EVALUATION OF MAGNAFLOC AND SODIUM ALGINATE REAGENTS FOR TREATMENT OF MINERAL EFFLUENT FROM FERTILIZER COMPANIES USING DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION
Water reuse; FAD; phosphate ore flotation; effluent treatment; factorial design.
Water is a strategic resource for mining, especialy in the processing of ores. Thus, the best use of this resource, including its reuse, is essential given its scarcity and increasingly stringent environmental restrictions. However, the reuse of water, especialy in flotation, can reduce the efficiency of the process, due to the presence of the various ions dissolved in it. For phosphate ore flotation, magnesium, fluoride, phosphate and calcium ions frequently occur in reuse water and can impact flotation results. In this sense, this work aimed to obtain a better quality water through coagulation, flocculation and dissolved air flotation (FAD), in order to enable its reuse and thus be able to reuse it in the apatite flotation. To develop this work, samples of reused water (tailings dam), new water and ore samples were colected from a fertilizer company located in Alto Paranaíba. A factorial design was carried out to evaluate the treatment of reuse water using the reagents Magnafloc and Sodium Alginate. With this, a better quality treated water was obtained, which could be used in the apatite flotation. Apatite flotation tests were also carried out using untreated reuse water and fresh water so that it is possible to compare the flotation efficiency. With this work, it was achieved that the treatment of reuse water via coagulation, flocculation and FAD is a technical solution for the treatment of this effluent, whether for reuse in apatite flotation or for return to springs.