Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116

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Dynamic froth stability in froth flotation

N. Barbian, E. Ventura-Medina, J.J. Cilliers *

Department of Chemical Engineering, Froth and Foam Research Group, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK
Received 17 May 2003; accepted 26 June 2003

Abstract
A new measure for froth stability is introduced in this work, based on a dynamic stability test for non-overflowing froth columns.
The dynamic stability factor represents the lifetime of a bubble in the froth, and is defined as the ratio of the total volume of froth at
equilibrium to the volumetric gas rate introduced into the system. Experiments have been carried out at laboratory scale to measure
the dynamic stability factor under different operating conditions. Air flowrate and frother concentration were the key operating
variables. It was found that the equilibrium height and the dynamic stability factor depend significantly upon both the air flowrate
and the frother concentration. Also, the dynamic stability factor and the fraction of air overflowing as unbroken bubbles in batch
flotation tests were related and can be used to establish a stability criteria. These measurements will also allow a clearer quantitative
link to be formed between froth stability with froth structure and flotation performance.
Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Froth flotation; Flotation bubbles; Flotation froths; Process instrumentation

1. Introduction mance. For this purpose, the dynamic froth stability

The froth flotation process used for separating min-
eral ores depends on the establishment of a carefully
controlled and stable froth. Previous work has been
carried out to determine the relationship between flo-
tation variables, performance and froth structure. From
these studies, it has become clear that froth stability
plays a major role in flotation performance. Previously,
several parameters have been used to account for the
stability of dynamic mineral froths, such as the rate of
bubble bursting in the top surface of the froth, the froth
velocity, and the amount of solids loaded onto the
bubble lamellae (Ventura-Medina and Cilliers, 2002).
However, measuring froth stability quantitatively in a
consistent manner is still a matter of research.
There still exists a need for a stability criteria for
mineral froths, so that the relationship between stability
and operating variables can be better understood, al-
lowing the development of control strategies for flota-
tion performance. This work aims to develop a
technique to measure froth stability that can be linked to
other stability parameters as well as flotation perfor-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-161-200-4353; fax: +44-161-200-
4399.
E-mail address: j.j.cilliers@umist.ac.uk (J.J. Cilliers).
0892-6875/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2003.06.010
originally proposed by Bikerman (1973) is used, and
adapted to mineral flotation. Finally, a relationship
between dynamic froth stability and the fraction of air
overflowing the weir as unbroken bubbles is proposed.
2. Background
A multiplicity of methods have been developed to
assess the stability of foams. In general, two types of
tests can be identified: dynamic tests and static tests. A
dynamic test is one where the foam has reached a state
of dynamic equilibrium between rates of formation and
decay. It is a measurement of foamability. A static test is
one in which the rate of foam formation is zero: the
foam, once formed, is allowed to collapse without re-
generation by further agitation or input of gas (Prud’-
homme and Khan, 1996).
Bikerman (1973) proposed the ratio of steady-state
foam volume to gas flowrate as a unit of foaminess for
dynamic foams. This ratio, denoted as R, is a measure of
the average time that gas remains entrained in the foam.
A given flowrate of gas (air or nitrogen) is passed
through a gas column which contains a known volume
of frother solution. After an initial time period during
which the height of the froth in the column increases, the
1112 N. Barbian et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116
height becomes constant and an equilibrium is estab-
lished.
Other researchers (Malysa et al., 1981) studied the
surface rheology and frothability of acid solutions to
understand better the stability of foams. They used n-
Octanoic acid and n-Octanol of high purities to produce
the solutions. They determined the Marangoni surface
elasticity by using the pulsation bubble method and
described the frothability of the solution in terms of the
retention time values. They determined the retention
time under steady-state conditions based on the total gas
volume contained in both the foam and the solution,
hence determining the average time necessary for a unit
gas volume to pass through the system. This parameter
is measured as the slope of the linear part of the curve
given by the total gas volume versus the gas flowrate.
They found that retention time values increased more
rapidly at low than at high concentration for both n-
Octanoic acid and n-Octanol. They also determined that
the dependence of retention time with Marangoni sur-
face elasticity modulus is practically linear, however the
results should not be overestimated since it refers to the
insoluble behaviour of the fully established adsorption
layer.
Although in two-phase systems several techniques
have been used to measure foam stability, their imme-
diate application in three-phases systems might not be
possible since the presence of solids also affect the sta-
bility of the foam (Johansson and Pugh, 1992; Pugh,
1996; Aveyard et al., 1994). In this regard, some work
has been carried out to investigate the effect of solids
upon the stability of froths and their selectivity.
Gourram-Badri et al. (1997) studied the coalescence
of bubbles in the pulp zone of flotation cells. They
performed experiments at laboratory scale under similar
conditions to those found in flotation machines to study
the coalescence of two mineralised bubbles and the role
that flotation frother MIBC plays in flotation selectivity.
They developed a method to quantify the ability of
MIBC to reduce bubble coalescence and to determine
the effect of solids in the foaminess of the reagent. They
determined the foaminess of the MIBC by measuring
the total froth height, including the solution and the
froth zone, as a function of time. They found that the
total froth height increased with time and after 2 min it
reached a steady-state value that varied with frother
concentration. These findings were similar to those
previously reported by Johansson and Pugh (1992).
Gourram-Badri et al. (1997) also found that the total
