THE INFLUENCE OF REAGENT DOSAGE ON THE FLOATABILITY OF PYRITE DURING COAL FLOTATION

In general, as the quantity of frother and/or coal collector is increased, so too, does the flotation of the undesired pyrite. The problem is particularly serious with oily reagents. For some coals, however, a collector, such as fuel oil, is required to achieve a high coal recovery. This requires a compromise between the competing desires of a high coal recovery and a high pyrite rejection. This study gives the quantitative effect of reagent dosage on coal and pyrite floatability and details several means of minimizing pyrite floatability during coal flotation. The effect of fuel oil on coal flotation is especially interesting in that the flotation process changes from froth flotation to emulsion or agglomerative flotation as the amount of oil is increased. This phenomenon provides an additional method of rejecting pyritic sulfur.