CHEMICAL METALLURGY I

PART II

Prof. Dr. Onuralp YÜCEL

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• A mineral is a naturally occurring substance with a range
of chemical compositions.
• An ore is a mineral deposit concentrated enough to allow
economical recovery of a desired metal.
• Metallurgy is the science and technology of separating
metals from their ores and of compounding alloys.
• An alloy is a solid solution either of two or more metals, or
of a metal or metals with one or more nonmetals.
• Recovery of a metal from its ore:
1. Preparation of the ore
2. Production of the metal
3. Purification of the metal

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• Extractive metallurgy as a discipline deals with the
extraction of metals from naturally occurring and
man made resources. Separation is the essence of
metal extraction.
• Development of efficient separation schemes calls
for a through understanding of extractive
metallurgy principles in terms of physical
chemistry (thermodynamics & kinetics); materials
and energy flow/balance, transport phenomena,
reactor and reactor engineering, instrumentation
and process control, and environment and waste
management.
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• In general, metallurgical separation processes involves
chemical reactions, and classified as pyrometallurgical,
hydrometallurgical, and electrometallurgical. The
processes are also classified as ferrous [dealing with iron
and steel] and nonferrous [dealing with all other metals,
e.g. base metals (like Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, ...), light metals (Al,
Mg, Ti), precious metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, ...), rare earth
(Ce, Nd, Sm, ...), nuclear metals (U, Th, ...), rare metals
(Os, Ru, ...) etc].

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Various pyrometallurgical unit processes are: calcination,
roasting, smelting, converting, refining, distillation etc.

Each of these processes serves a specific purpose from the

point of view of separation. They require specialized reactor
depending upon the phases (solid/liquid/ gases) involved,
mode of contact, temperature, environmental measures etc.

Calcination and roasting are used as pre-treatment prior to

other pyro- and hydro- metallurgical operations.

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• Smelting is the most common of pyrometallurgical
operations.
• Reduction smelting is carried out for oxides. During the
smelting, metal compound (e.g. oxide of metal) is reduced
to metallic form, and the undesirable impurities (gangue)
combine with flux to form slag.
• Immiscibility of metal and slag together with density
difference forms the basis for separation. Ellingham
Diagrams (AG vs. T plots), which are available for oxides,
sulphides, chlorides etc serve as a fundamental guide in
predicting the relative stability of compounds.
• Based on these diagrams, selection of reduction, reduction
temperature, equilibrium partial pressures, can be
indicated. Similarly, slag atlases are available for most
common slag systems.
• Matte (liquid mixture of sulphides) smelting, which
exploits the immiscibility between slag and matte, is used
for metal extraction from sulphide ores.
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• The word hydro- is derived from a Greek word which
means water. Separation steps involved in hydrometallurgy
are: leaching, purification and/or concentration, and
precipitation/metal production.

• Leaching involves preferential dissolution through water

solvation, acid/alkali attack, base-exchange reaction,
complex ion formation and oxidation/reduction reaction.
The variables affecting leaching are pH, Eh, concentration,
temperature, pressure, precomplexing ion etc. Eh-pH
diagrams are thermodynamic plots that give an idea of the
stability of various solution and solid species in
equilibrium under different acidity (pH) and reduction
potential (Eh) conditions (ex. Cu-H20-S system).
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• Electrometallurgy is the process of obtaining metals
through electrolysis. Starting materials may be: (a) molten
salt, and (b) aqueous solution. The separation is based on
difference in Standard electrode potential and it is used for
Electrowinning or Electrorefining purpose. Aluminium
extraction is based on the fuse salt electrolysis.

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 While 'separation is the essence of metal extraction’;
The scope extends beyond separation. Number of issues that require
attention includes:
• Plant Size - transportation, materials handling
• Reactor - Size, Mixing, Materials flow, Heat transfer (engineering
skills), material
• selection, energy ...
• Alloying - Metals are generally used in the form of alloys
• Waste disposal - Huge quantity of waste is generated
• Recycling - Resource conservation, Energy saving, Waste
mininimisation
• Manufacturing - large scale manufacturing, many techniques.

