Froth flotation of rutile – An overview

Rutile (TiO2), ilmenite (FeTiO3) and titanite (CaTiSiO5) are considered as the most important titanium minerals, particularly rutile, is believed to be the principal source because of its high added value of products. The conventional methods used for concentrating rutile include gravity, magnetic, electrostatic separation or their combination among others. Besides physical separation approaches, selective flotation attracts massive attention due to its remarkable efficiency for separation of rutile with analogous physic-chemical characteristics. A comprehensive review of rutile flotation in terms of its surface chemical properties, effects of slimes on rutile flotation as well as the flotation reagents which have been employed is presented. Additionally, perspectives for further future investigations based on the analysis of the previous work are provided.