What are Beneficiation Methods and Machines Used in Lithium Pyroxene Process?

Lithium ore as the "new energy metal of the 21st century", its mining and utilization has attracted much attention. In this article, we will mainly introduce lithium pyroxene beneficiation methods and equipment, and hope it will be helpful to you. So let's start!

At present, the main lithium pyroxene beneficiation methods that can be applied are hand sorting, flotation, heavy media selection, magnetic separation and combined beneficiation methods.

#1 Hand Sorting Method

Hand-selection is a method of lithium pyroxene in the formal selection before the initial screening pre-selection.

Hand sorting is generally completed in the crushing operation section. Mainly the crushed ore is sent into the hand sorting belt, through its appearance and color and gloss and other conditions, manual hand selection, lithium pyroxene 10-25mm will be selected.

The technical requirements of hand sorting method are low, the operation process is simple, no special site and equipment are needed, only on the simple hand sorting belt or hand sorting operation table can be carried out. Hand sorting process can initially separate the ore from the vein, and improve the ore grade. However, hand-selection requires high labor intensity, low production efficiency and large waste of resources.

#2 Hand Sorting Equipment

The main equipment applied in hand sorting method are: crushers, belt conveyors.

The crushers are mainly jaw crusher, hammer crusher, spring cone crusher.

(1) Jaw Crusher

Jaw crusher is a crushing equipment with high capacity, large crushing ratio and high crushing efficiency, mainly used for coarse crushing.

The principle of jaw crusher is that the material located in the middle of the two jaws is crushed by the cyclic movement of the movable jaw swinging around the fixed jaw.

(2) Hammer Crusher

The hammer crusher is a single rotor ring hammer type crushing plant for low hardness, brittle materials.

The working principle of hammer crusher is to rely on impact energy to complete the crushing operation.

During operation, the motor drives the rotor to rotate at high speed and feeds the material evenly into the crusher cavity. Then, the hammer head rotates at high speed, impacting, shearing and tearing the minerals to crush the ore.

At the same time, the gravity of the ore itself will make the material rushing from the high-speed rotating hammer head to the baffle and screen bar inside the frame. Finally, the material larger than the screen hole will be left on the screen plate to continue to be hammered and ground by the hammer head; while the over-screened material is directly discharged.

(3) Spring Cone Crusher

Spring cone crusher, is a medium to fine crushing equipment, the spring is both a safety device and affect the crushing force.

The working principle of spring cone crusher is driven by a motor. The gears are linked to each other so that the drive shaft and drive gears drive the eccentric sleeve to rotate, and the moving cone swings under the action of the eccentric sleeve. The moving cone and the fixed cone are sometimes close to each other and sometimes deviated from each other, so that the material is crushed by constant extrusion or impact.

#1 Lithium Pyroxene Flotation Method 

Flotation is currently the main application of lithium pyroxene beneficiation method.

The surface of the more pure lithium pyroxene because of the lack of activation cations on its surface, when flotation with sodium oleate anion trap, it is not easy to float; but with amine cation trap is very easy to float.

Theoretical studies show that lithium pyroxene is similar to the natural floatability of common veinstone quartz, feldspar and other minerals.

When there are Ca2+, Fe3+, Pb2+, Mg2+ and other high-valent metal cations in the pulp, lithium pyroxene, quartz, feldspar, etc. are activated, thus increasing the difficulty of separating lithium pyroxene from vein minerals.

Then we will choose to treat the surface of lithium pyroxene with alkali (NaOH and other strong alkali) first, and then flotation of lithium pyroxene with trapping agent will enable the separation of lithium pyroxene from quartz, feldspar and other vein minerals.

#2 Lithium Pyroxene Positive Flotation and Reverse Flotation

The current lithium pyroxene flotation process can be divided into two methods: positive flotation and reverse flotation.

(1) Lithium Pyroxene Positive Flotation

In a strong alkaline environment, oleic acid and its soap salts are added as a trapping agent, while the sodium hydroxide added to the pulp can be used as a suppression of sodium silicate generated by the chemistry of silicate, which can directly flotation of lithium pyroxene, so that the vein minerals remain in the flotation tank.