The overall design of a metallurgical plant may involve optimization from

the point of view of process (energy, recovery, separation efficiency,
productivity etc), cost of production and environmental factors.
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Grade = concentration of valuable mineral element
within a rock mass. e.g. 1g/t Au or 0.5% Cu
Ore = rock which is economically viable to mine,
where the value of the metal exceeds the costs of
mining, processing, (crush, extract and purify) and
marketing the commodity
Waste = rock where the grade is insufficient to cover
the costs of processing and marketing
Cut-off grade (COG) (or breakeven grade) =
The grade or concentration of mineral in rock where
the value of the metal equals the costs of mining,
processing and marketing the contained commodity
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A cut-off grade (COG) is an industry-accepted standard expression used to determine what
part of a mineral deposit to include in a mineral resource estimate (MRE). For MRE
reporting, COGs tend to be rounded down to ensure that material of no economic
significance is excluded from the resource.
To calculate a COG, we can gauge the likely extraction costs and operating efficiencies
using benchmarks from analogous mines, and determine commodity prices from public
reports or price forecast research notes.
A COG is expressed in grade units that may require conversion from market pricing units.
For the COG, the price needs to be expressed in grams.

Sometimes we face complicated cost, recovery and revenue concepts in deriving a COG for
resource reporting. These may stem from:
• Mineralogically different ore types
• Multiple process routes
• Deleterious elements
• Stockpile strategy
• Blending constraints
• By-product credits & metal equivalence
• Net smelter returns

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• Mineral: Dünya kabuğunu oluşturan, doğal olarak belirli bir kimyasal yapıdaki homojen
maddelere denir.
• Cevher: Endüstride ekonomik şekilde üretimde kullanılabilen minerale cevher denir. Her cevher
bir mineraldir, fakat her mineral cevher özelliğine sahip değildir. Cevher bir tek kıymetli metal
içerebileceği gibi birden fazla metalin bir arada bulunduğu cevherlerde mevcuttur.
• Bir cevher içerisinde çeşitli minerallerin bir arada bulunabilmesi iyon yarıçapları ve kimyasal
benzerliği gibi iki faktöre bağlıdır.

• Cevher Tenörü: Bir cevher içerisinde mevcut metal miktarına tenör denir ve genellikle
ağırlık yüzdesiyle tarif edilir. Örnek: % 0.5 Cu, tonda 5 kg bakırı tanımlamaktadır. Bir
cevherin tenörü ne kadar yüksekse, değeri o kadar fazladır. Yani yukarı doğru tenör
sınırlaması yapılmaz. Ancak aşağı doğru cevherin değeri ekonomik karlılık ile sınırlıdır ve
buna minimum ekonomik tenör denir. Minimum ekonomik tenör çeşitli faktörlere bağlıdır.
Bunlar;
• 1- Cevher yatağının konumu (açık veya kapalı işletme),
• 2- Cevher yatağının rezervi (tenör düşük ancak rezerv büyük olabilir),
• 3- Pazara mesafe,
• 4- Metalin piyasa değeri,
• 5- Metal üretim masrafı,
• 6- Diğer masraflar (kredi, vergi, organizasyon).
• Bu bilgileri içeren fizibilite etüdünün tamamlanması ile ekonomik alt sınırı belirleyen
tenörler hakkında karara varılır. Ve buna uluslararası terminolojide CUT OFF GRADE
(Minimum ekonomik tenör) denir.

Bunlara ilave olarak cevherin empürite seviyesinde içerdiği diğer metallerin,yararlı veya zararlı
etkilerine göre cevher değer kazanabilir veya kaybedebilir. Gelişen ve değişen ekonomik ve teknolojik
şartlardan minimum ekonomik tenörler büyük ölçüde etkilemektedir
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The Rock Cycle
 Size reduction in mining
Explosion with dynamite ∞ - 100 cm
Crushing 200 cm - 0.5 cm
Grinding 2.5 cm-1 micron

Crushers
1. Jaw crushers
2. Gyratory crushers
3. Crushing rolls

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 Crushers

The first stage is called coarse or primary crushing or primary breaking.

The crushers used in this stage take up the run-of-mine ore material and reduce it to a size small enough to be
treated by the next crusher, called the secondary crusher.

The secondary crushers consume more power as compared with the primary crushers.

