Surface morphologies and floatability of sand-blasted quartz particles

• A new approach was developed to study the morphological properties of particles.
• Effect of nozzle pressures on morphological and flotation recoveries of particles.
• A correlation with the morphology and flotation recoveries of the particles.
• Significance of shape factors and roughness on flotation recoveries.

Significance of morphological properties of minerals in flotation has been recognized for several decades but sufficient research efforts have not been devoted to this problem. In this study, a special design laboratory scale blasting equipment was used to produce quartz particles with different shapes and roughness values, and develop a new method by which flotation characteristics of quartz particles could be enhanced. For this purpose, micro-flotation experiments were carried out with un-blasted and blasted quartz particles, and the results were correlated with their shape and roughness values analyzed with SEM, BET, and Image analysis methods. The results indicated that the blasted quartz particles with more angular and rougher surfaces gave better floatability compared to the un-blasted quartz particles.

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