Claims
- 1. A process for the selective separation for kaolinite from feldspar by flotation in aqueous pulp comprising:
- (a) suspending an ultra-fine particle size mineral mixture comprising feldspar and kaolinite in water to form an aqueous pulp at a pH of from about 5 to 8;
- (b) treating the aqueous pulp with a water-soluble salt of Al.sup.3+ or Fe.sup.3+ and a collector a cationic surfactant; said collector and water-soluble salt being present in sufficient concentration(s) to provide a kaolin float and a feldspar sink in step (c);
- (c) subjecting the treated pulp to a flotation treatment to float kaolinite; and
- (d) recovering kaolinite from the resulting float and feldspar from the resulting flotation residue.
- 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the particle distribution in the kaolinite fraction of the mineral mixture is 90% smaller than 30 .mu.m and the particle distribution in the feldspar fraction of the mineral mixture is 10% smaller than 30 .mu.m.
- 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the particle distribution in the kaolinite fraction of the mineral mixture is at least 50% smaller than 2 .mu.m.
- 4. The process of claim 1, wherein the mineral mixture further includes quartz.
- 5. The process of claim 4, wherein the mineral mixture has a particle distribution of 90% less than 30 .mu.m.
- 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the cationic surfactant is a monoalkyltrimethylammonium compound, an alkylarylammonium compound, an alkylamine, a hydroxylamine, or a hydroxyalkylaminopolyglycol ether.
- 7. The process of claim 6, wherein alkyl is C.sub.12 -C.sub.18 alkyl and aryl is phenyl or benzyl.
- 8. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein the process is carried out in the presence of one or more floation aids.
- 9. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein the water-soluble salt in step (b) is an aluminum salt.
- 10. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein aluminum sulfate is the water-soluble salt in step (b).
- 11. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein in step (b) the concentration of the water-soluble salt in the aqueous pulp is in the range of from about 50 to about 2000 g/t, based on the weight of the salt in anhydrous form.
- 12. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein the concentration of the surfactant in the aqueous pulp is in the range of from about 50 to about 2000 g/t.
- 13. A process with claim 12 wherein the concentration of the water-soluble salt is in the range of from about 100 to about 1000 g/t.
- 14. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein the particle size of the mixture of minerals is in the range of from about 2 to about 30 .mu.m.
- 15. The process of claim 1, wherein the collector comprises a cationic surfactant in combination with an anionic or nonionic flotation aid.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
3506808 |
Feb 1985 |
DEX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 834,072, filed Feb. 26, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,544.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Coope, B. M., Kaolin A Review of Production and Processing Industrial Minerals, Jan. 1979. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
834072 |
Feb 1986 |
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