The quest for sustainable mining processes has directed research towards environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional beneficiation practices, with biosurfactants emerging as a viable option due to their lower environmental impact. This study reviews the application of biosurfactants as bioreagents in mineral flotation, exploring their production, their mechanisms of action, and the sustainability benefits they offer. Methods include a decade-long text mining analysis of relevant literature, utilizing software tools like Zotero on platforms like Web of Science to extract and analyze data. The results underscore the growing interest in biosurfactants over the last ten years, highlighting their increasing relevance in industrial applications such as mineral flotation, where they replace synthetic surfactants. Particularly, biosurfactants have shown effectiveness in enhancing the froth flotation process, leading to more efficient mineral recovery while mitigating environmental harm. In conclusion, the adoption of biosurfactants in mineral processing not only aligns with sustainability goals but also demonstrates potential improvements in operational efficiency, offering a dual benefit of environmental protection and enhanced resource recovery.

Potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) is a very important compound, mostly used as nutrient for plant growth. Potassium sulfate production can be accomplished through the Mannheim process. For potassium bearing silicate minerals, such as glauconite, one alternative is acid leaching followed by selective precipitation and thermal decomposition of potassium alum (KAl(SO₄)₂). This chemical process is responsible for the formation of soluble K₂SO₄ and insoluble Al₂O₃, which can be later separated after solubilization in water and filtration. In this pyrometallurgical reaction, the temperature control is very important. Through the addition of a reducing agent, the decomposition temperature could be significantly reduced. In the present work, the thermal behavior of synthetic samples of hydrated potassium alum (KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O) is appreciated through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), both in the absence as well as in the presence of a reducing agent (charcoal) under inert atmosphere (nitrogen) and dynamic analysis. The addition of a stoichiometric amount of the reducing agent stimulated considerably the decomposition, which started at a lower temperature in comparison with the pure alum sample. Based on the XRD characterization of selected samples, it is suggested that the decomposition process should happen in at least two stages, with Al₂(SO₄)₃ as one of the intermediate reagents. After full decomposition, only Al₂O₃ and K₂SO₄ have been identified, as expected based on thermodynamic simulations. Finally, it was demonstrated that the K₂SO₄ formed could be totally transferred to aqueous solution after a solubilization carried out at 363 K for two hours; the remaining solid was characterized as pure aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃).