As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to ...As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to improve flotation performance of fine and ultrafine particles, there is still much more to be done. In this paper, the effects of nano-microbubbles （nanobuhbles and microbubbles） on the flotation of fine （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm） and ultrafine （-14.36 ＋ 5μm） chalcopyrite particles were investigated in a laboratory scale Denver flotation cell. Nano-microbubbles were generated using a specially-designed nano- microbubble generator based on the cavitation phenomenon in Venturi tubes. In order to better under- stand the mechanisms of nano-microbubble enhanced froth flotation of fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particles, the nano-microbubble size distribution, stability and the effect of frother concentration on nano- bubble size were also studied by a laser diffraction method. Comparative flotation tests were performed in the presence and absence of nano-microbubbles to evaluate their impact on the fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particle flotation recovery. According to the results, the mean size of nano-microbubbles increased over time, and decreased with increase of frother concentration. The laboratory-scale flotation test results indicated that flotation recovery of chalcopyrite fine and ultrafine particles increased by approximately 16-21% in the presence of nano-microbubbles, depending on operating conditions of the process. The presence of nano-microbubbles increased the recovery of ultrafine particles （-14.36 ＋ 5 μm） more than that of fine particles （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm）. Another major advantage is that the use of nano-microbubbles reduced the collector and frother consumptions by up to 75% and 50%, respectively.展开更多
Quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the earth's crust, is a gangue mineral in practically every flotation process. Coarse quartz flotation has been a long standing problem in various mineral processing pla...Quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the earth's crust, is a gangue mineral in practically every flotation process. Coarse quartz flotation has been a long standing problem in various mineral processing plants to reduce milling cost and increase valuable mineral recovery. Based on this, the effects of nanobubbles(NBs) and hydrodynamic parameters on coarse quartz particle flotation were systematically investigated. Mechanical flotation experiments were carried out using the 7 cm and 9 cm diameter impellers in order to produce different hydrodynamic conditions. 900–1300 rpm impeller speeds were used for the 7 cm diameter impeller and 554–786 rpm for the 9 cm diameter impeller. The results show that the presence of NBs increased the flotation recovery of à425 + 106 lm quartz by up to 21%. For the7 cm diameter impeller, the maximum flotation recoveries of 86.4% and 98% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Reynolds number(Re) of 81,000 and 66,000, respectively. For the 9 cm diameter impeller, the maximum recoveries of 86.3% and 97.5% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Re of 90,000 and 75,000, respectively. NBs increased the flotation rate constant up to 36%.展开更多
Physical upgrading of graphite is typically achieved with many stages of grinding and flotation to produce a concentrate with approximately 95% carbon grade.An innovative grinding and column flotation process has been...Physical upgrading of graphite is typically achieved with many stages of grinding and flotation to produce a concentrate with approximately 95% carbon grade.An innovative grinding and column flotation process has been developed for efficient graphite upgrading to substantially simplify the process flowsheet and reduce operating costs.In this process,a high-pressure grinding roller(HPGR) and a stirred mill were employed as primary comminution techniques and a nanobubble flotation column as a key separation process.The results obtained with a crystalline flake graphite sample with a carbon grade of 11.15% show that the novel process can produce a concentrate with 94.82% carbon grade and 97.89% recovery from an open circuit of one rougher and two cleaner flotation stages.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)microphotographs indicate that HPGR offers the advantage of more effective protection of graphite flakes during crushing.Grinding test results show that stirred mill could not only protect graphite flakes but also promote the efficient liberation of graphite.Compared with the traditional flotation process,nanobubble flotation can effectively recover ultrafine graphite.The new process possesses a number of important advantages over the traditional method,including substantially higher graphite recovery,greatly simplified process flowsheet,better protection of flake size,reduced reagent consumption and process costs,etc.展开更多
