Rubidium and cesium are critical strategic elements, and their development and utilization are of great significance. In this study, a magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) adsorbent was prepared and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adsorption performance of the adsorbent for Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ in solution was investigated. The results showed that the adsorbent exhibited high adsorption capacities of 2.83 mol/g for Rb⁺ and 4.37 mol/g for Cs⁺. In simulated brine, the adsorbent demonstrated excellent selectivity for Cs⁺. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. The primary adsorption mechanism was an ion exchange. The development of this adsorbent holds significant promise for the extraction of rubidium and cesium from liquid resources.

This study centers on the adsorption–flotation coupling extraction of rubidium (Rb⁺) and cesium (Cs⁺) within a titanium silicate (CTS)–cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) system, systematically investigating the impacts of pH, aeration rate, CTAB concentration, and flotation time on the extraction efficiency of these elements. Single-factor experiments revealed that the optimal flotation efficiency was achieved when the pH ranged from 6 to 10, the aeration rate was set at 1000 r/min, the CTAB concentration was 0.2 mmol/L, and the flotation duration was 18 min. Under these conditions, the adsorption capacities for Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ were recorded as 128.32 mg/g and 185.47 mg/g, respectively. Employing the response surface optimization method to analyze the interactive effects of these four factors, we found that their order of significance was as follows: pH > aeration rate > CTAB concentration > flotation time. The optimized parameters were determined as pH 8.64, bubble formation rate 1121 r/min, CTAB concentration 0.26 mmol/L, and flotation time 18.47 min. Under these refined conditions, the flotation efficiency for both CTS–Rb and CTS–Cs surpassed any single-factor experiment scenario, with the flotation efficiencies for Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ reaching 95.05% and 94.82%, respectively. This methodology effectively extracts Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ from low-concentration liquid systems, while addressing the challenges of solid–liquid separation for powdered adsorption materials. It holds significant theoretical and practical reference value for enhancing the separation processes of low-grade valuable components and boosting overall separation performance.

An eco-friendly flotation process is of great significance to the green and sustainable development of the mining industry. The purpose of this study is to improve the traditional flotation process. Novel reagents, alkyl ether amine (Alkyl carbon chains with a length of 12 are simply referred to as DOEA) as collector and carboxymethyl starch (CMS) as depressant, were used for flotation uAlkyl ether aminender lower temperature, which did not need to heat the tonnage of pulp and reduced the energy consumption. The micro-flotation tests were carried out with three main minerals (quartz, hematite and magnetite) contained in Qidashan (Anshan, China) iron ore at room temperature in winter (18 °C). The bench-scale tests were carried out with flotation feed (mixture of strong magnetic concentrate and weak magnetic concentrate) from the Qidashan flotation workshop at room temperature (18 °C). And the industrial tests were carried out in the flotation workshop of Qidashan Concentrator of Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. The temperature of the pulp was 17.5~19.7 °C. The results of micro-flotation tests showed that the floatability of the three minerals under the DOEA system decreased in the following order: quartz > hematite > magnetite. The addition of CMS increased the floatability difference between quartz and ferric oxide minerals. DOEA and CMS could effectively separate quartz and ferric oxide minerals at room temperature in winter. The feasibility of the application of DOEA and CMS in Qidashan iron ore was verified by bench-scale tests, and the pulp circulation process was simulated by locked-cycle tests. The results of bench-scale tests showed that under the conditions of CMS dosage 200 g/t, DOEA dosage 150 g/t, and pulp temperature 18 °C, the iron grade of flotation concentrate was 66.54% and iron recovery was 78.37%. The industrial test results showed that the modified flotation process could continuously output qualified iron concentrate without heating the pulp. Compared with the on-site flotation process, it was found that the modified flotation process could save USD 6,460,100 per year. This technology could significantly reduce the energy consumption of iron ore reverse flotation, reduce the carbon emissions generated by heating tons of pulp, and achieve cleaner production.