metallic sulfide ores with a high content of easily mud-forming gangue minerals, where the content of easily mud-forming gangue minerals in the metallic sulfide ores is greater than 20%.

[0014] In the technical solutions of this application embodiment, the foaming agent has a wide range of applications.

[0015] In some embodiments, the flotation method for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ore flotation frother is as follows: the raw ore is made into a slurry, a suitable modifier and collector are added to it, and then a frother is added to the slurry at a dosage of 10 to 40 g / t relative to the raw ore.

[0016] In this embodiment, the foaming agent is simple to use and requires a small amount.

[0017] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to better understand the technical means of this application and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, the following are specific embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The embodiments of the technical solution of this application are described in detail below. The following embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of this application more clearly, and are therefore only examples, and should not be used to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0019] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit this application.

[0020] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0021] To address the issues of poor concentrate grades from existing domestic flotation frothers and the high cost of imported flotation frothers, this application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, its preparation method, and its applications. Specifically, this application discovers that mixing dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol in a specific ratio yields a flotation frother suitable for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores with high content of easily muddy gangue. This flotation frother has a wide range of applications, produces high concentrate grades, and has low consumption per unit volume, effectively meeting the domestic demand for high-quality, low-cost flotation frothers.

[0022] On the one hand, this application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, comprising dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol, with a volume percentage ratio of 7-8:2-3.

[0023] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, a mineral flotation frother is obtained by blending dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol in a specific ratio. The resulting frother not only has a simple composition ratio, but also good flotation index, high concentrate grade, low raw material cost, and wide availability.

[0024] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a method for preparing a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, comprising the following steps:

[0025] S1. Add dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol to a container and stir until homogeneous to obtain a mixture;

[0026] S2. Seal the mixture and let it stand to obtain a frother for mineral flotation.

[0027] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, a flotation frother is obtained by blending dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol and allowing them to stand. The production process of this frother is very simple.

[0028] Furthermore, in some embodiments, in step S1, the stirring time is more than 10 minutes; in step S2, the settling temperature is room temperature and the settling time is more than 30 minutes.

[0029] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, the raw materials are fully mixed and reacted by stirring and standing to obtain a flotation frother.

[0030] Thirdly, this application provides an application of a frothing agent for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores. This frothing agent is applied to mineral flotation and is particularly suitable for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony and other metallic sulfide ores with a high content of easily mud-forming gangue minerals, where the content of easily mud-forming gangue minerals in the metallic sulfide ores is greater than 20%.

[0031] The flotation frother obtained in the technical solution of this application has a wide range of applications.

[0032] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the flotation method for the flotation frother of copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores is as follows: the raw ore is made into a slurry, and after adding a modifier and a collector to the slurry during the flotation process, a frother is added at a dosage of 10-40 g / t relative to the raw ore.

[0033] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, the obtained foaming agent is simple to use and requires a small amount.

[0034] The following are some specific embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application. Where specific techniques or conditions are not specified in the embodiments, they shall be performed in accordance with the techniques or conditions described in the literature in this field or according to the product instructions. Reagents or instruments whose manufacturers are not specified are all conventional products that can be obtained commercially.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] This embodiment provides a method for preparing a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, specifically including the following steps:

[0037] Measure 740L of dodecyl alcohol ester and 260L of ethylene glycol, pour them into a glass container, stir for 15 minutes, seal and let stand for 30 minutes to obtain the finished novel foaming agent. Add to the stock solution during mineral processing.

[0038] To verify the practical application effect of the frother prepared in this embodiment, it was applied to the flotation of copper sulfide ore. The copper grade in this copper sulfide ore was 0.30%, and the total content of the gangue mineral talc was 22%. The specific flotation steps were as follows:

[0039] (1) Grind the raw ore to a particle size of -0.074mm and a content of 80%, add water to adjust the slurry concentration to 30-40%;

[0040] (2) Add 2000g / t of talc inhibitor water glass and 400g / t of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose to the slurry. After stirring for 5 minutes, add 40g / t of ethyl thiocyanate and 15g / t of copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide flotation frother prepared in this example. After aeration, scrape the foam to obtain rough concentrate.

[0041] (3) Copper concentrate is obtained by refining the rough concentrate three times.

[0042] The application of the copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide frother prepared in this embodiment in the flotation of copper ore and the flotation results are shown in Table 1.

[0043] Table 1. Application of frothing agent and flotation results in Example 1 for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores.

[0044]

[0045] As can be seen from Table 1, the flotation frother obtained in this embodiment has good flotation performance for minerals and high concentrate grade.

[0046] Examples 2-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3

[0047] Examples 2-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3 provide a method for preparing a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores. The difference between Example 1 and Example 2 is that the ratio of dodecyl alcohol ester to ethylene glycol is different. The other steps are roughly the same as in Example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0048] The raw material ratios and flotation results of the copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide frothers prepared in Examples 2-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3 are shown in Table 2.

