High electrolyte concentration process waters in mineral processing circuits

J.S. Laskowski
Water Research Center for Agriculture and Mining, University of Concepcion, Chile
The unit operations in closed water circuits of mineral processing plants have quite
different objectives. While liberation is the objective of comminution, in the next stage, separation,
the objective is to separate distinct mineral particles into different flotation products, while the
separation of solid particles from water is the objective of the solid/liquid separation unit
operations. Different chemical additives are utilized in these processes: dispersants in grinding,
various reagents in flotation (collectors, frothers, modifiers, etc.) and polymeric compounds as
flocculants in sedimentation and filtration (but also as dispersants/depressants in flotation). These
different chemical compounds respond quite differently to increased ionic strength of the process
water. This paper addresses the question of the effect of electrolyte concentration on flotation and
flocculation processes.
In the recent joint paper with professor Castro we attempted at classifying flotation
processes carried out in highly concentrated electrolyte solutions [Int.J.Min.Proc., 144, 50-55
(2015)]. Inherently hydrophobic minerals occupy special place in the classification: these solids
float in electrolyte solutions even without any organic reagents (salt flotation). Process waters with
a high content of Mg2+ and Ca2+ pose a special problem when flotation is carried out with fatty
acid collectors (precipitation of the collector); in the flotation of Cu-Mo sulfide ores containing
pyrite an alkaline environment is required to depress pyrite and precipitation of Mg hydroxides
depresses molybdenite. Flotation of sylvite in NaCl+KCl saturated brine is carried out with longchain primary amines which are entirely insoluble in the brine and mechanism of this process is
entirely different.
The use of polymeric flocculants in the solid/liquid separation in highly concentrated
electrolytes is an interesting case. At relatively low ionic strength (abut 10 -2 M) mineral
suspensions, which constitute a lyophobic system, the system that is stabilized only by electric
repulsive forces, tend to coagulate. Flocculant is a lyophilic colloid and so it is stabilized not only
by electrostatic charges but also by hydration. Neutralization of the charge on flocculant
macromolecules leads to some coiling and addition of a flocculant under such conditions to
coagulating suspension results in a very efficient flocculation. Further increase in concentration
(to 1 M and beyond) results in worsening solvency conditions, polymer is forced out from the
solution which increases its adsorption on the solid particles. While all the studied polymers
(anionic carboxymethyl cellulose, non-ionic guar gum and A-110 anionic polyacrylamide from
CYTEC) destabilize mineral suspensions either by coagulation or by flocculation, they stabilize
these systems at higher concentrations. While flocculation may be to some extent selective at low
flocculant and low electrolyte concentrations, increased salt concentration initiates heterocoagulation and this leads to an efficient total flocculation.