This is because the work essentially on finer material and yield more new surface than would a primary crusher for an
equal reduction ratio.

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 Grinders
Less than 25 mm sized minerals are feed into the grinding chamber

Mills
-Rod mills
-Ball mills
-Outogenous mills

An open ciruit rod mill Rod Mill

The rod mill, a tumbling mill characterized by the use of rods
as grinding media, is used for grinding ores, coal/coke, and
other materials for both wet and dry applications.

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Rod Mill

The rod mill performs best when making products having a top size of 4.8 mm to 1.2 mm operating in open
circuit, or as fine as 0.6 mm operating in closed circuit with a screen or other sizing device. The rod mill
accepts feed ore as coarse as 38 mm top size although better performance is obtained by restricting ore feed
size to 8.3 mm

Materials too wet for fine crushing and dry screening may be wet ground in a rod mill. Practice has
demonstrated the ability of a rod mill to dry grind damp materials that will pack or plug other grinding
equipment. and scrap loss are reduced by correct selection of liners for the specific grinding duty. Additional
benefit results from use of a backing material, such as rubber between the liners and the mill shell.

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 Ball Mill
Ball mill is mainly used for grinding materials in such
production industries as cement, silicate product, new
building materials, chemical engineering, nonferrous and
black metal, mineral processing, glass and ceramic, etc.

It is used for grinding various ore and other grindable

materials dry or wet.

Ball Mills are generally used to grind material 6.35 mm and

finer, down to the particle size of 20 to 75 microns.

To achieve a reasonable efficiency with ball mills, they must

be operated in a closed system, with oversize material
continuously being recirculated back into the mill to be
reduced. Various classifiers, such as screens, spiral
classifiers, cyclones and air classifiers are used for
classifying the discharge from ball mills.

The point where the mill becomes a centrifuge is called

the "Critical Speed", and ball mills usually operate at
65% to 75% of the critical speed.
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 A Ball Mill grinds material by
Image of cut away ball mill, rotating a cylinder with steel
showing material flow through grinding balls, causing the balls
typical ball mill. to fall back into the cylinder and
onto the material to be ground.
The rotation is usually
between 4 to 20 revolutions
per minute, depending upon the
diameter of the mill. The larger
the diameter, the slower the
rotation. If the peripheral speed
of the mill is too great, it begins
to act like a centrifuge and the
balls do not fall back, but stay on
the perimeter of the mill.

Photo of a series of ball mills in a

Copper Plant, grinding the ore for
flotation.

Photo of a 3 m
diameter by 10 m long
ball mill in a Cement
Plant.
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 Autogenous Mills,

Photo of Autogenous Mill at a copper mine.

Autogenous Mills operate, mechanically, similar to the ball mill. They differ in the media they use to break
or grind the ore. Autogenous Mills use large particles of ore instead of steel or other balls for grinding
media. Autogenous mills use large pieces of ore as grinding media. The grinding is facilitated in autogenous
mills by attrition with limited grinding by impact.

Autogenous grinding has two advantages, (1) it reduces metal wear and (2) eliminates secondary and
tertiary crushing stages.

Thus it offers a savings in capital and operating costs.

Autogenous mills are available for both wet and dry grinding.
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Jet Mills

Comparison to general jet mill and CR model (Talc grinding)

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Some ore
preperation
circuits

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 Separation processes.
Screening
Screening (continuous, commercial) and sieving (batch, laboratory test generally confined for size determination)
are essentially mechanical separations of particles based on size, accomplished by using a perforated surface that
serves as a go–no-go gauge.

The undersize, or “fines”, pass through the screen openings while the oversize, or
“tails”, do not.

A single screen can make only a single separation into two fractions.

These are called unsized fractions, because although either the upper or the lower limit of
the sizes of the particles they contain is known; the other limit is unknown.

Those materials passed through a series of screens of different sizes are separated into sized
fractions, i.e., fractions for which both the maximum and the minimum particle sizes are
known.
Although wet screening is
carried out sometimes, dry
screening is much more
commonly used.

Definition A screen is a device which separate a mix of

particles in two or more groups depending on size. 53
 What is conventional-screening?

