Investigation and optimization of use of anionic collectors in direct flotation of bauxite ores

Bauxite is the main raw material for the alumina industry. Direct flotation is the most widely used method for bauxite beneficiation. In this study, a large number of direct flotation tests were carried out using several anionic reagents. The testing concluded that vegetable oil acid (VOA), naphthenic acid (NA) and lauryl polyoxyethylene phosphate (AEP12) were the three outstanding collectors for bauxite direct flotation. ZMC collector was mixed and prepared using VOA, NA and AEP12, in which the mass ratio of VOA, NA and AEP12 was 1:1:0.5. When processing the bauxite ores of the mass ratio of Al2O3 to SiO2 (A/S) = 4.99, the A/S of the final concentrate was 7.08 and the recovery of Al2O3 was 90.22%. When processing ores of A/S = 4.5, the A/S of the final concentrate was 7.04 and the recovery of Al2O3 was 92.16%. Thus, it can be seen that properties and behaviors of the ZMC reagent were remarkable and met the demands of the “Lime-Bayer Process”.