Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore

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dc.contributor.advisorCorin, Kirstenen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorWiese, Jennyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMoimane, Tiisetso Makheaneen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-22T08:57:49Z
dc.date.available2016-06-22T08:57:49Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe mining industry is faced with a challenge to develop efficient and economically feasible processing routes owing to the depletion of high-grade ores, and the ever increasing demand for precious metals for a wide range of applications. The valuable minerals, PGMs (Platinum Group Minerals) and BMS (Base Metal Sulphides) in the ores are extracted through the aid of chemical reagents (activators, collectors, depressants, frothers, modifiers) which are added to the flotation circuits to facilitate the separation between these minerals and the undesired gangue minerals present in the ore. The process is made complex by many surface reactions taking place, the existence of secondary and interactive effects among the flotation reagents, as well as the surface liberation of the minerals. Owing to the stringent regulations around water usage, concentrator plants are left with no option but to recycle water within their operations. This practice leads to accumulation of pollutants, such as organics, flotation reagents residues, dissolved ions, etc., which will likely have an influence on the chemical environment of the process, and subsequently will bear an impact on the overall metallurgical performance of the concentrator. This makes the process even more intricate, making it difficult to account for the behaviour of the chemical reagents, as well as making it virtually impossible to precisely assess their individual contribution to the overall flotation performance. Hence it is of crucial importance to adopt a holistic approach when investigating the effects of the chemical parameters in a flotation process. This is a flotation chemistry study that adopted a two-level-four-factor (24) factorial experimental design to evaluate the simultaneous effects of the chemical parameters, with particular reference to collector, depressant, frother, and ionic strength of the synthetic plant water, as well as determining the possible interactive effects between the chosen parameters. This investigation was made possible by conducting batch flotation tests on a PGM-bearing ore from the Merensky reef of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX), a polysaccharide, namely guar gum, and a polyglycol ether, namely Dowfroth 250 were used as the collector, depressant and frother, respectively. These are the typical chemical reagents the dosages of which tailored in the PGM industry for the processing of the ores. The metallurgical performance indicators used were solids, water, copper and nickel recoveries as well as copper and nickel grades.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMoimane, T. M. (2015). <i>Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMoimane, Tiisetso Makheane. <i>"Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMoimane, T. 2015. Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Moimane, Tiisetso Makheane AB - The mining industry is faced with a challenge to develop efficient and economically feasible processing routes owing to the depletion of high-grade ores, and the ever increasing demand for precious metals for a wide range of applications. The valuable minerals, PGMs (Platinum Group Minerals) and BMS (Base Metal Sulphides) in the ores are extracted through the aid of chemical reagents (activators, collectors, depressants, frothers, modifiers) which are added to the flotation circuits to facilitate the separation between these minerals and the undesired gangue minerals present in the ore. The process is made complex by many surface reactions taking place, the existence of secondary and interactive effects among the flotation reagents, as well as the surface liberation of the minerals. Owing to the stringent regulations around water usage, concentrator plants are left with no option but to recycle water within their operations. This practice leads to accumulation of pollutants, such as organics, flotation reagents residues, dissolved ions, etc., which will likely have an influence on the chemical environment of the process, and subsequently will bear an impact on the overall metallurgical performance of the concentrator. This makes the process even more intricate, making it difficult to account for the behaviour of the chemical reagents, as well as making it virtually impossible to precisely assess their individual contribution to the overall flotation performance. Hence it is of crucial importance to adopt a holistic approach when investigating the effects of the chemical parameters in a flotation process. This is a flotation chemistry study that adopted a two-level-four-factor (24) factorial experimental design to evaluate the simultaneous effects of the chemical parameters, with particular reference to collector, depressant, frother, and ionic strength of the synthetic plant water, as well as determining the possible interactive effects between the chosen parameters. This investigation was made possible by conducting batch flotation tests on a PGM-bearing ore from the Merensky reef of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX), a polysaccharide, namely guar gum, and a polyglycol ether, namely Dowfroth 250 were used as the collector, depressant and frother, respectively. These are the typical chemical reagents the dosages of which tailored in the PGM industry for the processing of the ores. The metallurgical performance indicators used were solids, water, copper and nickel recoveries as well as copper and nickel grades. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore TI - Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMoimane TM. Investigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky ore. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20088en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Chemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherChemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.titleInvestigation of the effect of the reagent suite in froth flotation of a Merensky oreen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSc (Eng)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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