1. Material is fed
onto the screen 2. Particles of the same size end up
in the same layer = stratification

4. Coarse material goes

over the screen

3. Fine material goes through

the screen

Conventional screening is based on stratification

 PARTICLE SHAPE
Length

 Flakiness (length/thickness)
 Elongation (length/width)
Thickness
 Flat (thickness/width)

Width

• ASTM D4791
– Flat (W/T ratio)
– Elongated (W/L ratio)
• Ratio varies 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5
Mesh Sizes and Microns
What does mesh size mean? Figuring out mesh sizes is simple. All you do is count
the number of openings in one inch of screen (in the United States, anyway.) The
number of openings is the mesh size. So a 4 mesh screen means there are four little
squares across one linear inch of screen. A 100 mesh screen has 100 openings, and
so on. Note, therefore that as the number describing the mesh size increases, the size
of the particles decreases. Higher numbers = finer powder. Mesh size is not a
precise measurement of particle size. Screens can be made with different thicknesses
of wire. The thicker the wires, the smaller the particle passing through that screen, and
vice versa.

What do the minus ( - ) and plus ( + ) plus signs mean when describing mesh
sizes?

Here’s a simple example of how they work. –200 mesh aluminum would mean that all
particles will pass through a 200 mesh screen. A +200 mesh aluminum means that all
the particles are retained on a 200 mesh screen.

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 F80
Reduction Ratio  Product Feed
P80

Cum. % passing
Where,
F80 = (80 % of feed material)
P80 = (80 % of the product)

Normal reduction ratio:

Jaw crushers 2–4
Gyratory crushers 3 – 5
Cone crushers 4–6
VSI crushers 4–6
HSI crushers 10 – 15 Size
Hammer mills 15 – 20
Roll crushers 3–5 Reduction Ratio = 400/16 = 25
 Basic Screen Types

Wire Cloth

Grizzly (Bar) Screen

Grizzly Screen Harp Screen

Punch Plate Finger Screen

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Vibrating Screen
It is used for grading and screening materials in the following fields:
minerals, quarry, building materials, water conservancy and
hydropower, transportation, chemical industry, smelting and so on.

Vibrating Screen Features and Benefits:

It features long flowing line, many screening specifications, strong
violent vibration force, high screening efficiency, small vibrating noises,
firm and durable construction, convenient maintenance and safe
operation.

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Revolving (Cylinder) Screens

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Open or closed circuit
 Classifiers
Classification, generally, is a practice in which a material aggregate of mixed sizes and different specific
gravities is allowed to settle through a medium, which may be either in motion or at rest, with the result that the
material is separated into two or more products.

Differential settling causes the separation. The medium ordinarily used is water, though other liquids, and air or
other gases may also be used.

Classification is applied to the particles between

3-800 microns.
-Wet (Water)
-Dry (Air/gas)

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JIGS
Jigs are mechanical devices used for accomplishing
separation between materials differing in their
specific gravities. In order to understand the
principle of separation by jigging, reference may be
drawn to the motion of a particle settling in a
viscous fluid.

25 mm-1mm feed

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Concentrating tables

Essentially, gravity tables are Flowing Film Concentrators.

Flowing film concentrators have a thin "blanket" of water
flowing across them, into which particles of differing density
are subjected. The primary physical interactions are when the
particles initially penetrate the flowing film of water. Smaller
particles of the same specific gravity (SG) will travel further
than large particles.

The film of water has various velocities based on the

distance from the water's surface. The highest velocity is the
layer of water just below the surface of the water, and the
lowest velocity layer, next to the deck surface, is not moving
at all. In between these layers are differing velocities, based
upon the distance from the water's surface.

On a table, with particles of mixed densities, layers of

material form, a particle in suspension will be subjected to a
greater force the nearer it is to the surface of the water, and
will cause it to tumble over those at greater distances from
the surface. The combination of the particles tumbling and
sliding, the flowing stream with differing velocities, will
cause the bed of solids to dilate, and will allow high SG
particles to find their way down through the bed of light

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 The mechanism is attached to the table, and it moves the table along the long
axis a distance adjustable between ½" and 1" and then back to the starting
position between 200 and 300 times per minute.