In this paper molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the accumulation behaviour of N2 and H2 at water/graphite interface under ambient temperature and pressure. It finds that both N2 and H2 molecules ca...In this paper molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the accumulation behaviour of N2 and H2 at water/graphite interface under ambient temperature and pressure. It finds that both N2 and H2 molecules can accumulate at the interface and form one of two states according to the ratio of gas molecules number to square of graphite surface from our simulation results： gas films （pancake-like） for a larger ratio and nanobubbles for a smaller ratio. In addition, we discuss the stabilities of nanobubbles at different environment temperatures. Surprisingly, it is found that the density of both kinds of gas states can be greatly increased, even comparable with that of the liquid N2 and liquid H2. The present results are expected to be helpful for the understanding of the stable existence of gas film （pancake-like） and nanobubbles.展开更多
The great implication of nanobubbles at a solid/water interface has drawn wide attention of the scientific community and industries. However, the fundamental properties of nanobubbles remain unknown as yet. In this pa...The great implication of nanobubbles at a solid/water interface has drawn wide attention of the scientific community and industries. However, the fundamental properties of nanobubbles remain unknown as yet. In this paper, the temperature effects on the morphology of nanobubbles at the mica/water interface are explored through the combination of AFM direct image with the temperature control. The results demonstrate that the apparent height of nanobubbles in AFM images is kept almost constant with the increase of temperature, whilst the lateral size of nanobubbles changes significantly. As the temperature increases from 28℃ to 42℃, the lateral size of nanobubbles increases, reaching a maximum at about 37℃, and then decreases at a higher temperature. The possible explanation for the size change of nanobubbles with temperature is suggested.展开更多
Froth flotation is often used for fine-particle separation,but its process efficiency rapidly decreases with decreasing particle size.The efficient separation of ultrafine particles(UFPs)has been a major challenge in ...Froth flotation is often used for fine-particle separation,but its process efficiency rapidly decreases with decreasing particle size.The efficient separation of ultrafine particles(UFPs)has been a major challenge in the mineral processing field for many years.In recent years,the use of surface nanobubbles in the flotation process has been recognized as an effective approach for enhancing the recovery of UFPs.Compared with traditional macrobubbles,nanobubbles possess unique surface and bulk characteristics,and their effects on the UFP flotation behavior have been a topic of intensive research.This review article is focused on the studies on various unique characteristics of nanobubbles and their mechanisms of enhancing the UFP flotation.The purpose of this article is to summarize the major achievements on the two topics and pinpoint future research needs for a better understanding of the fundamentals of surface nanobubble flotation and developing more feasible and efficient processes for fine and UFPs.展开更多
Adhesion is an important process of particle-bubble interaction in fine particle(-10μm)flotation.This paper studied the adhesion process and mechanism between nanobubbles and fine cassiterite particles by using a hig...Adhesion is an important process of particle-bubble interaction in fine particle(-10μm)flotation.This paper studied the adhesion process and mechanism between nanobubbles and fine cassiterite particles by using a high-speed camera,atomic force microscope(AFM),adsorption capacity tests,and induction time tests.After being pretreated with nanobubbles(NBs)water,fine cassiterite particles flotation tests were carried out using caprylhydroxamic acid(CHA)as a collector.The results showed that NBs can improve the recovery and flotation rate of fine cassiterite while decreasing the collector dosage.The adsorption capacity test indicated that the cassiterite treated with NBs had lower demand for collector concentration.The AFM imaging results further demonstrate that NBs could reduce the adsorption of CHA on the surface of minerals.Since NBs played a part of the role of collector,it can improve the flotation effect while reducing the amount of collector.The induction time test and the high-speed camera observation test showed that NBs promoted the attachment between bubbles and cassiterite particles.On the other hand,NBs agglomerate cassiterite particles,increasing the probability of particles colliding with bubbles.展开更多
Alignment,functionalization and detection of carbon nanotube(CNT)bundles are vital processes for utilizing this onedimensional nanomaterial in electronics.Here,we report a polymer-assisted wet shearing method to acqui...Alignment,functionalization and detection of carbon nanotube(CNT)bundles are vital processes for utilizing this onedimensional nanomaterial in electronics.Here,we report a polymer-assisted wet shearing method to acquire super-aligned craterpatterned CNT arrays by nanobubble(NB)self-assembly with a"migrate and aggregation"mechanism and use craters to controllably mold even-sized nanodisks periodically along CNT bundles with tunable densities.This green,low-cost method can be extended to diverse substrates and fabricate different nanodisks.As an example,the Ag-nanodisk-patterned CNT arrays are utilized as substrates of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)for rhodamine 6G(R6G)and methylene blue(MB)in which a linear correlation is found between the SERS intensity and the CNT bundle density due to the periodic distribution of hot spots,enabling a spectral detection of CNT bundles and their densities by conventional dye molecules.Distinguishing from routine morphological characterization,this spectral method possesses an enhanced accuracy and a detection range of 0.1–2μm^(–1),showing its uniqueness in the detection of CNT bundle density since the intensity of traditional spectral merely relates to the quantity of CNTs,exhibiting its potential in future CNT-bundle-based electronics.展开更多
