Mineral-collector interaction

Perxanthate ion may also be implicated [59]. Even today, the exact nature of the surface reaction is clouded [59, 79-81], although Gaudin [82] notes that the role of oxygen is very determinative in the chemistry of the mineral-collector interaction. 

Abstract This chapter reviews the development of froth flotation achieved in the past one hundred years and accounts for the achievements of the theory of flotation of sulphide minerals in four aspects, which are the natural flotahility of sulphide minerals, the role of oxygen in the flotation of sulphide minerals, the interaction of collectors with sulphide minerals, the effect of the semi-conductor property of sulphide minerals and electrochemical behaviors in the grinding system. Furthermore, the purpose of this book is revealed in the end. 

Suitable collectors can render hydrophilic minerals such as silicas or hydroxides hydrophobic. An ideal collector is a substance that attaches with the help of a functional group to the solid (mineral) surface often by ligand exchange or electrostatic interaction, and exposes hydrophobic groups toward the water. Thus, amphi-patic substances (see Chapter 4.5), such as alkyl compounds with C to C18 chains are widely used with carboxylates, or amine polar heads. Surfactants that form hemicelles on the surface are also suitable. For sulfide minerals mercaptanes, monothiocarbonates and dithiophosphates are used as collectors. Xanthates or their oxidation products, dixanthogen (R - O - C - S -)2 are used as collectors for... 

In the 2nd period ranging from the 1930s to the 1950s, basic research on flotation was conducted widely in order to understand the principles of the flotation process. Taggart and co-workers (1930, 1945) proposed a chemical reaction hypothesis, based on which the flotation of sulphide minerals was explained by the solubility product of the metal-collector salts involved. It was plausible at that time that the floatability of copper, lead, and zinc sulphide minerals using xanthate as a collector decreased in the order of increase of the solubility product of their metal xanthate (Karkovsky, 1957). Sutherland and Wark (1955) paid attention to the fact that this model was not always consistent with the established values of the solubility products of the species involved. They believed that the interaction of thio-collectors with sulphides should be considered as adsorption and proposed a mechanism of competitive adsorption between xanthate and hydroxide ions, which explained the Barsky empirical relationship between the upper pH limit of flotation and collector concentration. Gaudin (1957) concurred with Wark s explanation of this phenomenon. Du Rietz... 

Therefore, it has been concluded that the reduction of oxygen as a cathodic process was essential for the electrochemical reaction on sulphide surface and was different for various sulphide minerals. The reduction of oxygen affected the oxidation of sulphide minerals and the interactions with collectors, which had a pronounced influence on flotation behavior of sulphide minerals (Ahmed, 1978 Buckley et al., 1985, 1995 Woods, 1984,1994 Hu et al., 2004 Yu et al., 2004a Zhang et al., 2004a, d). 

Interactions between Collector and Sulphide Minerals and Mixed Potential Model... 

Ever since the mixed potential model has been proposed, the interaction mechanism between thio-collector and sulphide minerals has been usually explained on the basis of this model. The principle of the mixed potential model can be schematically shown in Fig. 4.1. Here, E respectively... 

Although there have been a lot of investigations on the interactions of sulphide minerals with thio-collectors in terms of the mixed potential principle, there are still much controversy about the products formed on a sulphide mineral in the presence of a collector in different conditions. In the following sections, the effects of potential on the flotation and formation of surface products of many kinds of sulphide minerals will be introduced based on the results of flotation, electrochemical measurement, surface analyses and thermodynamic calculations. 

Abstract The flotation mechanism is discussed in the terms of corrosive electrochemistry in this chapter. In corrosion the disolution of minerals is called self-corrosion. And the reaction between reagents and minerals is treated as inhibition of corrosion. The stronger the ability of inhibiting the corrosion of minerals, the stronger the reagents react with minerals. The two major tools implied in the research of electrochemical corrosion are polarization curves and EIS (electrochemistry impedance spectrum). With these tools, pyrite, galena and sphalerite are discussed under different conditions respectively, including interactions between collector with them and the difference of oxidation of minerals in NaOH solution and in lime. And the results obtained from this research are in accordance with those from other conventional research. With this research some new information can be obtained while it is impossible for other methods. 

In flotation, when sphalerite is activated by Cu or Fe the ZnS surface will exhibit good reactivity to organic collector. Our calculation shows that when the surface is doped by transition metal ions, the surface ions will be rendered more ionic property, which benefits the interaction between the mineral surface and the collector anions. It gives more profoimd explanation for Cu activated behavior to ZnS. 

Buckley, A. N., 1994. A survey of the application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to flotation research. Colloids Surf, 93 159 - 172 Buckley, A. N. and Woods, R., 1995. Identifying chemisorption in the interaction of thiol collectors with sulphide minerals by XPS adsorption of xanthate on silver and silver sulphide. Colloids and Surfaces A Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 104,2 - 3 Buckley, A. N. and Woods, R., 1996. Relaxation of the lead-deficient sulphide surface layer on oxidized galena. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 26(9) 899 - 907 Buckley, A. N. and Woods, R., 1997. Chemisorption—the thermodynamically favored process in the interaction of thiol collectors with sulphide minerals. Inert. J. Miner. Process, 51 15-26... 

The flotation process is applied on a large scale in the concentration of a wide variety of the ores of copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, nickel, tin, molybdenum, antimony, etc., which can be in the form of oxides, silicates, sulfides, or carbonates. It is also used to concentrate the so-called non-metallic minerals that are required in the chemical industry, such as CaF2, BaS04, sulfur, Ca3(P03)2, coal, etc. Flotation relies upon the selective conversion of water-wetted (hydrophilic) solids to non-wetted (hydrophobic) ones. This enables the latter to be separated if they are allowed to contact air bubbles in a flotation froth. If the surface of the solids to be floated does not possess the requisite hydrophobic characteristic, it must be made to acquire the required hydrophobicity by the interaction with, and adsorption of, specific chemical compounds known as collectors. In separations from complex mineral mixtures, additions of various modifying agents may be required, such as depressants, which help to keep selected minerals hydrophilic, or activators, which are used to reinforce the action of the collector. Each of these functions will be discussed in relation to the coordination chemistry involved in the interactions between the mineral surface and the chemical compound. 

A number of attempts have been made to understand the mechanism of the adsorption of chelates on oxide minerals. For instance, IR spectroscopic studies10 have indicated the presence of a basic monosalicylaldoximate copper complex as well as the bis-salicylaldoximate complex on the surface of malachite (basic copper carbonate) treated with salicylaldoxime. However, other workers4 have shown that the copper chelate is partitioned between the surface and dispersed within the solution, and that a dissolution-precipitation process is responsible for the formation of the chelate. Research into the chemistry of the interaction of chelating collectors with mineral surfaces is still in its infancy, and it can be expected that future developments will depend on a better understanding of the surface coordination chemistry involved. 

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