The gravity concentrating tables remove the high density material from the low density material,
since the high density material will reside behind the riffles and allow the low density material to flow
over the top of the riffles with the wash water, to the tailings discharge.
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SPIRAL SEPARATOR
 Heavy Media Gravity Separation
Heavy media gravity separation involves using a mixture of fine media material, such as
magnetite (SG 5.1) or ferrosilicon (SG 6.8), suspended in a slurry of water, to produce a
media slurry with a specific gravity that will allow low density material(s) to float, and other
high density material(s) to sink. The SG of separation is the SG of the media slurry, and can
range from 1.45 (for coal), to around 2.8 (for diamonds). The separation principal is very
simple, if the "liquid" media has a SG of 2.5, every mineral with a SG greater than 2.5 will
sink and those lighter than 2.5 will rise to the top and float.

Typically the size range of ore treated in heavy media separation ranges from 10 mesh to 8 inch,
and sometimes down to 28 mesh in particle size. The particle size of the media is also
important, since this affects the separation size. Generally a good grade of media of magnetite
or ferrosilicon needs to be 90% to 100% -325 mesh.
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 Free Settling Ratio
For fine particles that follow Stoke’s Law (< 50 microns)
0. 5
(   f ) 
F .S .R .   h
( l  f ) 
If F.S.R is greater than 2.5, then effective separation can be
achieved
If F.S.R is less than 1.5, then effective separation
cannot be achieved
For coarse particles that follow Newton’s Law
(   f )
F .S .R .  h
(  l  f )
If F.S.R is greater than 2.5, then effective separation
can be achieved
If F.S.R is less than 1.5, then effective separation
cannot be achieved
 Filtration
Filtration is a process of separating solids from a liquid by means of a porous
medium which holds back the solids and permits the liquid to clear.

Industrial filtrations range from simple straining to highly complex

separations. The fluid may be a liquid or gas; the solid particles may be coarse
or fine, stiffer or pliant, elongated or round, separate individuals or aggregates.

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FILTRATION

Filter Plate Press

 Thickeners
The sedimentation process is carried out on a large scale in
equipment called thickeners.

The thickening process is defined as the removal of a portion

of the liquid from a slurry or a suspension, thereby
concentrating the solid particles in the remainder.

Thickeners exploit the gravitational forces for the separation

of solids from liquids and are widely used in the industry.
Their operating cost is low, maintenance problems are
minimal, and performance quite reliable.

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Water treatment plant including thickener tank,
clean water tank, automatic flocculant unit,
clean water return pump and mud pump.

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 Rotary Vacuum Filter

The drum rotates slowly partially submerged in a trough

of suspended solids.

Segments in the drum are important because those

collecting filtrate can be separate from those collecting
washings. The segment at the doctor blade that scrapes
off the collected solids can get air pressure to balloon
out to aid contact with the blade. A paddle in the trough
keeps the solids suspended. Adding filter aid increases
strength of the filter cake and minimizes compaction.
When the cake discharges poorly (e.g., slimy or cuts
badly), a string filter shown in the next sketch may
work.

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Rotary Kiln Drier

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Magnetic separatation
A magnetic separator is a device to separate various material compositions on
the basis of their magnetic properties. Since 19th century magnetic separation
processes have been used to concentrate and separate minerals. Ferromagnetism,
paramagnetism and diamagnetism are the three important properties of the
minerals. Ferromagnetic minerals are themselves magnets hence they stick to the
magnets and can be easily removed later on. Paramagnetic and diamagnetic
minerals interact with a magnetic field in a different way.

Paramagnetic minerals are weakly attracted into a magnetic field and diamagnetic
minerals are weakly repelled by a magnetic field. Therefore if a mixture of
paramagnetic and diamagnetic minerals is passed through a magnetic field, they
will be pulled into the field (paramagnetic) or repelled from the field (diamagnetic)
and may be separated. The electromagnetic separator separating the minerals consist
of electromagnets or rare earth magnets of varying size and strength.

Diamagnetic metals have a very weak and negative susceptibility to

magnetic fields. Most elements in the periodic table, including copper,
silver, and gold, are diamagnetic.

Paramagnetic metals have a small and positive susceptibility to

magnetic fields. Paramagnetic materials include magnesium,
molybdenum, tungsten, lithium, and tantalum.

