IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF SOME LOCAL SURFACTANTS IN THE NOTATION PROCESS OF EGYPTIAN FELDSPAR

The efficiency of a local surfactant (dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid, DBSA), which is mainly used in detergency, was evaluated as a collecto r for the potation of iron bearing minerals of an Egyptian feldspar or e. A very voluminous foam was obtained during the flotation experiment s. Rice bran oil, a source of fatty acids, was used to regulate these foams. The flotation process was optimized by studying the effect of a dding DBSA alone and mixtures of DBSA and rice bran oil. At the optimu m conditions (3 kg/ton of 2:1:1 ratio of DBSA, rice bran oil and keros ene, pH 3) the iron content was lowered from 0.25 % in the flotation f eed to 0.12 % in the concentrate. The flotation results are discussed in the light of surface tension and frothability tests.