foam height depends upon the presence of particles in
the foam, being lower with particles. This difference in
height increases as the MIBC concentration increases.
Also, they found that more hydrophobic particles do
not produce a stable steady-state height.
Cho and Laskowski (2002) studied the effect of flo-
tation frothers on bubble size and its implications for
foam stability. Following the procedure previously in-
troduced by Malysa et al. (1981), they carried out ex-
periments to measure the dynamic foamability index in a
two-phase system using different frothers and spargers.
They found that, at the frother concentrations typically
found in froth flotation systems, the bubble size is not
affected by variations in the frother concentration if
bubbles cannot collide with each other. They measured
the bubble size in the bulk liquid using the UCT bubble
size analyser (Tucker et al., 1994) and to determine the
degree of coalescence in the system. From their results,
when the frother concentration reaches a particular
value, called the critical coalescence concentration (CCC),
bubble coalescence can be totally prevented. They cor-
relate the CCC values and the dynamic foamability
index, and propose that is determined by bubble co-
alescence. Finally, they propose that foam stability is
under dynamic conditions is determined by bubble co-
alescence.
Tao et al. (2000) directly related froth stability to
flotation performance with a series of coal column flo-
tation experiments. They manipulated gas flowrate,
wash water flowrate, froth height, wash water addition
point and feed solids concentration. They quantified the
froth stability by the water recovery in the froth prod-
uct. They found that an increase in the air flowrate
stabilizes the froth, however operating at superficial gas
velocities higher than 2 cm/s results in a significant in-
crease in the ash recovery due to non-selective entrain-
ment. They also found that coal particles could stabilize
or destabilize the froth, depending on their size and
concentration.
In this work, a dynamic test is used to measure froth
stability. It is worth noting that the dynamic test comes
closest to the dynamics of a real flotation system, for
several reasons: the air is continuously introduced in to
the solution, the foam starts forming at the bottom and
then moves upwards. The liquid drains downwards so
that the quality of the foam varies with height. The top
of the foam then reaches the breaking condition and the
top layer collapses. Those similar features make the
dynamic method more likely to give a true indication of
the froth stability during a flotation test. Besides, the
method is more reproducible, accurate and convenient
to apply (Iglesias et al., 1995).
The standard method originally proposed by Bik-
erman (1973) has been used extensively, modified and
applied to many different areas. It has been used to
study the influence of particle size on mineralised
froth stability (Johansson and Pugh, 1992), to measure
the foaminess of food products like wines (Gallart
et al., 1997), and to assess the effect of surfactant
structure on its foaming properties (Beneventi et al.,
2001).
The dynamic foam stability (R) is expressed as (Bik-
erman, 1973):
 N. Barbian et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116
Vf Hmax A
R¼ ¼ ð1Þ
Q Q
where R is the dynamic froth stability, Vf is the foam
volume, Q is the gas volumetric flowrate and Hmax and A
are the total foam height and the cross-sectional area of
the vessel, respectively.
3. Experimental system
A modified Bikerman’s test was used in this work to
measure dynamic froth stability. Experiments were
carried out using a modified Denver laboratory flotation
machine and a specially constructed cell designed to
hold up a pulp volume of approximately 3 l. The agi-
tator was lengthened from 34 to 64 cm, and operated at
a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The flotation cell is shown
in Fig. 1. One side of the cell was made up of Perspex
weir bars, each about 2 cm high. These bars could be
removed or replaced at will, allowing control of the
height of the overflow weir from 6 to 50 cm. The column
is 14 cm wide and 18 cm long, with a cross-sectional area
A of 252 cm2 .
The ore used for the experiments was a Platinum
Group Metal ore from Amandelbult (Merensky reef),
South Africa. The particle size distribution was 40%
passing 74 lm. The experimental conditions and re-
agents used match the industrial flotation conditions.
The manipulated variables that affect the froth in a
flotation cell considered in this study were air flowrate
(Q) and frother concentration (C). The air flowrate was
varied from 2 to 10 l/min at constant frother concen-
tration. Frother concentration was varied from 30 to 60
g/ton.
Adjustable perspex bars
Flotation machine
Fig. 1. Modified flotation cell used for the dynamic stability tests with
a clear front wall that allows visualization of the froth.
1113
The experiments were carried out as standard batch
flotation experiments. Weir bars were added so that the
froth column did not overflow. The total equilibrium
height of the froth, and the associated froth volume were
determined for a given frother concentration as a func-
tion of the air flowrate. Also flotation experiments were
performed at different froth heights, which were selected
as a fraction of the maximum froth height previously
measured, to determine the fraction of air overflowing
the cell under those conditions.
4. Results and discussion
The equilibrium volume of froth Vf was measured as
function of the air flowrate Q and frother concentration
C. Fig. 2 shows the relationship between equilibrium
volume of the froth and the air flowrate at four different
frother concentrations.
It can be seen that at low surfactant concentrations
(30 and 40 g/ton), the equilibrium froth volume gener-
ally increases when increasing air flowrate. However, at
high frother concentrations the froth stops growing,
tends to collapse and does not further increase in vol-
ume with an increase of aeration.
Fig. 3 shows the equilibrium froth volume with
frother concentration at different air flowrates. The
froth volume generally increases when increasing the
frother concentration however, as mentioned before at
high aeration rates the equilibrium volume is lower as
frother concentration increases. This indicates that there
are conditions beyond which the froth is not stable.
9
8
Equilibrium froth volume [L]
6
4
C = 30 g/ton
C = 40 g/ton
3 C = 50 g/ton
C = 60 g/ton
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Air flowrate [L/min]
Fig. 2. Equilibrium froth volume as function of air flowrate for dif-
ferent frother concentrations.
1114 N. Barbian et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116

