China Clay for Paper Industry:
Comparison conclusion on different beneficiation methods:
Size classification though removes almost 50% of the iron content there is only a very small improvement in brightness. The titania impurities remain intact and hence not much improvement in brightness. The SC HGMS method shows very high improvement in brightness this is due to the simultaneous removal of Ferrous and Titanioferrous impurities. Froth Flotation removes titania impurities selectively and shows marginal increase in brightness. CDBT removes good amount ferrous impurities without much change in the Titania impurities and hence the brightness improvement is more compared to that by the froth flotation method.
Hence for making the Kaolin as paper grade kaolin, the mine owners have to analyze the type of impurity content to choose the best beneficiation method or combination of method to improve the Kaolin brightness which plays the most important aspect for quality.