(2) Lithium Pyroxene Reverse Flotation

Use lime to adjust to alkaline environment, add dextrin, starch, etc. as inhibitors, so as to inhibit lithium pyroxene to stay in the tank, and use cationic trap to reverse flotation of quartz, feldspar, mica, etc.

#3 Lithium Pyroxene Flotation Equipment

The main equipment used in flotation method are: XCF type inflatable stirred flotation machine, KYF type inflatable stirred flotation machine, SF type mechanical stirred flotation machine and JJF type mechanical stirred flotation machine, etc.

(1) XCF type inflatable agitated flotation machine is a self-absorbing slurry inflatable mechanical agitated flotation equipment (as the suction tank of KYF type flotation machine).

(2) KYF type inflatable stirred flotation machine is an inflatable flotation equipment without pulp suction.

(3) SF type mechanical agitator flotation machine is a self-absorbing slurry and self-absorbing air flotation equipment for mining.

(4) JJF type mechanical agitation flotation machine is a mechanical agitation flotation equipment without pulp absorption and self-absorption.

#1 Lithium Pyroxene Dense-Media Process Method

Since lithium pyroxene is a little denser than the coeval quartz, feldspar and other major vein minerals, so for the relatively coarse crystalline size of lithium pyroxene. Therefore, we can use heavy suspension or heavy liquid beneficiation method to make lithium pyroxene a heavy mineral product, while the vein minerals are light products, so as to achieve effective separation of lithium pyroxene and associated vein minerals.

#2 Lithium Pyroxene Dense-Media Process Equipment

Dense-media process method is mainly applied to the equipment: hydrocyclone, etc.

Cyclone, is a kind of involute direction feeding hydrocyclone.

The working principle of hydrocyclone is mainly centrifugal sedimentation.

When the two-phase (or three-phase) mixture to be separated enters the cyclone with certain pressure from the cyclone feed port, it produces strong three-dimensional elliptical strong rotational shear turbulence movement.

Due to the different density of the particles, the centrifugal force, centripetal buoyancy, fluid traction and other sizes are different. Therefore, by centrifugal sedimentation, coarse particles (or heavy phase) are discharged through the cyclone bottom flow port, while fine particles (or light phase) are discharged from the overflow pipe, so as to achieve the purpose of separation and classification.

#1 Lithium Pyroxene Magnetic Separation Method

Magnetic separation method mainly deals with the minerals containing iron impurities in lithium pyroxene.

Because of weak magnetic properties, it is necessary to remove iron impurities by strong magnetic separation method to obtain low iron lithium pyroxene concentrate.

Magnetic separation method to select lithium pyroxene, its operation is simple, easy to control, adaptable. When the single magnetic separation cannot effectively remove iron, the iron removal operation can be completed by the combined method.

#2 Lithium Pyroxene Magnetic Separation Equipment

Magnetic separation method is mainly applied to the equipment: wet strong magnetic separator, high gradient magnetic separator, etc.

#1 Lithium Pyroxene Combined Beneficiation Method

Joint beneficiation method is mainly used to sort some lithium pyroxene with complex associated components, and the single beneficiation method cannot effectively recover the minerals of lithium concentrate. Therefore, the separation can be realized by combined beneficiation methods, such as flotation-magnetic separation combined process, flotation-re-election-magnetic separation combined process, flotation-chemical treatment combined process, etc.

#2 Lithium Pyroxene Combined Beneficiation Equipment

Joint beneficiation method can be applied to the equipment: flotation machine, magnetic separator, jigger, shaking table, spiral chute and leaching tank, etc.

The above is the introduction of lithium pyroxene common beneficiation process methods and beneficiation equipment. In the actual beneficiation, choose which process and supporting equipment, we need to analyze through the test, design a reasonable beneficiation plan and equipment selection, to avoid inappropriate selection process and equipment caused by the waste of resources. Welcome to click Chat button to learn more details about lithium pyroxene beneficiation methods and machines.