Abstract Salicylhydroxamic acid (SHA) has been widely used as collector in cassiterite flotation, and α-terpineol (AT) and methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) are common frothers in mineral flotation. The effects of AT and MIBC on cassiterite flotation have rarely been reported, which severely limits our understandings of the role of frother in cassiterite flotation. Here, comparative studies between AT and MIBC in affecting cassiterite flotation using SHA as collector were conducted through micro-flotation tests. Micro-flotation tests showed that the averaged value of the recovery of cassiterite with AT was 10% higher than that with MIBC at the same concentration. To unveil the mechanisms of enhancement effects of AT on the flotation of fine cassiterite particles, zeta potential measurements, contact angle measurements and surface tension measurements were conducted. Zeta potential of cassiterite surface shifted to more negative value in the presence of SHA, and the nonionic reagents, AT and MIBC, could not affect the surface potential of cassiterite. Contact angle measurements showed AT could adsorb on the surfaces of cassiterite particles, and therefore the hydrophobicity of particles was increased. In addition, there was a synergistic behavior between SHA and AT on cassiterite surface due to co-adsorption, and the cassiterite surface was more hydrophobic in the SHA/AT solution. Less surface tension and smaller bubble size were obtained in the SHA/AT solution compared to SHA/MIBC solution. These two combining effects, i.e. increasing the hydrophobicity of cassiterite particles and reducing the single bubble size, are beneficial to the flotation of cassiterite, which explains higher recoveries in cassiterite flotation when AT is used as frother and SHA as collector.

中文翻译：

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一种用于浮选细锡石颗粒的表面活性剂配方

摘要 水杨基异羟肟酸（SHA）在锡石浮选中被广泛用作捕收剂，α-松油醇（AT）和甲基异丁基甲醇（MIBC）是矿物浮选中常见的起泡剂。AT和MIBC对锡石浮选的影响鲜有报道，这严重限制了我们对起泡剂在锡石浮选中作用的理解。在此，通过微浮选试验对 AT 和 MIBC 对使用 SHA 作为捕收剂的锡石浮选的影响进行了比较研究。微浮选试验表明，在相同浓度下，采用AT的锡石回收率比采用MIBC的平均回收率高10%。揭示 AT 对细锡石颗粒浮选的增强作用机制，zeta 电位测量，进行了接触角测量和表面张力测量。SHA 存在时锡石表面的 Zeta 电位更负值，非离子试剂 AT 和 MIBC 不会影响锡石的表面电位。接触角测量表明AT可以吸附在锡石颗粒的表面，从而增加了颗粒的疏水性。此外，由于共吸附作用，SHA 和 AT 在锡石表面存在协同作用，且锡石表面在 SHA/AT 溶液中更具疏水性。与 SHA/MIBC 溶液相比，SHA/AT 溶液的表面张力更小，气泡尺寸更小。这两种综合作用，即增加锡石颗粒的疏水性和减小单个气泡尺寸，