Attachment of particles and droplets to bubbles—the latter being of various fine sizes and created by different techniques (as described in detail)—forms the basis of flotation, a process which indeed was originated from mineral processing. Nevertheless, chemistry often plays a significant role in this area, in order for separation to be effective, as stressed. This (brief) review particularly discusses wastewater treatment applications and the effect of bubble size (from nano- to micro-) on the flotation process.

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/8/1287/pdf

From Microbubbles to Nanobubbles: Effect on Flotation

Processing of materials that originated from tailings of industrial plants (with a wide range of particle size distribution, "PSD") without grinding has several advantages since mines are faced with a lot of pressure to minimize their environmental impacts. This article indicates that the introduction of submicron bubbles (known as nanobubbles, "NBs") to conventional flotation could improve the separation efficiency of valuable minerals from their associated gangue phases. It was demonstrated that metallurgical responses (recovery, grade, selectivity, and kinetics) of NB flotation could improve compared to those of conventional tests. Various hydrodynamic cavitation setups for NB generation may lead to different metallurgical responses. In general, the addition of surfactants (frothers and collectors) for NB generation could increase both mass and water recoveries, which would be key factors on selectivity. Selectivity is also markedly dependent on the PSD of feed, and the selectivity of NB flotation is improved significantly by decreasing the feed size. In general, generation of NBs in the presence of a frother leads to higher flotation metallurgical responses than in the presence of a collector.

Nanobubble-Assisted Flotation of Apatite Tailings: Insights on Beneficiation Options.

Effective purification of the low-rank coal by the collaboration of the microemulsion collector and the CO2 nanobubbles

Study on the separation mechanism of coal and gangue particles during coal slime classification in a hydrocyclone

High-ash coal, also known as low-grade coal, has becomes a viable alternative in recent years to high-quality coal because available resources have become increasingly scarce due to extensive mining activity. This work aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the structural characteristics of high-ash coal and construct a plausible molecular structure to elucidate its chemical reactivity in future applications. Its properties were investigated using Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The molecular structure was constructed and validated using Material Studio, LAMMPS Software Package, and MATLAB program. The characterization results revealed that high-ash coal contains 72.15% aromatic carbon, significantly surpassing the percentage of aliphatic carbon (27.85%). The ratio of bridgehead carbon to peripheral aromatic carbon was calculated as 0.67, indicating that the pentacene is the main carbon skeleton form in the high-ash coal structure. Furthermore, oxygen-containing functional groups presented as C=O/O-C-O, C-O, and COO- within the structure along with pyridine and pyrrolic structures. Consequently, the molecular structure comprises pentacene with aliphatic carbon chains, such as methylene, that connect the benzene rings and form a three-dimensional network. The results of a simulated IR spectrum and contact angle simulation aligned with the experimental results, validating the molecular structure of high-ash coal. The chemical formula for the high-ash coal model was determined as C203H189N7O61S with a molecular weight of 3734.79. 

Structural Characterization and Molecular Model Construction of High-Ash Coal from Northern China

The coal industry is facing the challenge of treating high-ash fine coal. In this study, we proposed an effective method to handle high-ash fine coal using water containing positively charged nanobubbles (PCNBs) and polyaluminum chloride (PAC). For comparison, normal nanobubble (NB) water was tested in parallel. Flotation results of a modeled high-ash fine coal showed that compared to the use of NBs alone, an enhanced combustible recovery with a simultaneous reduction in ash recovery was obtained when using water containing PCNBs and PAC. Particle size distribution together with particle video microscopy (PVM) and the degree of entrainment analysis were conducted to understand the underpinning mechanism. It was found that the presence of PCNBs intensified the aggregation of fine coal particles, which accounted for the boosted combustible recovery. It was interesting that PAC could disrupt coal flocs induced by NBs, leading to the release of trapped kaolinite particles with alleviated clay recovery by entrapment.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.1c05751

Effective Separation of High-Ash Fine Coal Using Water Containing Positively Charged Nanobubbles and Polyaluminum Chloride

Understanding the coating behavior of fine gangue slimes in the presence of nanobubbles (NBs) is important for the application of NB technology in flotation. In this study, slime coating of kaolini...

Effect of Nanobubbles on the Slime Coating of Kaolinite in Coal Flotation

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Effective Separation of High-Ash Fine Coal Using Water Containing Positively Charged Nanobubbles and Polyaluminum Chloride

Effect of Nanobubbles on the Slime Coating of Kaolinite in Coal Flotation