Selective Separation of Fluorite from Calcite Using Saponified Tridecanoic Acid as a Novel Collector

Fluorite, as a vital calcium-containing mineral, usually coexists with calcite. When using the traditional collector sodium oleate (NaOL), froth flotation could not separate fluorite and calcite well on account of their similar surface properties. Meanwhile, a large amount of sodium silicate (SS) needs to be added to depress calcite, resulting in difficulties in tailings settlement and wastewater treatment. Therefore, a nontoxic and inexpensive surfactant saponified tricarboxylic acid (TA) was developed as a new collector. The flotation test results showed that TA had a higher selectivity for fluorite than NaOL, leading to the selective separation of both minerals. Zeta potential measurements indicated that TA was negatively charged and was strongly adsorbed on fluorite due to electrostatic interactions at pH 9.0. FTIR, XPS, DFT, and crystal chemistry calculations revealed TA had a stronger chemical interaction with fluorite due to its higher surface Ca activity and density, forming a TA-Ca complex through the bidentate coordination. In contrast, the interaction of TA with calcite could be ignored. In addition, the results of the surface tension and dynamic foam stability tests revealed that TA possessed the excellent foam performance. Therefore, these properties give TA excessive potential for industrial application and environmental protection in fluorite flotation.