Mechanism of Action of a New Type of Collector SAA in the Separation of Magnesite and Quartz

This is an article in the field of mineral processing engineering. The effect of stearylamine acetate (SAA) on the flotation behavior of quartz and magnesite was investigated by single-mineral flotation tests, and the selective trapping mechanism of SAA on the surfaces of the two minerals was examined by zeta potential, contact angle, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results of single-mineral flotation tests showed that SAA has high selective trapping ability for quartz, and SAA can effectively remove quartz from magnesite in mixed-mineral flotation with different ratios. Through the zeta potential measurement, it is found that the addition of SAA trapping agent makes the isoelectric point of magnesite and quartz surfaces positively shifted, and the isoelectric point of quartz surfaces positively shifted intensity is much larger than that of magnesite, which indicates that SAA has better selectivity. In the contact angle test, SAA can enhance the contact angle selectivity of quartz, resulting in the uplift of quartz to realize the separation from magnesite. According to the XPS analysis, strength of SAA bonding to quartz surface significantly increased compared to magnesite, and when the two compete for adsorption of SAA, SAA is preferentially adsorbed on the quartz surface. Therefore, SAA can be used as a highly selective trapping agent to effectively separate magnesite from quartz.