Review on beneficiation techniques and reagents used for phosphate ores

Abstract

Phosphate ore is an important raw material for manufacturing fertilizers and phosphorous chemical products. While most of the phosphate resources cannot be directly treated as feed stock due to the low grade of P2O5 and high content of impurities. In order to obtain a qualified phosphate concentrate, the beneficiation of the low-grade phosphate ore is, hence, of great necessity. Many beneficiation techniques can be employed to upgrade the P2O5 grade of phosphate ores based on their characteristics in chemical composition and texture. The flotation process is most widely applied to balance the P2O5 recovery ratio and cost. In this review, the dominant techniques for the beneficiation of phosphate ores are introduced. Moreover, the factors that affect the flotation of phosphate ore, including the properties of mineralogy, flotation reagents (depressants and collectors) and flotation medium, were systematically analyzed.