Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore
The mining industry is faced with a challenge to develop efficient and economically feasible processing routes owing to the depletion of high-grade ores, and the ever increasing demand for precious metals for a wide range of applications. The valuable minerals, PGMs (Platinum Group Minerals) and BMS...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Chemical Engineering
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613699562274816 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane |
| author2 | Corin, Kirsten |
| author_browse | Corin, Kirsten Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane |
| author_facet | Corin, Kirsten Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane |
| author_sort | Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The mining industry is faced with a challenge to develop efficient and economically feasible processing routes owing to the depletion of high-grade ores, and the ever increasing demand for precious metals for a wide range of applications. The valuable minerals, PGMs (Platinum Group Minerals) and BMS (Base Metal Sulphides) in the ores are extracted through the aid of chemical reagents (activators, collectors, depressants, frothers, modifiers) which are added to the flotation circuits to facilitate the separation between these minerals and the undesired gangue minerals present in the ore. The process is made complex by many surface reactions taking place, the existence of secondary and interactive effects among the flotation reagents, as well as the surface liberation of the minerals. Owing to the stringent regulations around water usage, concentrator plants are left with no option but to recycle water within their operations. This practice leads to accumulation of pollutants, such as organics, flotation reagents residues, dissolved ions, etc., which will likely have an influence on the chemical environment of the process, and subsequently will bear an impact on the overall metallurgical performance of the concentrator. This makes the process even more intricate, making it difficult to account for the behaviour of the chemical reagents, as well as making it virtually impossible to precisely assess their individual contribution to the overall flotation performance. Hence it is of crucial importance to adopt a holistic approach when investigating the effects of the chemical parameters in a flotation process. This is a flotation chemistry study that adopted a two-level-four-factor (24) factorial experimental design to evaluate the simultaneous effects of the chemical parameters, with particular reference to collector, depressant, frother, and ionic strength of the synthetic plant water, as well as determining the possible interactive effects between the chosen parameters. This investigation was made possible by conducting batch flotation tests on a PGM-bearing ore from the Merensky reef of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX), a polysaccharide, namely guar gum, and a polyglycol ether, namely Dowfroth 250 were used as the collector, depressant and frother, respectively. These are the typical chemical reagents the dosages of which tailored in the PGM industry for the processing of the ores. The metallurgical performance indicators used were solids, water, copper and nickel recoveries as well as copper and nickel grades. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20088 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:40:18.241Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Chemical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Chemical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20088 Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane Corin, Kirsten Wiese, Jenny Chemical Engineering The mining industry is faced with a challenge to develop efficient and economically feasible processing routes owing to the depletion of high-grade ores, and the ever increasing demand for precious metals for a wide range of applications. The valuable minerals, PGMs (Platinum Group Minerals) and BMS (Base Metal Sulphides) in the ores are extracted through the aid of chemical reagents (activators, collectors, depressants, frothers, modifiers) which are added to the flotation circuits to facilitate the separation between these minerals and the undesired gangue minerals present in the ore. The process is made complex by many surface reactions taking place, the existence of secondary and interactive effects among the flotation reagents, as well as the surface liberation of the minerals. Owing to the stringent regulations around water usage, concentrator plants are left with no option but to recycle water within their operations. This practice leads to accumulation of pollutants, such as organics, flotation reagents residues, dissolved ions, etc., which will likely have an influence on the chemical environment of the process, and subsequently will bear an impact on the overall metallurgical performance of the concentrator. This makes the process even more intricate, making it difficult to account for the behaviour of the chemical reagents, as well as making it virtually impossible to precisely assess their individual contribution to the overall flotation performance. Hence it is of crucial importance to adopt a holistic approach when investigating the effects of the chemical parameters in a flotation process. This is a flotation chemistry study that adopted a two-level-four-factor (24) factorial experimental design to evaluate the simultaneous effects of the chemical parameters, with particular reference to collector, depressant, frother, and ionic strength of the synthetic plant water, as well as determining the possible interactive effects between the chosen parameters. This investigation was made possible by conducting batch flotation tests on a PGM-bearing ore from the Merensky reef of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX), a polysaccharide, namely guar gum, and a polyglycol ether, namely Dowfroth 250 were used as the collector, depressant and frother, respectively. These are the typical chemical reagents the dosages of which tailored in the PGM industry for the processing of the ores. The metallurgical performance indicators used were solids, water, copper and nickel recoveries as well as copper and nickel grades. 2016-06-22T08:57:49Z 2016-06-22T08:57:49Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MSc (Eng) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088 eng application/pdf Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Chemical Engineering Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| title_full | Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| title_fullStr | Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| title_short | Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore |
| title_sort | investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a merensky ore |
| topic | Chemical Engineering |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT moimanetiisetsomakheane investigationoftheeffectofthereagentsuiteinfrothflotationofamerenskyore |