**2. Background**

Raw material demand has steadily increased on a global scale as a result of demographic and economic developments. If current trends in raw material use intensify, Industrial technologies will be unable to meet this growing demand. As a result, it is necessary to highlight that raw material (CDs present case) production must be supported as a strategic necessity, requiring the development of new technologies that can help meet this upcoming raw material demand. An additional challenge for the mining industry is that, as the world's mineral reserves are exhausted and demand for metallic raw materials rises, it will be designed to process ever greater amounts of low-quality mined material to manufacture concentrates in adequate quantities to meet current and potential demand. As a result of these requirements, minerals trapped in tailings ponds have started to receive interest as a potential source of raw materials, as many existing ore bodies near depletion. As a result, the mineral processing industry was interested in finding new solutions for the treatment of tailings to reprocess. It's worth remembering that the global amount of tailings was enormous, and if an available processing method could be developed, this could translate into a massive feed stream for the metals industry [11]. One of the most commonly used enrichment methods in mineral processing is froth flotation separation. The flotation separation is used in the processing of metals like copper, gold, and platinum to produce concentrates that can be refined economically. Efforts are currently being made to better understand the various phenomenon like frother phenomenon, adsorption etc. and how to regulate it, but no genuinely innovative frother method has been proposed, as most studies are focusing on CDs [12, 13]. As soon as synthetic polymers (CDs) were introduced into mineral processing, combinations with cellulosic materials became available and the importance of CDs came to light.

Selective depressants were essential components of any flotation reagent scheme that aims to separate various minerals selectively. Inorganic depressants have been used often. Many of these depressants, especially those used in differential sulphide flotation, are highly toxic and unsuitable for use in the environment. Sodium cyanide, sodium dichromate, sulfur dioxide, arsenic trioxide, phosphorous

*Application of Cellulose Derivatives in Mineral Processing DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97127*

pentasulfide, and other depressants were examples. Since some of these inorganic depressants were reducing agents, they can be oxidized in aerated flotation pulps. The use of a lot of reagents was normally the result. Polysaccharides, on the other hand, were non-toxic and biodegradable natural organic polymers. They're much less expensive and less prone to oxidation than inorganic depressants. These characteristics not only make them perfect flotation reagents, but they have also shown promise as selective depressants in a variety of differential mineral flotation systems. For nearly 70 years, cellulose derivatives (CDs) and polysaccharides/CDs have been used in the mineral industry as depressants for iron oxides, naturally hydrophobic minerals, and rock-forming gangue minerals. They've also been reported to be selective in sulphide mineral differential flotation [14].
