Influence Of Fe-Bha Complexes On The Flotation Behavior Of Ilmenite

Pb2+, as an activator of ilmenite flotation, has been widely discussed and researched, but few reports exist about the activation of ilmenite by using Fe3+. In this research, the effect of Fe-BHA complexes (ferric chloride and benzohydroxamic acid) on the flotation of ilmenite was studied. The flotation results showed that the recovery of ilmenite in the presence of Fe-BHA complex was 46 % higher than that when using BHA alone at pH 8. The results of zeta potential and adsorption tests showed that compared with BHA, Fe-BHA complexes could effectively promote the adsorption of BHA on ilmenite surface, which was beneficial to the upfloating of ilmenite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) tests showed that after the treatment with Fe-BHA complexes, the chemical shifts of Fe2p and Ti2p are 0.2 and 0.26 eV, respectively, which were significantly larger than 0.1 and 0.09 eV, respectively, after the treatment by using BHA. The XPS analysis revealed that Fe-BHA complexes may react with the hydroxylated ilmenite surface and form new chemical bonds, Ti-O-Fe and Fe-O-Fe. These results showed that the introduction of Fe-BHA complexes could effectively improve the floatability of ilmenite.