[0049] Table 2 shows the raw material ratios and flotation results of the flotation frothers for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores prepared in Examples 2-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3.

[0050]

[0051] As can be seen from the flotation results of Examples 2-3 in Table 2, when the volume ratio of dodecyl ester to ethylene glycol is within the range of 7-8:2-3, the resulting flotation frother exhibits good flotation performance for the minerals and produces a high concentrate grade. Conversely, as can be seen from the flotation results of Comparative Examples 1-3, when the volume ratio of dodecyl ester to ethylene glycol is outside the range of 7-8:2-3, the grade and recovery rate of the copper concentrate decrease, and the content of harmful impurities increases. In particular, when only dodecyl ester is used, it fails to provide a good flotation effect, resulting in a significant decrease in both the grade and recovery rate of the copper concentrate, and a marked increase in the content of harmful impurities.

[0052] In this application, dodecyl alcohol ester is not a conventional frother and cannot be used alone as a frother in mineral flotation. It needs to be mixed with ethylene glycol in a specific ratio to obtain a qualified frother for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores. Its mechanism of action is that the miscibility of ethylene glycol and dodecyl alcohol ester in a certain ratio alters the solubility and dispersibility of each individual component in water, resulting in good frother properties. Furthermore, different ratios of ethylene glycol and dodecyl alcohol ester result in different solubility and dispersibility of the product in water, as well as different foaming times and foam lifespans.

[0053] Comparative Examples 4-5

[0054] Comparative Examples 4 and 5 provide an application of a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores. The difference between Comparative Examples 4 and 5 and Example 1 is that the flotation frother is replaced with pine oil and MIBC, respectively.

[0055] Table 3 shows the application of mineral flotation frothers in Comparative Examples 4 and 5 during copper ore flotation and the flotation results.

[0056] Table 3 shows the application and flotation results of mineral flotation frothers in Comparative Examples 4 and 5 for copper ore flotation.

[0057]

[0058] As shown in Table 3, the copper concentrate obtained by flotation in Comparative Example 4 did not meet the standard grade, and the MgO content of the impurity exceeded the standard. The flotation indicators of Comparative Example 5 were comparable to those of Example 1, and the MgO content of the impurity met the standard. However, the amount of frother used in Example 1 was less, and the unit price was only 52% of that in Comparative Example 5, resulting in lower frother usage costs.

[0059] In summary, this application provides a flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, its preparation method, and its application, belonging to the field of mineral flotation reagent synthesis technology. The flotation frother for mineral flotation is obtained by mixing dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol in a specific ratio, followed by thorough stirring and settling. Compared with commonly used domestic frothers such as pine oil and pine alcohol oil, the mineral flotation frother prepared in this application has better flotation indicators, higher concentrate grade, and lower unit consumption. Compared with commonly used foreign frothers such as methyl pentanol, it has lower usage costs, wider raw material sources, and comparable flotation indicators. The frother provided in this application is widely available and inexpensive, and is suitable for the flotation of copper-lead-zinc-antimony and other metallic sulfide ores with high content of easily mud-forming gangue.

[0060] It should be noted that this application is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The above embodiments are merely examples, and any embodiments with the same structure and effect as the technical concept within the scope of this application are included in the technical scope of this application. Furthermore, various modifications that can be conceived by those skilled in the art to the embodiments, and other ways of constructing by combining some of the constituent elements of the embodiments, without departing from the spirit of this application, are also included in the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores, characterized in that, It includes dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol; the volume percentage ratio of the dodecyl alcohol ester and the ethylene glycol is 7~8:2~3.

2. A method for preparing the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Add dodecyl alcohol ester and ethylene glycol to a container and stir until homogeneous to obtain a mixture; S2. Seal the mixture and let it stand to obtain a frother for mineral flotation.

3. The method for preparing the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S1, the stirring time is more than 10 minutes.

4. The method for preparing the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S2, the settling temperature is room temperature, and the settling time is more than 30 minutes.

5. The application of the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It is used in mineral flotation.

6. The application of the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 5, characterized in that, The mineral in question is a metallic sulfide mineral containing easily mud-forming gangue minerals.

7. The application of the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 6, characterized in that, The metal in the metal sulfide ore includes at least one of copper, lead, zinc, and antimony, and the content of easily mud-forming gangue minerals in the metal sulfide ore is greater than 20%.

8. The application of the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method of applying the frother to mineral flotation includes: preparing the raw ore into a slurry, adding a modifier and a collector to the slurry, and then adding a predetermined amount of the frother to the slurry.

9. The application of the flotation frother for copper-lead-zinc-antimony sulfide ores according to claim 8, characterized in that: During the flotation process, the amount of frother used relative to the raw ore is 10~40g / t.

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