Separation of fine beryl from quartz via magnetic carriers by the aiding of non-ionic surfactant

This study demonstrated the possibility of separating fine beryl from quartz by using magnetic carrier technology with the presence of non-ionic surfactant (Sorbitan monooleate). Oleate-coated magnetite was used as a magnetic carrier for enhancing the magnetic properties of fine beryl to be separated and get rid of the most common associated gangue mineral "quartz". This study proved that the most important factors affecting this separation process is the pH, as the study showed that the efficiency of the separation process is the maximum possible when pH at the isoelectric point (IEP) of beryl. Where at IEP, beryl is ready to adsorb oleate-coated maginetite onto its surface and the presence of sorbitan monooleate helps this adsorption and strengthens. To demonstrate the separation process, physico-chemical surface characterization for beryl, quartz, magnetite and oleate-coated magnetite was studied before and after treatment with sorbitan monooleate using zeta potential measurements and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). Mineralogical characterization was take place for separated minerals of beryl, quartz and magnetite using x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) unit. The magnetic carrier separation tests were performed in this study in the case of separate minerals investigated that fine beryl (94% recovery) could be recovered under optimum test conditions of 2.5 pH, 4.29 g/L sorbitan monooleate and 1:0.5 beryl to oleate-coated magnetite ratio, while quartz under the same conditions was recovered by 9.8%. FTIR measurements for the investigated minerals before and after treatment with sorbitan monooleate confirmed that the adsorption of sorbitan monooleate on the surface of beryl far exceeds that of the surface of quartz at beryl IEP.