ABSTRACT

Many reagents are used as frother in flotation process, however, a general reference for their identification and characterization is not available. The present work categorizes the commonly used frothers and evaluates the available methodologies to determine their properties. In this paper, frothers properties such as molecular weight, viscosity, boiling and freezing point, hydrophile-lipophile balance number, solubility, surface activity and critical micelle concentration were discussed. The commonly used measurement methods for froth structure and dynamic and static frothability were also presented along with water recovery index and critical coalescence concentration (CCC). Results showed that the practical identification of frothers properties has not been thoroughly evaluated and therefore, there is a need for developing novel and easy-to-apply experimental methods in this area. For example, it was found that there is no promising single process to measure the CCC value. This review revealed that the 2D froth structure measurement methods are associated with a considerable bias, while 3D techniques can effectively represent the actual froth properties. It was also found that the potential interactions between various frothers properties and how they can influence the flotation performance in an industrial environment are not yet understood and needs further investigation. It was also identified that there is no standard instruction to provide a reliable connection between both manufactures and frothers consumers. In our opinion, the current review paves the path for the elaboration of knowledge and technology to provide promising methods for determining conventionally used and complex frothers properties.

摘要

许多试剂在浮选过程中用作起泡剂，但是，没有用于它们的识别和表征的一般参考。目前的工作对常用的起泡剂进行了分类，并评估了可用的方法来确定它们的特性。本文讨论了起泡剂的分子量、粘度、沸点和凝固点、亲水-亲油平衡数、溶解度、表面活性和临界胶束浓度等特性。还介绍了常用的泡沫结构和动静态发泡性测量方法以及水回收指数和临界聚结浓度（CCC）。结果表明，起泡剂特性的实际鉴定尚未得到彻底评估，因此，需要在该领域开发新颖且易于应用的实验方法。例如，人们发现没有一个有前途的单一过程来衡量 CCC 值。这篇综述揭示了 2D 泡沫结构测量方法与相当大的偏差相关，而 3D 技术可以有效地表示实际的泡沫特性。还发现各种起泡剂特性之间的潜在相互作用以及它们如何影响工业环境中的浮选性能尚不清楚，需要进一步研究。还发现没有标准说明来提供制造商和起泡剂消费者之间的可靠连接。在我们看来，