Enhancement mechanism study on the fine hematite flotation by hydrophobic glass microspheres

Previous studies have primarily focused on the use of coarse mineral particles or hydrophobic materials as carriers, whereas this study was the first to investigate the impact of different hydrophobic glass microspheres (HGM-butane, HGM-pentane and HGM-octane) on the flotation behavior of fine hematite, and it revealed the interaction mechanism through Zeta potential and flotation kinetics analysis. The results of micro-flotation tests indicated that the addition of HGM-pentane can increase the flotation recovery of fine hematite from 65.27 % to 84.64 %, which was significantly better than using the collector NaOL alone. Zeta potential results showed that the incorporation of HGM-pentane caused a further negative shift in the surface potential of hematite, enhancing its adsorption capacity with bubbles. Flotation kinetics analysis demonstrated that the addition of HGM-pentane increased the flotation kinetic constant, promoting the flotation rate of fine hematite. This study revealed that the interaction between hydrophobic glass microspheres and fine hematite was primarily through hydrophobic forces and electrostatic attraction, forming a hematite-HGM complex, which in turn improved the flotation recovery of fine hematite. This provided a theoretical basis for the development of efficient flotation reagents and offers new insights into the efficient utilization of fine hematite.