Effect of ozone on physico-chemical and flotation properties of surface of pyrrhotite under the nanosecond electromagnetic pulse treatment

It is proved by testing that the effect of nanosecond powerful electromagnetic pulses (PEMP) tends to give rise to both pyrrhotite disintegration and alterations of its particles’ surface chemistry. It is found that PEMP exerts an effect on the surface composition, floatability, sorption ability and solubilization intensity of pyrrhotite. The non-monotone variation of sulphur content, removed from pyrrhotite surface under hexane action, and ferrous and ferric sulfates detected in the aqueous phase of suspension, are found to induce a nonmonotone alteration of sorption and flotation properties of the mineral depending on the number of pulses. The mode has been established for the preliminary PEMP treatment for pyrrhotite and pentlandite, aimed at improving the flotation separation as compared to a conventional mode. __________ Translated from Fiziko-Tekhnicheskie Problemy Razrabotki Poleznykh Iskopaemykh, No. 1, pp. 91–99, January–February, 2007.