基金the Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), the Iran Mineral Processing Research Center (IMPRC) and the IMIDRO for the technical assistance and financial support
文摘As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to improve flotation performance of fine and ultrafine particles, there is still much more to be done. In this paper, the effects of nano-microbubbles （nanobuhbles and microbubbles） on the flotation of fine （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm） and ultrafine （-14.36 ＋ 5μm） chalcopyrite particles were investigated in a laboratory scale Denver flotation cell. Nano-microbubbles were generated using a specially-designed nano- microbubble generator based on the cavitation phenomenon in Venturi tubes. In order to better under- stand the mechanisms of nano-microbubble enhanced froth flotation of fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particles, the nano-microbubble size distribution, stability and the effect of frother concentration on nano- bubble size were also studied by a laser diffraction method. Comparative flotation tests were performed in the presence and absence of nano-microbubbles to evaluate their impact on the fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particle flotation recovery. According to the results, the mean size of nano-microbubbles increased over time, and decreased with increase of frother concentration. The laboratory-scale flotation test results indicated that flotation recovery of chalcopyrite fine and ultrafine particles increased by approximately 16-21% in the presence of nano-microbubbles, depending on operating conditions of the process. The presence of nano-microbubbles increased the recovery of ultrafine particles （-14.36 ＋ 5 μm） more than that of fine particles （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm）. Another major advantage is that the use of nano-microbubbles reduced the collector and frother consumptions by up to 75% and 50%, respectively.
文摘Quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the earth's crust, is a gangue mineral in practically every flotation process. Coarse quartz flotation has been a long standing problem in various mineral processing plants to reduce milling cost and increase valuable mineral recovery. Based on this, the effects of nanobubbles(NBs) and hydrodynamic parameters on coarse quartz particle flotation were systematically investigated. Mechanical flotation experiments were carried out using the 7 cm and 9 cm diameter impellers in order to produce different hydrodynamic conditions. 900–1300 rpm impeller speeds were used for the 7 cm diameter impeller and 554–786 rpm for the 9 cm diameter impeller. The results show that the presence of NBs increased the flotation recovery of à425 + 106 lm quartz by up to 21%. For the7 cm diameter impeller, the maximum flotation recoveries of 86.4% and 98% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Reynolds number(Re) of 81,000 and 66,000, respectively. For the 9 cm diameter impeller, the maximum recoveries of 86.3% and 97.5% were obtained in the absence and presence of NBs at Re of 90,000 and 75,000, respectively. NBs increased the flotation rate constant up to 36%.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2019XKQYMS45)。
文摘Physical upgrading of graphite is typically achieved with many stages of grinding and flotation to produce a concentrate with approximately 95% carbon grade.An innovative grinding and column flotation process has been developed for efficient graphite upgrading to substantially simplify the process flowsheet and reduce operating costs.In this process,a high-pressure grinding roller(HPGR) and a stirred mill were employed as primary comminution techniques and a nanobubble flotation column as a key separation process.The results obtained with a crystalline flake graphite sample with a carbon grade of 11.15% show that the novel process can produce a concentrate with 94.82% carbon grade and 97.89% recovery from an open circuit of one rougher and two cleaner flotation stages.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)microphotographs indicate that HPGR offers the advantage of more effective protection of graphite flakes during crushing.Grinding test results show that stirred mill could not only protect graphite flakes but also promote the efficient liberation of graphite.Compared with the traditional flotation process,nanobubble flotation can effectively recover ultrafine graphite.The new process possesses a number of important advantages over the traditional method,including substantially higher graphite recovery,greatly simplified process flowsheet,better protection of flake size,reduced reagent consumption and process costs,etc.
