Characterization and Separation Studies of a Fine Sedimentary Phosphate Ore Slime
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Gravity Separation Tests
2.2.2. Flotation Separation Tests
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Gravity-Flotation Flowsheet
3.1.1. Gravity Separation Tests results
3.1.2. Reverse Flotation Tests Results
3.2. Direct-Reverse Flowsheet
3.3. Comparative Analysis of Flowsheets
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- The generation of phosphate ore slime was about 14% from the heavy medium cyclone gravity process in the Yichang region. The slime contained 24.30% P2O5, 2.64% MgO, and 25.17% SiO2. Although the particle size of the slime was fine in distribution with d50 of 65 μm, nearly 80% of the apatite particles were liberated (above 90% liberation class), and the density of gangue minerals were mostly distributed at 2.5–2.7 g/cm3, which was lower than apatite mineral density of 3.1–3.2 g/cm3. It was concluded that the phosphate ore slime has a certain gravity separability.
- (2)
- Two different flowsheets were studied to recover the apatite. The first flowsheet comprised of the gravity concentration and reverse flotation, which produced of the concentrate assaying of 30.51% P2O5 and 0.59% MgO. Moreover, the second flowsheet comprised of the direct flotation and reverse flotation, which produced a concentrate assaying of 32.86% P2O5 and 0.59% MgO. Although in the second flowsheet, the product quality was enriched to higher than 32% P2O5, the reagent consumption was high, which may not be adopted from the economical of view. Compared to the direct-reverse flotation flowsheet, the reagent cost decreased from 56.7 CNY to 14.0 CNY for producing 1 t concentrate when using the gravity-flotation flowsheet, which is an optimal processing methods.
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Component | P2O5 | SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | MgO | CaO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Content (%) | 24.25 | 25.17 | 3.66 | 1.03 | 2.64 | 40.31 |
Mineral | Apatite | Quartz | Clay | Dolomite | Calcite | Pyrite | Feldspar | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Content (%) | 57.5 | 12.5 | 9.2 | 14.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.4 |
Size Fraction (μm) | Yield (%) | Grade (%) | Distribution (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2O5 | MgO | P2O5 | MgO | ||
+150 | 21.32 | 27.86 | 2.26 | 24.50 | 17.98 |
−150 + 74 | 23.43 | 27.97 | 2.36 | 27.03 | 20.64 |
−74 + 45 | 12.10 | 24.76 | 2.91 | 12.36 | 13.14 |
−45 + 38 | 4.32 | 24.48 | 3.08 | 4.36 | 4.97 |
−38 + 25 | 7.00 | 22.68 | 3.42 | 6.55 | 8.94 |
−25 | 31.83 | 19.20 | 2.89 | 25.21 | 34.33 |
Feed | 100 | 24.25 | 2.68 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Separation Units | Height | Pitch (P) | Outer Diameter (D) | P/D | Radial Width | Trough Slope Angle (θ) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rougher | 920 mm | 160 mm | 400 mm | 0.40 | 184 mm | 8°~9° |
Scavenger | 850 mm | 144 mm | 400 mm | 0.36 | 184 mm | 8°~9° |
Products | Yield (%) | Grade (%) | Recovery (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2O5 | MgO | P2O5 | MgO | ||
Feed | 100.00 | 24.25 | 2.68 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Rougher heavies | 47.88 | 28.08 | 2.51 | 55.44 | 45.70 |
Rougher lights | 52.12 | 20.73 | 2.74 | 44.56 | 54.30 |
Scavenger heavies | 33.43 | 26.06 | 2.49 | 35.93 | 31.65 |
Scavenger lights | 18.69 | 11.20 | 3.19 | 8.63 | 22.65 |
Spiral concentrate | 81.31 | 27.25 | 2.50 | 91.37 | 77.35 |
Products | Yield (%) | Grade (%) | Recovery (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2O5 | MgO | P2O5 | MgO | ||
Concentrate | 87.00 | 30.51 | 0.59 | 97.41 | 20.52 |
Carbonate tailing | 13.00 | 5.43 | 15.30 | 2.59 | 79.48 |
Spiral concentrate | 100.00 | 27.25 | 2.50 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Products | Yield (%) | Grade (%) | Recovery (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2O5 | MgO | P2O5 | MgO | ||
Concentrate | 66.86 | 32.76 | 0.55 | 89.65 | 14.43 |
Carbonate tailing | 10.96 | 7.12 | 16.10 | 3.36 | 72.94 |
Silicate tailing | 22.18 | 6.87 | 1.44 | 6.28 | 12.63 |
Total | 100.00 | 24.08 | 2.53 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Process | Products | Yield (%) | Grade (%) | Recovery (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2O5 | MgO | P2O5 | MgO | |||
Gravity-flotation | Concentrate | 70.74 | 30.51 | 0.59 | 89.00 | 15.87 |
Carbonate tailing | 10.57 | 5.43 | 15.30 | 2.37 | 61.48 | |
Spiral tailing | 18.69 | 11.20 | 3.19 | 8.63 | 22.65 | |
Total | 100.00 | 24.25 | 2.50 | 100.00 | 100.00 | |
Direct-reverse | Concentrate | 66.36 | 32.76 | 0.55 | 89.65 | 14.43 |
Carbonate tailing | 11.46 | 7.12 | 16.10 | 3.36 | 72.94 | |
Silicate tailing | 22.18 | 6.87 | 1.44 | 6.28 | 12.63 | |
Total | 100.00 | 24.08 | 2.53 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Process | The Optimum Reagent Dosages (kg/t) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Sodium Carbonate | Water Glass | Sulfuric Acid | Collector | |
Gravity-flotation | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.4 |
Direct-reverse | 3.3 | 1.9 | 11.0 | 2.6 |
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Liu, X.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, T.; Cai, Z.; Sun, K. Characterization and Separation Studies of a Fine Sedimentary Phosphate Ore Slime. Minerals 2017, 7, 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/min7060094
Liu X, Zhang Y, Liu T, Cai Z, Sun K. Characterization and Separation Studies of a Fine Sedimentary Phosphate Ore Slime. Minerals. 2017; 7(6):94. https://doi.org/10.3390/min7060094
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiu, Xin, Yimin Zhang, Tao Liu, Zhenlei Cai, and Kun Sun. 2017. "Characterization and Separation Studies of a Fine Sedimentary Phosphate Ore Slime" Minerals 7, no. 6: 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/min7060094