Effect of High-Voltage Nanosecond Pulses on the Structural Defects and Technological Properties of Naturally Occurring Dielectric Minerals

To demonstrate the effectiveness of applying pulsed energy impacts in the processing of refractory tungsten (tungsten molybdenum, scheelite quartz) ores, the composition change mechanism was examined of the structural defects of the crystal lattice and optical spectroscopic properties of scheelite, fluorite, and calcite, as well as of the structural chemical, mechanical (microhardness), electrical, physicochemical, and process (flotation) properties of calcium minerals and quartz, when exposed to high-power (high-voltage) nanosecond electromagnetic pulses (HPEMP). With this aim, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, infrared Fourier spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning probe microscopy, methods based on Hammett indicator adsorption from aqueous media, electrophoretic light scattering (zeta potential), microhardness, contact angle measurements, and other methods were applied. The non-thermal effects of HPEMP caused a change in the concentration (content) of structural defects, softening of the surface (a relative decrease in the microhardness of the minerals by 30–67%), directional changes in the electrical properties and hydrophobicity of the surface, as well as an increase in the flotation activity of calcium minerals by 5–12% and a decrease in the flotation ability of quartz by 7–11%.