Rutile-quartz separation in benzohydroxamic acid and sodium oleate flotation systems

Despite being a popular rutile-quartz mineral separation method, traditional flotation is often inefficient, expensive, and causes environmental pollution. In this study, we propose a novel method for the efficient flotation-based separation of rutile from quartz by using a combination of benzohydroxamic acid (BHA) and sodium oleate (NaOL). By utilizing X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), ultraviolet-visible absorption (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and zeta potential analysis, we investigated the mineral flotation behavior and collector adsorption mechanism. The single mineral flotation experiments indicated that BHA and NaOL could effectively promote rutile floating, with up to 84.5 % flotation recovery at pH 9. At a rutile:quartz mass ratio of 1:3, the titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) grade reached 61.5 %, with a rutile flotation recovery of 77.0 % for the froth products. We finally established a dual-mode flotation model to explain the flotation separation mechanism of rutile and quartz using the combined BHA+NaOL collector. • The separation of quartz from the quartz-rutile mixture is a crucial step in the purification process. • Single NaOL and single BHA is critisized by its poor selectivity and uneconomical for batch flotation respectively. • Mixed collectors BHA/NaOL can selective co-adsorption on rutile surface. • A dule-mode adsorption model is proposed to explain the separation mechanism.