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By R. F. Robertson

"Adsorption isotherms of hexyl mercaptan vapour on synthetic sphalerite, zinc sulphide and zinc oxide were de-termined with a gravimetric McBain-Baker micro balance incorporated in the B.E.T. apparatus. Isotherms are given for hexyl mercaptan on synthetic sphalerite at 25°C, 0.5°C and 50°C; on zinc sulphide at 25°C and 1.5°C; and on zinc oxide at 25°C. All these isotherms are sigmoidal, with a definite change in slope at or close to the mono-layer. The amount of mercaptan adsorbed below the monolayer increases almost linearly with relative pressure to P/P0 = 0.8.Above this value, the amount adsorbed increases very rapidly with relative pressure. Hysteresis loops appear in the isotherms for all adsorption-desorption cycles. These loops are completely reversible. It is not possible to desorb the mercaptan monolayer from any of the adsorbents, even at elevated temperatures."

Jan 1, 1966

By S. Vivek

An Atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure the surface forces between hydrophobic silica surfaces. The measurements were conducted in the presence and absence of Cu(II)species in solution to study the effects of the cation adsorption on the hydrophobic force. The results obtained in the absence of the Cu (II)species showed that the hydrophobic force does not change with pH, while the electrostatic repulsive force changes substantially with pH. In the presence of the Cu(II) species, the hydrophobic force begins to decrease at a pH where Cu2+ions are hydrolyzed, indicating that the first hydrolysis product (i.e., CuOH+ions) are the species adsorbing on the surface of the hydrophobic silica. The results of the surface force measurements were used to develop a model for the adsorption of the hydrolysis product of Cu(II) species on the hydrophobic silica.

Jan 1, 2003

By Gjergj Dodbiba, Toyohisa Fujita, Takahiro Kikuchi, I-Chen Wu

"In order to separate molybdenum (Mo) from the high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW), Pb-Fe based adsorbents were synthesized. The adsorbents were precipitated by adding sodium hydroxide in mixture of 1 mol/L lead nitrate and 1 mol/L ferric nitrate aqueous solutions. Each precipitate was then filtered, dried and ground to obtain a fine powder, which has been used as an adsorbent. Two main parameters were considered when synthesizing the adsorbents, i.e. the pH value at precipitation of adsorbent precursor and the calcination temperature of Pb-Fe based adsorbent. Moreover, the structures of the synthesized adsorbents were investigated by means of an X-ray diffractometer.The experimental results indicated that the calcination temperature of the Pb-Fe based adsorbent has a great influence on adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for Mo. It was found that when the Pb-Fe based adsorbent was calcinated at 500 oC, the sorbed concentration of Mo was the highest.1. IntroductionThe high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW), arising from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel are generally immobilized in an alkali borosilicate glass matrix. Broadly speaking, alkali borosilicate glasses are the matrix of choice for the immobilization of the HLLW, since they permit vitrification of waste stream of variable composition, [1]. Within this frame, the incorporation of molybdenum (Mo) is of particular interest in the vitrification of HLLW. Molybdenum is know to have a low solubility in borosilicate glass compositions and its presence in excess results in the phase separation of a complex yellow molten salt during vitrification, [1]. The formation of so-called “yellow phase” material during the vitrification process is undesirable since it leads to the accelerated corrosion of the inconel crucible liners. Furthermore, the “yellow phase”, which is reported to contain also other fission products, is soluble in aqueous solution providing a potential route for the leaching of radionuclides from the vitrified waste, should it come into contact with water, [1]."

