A STUDY OF A CONTINUOUS AND COUNTERCURRENT COLUMN FLOTATION OF QUARTZPARTICLES USING A BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS

Finely crushed and sized quartz particles were flotated both continuou sly and countercurrently with a bench-scale column notation cell. The particles mere not notable at pH 7 in the absence of the collector. Th e particles were flotated by making them hydrophobic with a typical, f amiliar, cationic surfactant, n-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, as a collector. The observed particle concentration profiles that formed a long the column for varying collector concentrations were linearly cor related with the column height on a semilogarithmic scale. To simulate the aforementioned particle concentration profiles and the particle r emovabilities, we proposed a set of free settling and sedimentation mo del equations that involve a collision and attachment probability or a collection probability between a rising bubble and a particle. A trad itional stagewise model was employed to solve the aforementioned equat ions, and their solutions were tested to determine whether or not they can simulate the observed profiles and removabilities. The results in dicate that the mathematical model equations supported the observed li near profiles and the removabilities, which strongly depended on the c ollector concentrations and were compatible with those observed for th e Denver-type flotation machine. From the observed rate constant at a high collector concentration, the collection probability value was ded uced and its magnitude could be supported by a theoretical model propo sed by other investigators.