Flotation mechanism of novel ether acid collector CY-1 to chlorite and its application in reverse floatation of iron ores

In this work, the type and chemical formula of chlorite in Yuanjiacun iron mine of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company were determined for the first time. A novel ether acid collector CY-1 was designed and synthesized according to the types and contents of metal ions in the chlorite and the characteristics of its decomposition exposed surface. The flotation behavior and adsorption mechanism of CY-1 to chlorite were investigated by micro-flotation tests of single chlorite and hematite minerals, bench­scale flotation tests of fine hematite/magnetite mixed actual iron ore contained high content of chlorite, FT-IR spectra, zeta potential measurements, adsorption capacity, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and XPS. The micro-flotation results of single minerals indicate that CY-1 exhibits superior flotation performance to chlorite. The results of flotation tests of hematite/magnetite mixed actual iron ore show that, the iron concentrate grade and recovery obtained by CY-1 increase by 2.27% and 1.22% at 30℃ and by 11.11% and 11.84% at 20℃, responsively compared to those by NaOL. DFT calculation results show that carboxyl O of CY-1 is the main sites for interaction with minerals, and the other O in the solidophilic group is also active center for providing electrons. CY-1 shows unique structure, such as the "crown ether" shape structure of solidophilic group, resulting in superior targeting effect on Mg and Al on dissociation surface of chlorite, which improves the collector's flotation ability to chlorite. © 2020, Science Press. All right reserved.