Surface Chemistry of Froth Flotation

The process of froth flotation is an outstanding example of applied surface chemistry. It is extensively used in the mining, mineral, metallurgical, and chemical industries for separation and selective concentration of individual minerals and other solids. Substances so concentrated serve as raw materials for producing appropriate metals and chemicals. The importance of flotation in technology is chiefly due to the ease with which it can be made selective and versatile and to the economy of the process. The objective of this book is to review the fundamentals of surface chemistry together with the relevant aspects of organic and inorganic chemistry that-in the opinion of the author-are important control of the froth flotation process. The review updates the information that had been available in books by Sutherland and Wark (1955), Gaudin (1957), Klassen and Mokrousov (1963), and GIembotsky et al. (1963). It emphasizes mainly the surface chemical aspects of the process, leaving other relevant topics such as hydrodynamics, mechanical and electrical technology, cir- cuit design and engineering, operations research, instrumentation tech- nology, modeling, etc., to appropriate specialized treatments.