Ferromagnetic materials have a large and positive susceptibility to an

external magnetic field. Iron, nickel, and cobalt are examples of
ferromagnetic materials.

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 Electrostatic
Separation

ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION is defined as "the selective sorting of solid species by means of

utilizing forces acting on charged or polarized bodies in an electric field. Separation is effected by
adjusting the electric and coacting forces, such as gravity or centrifugal force, and the different
trajectories at some predetermined time. Separations made in air are called Electrostatic Separation.
Separations made using a corona discharge device, are called High Tension Separations. Separations
made in liquids are termed separation by Dielectrophesis, and if motion is due to polarization effects
in nonuniform electric fields. Electrophoresis is when separations are made if motion is due to a free
charge on the species in an electric field. There are no industrial applications of mineral
concentrations by electrophoresis of dielectrophesis.”
Electrostatic separation is important in the production of minerals, also in the reclamation of other
valuable materials, as well as the cleaning of some food products. When every effort is being made
by Process Engineers to make use of all concentrating equipment available for the recovery of critical
minerals and reclaimed materials, the subject of applied electrostatic separation is of interest. Refer
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Figure, for a diagram of how standard electrostatic separators function.
 Electrostatic Separation

A very simple demonstration of electrostatic separation can be made by taking a handful of salted peanuts, rubbing the
skins off, then taking a comb, rubbing it on fur or the coat sleeve until a static charge has been collected on the comb,
and passing it over the peanuts and skins. The skins are easily removed from the peanuts. Hulls may be removed from
ground coffee in the same manner. Under the influence of an electrostatic charge there is a difference in the
susceptibility and behavior of most materials, minerals, salts, and food products. This can be controlled to a great
extent by potential, polarity, temperature, and conditioning of the surface of the particles. Oftentimes, by a
combination of these factors, the desired separation is closely controlled.
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Flotation

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Figure:
(A) Separation of hydrophobic from hydrophilic particles in
flotation. Bubbles with some of them attached with hydrophobic
mineral particles shown in the rising mode. Hydrophilic mineral
particles with minority presence of hydrophobic mineral particles
(those lost chance for contact with bubbles) and bubbles attached
with hydrophobic mineral particles (those got mechanically driven
along with hydrophilic particles) shown in the descending mode.

(B) Froth flotation: air bubbles carry nonwetted particles upwards,

while wetted mineral particles drown.

• The process of separation of galena from the siliceous

gangue, where the float fraction represents the
concentrate while the gangue resides in the pulp, is
called direct flotation.
• The process where the opposite happens is called
reverse flotation
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A simple two-mineral separation, say of galena (specific gravity 7.5) from a
siliceous gangue (specific gravity 2.65) can be taken as a good example to illustrate
the process.

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 The flotation operation comprises the following successive steps:
1. The raw ore material is ground in water, usually
to -48 or -65 mesh.
2. The pulp density is adjusted to a consistency of
15 to 35% solids and the resulting feed is fed to the
flotation cell. 6. The bubbles are collected as a froth at the
3. Addition to the pulp of various reagents which surface.
have a number of functions is effected.
7. The galena-bearing froth is removed from the
4. Aeration, either by agitation or by air injection, top and the impoverished tailing is drawn away
that impregnates the pulp thoroughly with bubbles, from the bottom of the cell. A device in which all
which are essentially gas-filled holes of these processes take place is called a flotation
macroscopic dimensions in the pulp, is carried out. cell.

5. The attachment of minerals to the bubbles,

which is the heart of the flotation process, occurs.
Once this occurs, gravity completes the separation
readily. In the present example, galena attaches
itself to the bubbles and thereby its effective
density is drastically reduced. This causes galena to
buoy up in spite of the fact that it is, in reality,
much heavier than the siliceous gangue.
On the basis of the function it performs, the flotation process can be divided into
two categories:

(i) bulk; and

(ii) selective.

The process is called bulk or collective flotation when it accomplishes the

separation of several valuable components from the gangue minerals.

In selective flotation, one valuable component is separated from several others.

