The entrainment of free hydrophilic (gangue) particles is evaluated as a function of the bubble size distribution, froth height, particle size and concentration of hydrophobic particles in the pulp phase. The entrainment of hydrophilic particles is characterized by a classification function (CF_i). The higher the value of CF_i, the greater the entrainment. It is shown that CF_i decreases with a decrease in the size of the particles that are floated. Similarly, it decreases with increasing concentration of hydrophobic particles in the pulp. The recovery of hydrophilic particles is found to be affected by the bubble size and froth height. The use of smaller bubbles and lower froth depth results in higher entrainment.
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