Jan 1, 2008

By H. Z. Liu, J. M. Zhao, F. C. Wang

"Novel silicate-alginate composite beads containing 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2- ethylhexyl ester (P507) were synthesized and applied for the adsorption of Nd3+ from aqueous solutions. The adsorption amount of Nd3+ has been increased owing to the introduction of P507. The effect of equilibrium pH (pHe), the kinetic and isotherm experiments were investigated. The adsorption reaches equilibrium at 9 h and the maximum uptake capacity is up to 195.4 mg/(g dry adsorbent). The Langmuir isotherm equations are used to describe the adsorption process. Complete desorption can be realized with 0.2 M HCl within 20 min. INTRODUCTIONRare earth elements (REEs) have found various applications in different domains, such as metallurgy industry, ceramic industry, nuclear fuel control, photo-electro-magnetic functional materials owing to their unique properties. Neodymium (Nd), as a representative of all of the most valuable REEs, is widely used as catalysts, laser crystals, capacitors, rubber additives, Nd-Fe-B magnets, hydrogen storage and so on. Thus, the separation and purification of neodymium is significant. Unfortunately, Nd always coexists with other REEs and selective separation of the individual Nd from the REEs mixtures is still extremely difficult owing to their strictly similar atomic structures and chemical properties.Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-liquid adsorption (SLA) are the most widely adopted techniques for the separation of REEs in the hydrometallurgical fields. The LLE process is well suited for large-scale continuous operation because of its inherent high capacity and fast kinetics. Nowadays, as a commercial extractant, 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) has been extensively studied for extraction and separation of REEs since it has considerably good extractability and high separation efficiency (Xu et al., 1992). SLA is one of the effective and green separation methods with some prominent advantages, such as easy regeneration of adsorbents, small footprint size, less industrial wastes, higher enrichment factors and column efficiency,rapid solid–liquid separation without emulsion and so on. Hence, the introduction of extractants with excellent performance into adsorbents will integrate the advantages of LLE and SLA (Lee et al., 2009)."

Jan 1, 2012

By P. Somasundaran

Adsorption of a nonionic polyacrylamide (PAM), an anionic polyacrylamide with sulfonate functional groups (PAMS), and a cationic polyacrylamide with amine functional groups (PAMD), on hematite was investigated as a function of different solution conditions. Adsorption results indicate that the major mechanisms of adsorption of polyacrylamides on hematite is through hydrogen bonding, with electrostatic forces playing a secondary role. All the polymers exhibited irreversibility of adsorption upon dilution. Also, entropic effects were determined to be important in adsorption. Surface chemical properties of hematite and solution chemistry of the polyacrylamides are considered to explain the polymer adsorption behavior on hematite.

Jan 1, 1985

By Q. Xu, P. Somasundaran

Adsorption of nonionic/anionic surfactant mixtures on kaolinite has been studied, with •Sodium dodecylsulfate as the anionic surfactant, and •Octaethyleneglycol mono-n-dodecylether as the nonionic surfactant. Synergistic interaction between these surfactants was found to cause adsorption of the nonionic surfactant with its hydrophilic chains protruding into the bulk, leading to substantial changes in wettability and dispersion characteristics of kaolinite. Similarly, hydrophobicity changes are observed also for silica particles upon adsorption of nonionic ethoxylated alcohols owing to possible changes in the orientation of the adsorbed surfactant molecules at the interface.

Jan 1, 1993

By Q. Xu

Adsorption of nonionic/anionic surfactant mixtures on kaolinite has been studied with sodium dodecylsulfate as the anionic surfactant and octaethyleneglycol mono-n-dodecylether as the nonionic surfactant. Synergistic interaction between these surfactant was found to cause adsorption of the nonionic surfactant with its hydrophilic chains protruding into the bulk, leading to substantial changes in wettability and dispersion characteristics of kaolinite. Similarly, hydrophobicity changes are observed also for silica particles upon adsorption of nonionic ethoxylated alcohols owing to possible changes in the orientation of the adsorbed surfactant molecules at the interface.

Jan 1, 1991

By J. Drelich

The adsorption of oleate at the surface of titanium dioxide from aqueous solutions was examined by Fourier transform infrared (FT -IR.) spectroscopy using a germanium internal reflection element coated with a thin film of TiO2. This thin film, with a thickness of 100-200 A, was deposited on the surface of a germanium single crystal by RFIDC magnetron reactive sputtering. It was found that significant adsorption of oleate from a 0.02-0.03 mM aqueous solution on the surface of TiO2 thin film occurs at neutral pH, from about pH=5.5 to pH=7.7. Adsorption of oleate at the surface of the amorphous TiO2 thin film appeared to be reversible, involving soap-acid dimers.

