SURFACE TENSION OF A SOLUTION OF COLLECTORS AS A PERFORMANCE MEASURE OF THEIR PHYSISORPTION
S. A. Kondrat’ev
Chinakal Institute of Mining, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: Flotation, collector physisorption, flotation activity criterion
Abstract
The causes of coincidence between pH of a solution of collectors, at which the maximal recovery of a target component is reached, and pH of the solution with minimal surface tension are discussed. Based on the physisorption mechanism of a collector, the floatability connection with the surface tension of the solution is explained. It is shown that extraction of ion-molecular associates from the solution and the presumptive increase in the mineral surface hydrophobicity are not an explanation of the increased recovery. The floatability improvement is achieved via removal of the kinetic constraint of the flotation contact by surface-active species of collectors. The increase in the collecting activity of a blend of collectors is explained by the synergetic effect of the decreased surface tension and reduced induction time. The criterion of flotation activity of a physisorbable collector is proposed.
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