Anionic Flotation of Florida Phosphate

摘要

In the study, the applicability of an anionic rougher-cleaner process on present and future ores from Florida as compared to the Crago process is evaluated. Six commercially available anionic collectors were selected for evaluation. Three of the anionic collectors were fatty acid type reagents obtained from Florida reagent vendors. The fourth anionic collector, a petroleum sulfonate, was obtained from a domestic vendor. The fifth and sixth anionic collectors, an organophosphoric acid and an N-substituted sarcosine, were obtained from European vendors. Bench scale flotation tests were conducted to evaluate the six anionic collectors. After the critical variables had been identified, another series of tests was conducted to optimize the anionic rougher-cleaner process performance. A parallel series of tests were conducted to optimize the Crago process performance. Relative to the Crago process, the anionic rougher-cleaner process gave lower grade concentrate, higher phosphate recovery, and lower reagent cost for 28x150 mesh feed. Neither process was effective in rejecting carbonate minerals from the concentrate. The carbonate contaminants would not be acceptable feedstock for commercial acidulation plants.