Flotation is a mineral separation process done in the water medium. It is based on the difference in the surface properties of the mineral and gangue. The surface of the selected mineral is made hydrophobic (water repellent) by the use of selective reagents and these particles get attached to the air bubbles that are introduced in the system and collected as froth whereas the hydrophilic (wetted) particles are left behind in the slurry.
Flotation Equipment parts, control equipment must have a simulation of the process and long-distance control. Followed by the pulp or inhalation enough to produce a large amount of gas full, moderate size, but also to make the gas dispersed in the flotation cell, flotation flotation has good performance, better air dispersion, with a uniform distribution of gas . Flotation machine at the time of purchase must have a good mixing effect, for the mineral particles in the pulp suspension. Commonly used to determine the quality of flotation of minerals is the mineral surface wettability, that is hydrophilic and hydrophobic. When the surface of the selected mineral is not easily wetted by water, it is considered that the mineral is easily floating or floatable, such as graphite, sulfur; when another mineral surface is wetted by water, it is considered difficult for the mineral to be Floating or non-floatable, such as quartz.
Determine the mineral's natural surface hydrophilic or hydrophobic, mainly due to the different nature of the force exposed to the new surface after mineral crushing. The so-called hydrophilic mineral surface, hydrophobic is the relative points. In order to determine the size of the mineral surface wettability, commonly used to measure the contact angle θ, in a water immersed in the mineral surface attached to a bubble, when the balance of bubbles in the mineral surface to form a certain contact with the periphery, known as three-phase wetting Surrounding. Seen flotation machine in different mineral surface contact angle is different in size, the contact angle can be marked mineral surface wettability If the mineral surface formed by a small angle θ, then call it a hydrophilic surface; the other hand, when the angle θ Large, then called its hydrophobic surface. The clear boundary between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity does not exist but is relative. The larger the angle θ, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the mineral surface. The smaller the angle θ, the stronger the hydrophilicity of the mineral surface.