Flotation performance and mechanism of a novel cryogenic collector triethanolamine oleate on separation of hematite and fluorapatite

Recovering phosphate ore at low temperatures poses a challenge. In this work, non-ionic surfactant triethanolamine oleate (TOAM) was used as a novel cryogenic collector for the separation of hematite and Fluorapatite (FAP). The flotation test results indicated that under the conditions of TOAM at 100 mg/L, starch at 13 mg/L, and pH 9, it achieved good recovery rate and grade of FAP concentrate in the mixed ore of 88.74 % and 35.32 %. Especially under low temperature conditions (15degree celsius), the recovery rate of TOAM as collector was 29.36 % higher than that of NaOL. This was mainly due to the significantly higher low-temperature solubility of TOAM compared to NaOL. The adsorption mechanism of TOAM on the surface of FAP was studied through PBAI, FTIR, XPS tests, and DFT calculations. The results indicated that TOAM can significantly enhance the hydrophobicity of the FAP surface, primarily through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The results of the DFT calculations also confirmed that the hydrogen bonding between the -OH functional group on the TOAM molecule and the O active site on the FAP surface, along with the electrostatic interactions, were the main adsorption mechanisms. This work can provide some guidance for the application of non-ionic collectors in low-temperature flotation. (c) 2024 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and