Improvement of the Flotation Selectivity in a Mechanical Flotation Cell by Ultrasound

In this study, the effect of ultrasound on froth and pulp phases has been investigated in the flotation of two different ore samples, namely barite and chalcopyrite. In order to determine the overall flotation rate constants at various froth depths, incremental recoveries obtained from the flotation tests with and without ultrasound were fitted to a first-order rate equation. Thus, the recoveries of froth and pulp phases were calculated. The use of ultrasound speeded up the bubble coalescence and therefore reduced the froth phase recovery in the ultrasonic flotation of both barite and chalcopyrite. In addition, the results indicate that there is a considerable effect of ultrasound on the pulp phase recovery in the chalcopyrite flotation whereas no significant differences in the separation performance were obtained from the ultrasonic flotation of barite with and without ultrasound. The results also indicate that a pronounced selectivity effect was obtained from the ultrasonic flotation of both barite and chalcopyrite. The use of ultrasound in the froth remarkably improves the quality of the chalcopyrite concentrate, especially at the shallow froths. Therefore, either effective pulp volume can be increased without sacrificing the separation selectivity or the pulp density can be decreased to obtain better product quality at shallow froths in the ultrasonic flotation of chalcopyrite.