Jung Min Uk, Kim Yeo Cheon, Bournival Ghislain, Ata Seher
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Dec;322:103047. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2023.103047. Epub 2023 Nov 6.
The depletion of high-grade and coarse-grain ores has led to an increasing demand for the development of efficient separation technologies for low-grade and fine-grain ores. However, conventional froth flotation techniques are not adequate to efficiently recover fine and ultrafine particles (typically <10-15 μm) due to the low collision probability between these particles and the relatively large bubbles used in the process. The introduction of microbubbles has shown promise in enhancing particle recovery, making it a subject of significant interest. Thus, this review focuses on microbubble generation methods that have the potential to be scaled up for industrial applications, with a specific emphasis on their suitability for froth flotation. The methods are categorized based on their scalability: high-hydrodynamic cavitation, porous media/medium-dissolved air, electrolysis/low-microfluidics, and acoustic methods. The bubble generation mechanisms, characteristics, advantages and limitations of each method and its applications in froth flotation are discussed to provide suggestions for improvement. There is still no appropriate technology that can optimize bubble size distribution, production rate and cost together for industrial froth flotation application. Therefore, novel approaches of combining multiple methods are also explored to achieve the potential synergic effects. By addressing the limitations of current microbubble generation methods and proposing potential enhancements, this review aims to contribute to the development of efficient and cost-effective microbubble generation technologies for fine and ultrafine particles in the froth flotation industry.
高品位粗粒矿石的枯竭使得开发低品位细粒矿石高效分离技术的需求不断增加。然而，传统的泡沫浮选技术不足以有效回收细颗粒和超细颗粒（通常<10-15μm），因为这些颗粒与该过程中使用的相对较大气泡之间的碰撞概率较低。微气泡的引入在提高颗粒回收率方面显示出前景，使其成为一个备受关注的课题。因此，本综述重点关注有可能扩大规模用于工业应用的微气泡产生方法，特别强调其对泡沫浮选的适用性。这些方法根据其可扩展性进行分类：高水力空化、多孔介质/中溶解空气、电解/低微流体和声学方法。讨论了每种方法的气泡产生机制、特性、优点和局限性及其在泡沫浮选中的应用，以提供改进建议。目前仍没有合适的技术能够同时优化工业泡沫浮选应用中的气泡尺寸分布、生产率和成本。因此，还探索了多种方法相结合的新方法，以实现潜在的协同效应。通过解决当前微气泡产生方法的局限性并提出潜在的改进措施，本综述旨在为泡沫浮选行业中用于细颗粒和超细颗粒的高效且经济高效的微气泡产生技术的发展做出贡献。
