Flotation separation of andalusite from quartz using sodium petroleum sulfonate as collector

The floatability of andalusite and quartz was studied using sodium petroleum sulfonate as collector, being successfully applied in the real ore separation. The collecting performance on minerals was interpreted by means of zeta potential measurement and infrared spectroscopic analysis. The single mineral experiments showed that andalusite got good floatability in acidic pH region while quartz exhibited very poor floatability in the whole pH range. At pH 3, the presence of Fe3+ obviously activated quartz, causing the identical flotation behavior of the two minerals, and calcium lignosulphonate exhibited good selective inhibition to quartz. The real ore test results showed that andalusite concentrate with 53.46% Al2O3 and quartz concentrate with 92.74% SiO2 were obtained. The zeta potential and infrared spectroscopic analysis results indicated that chemical adsorption occurred between sodium petroleum sulfonate and andalusite.