基金supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474109 and 10674146)supported is part by the Shanghai Supercomputer Center of China
文摘In this paper molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the accumulation behaviour of N2 and H2 at water/graphite interface under ambient temperature and pressure. It finds that both N2 and H2 molecules can accumulate at the interface and form one of two states according to the ratio of gas molecules number to square of graphite surface from our simulation results： gas films （pancake-like） for a larger ratio and nanobubbles for a smaller ratio. In addition, we discuss the stabilities of nanobubbles at different environment temperatures. Surprisingly, it is found that the density of both kinds of gas states can be greatly increased, even comparable with that of the liquid N2 and liquid H2. The present results are expected to be helpful for the understanding of the stable existence of gas film （pancake-like） and nanobubbles.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant Nos 20403010 and 10335070） and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality （Grant Nos 0352nm116 and 0452nm007）.
文摘The great implication of nanobubbles at a solid/water interface has drawn wide attention of the scientific community and industries. However, the fundamental properties of nanobubbles remain unknown as yet. In this paper, the temperature effects on the morphology of nanobubbles at the mica/water interface are explored through the combination of AFM direct image with the temperature control. The results demonstrate that the apparent height of nanobubbles in AFM images is kept almost constant with the increase of temperature, whilst the lateral size of nanobubbles changes significantly. As the temperature increases from 28℃ to 42℃, the lateral size of nanobubbles increases, reaching a maximum at about 37℃, and then decreases at a higher temperature. The possible explanation for the size change of nanobubbles with temperature is suggested.
基金funded by a number of government and industrial grants,particularly the grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51804188)。
文摘Froth flotation is often used for fine-particle separation,but its process efficiency rapidly decreases with decreasing particle size.The efficient separation of ultrafine particles(UFPs)has been a major challenge in the mineral processing field for many years.In recent years,the use of surface nanobubbles in the flotation process has been recognized as an effective approach for enhancing the recovery of UFPs.Compared with traditional macrobubbles,nanobubbles possess unique surface and bulk characteristics,and their effects on the UFP flotation behavior have been a topic of intensive research.This review article is focused on the studies on various unique characteristics of nanobubbles and their mechanisms of enhancing the UFP flotation.The purpose of this article is to summarize the major achievements on the two topics and pinpoint future research needs for a better understanding of the fundamentals of surface nanobubble flotation and developing more feasible and efficient processes for fine and UFPs.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U2003129 and 51504175)China Scholarship Council(No.201706955031)。
文摘Adhesion is an important process of particle-bubble interaction in fine particle(-10μm)flotation.This paper studied the adhesion process and mechanism between nanobubbles and fine cassiterite particles by using a high-speed camera,atomic force microscope(AFM),adsorption capacity tests,and induction time tests.After being pretreated with nanobubbles(NBs)water,fine cassiterite particles flotation tests were carried out using caprylhydroxamic acid(CHA)as a collector.The results showed that NBs can improve the recovery and flotation rate of fine cassiterite while decreasing the collector dosage.The adsorption capacity test indicated that the cassiterite treated with NBs had lower demand for collector concentration.The AFM imaging results further demonstrate that NBs could reduce the adsorption of CHA on the surface of minerals.Since NBs played a part of the role of collector,it can improve the flotation effect while reducing the amount of collector.The induction time test and the high-speed camera observation test showed that NBs promoted the attachment between bubbles and cassiterite particles.On the other hand,NBs agglomerate cassiterite particles,increasing the probability of particles colliding with bubbles.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51872267)the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing(No.2212028)the Program for Science&Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province(No.21HASTIT017).
文摘Alignment,functionalization and detection of carbon nanotube(CNT)bundles are vital processes for utilizing this onedimensional nanomaterial in electronics.Here,we report a polymer-assisted wet shearing method to acquire super-aligned craterpatterned CNT arrays by nanobubble(NB)self-assembly with a"migrate and aggregation"mechanism and use craters to controllably mold even-sized nanodisks periodically along CNT bundles with tunable densities.This green,low-cost method can be extended to diverse substrates and fabricate different nanodisks.As an example,the Ag-nanodisk-patterned CNT arrays are utilized as substrates of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)for rhodamine 6G(R6G)and methylene blue(MB)in which a linear correlation is found between the SERS intensity and the CNT bundle density due to the periodic distribution of hot spots,enabling a spectral detection of CNT bundles and their densities by conventional dye molecules.Distinguishing from routine morphological characterization,this spectral method possesses an enhanced accuracy and a detection range of 0.1–2μm^(–1),showing its uniqueness in the detection of CNT bundle density since the intensity of traditional spectral merely relates to the quantity of CNTs,exhibiting its potential in future CNT-bundle-based electronics.
