Literature quest and survey on graphite beneficiation through flotation

Graphite is a promising and futuristic mineral that is envisaged to cause not only technological shift but also cultural shift in the days to come. Besides several applications, it is considered one of the critical raw materials for electric vehicle battery that has accelerated recent surge in the demand. However, the beneficiation of graphite ore is pivotal as it accounts for the quality, market price and suitability for various technological applications including energy storage in lithium-ion batteries. Since graphite is spontaneously hydrophobic (like coal) in nature, flotation is the common and apt technique for beneficiation of graphite ore. In this study, the research and development on the graphite beneficiation techniques especially flotation reported by several learned research groups in the world has been discussed and presented. The study provides updated insights on the state of the art and helps to understand the gaps which needs to be addressed to devise improved flotation methodology. The extent to which suitability of some orthodox coal flotation techniques towards graphite beneficiation also come to the fore. Based on several significant reported beneficiation methods, a master flow sheet for graphite beneficiation has been developed and presented that comprises various modules capable of dealing with wide range of graphite ores. The significance of this study is not only limited to the critical discussions pertaining to the preliminary and necessary flotation step of graphite ore but also speaks about the world-wide preparedness and prescribes opportunity to join the mission mode programme of energy storage.