An apparatus and method for collecting mineral particles in the tailings is disclosed. The apparatus may take the form of a filter, a conveyor belt, a collection plate or an impeller configured to contact with tailings of a flotation process, before and/or after the tailings are discharged into a pond. The filter, conveyor belt, collection plate or impeller has a collection area or surface made of, or coated with, a synthetic material having a functional group, e.g., having an ionizing bond to attract the mineral particles of interest. Alternatively, the synthetic material has hydrophobic molecules to render the collection area hydrophobic. When the mineral particles of interest in the tailings are combined with collector molecules, the mineral particles of interest may also become hydrophobic. The hydrophobic mineral particles of interest are attracted to the hydrophobic collection area or surface. The filter, conveyor belt, collection plate and impeller may have a plurality of passage ways or synthetic beads in order to increase the contacting surfaces.

The present invention provides new techniques related to magnetically controllable and/or steerable froth for use in separation processes of mineral-bearing ore and bitumen. Apparatus is provided featuring a processor configured to contain a fluidic medium having a material-of-interest and also having a surfactant with magnetic properties so as to cause the formation of a froth layer that contains at least some of the material-of-interest and is magnetically responsive; and a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field and provide non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the processor. The material-of-interest may be mineral-bearing ore particles or bitumen. The processor includes a flotation tank, a primary separation vessel (PSV), or a pipe, including a tailings pipeline. The pipe has a non-magnetic pipe section, and the magnetic field generator includes a magnetic coil arranged in relation to non-magnetic pipe section to generate the magnetic field and provide the non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the pipe.

In one example, a method includes providing a pulp composed of a combination of particulate materials including particles of a target material. The pulp is mixed with a collector composed of anisotropic particles having at least two separate spatial domains that have different physiochemical properties, and the mixture of pulp and collector is fed into an aqueous solution containing air bubbles.

A system for buoyant-particle-assisted cell therapy includes and/or interfaces with a set of buoyant particles. Additionally or alternatively, the system can include and/or interface with a processing container, a set of processing materials (e.g., buffers, factors, solutions, etc.), and/or any other components. A method for buoyant-particle-assisted cell therapy includes processing the set of cells of interest. Additionally or alternatively, the method can include any or all of: preparing a set of buoyant particles; receiving a sample; and isolating a set of cells of interest from the sample.

The disclosure relates to a method for the beneficiation of an ore in a froth flotation process. The method comprises contacting an ore in a liquid medium to a collector composition comprising a plant-derived liquid decarboxylated rosin acid (DCR) collector. The DCR comprises 40 to 100 wt. % of tricyclic compounds having 18-20 carbon atoms, one or more CC groups, and m/z (mass/charge) value of 220-280. The DCR has an oxygen content of <5%, a density of 0.9 to 1.0 g/cm.sup.3 at 20 C., and an acid value of <50 mg KOH/g.

Disclosed herein is a process for recycling carbon and a hardly soluble alkaline earth sulfate from a leaching residue, including the steps of contacting in an alkaline earth metal contacting step a lithium battery material with an alkaline earth metal including material in a solvent yielding an alkaline earth metal contacted lithium battery material: leaching in a leaching step the alkaline earth metal contacted lithium battery material in sulfuric acid yielding a leaching solution and the leaching residue; separating in a solid-liquid separation step the leaching residue from the leaching solution; suspending in a suspension step the leaching residue in a solvent yielding a suspended leaching residue: contacting in a carrier contacting step the suspended leaching residue with a plurality of at least one type of a carrier body; and separating in a solid-solid separation step at least a part of the carrier-body agglomerates from the suspension.

The present invention provides new techniques related to magnetically controllable and/or steerable froth for use in separation processes of mineral-bearing ore and bitumen. Apparatus is provided featuring a processor configured to contain a fluidic medium having a material-of-interest and also having a surfactant with magnetic properties so as to cause the formation of a froth layer that contains at least some of the material-of-interest and is magnetically responsive; and a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field and provide non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the processor. The material-of-interest may be mineral-bearing ore particles or bitumen. The processor includes a flotation tank, a primary separation vessel (PSV), or a pipe, including a tailings pipeline. The pipe has a non-magnetic pipe section, and the magnetic field generator includes a magnetic coil arranged in relation to non-magnetic pipe section to generate the magnetic field and provide the non-mechanical mixing and steering/driving of the froth layer in the pipe.