AU2021105063A4

AU2021105063A4 - Method for promoting sulphidizing flotation of copper oxide ore using amino acid

Info

Publication number: AU2021105063A4
Application number: AU2021105063A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Daixiong Chen; Yanhong Dong; Bo Hu; Xiaodong Li; Zibo SONG; Wei Xue; Jianwen Yang; Jian ZENG; Jianyu ZHU
Original assignee: Hunan Research Institute of Non Ferrous Metals
Current assignee: Hunan Research Institute of Non Ferrous Metals
Priority date: 2021-08-06
Filing date: 2021-08-06
Publication date: 2021-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-06

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method for promoting copper oxide mineral flotation using an amino acid, comprising. An amino acid as activator is added to a sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp, and the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp is subjected to flotation in a flotation machine with xanthate as a collector. Based on the sulfidation flotation of the copper oxide mineral, the method improves the flotation efficiency of the copper oxide mineral by adding an amino acid during the flotation. The copper oxide mineral is crushed and sieved, and then the amino acid, sulfide and related flotation agents are added to a flotation machine to carry out the flotation within controlled time. Compared with the flotation without the addition of amino acids, the flotation recovery rate of the copper oxide mineral is increased by up to 10%. Obviously, the amino acid promotes the sulphidizing flotation of the copper oxide mineral. The method disclosed herein provides a way for the industrial flotation of copper oxide minerals.

Description

METHOD FOR PROMOTING SULPHIDIZING FLOTATION OF COPPER OXIDE ORE USING AMINO ACID TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to beneficiation of copper oxide ores, and more particularly to a

method for promoting sulphidizing flotation of a copper oxide ore using an amino acid.

BACKGROUND

Copper oxide mineral and mixed copper mineral account for 10%-15% of the worldwide

copper reserves. In China, the copper oxide mineral accounts for a quarter of the copper

reserves. Oxidation zones and huge copper oxide deposits are distributed on most of copper

sulfide deposits. The efficient exploitation and utilization of copper oxide mineral has become a

research highlight. The copper oxide mineral is dominated by malachite, azurite, cuprite and

chrysocolla. Industrially, the copper oxide minerals are usually floated by the sulfidation

xanthate method. Sodium sulfide is often employed as a sulphidizing agent in the sulfidation of

the copper oxide mineral. Specifically, it can combine with the copper ions on the surface of the

copper oxide mineral to form a copper sulfide film attaching to the mineral surface, improving

the hydrophobicity of the mineral surface to increase the adsorption rate of the collector and

promoting the formation of dixanthogen in the adsorption layer. In addition, it has been found

'0 that in addition to the sulfide, activating agents can also greatly improve the flotation efficiency

of copper oxide minerals. Ammonium sulfate and ethylenediamine phosphate are two

widely-used activating agents, where ammonium sulfate can effectively weaken the inhibitory

effect of sodium sulfide, and its synergy with ethylenediamine can effectively improve the

quality and recovery of mineral. These activating agents form insoluble sulfides with the copper

ions on the surface of the mineral to increase the hydrophobicity of the mineral, and allow the

mineral surface to be continuously dissolved. However, the addition amount of the sulfide,

ammonium sulfate and ammonium organics is relatively high in the industrial flotation, and the

flotation wastewater is difficult to treat and may pollute the ecological environment. Therefore,

it is of great industrial significance to develop an efficient and environmentally-friendly

activating agent.

Amino acid is an environment-friendly reagent, and has good compatibility with the ecological environment. The amino acids all have a carboxyl group and an amino group, and vary in the R group. The amino group may play a similar role as ethylenediamine phosphate to promote the sulfidation flotation of copper oxide minerals, and the carboxyl group can theoretically bind the copper ions on the surface of the sulphidized mineral. The R groups of some hydrophobic amino acids have a long carbon chain and a benzene ring, which may improve the hydrophobicity of copper oxide minerals in the flotation. In view of the above, an amino acid-based floatation method of copper oxide ores is designed herein, which can significantly enhance the floatation of copper oxide ores without causing environmental pollution.

SUMMARY

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method for promoting sulphidizing

flotation of a copper oxide ore using an amino acid, which can improve the flotation recovery

rate of the copper oxide minerals at a relatively low consumption of amino acid. This

application provides a new approach for the selection of flotation reagents.

The technical solutions of the present disclosure are described as follows.

A method for promoting copper oxide mineral flotation using an amino acid, comprising:

subjecting a copper oxide ore pulp to sulphidization to obtain a sulphidized copper oxide

ore pulp; and

adding a solution of the amino acid as activator to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp

for reaction followed by flotation in a flotation machine in the presence of xanthate, wherein the

xanthate is used as a collector.

In some embodiments,

the copper oxide pulp is prepared through steps of:

(1) grinding a copper oxide ore to obtain a ground copper oxide mineral with a particle

size of 0.074 mm; and sieving the ground copper oxide mineral to obtain a 200-mesh copper

oxide mineral powder; and

(2) adding the copper oxide mineral powder and water to a flotation tank followed by

uniform stirring to obtain the copper oxide ore pulp with a concentration of 200-400 g/L.

