The Improvement Effect of Dispersant in Fluorite Flotation: Determination by the Analysis of XRD and FESEM-EDX

Abstract EN

Different dispersants were added in the dispersion process to improve the efficiency of fluorite flotation.

The types and dosage of dispersant on the improvement of fluorite flotation were investigated; when the sodium polyacrylate (SPA) was used as the dispersant and its addition is 0.5%, the concentrate grade of CaF2 increased from 90% to 98% and the fluorite recovery increased from 81% to 85%.

Methods of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) were used to characterize the sample.

According to the analysis of results, the optimal sample consisted of CaF2 and very little CaCO3 in the size range of 0–5 μm.

It could be concluded that the mechanism of improvement for the concentrate grade and recovery of CaF2 was attributed to the change of potential energy barrier which caused the separation of particles with different charge.

All results indicate that SPA has a great potential to be an efficient and cost-effective dispersant for the improvement of fluorite flotation.