Development of a novel biocollector for flotation of low grade graphite ore

Abstract

Mineral processing plants operate at a capacity of hundreds/thousands of tons per day. Accordingly, chemical reagents’ usage also increases proportionally. Stringent norms toward environmental sustainability question the usage of chemical reagents, especially in large quantities and tailings disposal in open areas. Hence, bioreagents have gained great interest. Froth flotation is by far the most practiced processing route for fines beneficiation and low-grade ore upgradation, especially for naturally hydrophobic minerals. Flotation being a physicochemical separation technique, flotation reagents selection plays a pivotal role in the process performance. A novel environmental-friendly biocollector, an extract from the leaves of Vitex negundo, was used as a flotation collector in the present investigation for beneficiating a low grade graphite ore with 8.67% fixed carbon. A three-factor and three-level Box-Behnken Design (BBD) under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to study the effects of important process variables such as grinding time, depressant dosage, and collector dosage on the responses, namely, ash percent of final concentrate and its recovery. A final graphite concentrate with 4.24% ash and 14.42% yield was obtained using the developed biocollector by flotation of low-grade graphite ore with 89.47% ash content. The degree of significance of input variables was determined using ANOVA. Regression models for ash content, % of final concentrate, and its %recovery were obtained from BBD analysis. It showed that the grinding time has a significant influence on the process followed by depressant dosage on the grade of final concentrate and collector dosage on its recovery.