Beneficiation of technogenic phosphorus-containing raw materials as a source of mineral fertilisers

Tetiana Oliіnyk Liudmyla Skliar
Received 06.02.2025, Revised 07.05.2025, Accepted 30.06.2025
Abstract

The relevance of this research arises from ongoing challenges related to rising raw material costs, geopolitical instability, and the complexity of processing phosphate rock ores with high impurity content. These factors underscore the need to develop efficient approaches for the beneficiation and processing of low-grade raw materials and waste as alternative sources of phosphorus. The aim of the study was to develop a technology for the beneficiation of technogenic phosphorus-containing materials to obtain phosphate rock concentrate suitable for fertiliser production. The research involved mineralogical, chemical, granulometric, and sedimentation analyses of the raw materials. Laboratory experiments included grinding, flotation, and magnetic separation. In addition, the properties of reagents for flotation-based beneficiation of phosphorus-containing materials were investigated. The study examined the potential for beneficiating technogenic phosphorus-containing materials derived from phosphate ore processing. Two laboratory-scale flowsheets – magnetic-flotation and flotation-magnetic – were tested, both enabling the production of commercial phosphate rock concentrate with a P2O5 content ranging from 18.7% to 21.5%, and phosphorus recovery of 69.5% to 93%. For the first time, the significance of surface tension energy at the three-phase boundary during flotation was established, justifying the use of an anionic collector, talactam, for the effective separation of francolite from quartz. Magnetic separation, both before and after flotation, was found to enhance francolite concentration while reducing the content of glauconite and ironbearing minerals. It was also determined that preliminary classification of the feed material at a particle size threshold of 0.16 mm reduces sludge formation during disintegration. The resulting glauconite-rich products have potential applications in the production of potash fertilisers and green pigments, although further study is required. The practical significance of this work lies in the successful implementation of the developed beneficiation technology for technogenic phosphate raw materials, which enables the production of phosphate concentrate (23.18%) suitable for the manufacture of Grade III phosphate flour fertiliser, and a glauconite product (50.71%) applicable as an enterosorbent and a source of trace elements in compound animal feeds

Keywords:
phosphorus; francolite; glauconite; magnetic separation; flotation

Retrieved from Vol. 59, No. 1, 2025

Pages 42–54

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Oliіnyk, T., & Skliar, L. (2025). Beneficiation of technogenic phosphorus-containing raw materials as a source of mineral fertilisers. Mining Journal of Kryvyi Rih National University, 59(1), 42-54. https://doi.org/10.31721/2306-5435-2025-1-42-54
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