New advances in the understanding and development of flotation collectors: A Chinese experience

New development in flotation collectors. [Display omitted] •New understanding and development of flotation collectors are reviewed.•Novel collectors with double or macrocyclic conjugated minerophilic groups are suggested.•DFT and in situ detection built a new platform for flotation research.•In situ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Minerals engineering 2018-03, Vol.118, p.78-86
Main Authors: Liu, Guangyi, Liu, Jun, Huang, Yaoguo, Yang, Xianglin, Zhong, Hong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Azolethione
Collectors
Flotation mechanism
Green manufacture
Molecular design
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Summary:New development in flotation collectors. [Display omitted] •New understanding and development of flotation collectors are reviewed.•Novel collectors with double or macrocyclic conjugated minerophilic groups are suggested.•DFT and in situ detection built a new platform for flotation research.•In situ AFM measured monomolecular layer of azolethione on chalcopyrite.•The green manufacture technologies for collectors have been developed. Collectors play a decisive role in froth flotation by selectively hydrophobizing mineral particles. The new understanding of the molecular design of collectors, their flotation mechanism and green manufacture is reviewed in this paper. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation opens a new avenue for understanding the reactivity of the groups and atoms in a collector molecule, and azolethione surfactants including oxadiazolethione, thiadiazolethione, triazolethione, amino-triazolethione and tetrazolethione, have been designed and developed as collectors. The combination application of the DFT calculation and in situ detection technologies establishes a new platform for flotation fundamental research, and the monomolecular layer of a sulfhydryl collector chemisorbed on chalcopyrite has been observed and measured, and the nature of froth flotation is further understood. The new synthetic technologies for collectors such as xanthates and hydroxamates have been developed to prepare them in near atom economy, which supported their green manufacture and industrial upgrading. The new understanding of flotation collectors will boost their future development.
ISSN:0892-6875
1872-9444
DOI:10.1016/j.mineng.2018.01.009