A Study on the Application of Extracted Botanical Oils as Flotation Reagents in Sustainable Graphite Ore Processing

Abstract

Graphite is critical for manufacturing electrodes in various battery types, driving the energy transition. Sustainable graphite supply chains are essential for energy independence, necessitating understanding graphite resources, responsible sourcing, and developing sustainable beneficiation techniques to increase production. Sustainable ore processing minimizes environmental impacts and ensures high-quality graphite production. One such effective processing technique for naturally hydrophobic ores like graphite is flotation, which intends to separate graphite selectively from associated hydrophilic gangue minerals, depending on the degree of graphite’s surface hydrophobicity. The flotation performance of a low-grade graphite ore was studied using the extracted sesame seed dry cake oil (collector SDC) and eucalyptus leafextracted oil (frother EO). The central composite design (CCD) methodology was applied to optimize the process, with collector SDC and frother EO dosages as input variables. Optimal flotation performance was achieved at 0.15 Kg/t SDC and 0.03 Kg/t EO dosages, balancing weight recovery (12.39%), ash content (3.10%), and fixed carbon (f.c) content (93.01%). ANOVA results confirmed the statistical significance of SDC dosage on weight recovery of graphite concentrate. This concentrate could be purified further for its application in renewable energy storage. The study highlights the flotation efficacy of the natural collector SDC in selectively recovering graphite particles, demonstrating its potential as a sustainable alternative in flotation processes. This work shows the application of a completely green and eco-friendly reagent system in graphite flotation by utilizing sesame seed dry cake oil as collector and eucalyptus leafextracted oil as frother, emphasizing environmental sustainability in graphite ore processing.