Study on the separation effects of the novel collector ODD on magnesite and quartz

Traditional magnesite desilication flotation collectors struggle to efficiently remove quartz from low-grade magnesite, prompting the exploration of new, highly selective flotation collectors. Addressing this need has become a focal point in mineral processing research. This study introduced heptadecylamine ethylimidazoline quaternary ammonium salt (ODD) as a quartz flotation collector for separating quartz from magnesite. Flotation experiments involving single minerals and artificially mixed minerals demonstrated that magnesite and quartz could be effectively separated under specific conditions: an ODD concentration of 40mg/L and pH=7.0. Zeta potential assessments revealed that the adsorption of ODD increased the potential of quartz by 4.4 times compared to magnesite. Furthermore, contact angle measurements illustrated that ODD selectively increased the hydrophobicity of the quartz surface while not affecting the contact angle of magnesite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that ODD's selective adsorption at the quartz surface through interaction with the O sites on quartz rather than magnesite. Drawing from these findings, a flotation separation model from magnesite and quartz under the influence of ODD was formulated.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).