This selectivity could be accomplished by either using collectors selective with
respect to a particular mineral or by differential flotation wherein two or more
mineral concentrates are recovered consecutively from the same feed by using
modifiers.
Figure:

(A) Interfacial tensions at the junction between

mineral, water and air phases. WA stands for the
interfacial tension between the phases, water and
air, and is drawn along the tangent to the WA phase
boundary at the junction. Drawn similarly are 
WM and  AM.

(B) Contact between air, water and mineral where

the mineral phase has a plane surface. θ is the
contact angle and the water wets the mineral.

(C) Illustration of the effect of work of cohesion of

water and work of adhesion to mineral on the
mineral wettability.
• The relationship given above is the familiar Young’s equation.

• If θ > 90°, cos θ is negative and  WM >  AM. This implies

that attraction of water for mineral is not as strong as the
attraction of air for mineral, and the water does not wet the
mineral.

• If θ < 90°, cos θ is positive and  AM >  WM. The water has
a relatively strong attraction for mineral and the water wets
the mineral (Figure B). Owing to the difficulty in measuring
the actual values of  AM and  WM it is the θ which provides
the only means of perusing their relative strength.

• When θ = 0°, the water will spread completely over the

mineral surface, and when θ = 180° there will be no
attraction between water and mineral.
The force needed to break the mineral–air interface is called the work of adhesion,
WA, and is equal to the work needed to separate the mineral–air interface and
produce in place air–water and mineral–water interfaces. This, in other words, may be
represented with interfacial tensions in place as:

In the case of air–mineral–water boundary, the Young’s equation can be substituted in

the above equation and the following relation is obtained:

the work of
cohesion of the If θ < 90°, WA >  WA and water wets mineral
water and if θ > 90°, WA <  WA and the water does not
wet the mineral by the given definition of wetting
in terms of the contact angle.

With complete nonwetting, θ = 180° and WA = 0.

• In summing up, it may be mentioned in a general way
that as θ increases from 0° to 180°, the behaviour of
mineral particles alters from one extremity of showing
complete affinity for water to the other extremity of
showing complete repulsion to water.

• The minerals having affinity for water are called

hydrophilic and those that are not having such
behaviour are called hydrophobic.

• Between the two extremities of the contact angle lie the

intermediate values which govern the extent of
hydrophobicity or the hydrophilicity of a mineral in any
given instance.

• The scenario involving work of adhesion and of

cohesion in a mineral, air, and water system is shown in
Figure (C).
A useful form relating to free energy change (ΔG) with the interfacial tension
between the water and air ( WA) and the contact angle is given by the
following:

The equation above is called the “thermodynamic criterion of flotation”.

Its only strict interpretation is that the more negative the value of ΔG, the
more is the probability of mineral nonwetting (ΔG = 0 for θ = 0°, and ΔG < 0
for θ > 0°).
Mass transfer processes:
1. Selective handover of matter from the pulp to the froth by particle–bubble attachment.
2. Nonselective handover of matter from the pulp to the froth by mechanical and hydraulic
entrainment.
3. Reversal (both selective and nonselective) of matter from the froth to the pulp through froth
subduction, bubble coalescence and liquid drainage.
4. Mechanically or hydraulically induced matter handover from the froth into the concentrate
product.

Flotation Chemistry
The success of flotation depends greatly on the development of the correct chemical conditions
in the system in which a given flotation process is to be carried out.
An appropriate chemistry is built up by using different chemical reagents.
The reagents in use in flotation are broadly divided into two categories: surfactants and
regulating or modifying agents.
 Surfactants
Surfactants play a twofold role in flotation:
• by adsorbing at the mineral (solid)–water (liquid) interface, they make the surface of
selected minerals hydrophobic in character (the reagents functioning in this way are called
collectors);
• they influence the kinetics of bubble–mineral attachment.

Since flotation surfactants are, in general, supplied to the interfaces through the aqueous
solution phase, it is mainly those reagents that are somewhat water-soluble are used in
flotation.
The surfactants of particular importance to flotation may be conveniently grouped
into:
(i) monopolar; and
(ii) multipolar.
Each group is subdivided into three classes in order to facilitate the discussion of their
characteristic behavior in aqueous solutions and during adsorption at interfaces:
(i) thio compounds, which act mainly as collectors for metallic sulfides;
(ii) non-thio, ionizable compounds, which may act as both collectors and frothers; and
(iii) nonionic compounds, some of which act mainly as frothers, while others act as
depressants, flocculating agents, and even as activators (collectors).
 Frothers
• An adequate froth is essential for flotation since it has to bear the mineral and survive until the
constituent bubbles pass out of the pulp.

