Coal, in particular of higher rank, is known to have strong natural hydrophobicity. Collectors are nevertheless added to improve the flotation performance. Frothers are added to obtain a stable but non-persistent froth in which the coal particles are retained. Although an ideal frother should have negligible collecting power, some of the frothers in use are known to show some collecting properties. This paper presents the results of collectorless batch flotation of a composite feed and its constituent size fractions carried out with three different frothers, namely pine oil, MIBC and a synthetic frother.
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