Effect of ion exchange in sodium bentonite on copper flotation in saline water

摘要

Clay minerals have a deleterious effect on flotation. In the previous study, use of saline water had a positive impact on the flotation recovery when dealing with copper ore containing substantial amounts of bentonite through reducing pulp viscosity (Wang et al., 2016). This study found that when using different cations, Na~+ and Ca~(2+), the effect of ion exchange also played an important role in copper flotation in the presence of sodium bentonite, which could modify the chemical compositions of the flotation solution. The ion-exchange interaction was demonstrated by the chemical redistribution in different layers of sodium bentonite. This study revealed another underpinning mechanism of copper flotation in the presence of bentonite by using different cations.