Pulp Potential Dependence of Collector Flotation and Hydrophobic Entity

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. 

1 Pulp Potential Dependence of Collector Flotation and Hydrophobic Entity 

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Abstract In the beginning, the mixed potential model, which is generally used to explain the adsorption of collectors on the sulphide minerals, is illustrated. And the collector flotation of several kinds of minerals such as copper sulphide minerals, lead sulphide minerals, zinc sulphide minerals and iron sulphide minerals is discussed in the aspect of pulp potential and the nature of hydrophobic entity is concluded from the dependence of flotation on pulp potential. In the following section, the electrochemical phase diagrams for butyl xanthate/water system and chalcocite/oxygen/xanthate system are all demonstrated from which some useful information about the hydrophobic species are obtained. And some instrumental methods including UV analysis, FTIR analysis and XPS analysis can also be used to investigated sulphide mineral-thio-collector sytem. And some examples about that are listed in the last part of this chapter. 

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