Jan 1, 1997

By T. V. Vasudevan, J. Blaakmeer

Adsorption experiments were conducted at two different solid loadings to investigate the mechanism of oleate adsorption on apatite. Adsorption density at pH 10 was found to be dependent on solids loading in an oleate concentration region where surface precipitation could occur. Analysis of adsorption isotherms indicated three distinct regions of adsorption. In region I (below the region of calcium oleate precipitation), molecular adsorption was observed. Simultaneous molecular adsorption and surface precipitation occurred in region 11, while surface precipitation was predominant in region I11 along with some bulk precipitation. Correlation between flotation of apatite with sodium oleate and the mode of oleate interaction with the surface is established.

Jan 1, 1988

Adsorption experiments were conducted at two different solids loadings, to investigate the mechanism of oleate adsorption on apatite. Adsorption density at pH 10 was found to be dependent on solids loading in an oleate concentration region where surface precipitation could occur. Analysis of adsorption isotherms indicated three distinct regions of adsorption. In the region I (below the region of calcium oleate precipitation), molecular adsorption was observed. Simultaneous molecular adsorption and surface precipitation occurred in region II, while surface precipitation was predominant in region III along with some bulk precipitation. Correlation between flotation of apatite with sodium oleate and the mode of oleate interaction with the surface is established.

Jan 1, 1986

Organic dyes such as nigrosine and sun yellow act as depressants for carbonaceous particles in the, flotation of sulphide ores. Depression is achieved when initially hydrophobic organic surfaces are made hydrophilic by preferential adsorption of dye molecules. Experimental studies, mainly on Mount Isa ores, indicate that dyes are adsorbed as planar anionic micelles attached to carbonaceous surfaces by van der Waals and ion exchange attractive interactions. Relationships appear to exist between the amount of organic matter on the surface of ground particles, the surface area of the particles, the "saturation" adsorptions of dyes, and the degree of difficulty experienced during froth flotation.

Jan 1, 1975

By Bo Liang, Hongmin Zhu, Kai Huang, Shafiq Alam

A new approach of recovering platinum and palladium from electronic wastes by hydrochloric acid leaching followed by selective adsorption on low-cost and environmentally benign biomass sorbent prepared from easily available agriculture waste is suggested. The obtained adsorbents were prepared by a combination of chemical modification and hydrothermal carbonization process with (NH4)2C2O4. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of hydrothermal carbonized garlic peel for Pt( ) and Pd( ) was 1.64 and 0.42 mol/kg respectively. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was applied to describe the adsorption process. Kinetics of the Pt( ) and Pd( ) ions adsorption was found to follow pseudo-second-order rate equation. The adsorbents were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Based on the characterization results, a possible mechanism of Pt( ) and Pd( ) ions adsorption with the hydrothermal carbonized garlic peel was proposed. This study provides a promising adsorbent with efficient adsorption property for platinum and palladium recovery from the leach solution of electronic wastes.

