Reverse Flotation of Natural Magnesite and Process Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology

Indian natural magnesite containing silica and lime as main impurities was beneficiated using reverse froth flotation technique. Pine oil was used as frother, Flotigam EDA as collector and sodium hexametaphosphate as depressant of carbonate group. Operating parameters were optimized using response surface methodology and a quadratic model equation was formulated for the experiment. The effect of different process parameters was studied using Box-Behnken design. Statistical analysis suggested that the model was significant. Moreover, optimum process conditions were predicted after analyzing the experimental data. The beneficiated sample for which the highest silica in froth was achieved was characterized in terms of X-ray diffraction analysis. Further, quantification of the crystalline phases showed that amount of quartz was reduced from 2.3% in raw sample to 1.8% in processed sample.