Enhanced sulfidation of chrysocolla with ammonium carbamate and its effect on flotation

In this study, flotation experiments, zeta potential, XPS, AFM, SEM-EDS, and contact angle measurements were performed to study the influence of ammonium carbamate (CH6N2O2) on the sulfidation flotation of chrysocolla. The results of the sulfidation flotation experiments showed that the recovery of chrysocolla increased more than 40% on the optimal condition after adding ammonium carbamate. In addition, the zeta potential of samples with ammonium carbamate was clearly higher than ores for pH > 6, which was due to the complexation reaction between ammonium carbamate and copper ion on the surface of chrysocolla samples. The activity of copper adsorption has also been improved. Furthermore, the XPS data indicated that the content of Cu-S compounds on the mineral surface has been significantly enhanced after ammonium carbamate complex sulfidation. The chemical analysis of the solution led to the same conclusion. The AFM results showed that ammonium carbamate had a positive impact on the adsorption of minerals surface, and increased the flotation recovery. It can be deduced from the SEM-EDS analysis that the surface of chrysocolla better combined with S–, and more Cu-S components were generated on the surface, which led to 1.04% increase of S atomic concentration. Finally, the contact angle measurements showed that the water contact angle of chrysocolla after adding ammonium carbamate could reach 90.4°, which proved that the sulfidation improved the floatability of the chrysocolla sample.