Jan 1, 2016

By Alexander Knoll, Dwight L. Baker

THIS paper is a report on work undertaken to investigate the results and conclusions of Ravitz and Porter1,2. that galena freed of surface oxidation products and lead carbonate ("clean" galena) is water-repellent, and that the action of xanthates in flotation is the action of a cleansing agent, enabling oxidized galena particles to expose a pure lead sulphide, water-repellent surface. The apparatus, in construction and use, was essentially that of Ravitz and Porter. The only significant modification introduced by the present authors was the substitution of a three-necked flask for the flotation cell as the "reaction vessel." Our procedure was to place 50 grams of freshly ground, minus 200-mesh galena in the reaction vessel, sweep out all molecular oxygen from the system with oxygen-free nitrogen, and proceed to wash the galena surface free of its oxidation products with repeated small portions of (I) ammonium acetate (500 c.c. of water, 200 grams of ammonium acetate) or (2) ammonium chloride, hydrochloric acid (2 liters containing 200 grams of ammonium chloride and 25 c.c. of 1.18 sp. gr. hydro chloric acid). The galena was next washed with many 100-c.c. portions of oxygen-free, distilled water. The galena was finally considered free of soluble salts when wash water that had been in contact with the mineral for at least 48 hr.* gave negative tests for: (I) lead ion with sulphide; (2) chloride with silver ion; (3) acetate with cuprous chloride, sodium chloride; and (4) ammonium ion with Nessler's reagent. Next 500 c.c. of potassium ethyl xanthate solution, free of dissolved oxygen, was run onto the "clean" galena particles. For this system there were determined: I. The wetting properties of the clean galena particles by shaking the reaction flask and noting the degree of mineral collection at the liquid-air interface. This was, of course, simply a qualitative test, but it proved adequate for our purpose. 2. The removal of xanthate ion from the potassium xanthate solution on being shaken with the "cleansed" mineral. Xanthate concentrations were determined by iodine titration according to the methods of Taylor and Knoll.3 3. The pH of the xanthate solution after having been shaken with the "cleansed" galena. The pH was determined colorimetrically.4 The results of five experiments of the type mentioned above are given in Table I.

Jan 1, 1941

By Alexander Knoll, Dwight L. Baker

THIS paper is a report on work undertaken to investigate the results and conclusions of Ravitz and Porter1,2 that galena freed of surface oxidation products and lead carbonate ("clean" galena) is waterrepellent, and that the action of xanthates in flotation is the action of a cleansing agent, enabling oxidized galena particles to expose a pure lead sulphide, water-repellent surface. The apparatus, in construction and use, was essentially that of Ravitz and Porter. The only significant modification introduced by the present authors was the substitution of a three-necked flask for the flotation cell as the "reaction vessel." Our procedure was to place 50 grams of freshly ground, minus 200-mesh galena in the reaction vessel, sweep out all molecular oxygen from the system with oxygen-free nitrogen, and proceed to wash the galena surface free of its oxidation products with repeated small portions of (I) ammonium acetate (500 c.c. of water, 200 grams of ammonium acetate) or (2) ammonium chloride, hydrochloric acid (2 liters containing 200 grams of ammonium chloride and 25 c.c. Of 1.18 sp. gr hydrochloric acid). The galena was next washed with many 100-c.c. portions of oxygen-free, distilled water. The galena was finally considered free of soluble salts when wash water that had been in contact with the mineral for at least 48 hr.* gave negative tests for: (x) lead ion with sulphide; (2) chloride with silver ion; (3) acetate with cuprous chloride, sodium chloride; and (4) ammonium ion with Nessler's reagent. Next 500 c.c. of potassium ethyl xanthate solution, free of dissolved oxygen, was run onto the "clean" galena particles. For this system there were determined: I. The wetting properties of the clean galena particles by shaking the reaction flask and noting the degree of mineral collection at the liquid-air interface. This was, of course, simply a qualitative test, but it proved adequate for our purpose. 2. The removal of xanthate ion from the potassium xanthate solution on being shaken with the "cleansed" mineral. Xanthate concentrations were determined by iodine titration according to the methods of Taylor and Knoll.3 3. The pH of the xanthate solution after having been shaken with the "cleansed" galena. The pH was determined colorimetrically.4 The results of five experiments of the type mentioned above are given in Table x.

