Study of effect of high-shear pulp conditioning and collector emulsification on fine coal flotation performance

In order to explore the effect of high-shear pulp conditioning and emulsification of collector on fine coal flotation performance, a study is made with the flotation feed of the coal preparation plant under Shuiyu Mine Company of Shanxi Fenxi Mining Group as the test sample. It is aimed to compare and analyze the law governing the effect on flotation performance produced by using different schemes: diesel only, diesel + pulp conditioning, emulsified diesel only, and emulsified diesel + pulp conditioning. As evidenced by test result, the scheme of high-shear pulp conditioning plus the use of emulsified diesel plays a positive roll for improvement of flotation performance and reduction of diesel consumption; with the ash of flotation concentrate remaining unchanged, the yield of concentrate and recovery of combustible matter are respectively 3.78 percentages and 1.96 percentage points higher than those obtained by using diesel as collector while the diesel consumption is reduced respectively from 325 g/t to 225 g/t and 100 g/t. And it is found that either high-shear pulp conditioning or diesel emulsification can help promote dispersion of nonpolar hydrocarbon-type oil, reduce consumption of diesel and improve fine coal flotation performance.