Separation of Pyrolusite and Hematite by Froth Flotation

• Author / Creator

  Parrent, Marc Donald

• Due to challenges faced by the Wabush mine, the separation of pyrolusite and hematite using froth flotation was investigated. Using sodium oleate as a collector, micro-scale flotation testing identified conditions for selective separation of pyrolusite and hematite. When applied to Wabush iron ore on a bench-scale, direct flotation produced hematite concentrates meeting the target of 90% mass pull at 40% Mn rejection. Two separate bench-scale conditions achieved the target; the first at pH 11 using 200 g/t sodium oleate, and the second at pH 9 using 200 g/t sodium oleate and 250 g/t potato starch. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study adsorption of oleate on pyrolusite and hematite. At pH 11 oleate was bound to hematite via a mixture of inner-sphere monodentate mononuclear (ISMM) and open-sphere surface hydration-shared (OS-HS) modes, while adsorption on pyrolusite was primarily ISMM with contributions from (OS-HS) and inner-sphere bidentate binuclear (ISBB) modes.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Iron ore
  • Selective flotation
  • Pyrolusite
  • Flotation
  • Sodium oleate
  • Hematite

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R30933

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.