Author ORCID Identifier
Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
Department
Mining Engineering
Committee Chair
Hassan Amini
Committee Co-Chair
QingQing Huang
Committee Member
QingQing Huang
Committee Member
Deniz Talan
Committee Member
Wencai Zhang
Abstract
Bastnaesite is the primary source of light REEs, namely cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), to name a few. Bastnaesite is typically concentrated using the froth flotation beneficiation method. Flotation of bastnaesite suffers from high reagent consumption due to the similar surface characteristics of bastnaesite and associated gangue minerals, including calcite. Additionally, complex stages of high-temperature conditioning are often required to suppress the detrimental impact of dissolved calcium ions on the flotation of bastnaesite. This research seeks to investigate the capabilities of organic acids in the bastnaesite-calcite flotation systems to selectively depress calcite minerals and effectively chelate calcium ions from the bastnaesite surface. Organic acids, especially bio-based organic acids, are economically affordable and environmentally friendly compared to other depressant reagents, which makes them a more attractive source of depressant reagents in froth flotation. This study systematically investigated the effect of organic acids as calcium ion chelating agents and calcite depressants via micro-flotation tests, electrokinetic tests, solution chemistry and adsorption density measurements, FT-IR analyses, and XPS characterization. The results of this study showed that lactic acid and succinic acid selectively adsorbed onto calcite surface, significantly reducing calcite flotation recovery while being impotent to the bastnaesite flotation recovery. However, the elevated concentration of calcium ions dramatically decreased the bastnaesite flotation recovery. When used as a chelating agent, citric acid formed soluble chelates effectively eliminating the detrimental impact of dissolved calcium ions on bastnaesite flotation.
Recommended Citation
Muhoza, Emmy, "Calcite depression in bastnaesite-calcite flotation system using organic acids" (2022). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 11511.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/11511
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