Data from: Mechanism of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe3+ in fine cassiterite flotation using octanohydroxamic acid

The existence of metal ion should not be ignored in both hydrometallurgy
and flotation. In this study, the effects of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe3+ on the
flotation performance of cassiterite using octanohydroxamic acid (OHA) as
the collector were investigated by the micro-flotation tests, X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR), contact angle, zeta (ζ) potential measurements and atomic force
microscopy (AFM) imaging. The results of the flotation and contact angle
experiments showed that the addition of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe3+ significantly
decreased both the recovery and contact angle of cassiterite within pH
ranged from 6.0 to 12.0 in the presence of OHA collector. ζ–potential
measurements, solution chemistry analysis and FTIR measurements indicated
that the flotation recovery of the cassiterite declined due to the CaOH+,
MgOH+ and Fe(OH)3 sites on the cassiterite surface. XPS results indicated
that the chemisorption of OHA on cassiterite surface and its adsorption
combined with calcium ions effects finally changed the chemical properties
of cassiterite surface. The AFM images also revealed that new species
Fe(OH)3 of Fe3+ formed and adsorbed on the cassiterite surface at pH of
9.0. The adsorption of Fe(OH)3 reduced the adsorption of OHA on the
cassiterite surface, thus the hydrophobicity of cassiterite was
deteriorated.