9 When the rate of froth growth is recorded, it is ob-

served that the froth volume increases exponentially
with time until it reaches the maximum height or equi-
8
librium volume. If the cross-sectional area of the cell is
constant, the volume and the height of the froth are
Equilibrium froth volume [L]

7 equivalent measures. For clarity, it is more convenient

to show the rate of growth in terms of froth height. Fig.
5 shows the height of the froth varying with time for
6
different air flowrate at constant frother concentration
(50 g/ton).
5 It is clear that in all cases the rate of froth growth is
exponential with time and increases more rapidly as the
air flowrate increases. The froth height varies with time
4 Q = 2 L/min
Q = 4 L/min as:
Q = 6 L/min
H ¼ Hmax ð1
et=s Þ ð2Þ
3 Q = 8 L/min
Q = 10 L/min where Hmax is the equilibrium height and s is the char-
acteristic average bubble lifetime, previously defined as
2
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 the dynamic stability factor R. Similar results are ob-
Frother concentration [g/ton] tained for different frother concentrations in which, as
shown in Fig. 3, the maximum froth height (Hmax ) is
Fig. 3. Equilibrium froth volume as function of frother concentration lower at lower frother concentration.
for different air flowrates.
In previous work the fraction of air that overflows the
weir as unbroken bubbles (a) has been used as a measure
The dynamic stability factor (R) (Eq. 1) correspond- of froth stability (Ventura-Medina and Cilliers, 2002).
ing to the previous results is shown in Fig. 4. It is ob- Batch flotation experiments were also carried out vary-
served that as the air flowrate increases the dynamic ing the ratio of the froth depth to the maximum froth
stability factor decreases. At low frother concentration height (H =Hmax  1, 0.8 and 0.2) in order to measure a
R is lower than at higher frother concentration, however (complementary to the bubble bursting fraction: 1
a)
as the air flowrate is increased the value of R rapidly and to relate it to the maximum froth height (Hmax )
decreases. These results indicate that froth stability is previously measured under the same conditions.
significantly affected by the operating variables.

