Biological treatment of sulphide concentrator recycle water and effects on flotation

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of biological treatment, using a trickling filter, on recycle water from a sulphide concentrator. Activated carbon (AC) treatment was studied for comparative purposes.;Both biological AC treatment increased the recovery of chalcopyrite in a single mineral microflotation test, from approximately 5.5% to 14.4% and 7.2% respectively. However, major differences were observed between various samples when comparing the number and types of bubbles produced during frothing tests. As expected, the number of bubbles produced per given volume decreased following AC treatment, approaching that of tap water. However, after biological treatment, the number of bubbles was increased. It is suspected that the changes produced by biological treatment in the recycle water might produce organic matter more surface active than that initially found in the wastewater.