Jan 1, 1941

By R. M. LaDouceur, C. A. Young, W. Nicholas

"Salicyl hydroxamic acid (SHA) adsorption on two rare earth oxides, lanthanum and yttrium, was studied. Adsorption at both surfaces occurred in two stages. Initially, the monovalent anionic collector appears to adsorb significantly and instantaneously in stage one and then becomes sluggish in stage two presumably because the initial stage passivated the surface. By comparison, adsorption during the sluggish second stage with lanthanum oxide did not stop but with yttrium oxide essentially stopped. Surface monolayer formation could not be observed in either of the two cases. Both stages appear to be due to multilayer formation of a surface precipitate as proven by Raman Spectroscopy for lanthanum oxide but inferred for yttrium oxide. Unlike the use of octyl hydroxamate as stated in the literature, increasing temperatures do not increase adsorption such that flotation of rare earths with SHA may be performed at room temperature leading to improved recoveries as well as significant energy savings. INTRODUCTION Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are comprised of the 15 lanthanides along with scandium and yttrium. The REEs with lower atomic numbers are relatively more abundant and are categorized as light REEs. On the contrary, the REEs with high atomic numbers are less abundant and referred to as heavy REEs. They are not really “rare” and, in fact, some of them are quite abundant in the Earth’s crust; it’s just that they “rarely” exist in concentrated deposits but rather are found dilute and practically everywhere. REEs share very similar physico-chemical properties but, because many of these properties are unique, they have gained enormous importance in recent times making several critical and strategic pending their use. For example, REEs have found extensive application in phosphor coatings, magnetics, and automobile cracking catalysts. Early technology was not advanced enough to produce commodity level production of the REEs and can be attributed to REE-bearing ores containing many rare earth minerals (REMs), not just one. In this regard, there are numerous REMs but bastnaesite, xenotime and monazite are considered to be the most common. Bastnaesite is a fluorocarbonate whereas the other two are phosphates. The separation of the individual REE-bearing minerals from the ores is not an easy task since they also exhibit very similar properties. Consequently, when flotation is used, it is done to produce bulk REM concentrates. For REM flotation, it is well established that octyl hydroxamate is more selective than fatty acid collectors (Pradip and Fuerstenau, 1983 and 1991). Liu et al. (2006) indicated that hydroxamates are the most common collectors for REMs. Pavez et al. (1996) studied the adsorption of oleic fatty acid and octyl hydroxamate on REM surfaces. Cui et al. (2012) studied the interaction of octyl hydroxamate with various REMs surfaces using various spectroscopic techniques such as XPS, FT-IR and Raman along with electron microscopy and concluded that such techniques offer ample information to establish adsorption mechanisms. Ren et al. (1997) studied napthalenic hydroxamic acid as a unique collector for flotation of REMs from bastnaesite ore and indicated that more selective collectors were needed. From these studies, it is clear that the quest of more selective collectors is essential but understanding how they adsorb at mineral surfaces is prerequisite to improving flotation performance."

Jan 1, 2016

By A. M. Gaudin

A preliminary study of silver ion adsorption by sphalerite in ion exchange column with influent electrolyte marked with radiosilver is described. Rapid ion exchange occurs at first followed by slow reaction controlled perhaps by solid state diffusion. One experiment with radiocopper instead of radiosilver is reported briefly.

Jan 9, 1951

By P. Fellner, A. Sýkorová, J. Thonstad, J. Jurišová, V. Khandl

Adsorption of S02 on alumina used in the aluminium industry, so-called smelter grade alumina, was studied in the temperature range 15 C-120 C. The specific surface area of the smelter grade alumina was 88 m2/g. It was found that at temperatures lower than 40 C, sulphur dioxide is bonded to alumina reversibly by physical forces, and the adsorption can be described satisfactorily by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The heat of adsorption was estimated to be -33 kJ.mor1. At temperatures in the range 80 C- 120 C, which prevail in dry scrubbers in the aluminium industry, the heat of adsorption was determined to be -56 kJ.mor1. When S02 was adsorbed at temperatures higher than 80 C, about 30 % of the S02 could not be desorbed when heating the samples up to 250 C. In the presence of S02 and oxygen, the formation of sulphate was determined at temperatures above 90 C.

