Flotation is a key step during mineral separation. Xanthates are the most commonly used collectors for recovering Cu, Ni, and Zn from sulphide ores. However, xanthates are fossil-based and toxic for the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of lignin nanoparticles and microparticles as sustainable and environmentally friendly collectors. Lignin particles demonstrated good selectivity toward Cu (chalcopyrite), with total recoveries exceeding 80% and grades of up to 8.6% w/w from a Cu-Ni ore in rougher flotation tests. When floating Zn-Pb-Cu ore, lignin nanoparticles could reduce the use of xanthates by 50%. Moreover, they outperformed xanthates alone, achieving total recoveries of up to 91%, 85%, and 98% for Cu, Pb, and Zn, respectively. These results prove the potential of lignin as a flotation collector.

中文翻译：

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矿物浮选中有机溶剂木质素疏水微颗粒和纳米颗粒是一种低碳足迹可生物降解的浮选捕收剂。

浮选是矿物分离过程中的关键步骤。黄药是从硫化矿石中回收铜，镍和锌的最常用的收集器。然而，黄药是基于化石的并且对环境有毒。这项研究的目的是评估木质素纳米颗粒和微粒作为可持续和环境友好的收集者的用途。木质素颗粒对铜（黄铜矿）表现出良好的选择性，在较粗的浮选试验中，铜镍矿的总回收率超过80％，品位高达8.6％w / w。当漂浮Zn-Pb-Cu矿石时，木质素纳米颗粒可将黄药的使用量减少50％。而且，它们的性能优于单独的黄药，对铜，铅和锌的总回收率分别高达91％，85％和98％。这些结果证明了木质素作为浮选捕收剂的潜力。