• Following separation, the froth should not be so persistent as to be resistant to destruction

when sprayed.

• It must possess elasticity for it must not break under the disturbance it controls during its ascent
to the surface, otherwise its mineral load would be lost.

• On reaching the top of the pulp of the cell, a definite thickness of froth has to be maintained to
allow cleaning of the floated material to occur.

• Mechanically entrained gangue particles will tend to escape with the draining liquid.

• With stiff, rigid, and stable froths an additional spray of water over the top of the froth may
facilitate the cleaning action by drainage.

• Froth becomes stabilized by hydrophobic solids when they adhere to the air–water interface so
closely that the draining of the liquid is restricted. If, in addition, extensive flocculation of
particles takes place, fairly thick layers of interlocked particles are formed at each of the two air–
water interfaces separating the bubbles.
Figure: Classification of flotation reagents–frothers.
• There are requirements for or surfactant to serve
as a good flotation frother. The primary
purpose of a frother addition is to change
drastically the kinetics of particle–bubble
attachment. It achieves this feat by ensuring
that the thinning of the liquid film between the
two colliding particulates, the particle and the
bubble, and the rupture of the thinned film (with
the necessary establishment of the particle-
bubble attachment area) can occur within the
collision time.

• Secondary requirements pertain to ensuring

a proper degree of stability of the aggregate
particle–bubble aggregate and allowing most
(or preferably all) of the mechanically
entrapped (and weakly adhering) particles of
unwanted minerals to escape with the
draining liquid. It may be pointed out that the
stability of the particle–bubble aggregate and
the stability of the mineralized froth formed
during the draining process atop the pulp in the
cell are not the same.
 Collectors
• Once the stability of the bubbles has been assured by the use of frothers, it
becomes necessary to work on the mineral surfaces. These must be made
hydrophobic.
• Most minerals are ionically or covalently bonded, which explains the fact that
they are hydrophilic.
• Surfactants capable of adsorbing in such a manner that the solid surface is
converted from hydrophilic to hydrophobic in character are referred to in
flotation systems as “collectors”. They are the most critical of the flotation
reagents.

Figure: Actions of the (a) frother and (b) collector.

 Regulators

• In the flotation process, the function

of the regulators or modifiers is to
modify the action of the collector,
either by enhancing or by reducing
its hydrophobic effect on the mineral
surface. They thus make the collector
action more selective towards certain
minerals.

• The purpose of regulators is to

prepare the surfaces of the various
solids for the subsequent selective
adsorption of the surfactant(s) in
such manner that only the desired
particles are made hydrophobic.

Figure: (A) Classification of flotation reagents-collectors;

(B) threshold concentration of collector
Figure: Classification of flotation
reagents–regulators.

Figure: Critical pH curves

for flotation with sodium
dithiophosphate as collector
for some sulfidic minerals.
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Flotation Systems

Figure: One way in which a number of

flotation cells can be arranged into a
flotation system.
 Flotation Machinery

Requirements:
1. All particles must be maintained in suspension. This requires that upward pulp
velocities exceed the settling velocity of all particles present.
2. All particles ordering the machine must have the opportunity to be floated.
3. Dead space is undesirable, since it means reduction in effective volume of the
machine.
4. Aeration should be correct in order to disperse fine air bubbles throughout the
pulp. The extent of aeration needed depends upon the particular mineral system and
quantity being floated.
5. Promote particle–bubble collision in order that bubbles collect mineral particles as
they go, and assemble as a froth on top.
6. Provide an undisturbed pulp region immediately below the froth. This is to
minimize entrapment of pulp in the froth and turbulent disruption of the froth layer.
7. Provide sufficient depth of froth to allow drainage of entrained particles to take
place.
123
Process selection
depending on mineral
type

124
Classification of mineral
processing separation
methods.
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