The adsorption of particles to bubbles is essential to separating the minerals from the slurry, but the minerals must be purified from the additives used in separation, such as the collectors, frothers, and modifiers. The product of the cleaning, or desorption process, is known as the cleaner concentrate.
The detachment of a particle and bubble requires adsorption bond cleavage driven by shear forces. Depending on the flotation cell type, shear forces are applied by a variety of mechanical systems. Among the most common are impellers and mixers. Some systems combine the functionalities of these components by placing them at key locations where they can take part in multiple froth flotation mechanisms. Cleaning cells also take advantage of gravitational forces to improve separation efficiency.
Desorption itself is a chemical phenomenon where compounds are just physically attached to each other without having any chemical bond.