What is feldspar？

Feldspar is the most important rock-forming mineral in surface rocks. It is also a common type of aluminum silicate rock-forming mineral containing calcium, sodium and potassium. There are many types of feldspar minerals, including potassium feldspar, albite, anorthite, etc. Rarer feldspars also include barium feldspar, amazonite, etc. According to different crystal structures and compositions, feldspar can also be subdivided into plagioclase, microcline, orthoclase, striated feldspar and other varieties.

These feldspars vary in color, form and transparency. They may be colorless, white, yellow, pink, green, gray or black, and may be transparent or translucent. Furthermore, the basic structural unit of feldspar is a tetrahedron, each of which shares an oxygen atom with another tetrahedron, forming a three-dimensional skeleton, with alkali or alkaline earth metal cations located in the large voids within these skeletons. 

What is feldspar used for?

Feldspar is widely used in many fields due to its unique physical and chemical properties

1. Architectural decoration field: Feldspar has high durability and aesthetics and can be used to decorate building exteriors and indoor walls. It is not only beautiful but also has a long service life.
2. Glass industry: Albite in feldspar can be used as a raw material for glass fiber. It has chemical corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance, and can significantly improve the quality and performance of glass materials. In addition, feldspar can also be used as a processing and forming aid for glass to improve the speed and accuracy of glass forming.
3. Ceramic industry: Feldspar is an important ceramic raw material and can be used to make ceramic products such as ceramic tiles, pottery, and porcelain. Feldspar has high high temperature resistance and strength, which can improve the toughness and hardness of ceramic products while improving their aesthetics.
4. Chemical industry: Feldspar is rich in aluminum and silicon elements and can be used as raw materials for manufacturing paints, coatings, fertilizers, rubber and other chemical products. In addition, feldspar can also be used as a fire retardant, filler, synergist, etc. to improve the quality and grade of chemical products.

How to use feldspar?

Feldspar processing technology mainly involves mining, crushing, grinding, screening and other steps. First, raw feldspar is obtained through mining, and then crushed and ground to achieve the desired particle size and shape. Next, the feldspar is sorted by particle size through screening to meet the needs of different fields. During the processing, attention must also be paid to protecting the feldspar to avoid contamination or damage.

How to sort feldspar?

Feldspar sorting technology is a process of classifying and purifying feldspar in raw ore according to different quality, particle size and chemical composition. Through sorting, feldspar products that meet the requirements of specific application fields can be obtained, improving resource utilization and product added value. At the same time, sorting technology can also help reduce the difficulty and cost of subsequent processing and improve production efficiency.

1. Main methods for traditional sorting of feldspar：Hand selection: Mainly suitable for better quality ores, such as feldspar mined from pegmatite. Workers manually sort according to differences in appearance, color, crystal shape, etc., and remove impurity minerals such as plagioclase, mica, and garnet.
   
   
2. Water washing, desliming and grading: For the feldspar in white weathered granite or feldspathic placer, impurities such as clay and fine mud are removed through water washing and desliming. Grading divides feldspar into different grades of products based on differences in particle size.

Advanced Technology for Feldspar Sorting：

1. Machine vision technology: The machine vision system replaces the traditional human eye for color sorting to achieve the separation of feldspar from gangue minerals such as muscovite and quartz. This technology has higher accuracy and stability and is suitable for automated sorting of large-scale production lines.
2. Magnetic separation technology: Separate by utilizing the magnetic differences between feldspar and impurities such as iron oxide, mica and garnet. Magnetic separation technology can effectively remove magnetic impurities in feldspar and improve the purity of the product.
3. Flotation technology: Based on the difference in surface properties between feldspar and gangue minerals such as mica and quartz, separation is achieved using flotation machines, flotation columns and other equipment. By adjusting the type and dosage of chemicals during the flotation process, the flotation effect can be optimized and the quality of feldspar products can be improved.

Our MINGDE AI sorting machine adopts advanced machine vision technology and uses artificial intelligence methods such as deep convolutional neural network (CNN).Analyze and process material images in the field of visible light optoelectronic sorting. During the training process, multi-dimensional features of materials are automatically extracted and established through CNN local connection, weight sharing, multi-convolution kernel and other methods to establish a database. The sorting effect is far better than traditional photoelectric sorting.

In short, feldspar as an important mineral resource, has wide applications in many fields. With the advancement of science and technology and economic development, the application fields of feldspar will be further expanded and deepened. At the same time, we should also strengthen the protection and rational utilization of feldspar resources to achieve sustainable development.