Study On Flotation Behavior Of Bastnaesite

Abstract:Rare earth metals are considered to be the industry vitamine and are widely used in light industry, energy and environment protection, metallurgy, machinery, petrochemical, electronic and information, nation defendence and military industry and high-new materails. Being one of the light rare earth minerals, bastnaesite contains other rare earth elements besides Ce and La. It is the typical representative of light rare earth minerals and one of the important resources of rare earth elements. High effective and environment friendly utilization of light rare earth minerals is the development trend of rare earth mineral processing, for the exploit of ion-absorbed rare earth deposits and its heavy environment pollution.A rare earth ore belong to the complex rare earth ore with high content of Fe and slime. Due to oxidation and leaching, iron minerals have been turned to limonite, the content of slime in run-of-mine ore is high for argillization of limonite, particles of-0.01mm take up over40%and contain about26%REO, fine particles will affect floatation for poor floatability. What’s more the inter-growth relationship between rare earth minerals and limonite is complex, it’s hard to liberate rare earth minerals and to increase the grade of REO concentrate.To the rare earth ore, reagents combination of modified alkyl hydroximic acid and creative flotation technology without desliming are utilized. Concentrate with grade of REO being40.90%and recovery of REO being65.41%and mixed middling with grade of REO being11.00%and recovery being21.85%have been produced finally.As the results of bastaesite floatation behaviors study reveal, sodium oleat, sodium dodecyl sulphate, alkyl hydroximic acid and salicyl hydroximic acid are collectors for bastnaesite with high collecting effect. But sodium oleate and sodium dodecyl sulfate are of lower selectivity, alkyl hydroximic acid better and salicyl hydroximic acid the best.As the results of meachanismes study, chenisorption has been occurred between bastnaesite with sodium oleate, octyl hydroximic acid, salicyl hydroximic acid and modified alkyl hydroximic acid. While physisorption has been occurred between sodium dodecyl sulfate with bastnaesite.Two type Oâ†'Ce—O five-member ring chelate complexes may be existed on the surface of bastnaesite reactd with alkyl hydroximic acid. While only one type Nâ†'Ceâ†'O six-member ring chelate complex may be existed on the surface of bastnaesite reactd with salicyl hydroximic acid. Heavy C-C/C-H absorption is existed on bastnaesite surface racted with modified alkyl hydroximic acid and hydrophobic performance is better than that of normal hydroximic acid. The modified alkyl hydroximic acid can be successfully used in the complex ore with high content Fe and slime because it inherit the chelating selectivity of hydroximic acid on rare earth minerals and the hydrophobic performance of hydrophobic group is strengthened by modifying method.