A review of the use of microcalorimetry to determine the enthalpies of immersion and adsorption on various minerals and their relationship to flotation performance

Microcalorimetry is an important experimental method to quantify the reactions occurring between a solid material and reagents adsorbing at the surface. In the case of flotation which is arguably the most important process used to beneficiate mineral ores the surface reactions occurring between water and reagents such as collectors are measured as the enthalpy of immersion or adsorption respectively using microcalorimetry. There is significant literature on the determination of such values in many solid–liquid systems. However, in the case of flotation, such measurements have mostly been carried out as microcalorimetric studies and no attempts have been made to relate the enthalpies measured to the ultimate flotation performance of the mineral under investigation. This paper reviews the literature in this regard and attempts to show how such measurements may be related to the flotation behaviour of the mineral. Such studies may have significant overall implications for flotation research.