Dissolved air flotation (DAF) of fine quartz particles using an amine as collector

Experimental studies concerning the dissolved air flotation (DAF) of fine (dp < 100 μm) quartz particles, using two different flotation cells (setups), are presented. Pure and well characterised quartz samples were treated with a commercial amine as collector prior to flotation and bubbles were characterised by the LTM-BSizer technique. Bubble size distribution showed 71% (by volume) and 94% (by number) of the bubbles having sizes (db) lower than 100 μm (i.e. microbubbles). The Sauter and arithmetic mean diameters were 79 μm and 56 μm, respectively, for the bubbles generated at 300 kPa (gauge) saturation pressure (after 30 minute saturation time). Quartz particle size distribution (obtained by laser diffraction) showed a volume-moment diameter of 13 μm. The Rosin–Rammler–Bennett, Gates–Gaudin–Schumann and log-normal distribution functions were well fitted (R2 > 0.96) to the bubble size distribution and quartz particle size distribution data. Values of total quartz recovery ranging from 6% to 53% (by mass) were obtained for the DAF experiments under different collector concentrations (up to 2 mg g− 1), with an optimal collector concentration found at 1 mg g− 1. These results are significant considering that 27% (by volume) of the quartz particles are ultrafine (dp < 5 μm), demonstrating the widely-known efficiency of DAF to remove small particles when applied in the field of water and wastewater treatment. The true flotation behaviour, as a function of particle diameter (dp), exhibits a local minimum when particles are approximately 3–5 μm in size. The results contribute to the discussion in the literature about the existence of such a minimum, which is generally interpreted as a change in the mechanism of particle collection from convection (collision) to diffusion at lower particle sizes.