Boosting Copper Sulfide Ore Flotation Efficiency through a Substantial Replacement of Xanthate Collectors with Organosolv Lignin Particles

• The green transition requires a lot of metals or minerals that must be mined and processed. One of the most widely used processes to recover sulfidic minerals is froth flotation. Flotation reagents are necessary for the selective recovery of target minerals. The main purpose of the study was to demonstrate a novel sustainable flotation process for selective extraction of chalcopyrite from sulfide ores, based on partial replacement of fossil-based xanthate flotation collectors with bio-based, biodegradable, and non-toxic organosolv lignin particles. The addition of organosolv lignin particles provided increased recovery of copper by almost 20 % with high selectivity in the rougher flotation. The amount of required xanthate was significantly lowered by 75% in the newly proposed process. In addition, the economical and environmental impact of the whole process could be improved by removal of lime, as pH adjustment through lime addition was not necessary to achieve good selectivity.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik -- Kemiska processer (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering -- Chemical Process Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Organosolv Lignin

Nanoparticles

Froth Flotation

Sulfides

Chalcopyrite

Biokemisk processteknik

Biochemical Process Engineering

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)