Abstract
The recovery of valuable minerals has developed in the twentieth century into a major economic activity. Flotation processes are now the preferred technique for recovery because of a better understanding and treatment of ore surfaces for selective and improved mineral recovery as well as improvements to the equipment used in the process. Flotation is also applied for treatment of waste water and de-inking of recycled paper. This chapter gives an overview of the flotation process, its background, the equipment used and the important role it plays in the recovery of precious materials from waste.
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Notes
- 1.
Note that in this Fig. 11.4 a liquid droplet is drawn on the solid surface and the contact angle is taken here at the droplet side; in mineral flotation technology an air bubble is typically drawn at the solid surface so that the contact angle seems to be positioned at the other side (which is still at the side of the liquid).
References
Suggested Reading
Fuerstenau, M.C., Jameson, G., Yoon, R.-H (eds.): Froth Flotation – A Century of Innovation. Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., Englewood (2007) USA
Further References
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Haynes, W.: British Patent 488, 20 February (1860)
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Acknowledgement
The author gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Prof. Graeme J. Jameson to the text of this chapter.
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Merkus, H.G. (2016). Flotation. In: Merkus, H., Meesters, G. (eds) Production, Handling and Characterization of Particulate Materials. Particle Technology Series, vol 25. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20949-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20949-4_11
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