What are some common abnormal phenomena in flotation operation, and how should they be handled?

March 24th, 2026

Several abnormal phenomena frequently occur during flotation operation. The causes of these phenomena are complex and often not solely due to a single factor. Table 6-3 lists common abnormal phenomena in flotation operation, their causes, and adjustment methods.

Table 6-3 Common Abnormal Phenomena in Flotation Operation, Their Causes, and Main Adjustment Methods

Abnormal phenomena	Produce born Original because	Main adjustment methods
Low concentrate grade	Changes in mineral composition and degree of ore oxidation and argillaceization	Pharmacy, Process
	Concentrate processing has a high quality fraction and a large output of rough concentrate.	Reduce quality fraction and decrease ore output
	Over-inflation	Reduce inflation volume
	Excessive dosage reduced selectivity	Reduce drug dosage
	Large amount of concentrate scraped out	Reduce scraping amount
Low recovery rate	Changes in mineral composition and degree of ore oxidation and argillaceization	Pharmacy, Process
	Grinding fineness	Improve grinding and classification fineness
	Improper dosage of medicine	Adjusting the medication
	Overloaded production capacity, insufficient flotation time	Reduce ore feed
	Increased middlings circulation leads to instability in the flotation process.	Reduce the amount of foam scraped off during the operation.
Slurry overflow	Small flotation mass fraction	Reduce water supply
	Increased overflow of the classifier	Adjusting grinding and classification operations
	Flotation machine malfunction, resulting in poor pulp flow.	Repair the flotation machine or clean the pipeline
	Excessive foaming agent	Reduce or discontinue medication
	The slurry gate was raised too high.	regulating gate
	Return volume (medium ore) increased	Reduce medium ore volume
Slurry level drop	The flotation mass fraction increases	Reduce mineral quantity or add water quantity
	coarse flotation particle size	Adjusting grinding and classification operations
	Decreased agitation force in flotation machine, blockage or detachment of aeration pipe.	Repairing flotation machines
	The grade of the raw ore has increased.	Supplemental medication
	Insufficient foaming agent	Increase dosage
	Motor, pipeline, or pump malfunctions, resulting in low slurry volume.	Repair and dredging
Sticky foam	Increase in ore slime	Adjusting the medication
	Increased pH value in slurry	Reduce the amount of regulator
	Excessive foaming agent	Reduce dosage
	Lubricating oil mixed into the slurry	Add less or stop adding pine oil and analyze the reasons.
	Medicine table accident	Check the dosage of medicine
	Excessive scraping volume in each operation	Reduce scraping amount