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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter February 28, 2022

Effect of detergents on froth stability and flotation separation

  • Mahdi Ostadrahimi and Saeed Farrokhpay EMAIL logo

Abstract

Froth stability is an important factor in determining flotation yield, and one of the factors affecting froth stability is dependent on the concentration and type of surfactant. Since detergents contain different types of surfactants, it is possible that they affect the froth stability (together with the frothing agent and the collector) and consequently the flotation yield. Therefore, the effect of detergents containing lauryldimethylamine oxide and sodium laureth sulphate was investigated in this study. The results showed that the addition of detergents increased the froth stability by more than 30% and 45% in terms of froth formation and froth decay, respectively. The flotation tests also showed that the addition of detergents increased the sulphur content of the concentrate by about 0.7%.


Corresponding author: Saeed Farrokhpay, Process Optimisation for Future, Adelaide, Australia, E-mail:

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-08-26
Accepted: 2021-11-29
Published Online: 2022-02-28
Published in Print: 2022-03-28

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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