Effect of microemulsified collector on froth flotation of coal
L Li, X Lu, J Qiu, D Liu
The performance of microemulsified diesel and conventional diesel
collectors in coal flotation was compared by flotation indicators,
including combustible recovery, ash content of the clean coal, and the
flotation index. An efficient separation with lower dosage was
obtained using the microemulsified diesel collector. Under optimum
separation conditions, the microemulsion consumption was 100 g/t
less compared with diesel. The saving in diesel consumption using the
microemulsion reached about 70%, disregarding the consumption of
the surfactant and cosurfactant. Frothing tests showed that the
frother dosage was decreased by using the microemulsion collector,
because of the surfactant and cosurfactant added during preparation.
The microemulsified diesel collector is superior to the conventional
diesel collector in terms of diesel consumption and separation
efficiency, but the selectivity requires further improvement.
Keywords: froth flotation, microemulsified collector, coal.