Uso do óleo da polpa de pequi como coletor na microflotação de apatita, calcita, dolomita e quartzo

Abstract

Phosphate ores are non-renewable and essential resources for the agricultural industry in the production of phosphoric acid and fertilizers. Apatite is the valuable mineral for phosphorus, being flotation the most effective method to carry out its concentration. The use of plant compounds in mineral processing has the potential to leverage the sector's eco-efficiency by bringing sustainable and environmentally safe routes to the process. Given this scenario, this work investigates the use of pequi-pulp oil as a collector reagent in the flotation of phosphate ores. Pequi is a typical fruit of the Brazilian cerrado and has important fatty acids in its composition, characteristic of phosphate collector reagents. In the research, analyzes of the chemical and mineralogical composition of apatite, calcite, dolomite and quartz minerals were carried out, as well as the electrokinetic properties and floatability of such minerals in the presence of the collector were also investigated. The results show that it is possible to use pequi-pulp oil as a collector. The synthesis of the oil in the collector exhibited selectivity between apatite and calcite, as well as between apatite and dolomite, at collector solution concentrations of 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L, within the pH range of 10 to 11. Quartz did not show considerable floatability under the conditions investigated in this work.