INTERFACIAL PHENOMENA

FROTH FLOTATION OF OXIDES

Flotation of oxides usually occurs with the help of either cationic collectors or oxhydryl collectors,
which are usually anionic collectors. The charging property of oxides is critical for specific adsorption
of these collectors on the surface of these oxides, rendering the surface hydrophobic. For example,
let´s say that it is desirable to float iron oxide, say hematite, from a solution. From Table 1.7, it can be
seen that pzc for this oxide could be pH 6.7. This mean that surface of the hematite will be charged
positively at pH less than 6.7 and it will be negatively charged when the pH is above 6.7. Therefore,
hemtite can be floated at pH 4, for example, with an anionic collector such as alkyl sulfonate. On the
other hand, if the pH of the solution is above 6.7 a cationic collector such as primary amine will float
the hematite particles.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF pk

Let´s look at the dissociation of the carboxylate group surfactant, RCOOH, in wáter.

Since pK =4.7 when solution pH is less than 4.7, the right side of the equation becomes negative
and, therefore, there will be more undissociated carboxylate group, RCOOH, than the dissociated
moiety, RCCOO-. As a result, at pH less than 4.7, the effect of this surfactant as an anionic
collector is diminished.
If a solution contains more than one mineral, such as a mixture of hemtite and silica whose pzc is pH
2, it is posible for selective flotation to separate one mineral from the other. For example, if the pH of
the solution is 5, hematite will be positively charged while silica will be negatively charged. Therefore,
either an anionic or cationic collector can be used to achieve the selective flotation of these two
minerals, depending on the pH of the solution. If a cationic collector is used, silica will be floated at pH
above 6.7, while an anionic collector will float hematite at pH below 6.7 and leave silica behind.

Surfactants such as amines used are used in froth flotation as collectors. The term collector describes
the organic species that usually have a functional group and a tail group, which is often a
hydrocarbon chain. The functional group can be charged either possitively or negatively. This group is
responsable for interaction with the solid particles, making the solid hydrophobic with the help of the
chain group.
There are two kinds of collectors in terms of the charge of the functional group of the collectors. They
are cationic collectors, of which the functional group is charged possitevely, and anionic collectors
with a negatively charged polar head. Examples of these collectors are given below.
FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOTATION OF OXIDES

EFFECT OF pzc.
As discussed earlier, the pzc of oxides is the key to separating these minerals from each other. For
example, a mixture of three oxides-silica (pzc, pH 2), hematite (pzc, pH 6.5), and alumina (pzc, pH 9.1)
is subject to separation in order to recover three individual oxides by froth flotation. If the solution pH is
adjusted to be greater than the pzc values for silica and hematite but less than the pzc value for
alumina say pH 8, the charge of alumina will be positive and the other two oxides will charge
negatively. Therefore, anionic collectors such as sulfonates will float alumina. Subsequently, the
solution pH is lowered to keep the charge of silica negative but to change the charge of hematite to
positive and, hence, be separated from silica in the same way alumina was separated.
EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION ON COLLECTORS
Equation 1.95 assumes that adsorption density increases as the concentration of surfacatant
increases. However, too many added collectors Will have a deleterious effect on froth flotation. When
the conentration of collectors is too great, the charge of the Surface of xoides as the Stern layer can
be reversed.
Therefore, the concentration and pH of the solution for a given systrem should be adjusted to
optimize the flotation effect. Failing such an optimization Will lead to disastrous results.
Chemisorption is also responsable for adsorption of hydroxamine acid on hematite.
FLOTATION OF SULFIDE
The mechanism of sulfide flotation is somewhat different from that for oxides because sulfide
flotation does not depend on the charging property of the solid Surface in wáter. However, the
interaction between sulfide and the collector is purely electrochemical in nature. For example, an
electrochemical reaction takes place between xanthate, the most common collector for sulfides, and
the sulfide Surface.
Let´s take the adsorption of xanthate on a galena Surface as an example. The following
electrochemical reaction is supposed to take place:
COLLOIDAL STABILITY

It is well known that ithe interfacial forcé becomes a dominant driving forcé for the motion of particles,
hence the stability of the particles in suspensión, especially when the size becomes very small. There
are primarily two forces responsable for the interaction among the particles, and the particles and the
médium when finde particles are in suspensión. They are the van der Waals forcé and the electrical
forcé, which could be attractive or repulsive, caused by ithe electrical double layer interaction. In this
section, the origin and the role of these forces on the stability of fine particles in suspensión Will be
examined and discussed.
The pressure of the solution between two plates in case A would then be that of osmotic pressure,
given by

If two plates have some close to one and other (case B) and the electrical double layers are
overlapping, the pressure would be

From the Boltzmann distribution function,

Therefore

The pressure change for the process of going from case A to case B can be written as:
COAGULATION/FLOCCULATION KINETICS

The terms coagulation and flocculation are often used interchangeably. However, there is a clear
distinction between these two process. Coagulation describes particle assembly without the aid of
organic molecules, surfactants. Therefore, when particles join by overcoming the primary máximum,
coagulation Will result. In general, when coagulation occurs, the resulting products have a compact
formation of particle assembly.
In flocculation, particles join togeteher with the help of organic chemicals, often referred to as
flocculants. These organic chemicals play a role in bridging the effect between two particles, as shown
in Figure 1.38. Long-chain hydrocarbon molecules are first attracted to the particles through
coulombic attraction or other specific chemical interaction, then the long chains interact with each
other because the chains like each other, especially in wáter. As a result, two solid particles can join
together through these organic molecules. This type of assembly is often referred to as flocculation
and the resulting producto is called floc.
Where D is the diffusivity of the molecule. Due to the expresión suggested by Einstein,

And therefore
SIZE DETERMINATION OF FLOCS
Flocculation efficiency is usualle determined by the size of flocs formed at any condiction and at any
time. Therefore, it is critical to be able to identify floc size. Following are commons ways to determine
the size of flocs:
• Microscopic methods. Optical and electron microscopes are often used to determine the floc size.
An image analyzer is an effective microscopic tool that allows the user to analyze not only the
diameter of the particle or flocs but also their geometrical configurations. An image analyzer also
has data processing capabilities.
• Sieve. A sieve is a standard tool used to analyze partice sizes. However, sieve análisis on
submicron-size is not very reliable.
• Sedimentation method. Stocks equation or Newton´s equation are used to analyze the size of
particles or flocs.
• Conductivity method. A Coulter counter is used to measure solution conductivity within an orifice
where particles are passing through. The blockage of particles in the orifice reflects the
conductivity of fluid, resulting in accurate determination of the size of the blockage and hence the
size of the particles.
• Light-scattering and absorption method. Light scattering usually allows one to determine the
turbidity of a fluid based on the presence of solid particles. The light-scatering method is used in
connection with sedimentation to determine the size distribution of particles in suspensión.
And turbidity is proportional to the concentration of particles.
Where B is a constant. It should be noted that