IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jresou/v13y2024i6p81-d1414713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Biosurfactants: An Overview of Their Properties, Production, and Application in Mineral Flotation

Author

Listed:
  • Carolina Rossini Simões

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Matheus Willian Pereira da Silva

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Rodrigo Fernandes Magalhães de Souza

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Ronald Roja Hacha

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Antônio Gutierrez Merma

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Maurício Leonardo Torem

    (Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22453-900, RJ, Brazil)

  • Flávia Paulucci Cianga Silvas

    (Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Ouro Preto 35402-206, MG, Brazil)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolina Rossini Simões & Matheus Willian Pereira da Silva & Rodrigo Fernandes Magalhães de Souza & Ronald Roja Hacha & Antônio Gutierrez Merma & Maurício Leonardo Torem & Flávia Paulucci Cianga Silva, 2024. "Biosurfactants: An Overview of Their Properties, Production, and Application in Mineral Flotation," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:13:y:2024:i:6:p:81-:d:1414713
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/13/6/81/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/13/6/81/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:13:y:2024:i:6:p:81-:d:1414713. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.