Flotation equipment needs to separate materials into particles during the flotation process. Sometimes, difficulties in separation may occur. The reasons for this are as follows:

(1) Fine particles have a large specific surface area and significantly increased surface energy. Under certain conditions, non-selective agglomeration easily occurs between the surfaces of different minerals. On the other hand, due to the large surface energy of fine particles, although they have a high adsorption capacity for reagents, their selective adsorption is poor, making selective separation of fine particles difficult.

(2) Fine particles have a small volume and a low probability of colliding with air bubbles. Due to their small mass, during the attachment process of mineral particles to air bubbles, it is difficult for fine particles to overcome the resistance of the hydration layer between the mineral particles and the air bubbles when colliding, making it difficult to adhere to the air bubbles.

The following are the technological measures to solve the problem of fine particle flotation:

(1) Selective flocculation flotation. Flocculants are used to selectively flocculate the target mineral particles or gangue mud, and then flotation is used for separation.

(2) Carrier Flotation. This method uses mineral particles of the general flotation size as a carrier, allowing the fine particles of the target mineral to float on the carrier. The carrier can be of the same or different minerals. For example, pyrite can be used as a carrier to float fine-grained gold. Calcite can be used as a carrier to float away fine-grained iron and titanium impurities in kaolin.

(3) Agglomeration Flotation, also known as emulsion flotation. After treatment with a collector, fine-grained minerals form an oily foam containing minerals under the action of neutral oil. The collector and neutral oil can be mixed into an emulsion before being added to the pulp. Alternatively, neutral oil and collector can be added separately to a high-quality pulp (solid content up to 70%), vigorously stirred, and the time controlled, then the upper layer of foam is skimmed off. This method has been used for fine-grained manganese ore, ilmenite, and apatite, etc.

In general, flotation machines have a clear and precise division of labor, enabling thorough separation of materials during mineral processing to achieve the desired separation effect.