ALTERNATIVE REAGENTS IN PHOSPHATE ORE FLOTATION

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.317362316027

• Palavras-chave: Flotation; Reagents; Phosphate.

• Keywords: Flotation; Reagents; Phosphate.

• Abstract:

  To meet the growing demand for fertilizers, strategic in food production, efficient ways of concentrating its main raw material, phosphate rock, are essential. Moreover, when the phosphate ore has carbonated gangue, such as the mineral deposit of Araxá-MG, there is a selectivity difficulty in separating the mineral species, impairing the flotation performance. The search for reagents that present selectivity, low cost and high availability has been the subject of research. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate a depressor reagent (starch residue) and collector reagents (Amazon oil from Andiroba and Hydrocol) in the flotation of phosphate ore. For this, the previously characterized ore was subjected to flotation tests in a bench mechanical cell. The independent variables evaluated were type of collector, collector dosage and depressant dosage, with two levels and central point, according to the factorial design. The results revealed that Hydrocol, at minimum dosage levels, provided concentrates with higher P2O5 content (17.78%) and metallurgical recovery (66.29%). However, the Amazonian oil, at maximum dosage levels, presented similar contents, but with lower recovery values, indicating that it is a selective reagent and showing promise, considering that the oil is a residue of industrial processes.