In some embodiments, the sulphidization is carried out by adding 500-3500 g/t of sodium

sulfide to the copper oxide ore pulp; preferably, an addition amount of the sodium sulfide is

3000 g/t; 50-800 g/t of the amino acid is added to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp; preferably, an addition amount of the amino acid is 100 g/t; and the reaction is performed for 2-5 min; preferably, 3 min. In some embodiments, the flotation is performed through steps of: adding 50-300 g/t of butyl xanthate to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp for collection; adding 10-50 g/t of terpenic oil as a foaming agent to collect a floated copper oxide mineral; and subjecting the collected copper oxide mineral to filtration and drying; preferably, 200 g/t of the butyl xanthate is added to the sulphidized copper oxide pulp; and 10 g/t of the terpenic oil is added. In some embodiments, the amino acid is hydrophobic; preferably, the amino acid hydrophobic is phenylalanine or lysine. The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are described as follows. Based on the characteristics of the sulphidizing flotation of the copper oxide minerals, the present disclosure introduces an amino acid to improve the flotation efficiency. The copper oxide mineral is crushed and sieved, and then the amino acid, a sulfide and related flotation agents are added to a flotation machine to carry out the flotation within controlled time. Compared with the flotation without the addition of amino acids, the flotation recovery rate of the copper oxide mineral is increased by at most 10%. Obviously, the amino acid significantly promotes the sulphidizing flotation of copper oxide minerals. The method disclosed herein provides a way for the industrial flotation of copper oxide minerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The embodiments are illustrative of this disclosure, and not intended to limit the present disclosure.

Example 1 10 g of copper oxide mineral powder and 120 mL of water were added into a flotation tank, and were fully mixed by a stirrer. 3000 g/t of a sodium sulfide solution was then added, and then 0 g/t, 100 g/t, 300 g/t and 800 g/t of lysine were respectively added. The reaction mixture was reacted for 3 min, and then added with 200 g/t of butyl xanthate and 10 g/t of terpenic oil.

The foam was scraped, and the collected copper oxide mineral was filtered, dried and weighted.

It was confirmed that under the addition of 100 g/t of the lysine, the flotation recovery rate of

the copper oxide mineral reached 82%.

Comparative Example 1

10 g of copper oxide mineral powder and 120 mL of water were added into a flotation tank,

and were fully mixed by a stirrer. 3000 g/t of a sodium sulfde solution was then added. The

reaction mixture was reacted for 3 min, and then added with 200 g/t of butyl xanthate and 10 g/t

of terpenic oil, and were fully stirred. The foam was scraped, and the collected copper oxide

mineral was filtered, dried and weighted. It was confirmed that without the addition of lysine,

the flotation recovery rate of the copper oxide mineral flotation was 74%.

Example 2

and were fully mixed by a stirrer. 3000 g/t of a sodium sulfide solution was then added, and

then 0 g/t, 100 g/t, 300 g/t and 800 g/t of phenylalanine were respectively added. The reaction

mixture was reacted for 3 min, and then added with 200 g/t of butyl xanthate and 10 g/t of

terpenic oil. The foam was scraped, and the collected copper oxide mineral was filtered, dried

and weighted. It was confirmed that under the addition of 100 g/t, 300 g/t, 800 g/t of the

phenylalanine, the flotation recovery rate of the copper oxide mineral flotation reached 82%,

83% and 85%, respectively.

Comparative Example 2

of terpenic oil. The foam was scraped, and the collected copper oxide mineral was filtered,

dried and weighted. It was confirmed that without the addition of phenylalanine, the flotation

recovery rate of the copper oxide mineral flotation was 75%.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for promoting flotation of a copper oxide ore using an amino acid,

comprising:

ore pulp; and

xanthate is used as a collector.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the copper oxide pulp is prepared

through steps of:

oxide mineral powder; and

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the sulphidization is carried out

by adding 500-3500 g/t of sodium sulfide to the copper oxide ore pulp.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that 50-800 g/t of the amino acid is

added to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp, and the reaction is performed for 2-5 min.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the reaction is performed for 3

min.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the flotation is performed

through steps of:

adding 50-300 g/t of butyl xanthate to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp for collection; adding 10-50 g/t of terpenic oil as a foaming agent to collect a floated copper oxide mineral; and subjecting the collected copper oxide mineral to filtration and drying.

7. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the concentration of the copper oxide ore pulp is 350 g/L.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the amino acid is a hydrophobic amino acid.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the amino acid is phenylalanine or lysine.

10. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that 3000 g/t of the sodium sulfide is added to the copper oxide ore pulp.

11. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that 100 g/t of the amino acid is added to the sulphidized copper oxide ore pulp.

12. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that 200 g/t of the butyl xanthate is added to the sulphidized copper oxide pulp; and 10 g/t of the terpenic oil is added.