3 30

C = 30 g/ton
C = 40 g/ton
25
2.5 C = 50 g/ton
C = 60 g/ton

20
Froth height [cm]

2
Σ [min]

15

Frother concentration 50 g/ton

1.5
10 Q = 2 L/min
Q = 4 L/min
Q = 10 L/min
Q = 2 L/min Fitted
1 5 Q = 4 L/min Fitted
Q = 10 L/min Fitted

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 100 200 300 400 500
Air flowrate [L/min] Time [s]

Fig. 4. Dynamic stability factor (R) as function of air flowrate for Fig. 5. Equilibrium froth height as function of time for different air
different frother concentration. flowrate at 50 g/ton of frother concentration.
 N. Barbian et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116 1115

The fraction of air overflowing the weir was estimated 1

by image processing (Sweet et al., 1999; De Jager et al.,
2003) and was averaged over the first 30 s of overflow.
Figs. 6 and 7 show the relationship between the fraction
0.8
of air overflowing the weir and different froth height

Fraction of air overflowing (α)

ratios at 40 and 50 g/ton frother concentration respec-
tively. It is clear from the results obtained that a and the
froth height ratio (H =Hmax ) are positively correlated. 0.6
The strong correlation between the fraction of air
overflowing the weir and the froth height ratio leads us
to postulate that the expected fraction of air overflowing 0.4
the weir, b, is related to the difference between the
maximum and the actual froth heights, the froth sta-
bility factor s (or R) and the air flowrate: Frother concentration 50 g/ton
0.2
ðHmax
H Þ=s Q = 4 L/min
b¼ ¼ ð1
H =Hmax Þ ð3Þ Q = 10 L/min
Q=A
where Hmax and s are the characteristic values obtained 0
from the froth growth rate curve (Eq. 2) and Q and A are 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
the air flowrate introduced to the cell and the cross- H/Hmax
sectional area of the cell respectively. H is the actual
Fig. 7. Measured fraction of air overflowing the weir (a) as function of
froth height at which the experiment is carried out. the ratio H =Hmax at 50 g/ton frother concentration and 4 and 10 l/min
Figs. 8 and 9 represent the relationship between the aeration rate.
actual fraction of air overflowing the weir (a) and the
fraction of air that is expected to overflow (b) at given
operating conditions. It is clear that a and b are very tween stability (a) and performance (recovery and
similar in all cases, which indicates that a could be grade) is known then it is possible to adjust the froth
predicted using the information obtained from the froth height to produce the best stability and performance.
growth rate curve (Hmax and s). Therefore, for a given set Such a flotation model incorporating a has previously
of operating conditions knowing Hmax allows prediction been described (Ventura-Medina and Cilliers, 2002).
of b and consequently a (Eq. (3)). If a relationship be-

1 1
Frother concentration 40 g/ton

0.8 0.8
H/Hmax ~ 0.20
Fraction of air overflowing (α)

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

Frother concentration 40 g/ton H/Hmax ~0.80

0.2 0.2
Q = 4 L/min Q = 4 L/min
Q = 10 L/min Q = 10 L/min

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
H/H max β

Fig. 6. Measured fraction of air overflowing the weir (a) as function of Fig. 8. Measured fraction of air overflowing the weir (a) as function of
the ratio H=Hmax at 40 g/ton frother concentration and 4 and 10 l/min the fraction of air that is expected to overflow (b) at 40 g/ton frother
aeration rate, Amandelbult ore. concentration and 4 and 10 l/min aeration rate.
1116 N. Barbian et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 1111–1116
1 known it is possible to manipulate the froth height to
Frother concentration 50 g/ton
0.8 H/Hmax ~ 0.20
0.6
0.4
H/Hmax ~0.80
0.2
Q = 4 L/min
Q = 10 L/min
0 De Jager, G., Hatfields, D.P., Bradshaw, D.J., Francis, J.J., Rapacz,
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
β v15597. Smartfroth, Adams and Adams Patent Attorney, Pretoria,
Fig. 9. Measured fraction of air overflowing the weir (a) as function of
the fraction of air that is expected to overflow (b) at 50 g/ton frother
concentration and 4 and 10 l/min aeration rate.
5. Conclusions
The dynamic stability factor, defined as ratio of the
volume of froth to air flowrate in the system, was used
to measure froth stability in minerals flotation systems
at laboratory scale. The rate of froth growth and the
maximum equilibrium height reached were measured for
different air flowrates and frother concentrations. The
maximum equilibrium froth height was found to in-
crease when increasing air flowrate and frother con-
centration, however at high aeration rates and frother
concentration the maximum equilibrium height de-
creases. Under these conditions, the froth is no longer
stable and collapses. Consequently, it was also found
that the dynamic stability factor is affected by air flow-
rate and frother concentration.
The maximum equilibrium height and dynamic sta-
bility factor were used to predict the expected fraction of
air overflowing below the maximum froth height. The
actual fraction of air overflowing the weir, measured by
image processing, was determined for different froth
heights and air flowrates. It was found that the actual
fraction of air overflowing the weir is very similar to the
fraction of air expected to overflow when operating at
froth heights below the maximum. These findings indi-
cate that if a relationship between the fraction of air
overflowing the weir and flotation performance is
produce the optimal froth stability and flotation per-
formance.
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