Selection of Selective Collectors for Flotation of Minerals with Similar Flotation Properties

A computational method for selecting collectors to investigate the flotation separation of minerals using the principle of hard and soft acids and bases (the Pearson principle) is presented with the examples of sulfide and calcium-containing minerals. Calculated data on the absolute hardness and electronegativity of cations of heavy metals (copper, iron, zinc, and lead) and calcium, solid acids, and ionogenic and nonionic collectors, as well as on the charge transfer in a conjugated "acid-base" pair, are presented. Nonionic low-polar compounds are potentially able to additionally increase the distinctions in the structure of the adsorption layer of collectors on the separated minerals. According to the degree of charge transfer in the conjugated acid (metal cation)-base (collector) pair, the calculated results are correlated with experimental results (non-frothing flotation, adsorption, and IR spectroscopy).