Adsorption mechanism of sodium oleate and styryl phosphonic acid on rutile and amphibole surfaces
(1. School of Resources Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China;
2. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
2. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
Abstract: A reagent combination of sodium oleate (NaOl) and salicyl hydroximic acid was employed as the roughing and scavenging collectors, whereas styryl phosphoric acid (SPA) and octanol were employed as the cleaning collectors. Results of bench-scale flotation demonstrate that the dosage of SPA can be reduced by about 80%, and that a better flotation index can be obtained using the proposed reagent system. The results of adsorption amount and contact angle measurements indicate that the rutile surface adsorbed not only a large amount of residual NaOl but also SPA and a small amount of NaOl remained on the amphibole surface in strong acidic solution. The hydrophobic difference between rutile and amphibole surfaces was therefore amplified in cleaning, and their further separation became much easier consequently.
Key words: rutile; amphibole; flotation separation; combined collector; synergistic adsorption mechanism