Abstract: Improvement to the separation and recovery of solids from liqiuds containing them, and using a ionic flotation process, implementing an installation characterized in that it comprises at least a vat (1) for pretreating the solution to be treated for the insolubilization of the solid to be recovered and the formation of a suspension maintained under stirring conditions (stirrer 2), at least a flotation cell (5) supplied with said suspension, at least a device (4) provided between said vat (1) and said flotation cell (5) adapted to generate within the cell a rising non-turbulent stream intended to convey the desired solid towards the surface of said suspension while maintaining at said surface a calm area for the accumulation of said solid and at least one means for the recovery of said solid (6-7).

Abstract: The invention concerns the recovery of heavy metals from concentrated solutions.The process comprises complexing the metals with an organophosphorous complexing agent and recovering the metallic complex by sedimentation, filtration, flotation and the like.The process can be used to recover uranium and rare earths from phosphoric acid solutions.

Abstract: A process for the removal of cadmium contained in wet-process phosphoric acid by flotation by means of a cadmium-collector anionic surface active agent and an injected gas in the presence of other impurities including iron and possibly uranium which is characterized in that, in order to improve the removal of cadmium, the iron contained in the phosphoric acid in the trivalent state is reduced to the divalent state before the cadmium collector is introduced into the medium to be purified by flotation.The collector agent is selected from the group of dithiophosphoric acid esters and the alkali metal salts thereof.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an enrichment process, by flotation, of sedimentary ores containing phosphate, and comprising a gangue of the carbonated type and in some cases a gangue of the siliceous type, wherein an amphoteric product of formula ##STR1## is at least used as collecting agent, in which formula: R is of form R.sub.1 or R.sub.1 O--, R.sub.1 being a saturated or unsaturated alkyl radical, either linear or branched, and comprising between 5 and 19 carbon atoms.R' and R" are H or --Aq--Z, bearing in mind that for R", when n is greater than 1, there can be in the molecule simultaneously radicals H and radicals --Aq--Z.Ap and Aq are polymethylene chains containing between 1 and 4 carbon atoms,n is a number equal to O or an integer between 1 and 5,Z is a radical selected from the carboxylic, the sulphonic and the phosphonic radicals, and in obtaining the flotation of the carbonated gangue by a reverse flotation in "basic medium .