Scheelite Flotation Inhibitor - Hydrolyzed Polymaleic Anhydride

Flotation separation of Scheelite from calcium gangue minerals is a difficult and hot topic in the field of mineral processing. In the actual production of scheelite, most of them adopt the Petrov method of fatty acid collector roughing at room temperature - concentrating and adding a large amount of sodium silicate to warm and concentrate to realize the flotation separation of Scheelite from calcium gangue minerals such as fluorite and calcite, and obtain qualified Scheelite Concentrate products.

In the process of roughing scheelite, sodium silicate is often used as an inhibitor of scheelite flotation. Sodium silicate has a good selective inhibition effect on silicate minerals such as quartz, but it has no selectivity on calcium minerals. Except scheelite, the obtained Scheelite Concentrate contains a large amount of fluorite and calcite, which seriously affects the scheelite. The flotation of tungsten ore results in lower grade of scheelite concentrate.

Hydrolyzed polymaleic anhydride (HPMA) is a kind of environmentally friendly water treatment agent with easy access to raw materials, phosphorus-free, non-toxic, soluble in water, high chemical and thermal stability, complete biodegradability and multi-purpose. Hydrolyzed polymaleic anhydride can be used below 350 ℃. It is quite effective for carbonate scale inhibition for up to 100 hours. Besides, it has certain scale inhibition and dispersion ability for sulphate scale and phosphate scale. It can be used in flash evaporation units of seawater desalination and low pressure boilers, steam locomotives, crude oil dewatering, water and oil pipelines and industrial recycling. Cooling water has a good effect of inhibiting scale formation and peeling off old scale, and the scale inhibition rate can reach 98%.

Some scholars have used hydrolyzed polymaleic anhydride for flotation separation of scheelite and gangue minerals. Because hydrolyzed polymaleic anhydride has strong inhibition ability, strong selectivity, less dosage, non-toxicity and non-pollution, and is convenient for operation and management, it can effectively realize flotation separation of Scheelite from gangue minerals such as calcite and fluorite. The concrete operation of high-grade Scheelite Concentrate is as follows:

The raw ore of a polymetallic associated scheelite is used as raw material. The chemical analysis results show that the ore contains many valuable metal elements such as copper, lead, molybdenum, bismuth and tungsten. Among them, copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum and bismuth mainly exist in the form of sulfide ores. Tungsten mainly exists in scheelite, WO₃ grade is 0.17%, quartz is the main gangue mineral, and Fang is the main gangue mineral. Calcite, feldspar, and a small amount of pyrite, pyrrhotite, amphibole and so on. The original ore is grinded to a fineness of - 0.074 mm, which accounts for more than 85%. Firstly, sulfide flotation is carried out, and then Scheelite Flotation is carried out on tailings of sulfide flotation. Due to the addition of a large amount of lime in the process of sulfide ore separation, the pH value is as high as 11, so the sulfuric acid is added to the tailings slurry of sulfide ore flotation to adjust the pH value to 9-10, HPMA is added to 30 g/t, paraffin oxide soap is 360 g/t, and the scheelite concentrate is obtained. The WO₃ grade is 2.09%, and the recovery rate is 87.79%.

Hydrolyzed polymaleic anhydride as Scheelite Flotation inhibitor has the characteristics of small dosage and strong selectivity. It can improve the quality of scheelite concentrate, and its raw material is easy to obtain, water-soluble, easy to operate, non-deteriorating, biodegradable, non-toxic and non-polluting, which is conducive to environmental protection.

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