Jan 1, 2006

By P. A. Laxen, H. R. Spedden, A. M. Gaudin

WHEN a mineral particle is fractured, bonds between the atoms are broken. The unsatisfied forces that appear at the newly formed surface1 are considered to be responsible for the adsorption of ions at the mineral surface. A knowledge of the mechanism and extent of ion sorption from solution onto a mineral surface is of interest in the development of the theory of flotation.2,3 Study of the adsorption of sodium from an aqueous solution on quartz offers a simple approach to this complicated problem. The availability of a radioisotope as a tracer element meant that accurate data could be obtained.4,5 Three main factors which appeared likely to affect the adsorption of sodium are: 1-concentration of sodium in the solution, 2-concentration of other cations in the solution, and 3-anions present in the solution. Hydrogen and hydroxyl ions are always present in an aqueous solution. By controlling the pH, the concentration of these two ions was kept constant. The variation in the amount of sodium adsorbed with variation in sodium concentration was then determined under conditions standardized in regard to hydrogen ion. The effect of concentration of hydrogen ions and of other cations was also measured. A few experiments were made to get a preliminary idea on the effect of anions. The active isotope of sodium was available as sodium nitrate. Standard sodium nitrate solutions were used throughout these experiments except when the effects of other anions were studied. It was found that sodium adsorption increased with sodium-ion concentration, but less rapidly than in proportion to it. Increasing hydrogen-ion concentration, or conversely decreasing hydroxylion, brings about a comparatively slight decrease in sodium-ion adsorption. Increasing the concentration of cations other than hydrogen or sodium decreases somewhat the adsorption of sodium ion. It would appear as if the kind of anion is a secondary factor in guiding the amount of sodium ion that is adsorbed. Materials and Methods Quartz The quartz was prepared as in previous work in the Robert H. Richards Mineral Engineering Laboratory4 except for the refinement of using de-ionized distilled water for the final washing of the sized quartz, prior to drying5 To minimize the laborious preparation of quartz, experiments were made to determine whether the sodium-covered quartz could be washed free of sodium and re-used. The experiments were successful as indicated by lack of Na' activity on the repurified material and by its characteristic sodium adsorption. Table I gives the spectrographic analyses of the quartz used. The quartz ranged from 16 to 40 microns in size, averaging about 23 microns (microscope measurement), and had a surface of 1850 sq cm per g (lot I), 2210 (lot II) and 2000 (lot III) as determined by the Bloecher method.6 Radioactive Sodium Method of Beta Counting for Adsorbed Sodium: Na22, the radioisotope of sodium, possesses convenient properties.7 It has a half-life of 3 years, thus requiring no allowance for decay during an experiment. On decay it emits a 0.575 mev ß radiation and a 1.30 mev ? radiation. The decay scheme is illustrated in the following equation: [Y Nam S. - 'Net 3 years] The ß radiation is sufficiently strong to penetrate an end-window type of Geiger-Mueller counting tube. This, in turn, makes it possible to use external counting, a great advantage in technique. Furthermore, it permits the assaying of solids arranged in infinite thickness, while assaying evaporated liquors on standardized planchets. The equipment used was standard and similar to that employed by Chang8 The original active material was 1 ml of solution containing 1 millicurie of Na22 as nitrate. This active solution was diluted to 1000 ml. Five milliliters of this diluted active solution was found to give a quartz sample a sufficiently high activity for accurate evaluation of the sodium partition in the adsorption measurements. Also, 1 ml of final solution gave a sufficiently high count for precision on the liquor analyses. The sodium concentration of the diluted active solution was 1.2 mg per liter, so that 6 mg of sodium for 60 ml of test solution and 12 g of quartz was the minimum amount used. The active solution was stored in a Saftepak bottle. Procedure for Adsorption Tests: The method consisted of agitating 12 g of quartz with 60 ml of solution of known sodium concentration for enough time to establish equilibrium between the solution and the quartz surface. The quartz was separated as completely as possible from the solution by filtering and centrifuging. The activity on the quartz and in the equilibrium solution was measured and the partition of the sodium was calculated from the resulting data. The detailed procedure for the adsorption test is set forth in a thesis by Laxen5 In brief, it included the following steps: 1-Ascertainment of linearity between concentration of Na22 and activity measured. 2-Evaluation of factor to translate activity on solid of infinite thickness in terms of activity on an evaporated active film of minute thickness, on the various shelves of the counter shield. 3-Taking precautions to avoid evaporation of water during centrifuging.

Jan 1, 1952

By K. S. Choi, B. S. Shin

The adsorption characteristics of sodium silicate on scheelite, calcite, and fluorite minerals were investigated. Adsorption equilibrium took about 60 minutes. Adsorption data show that the masimum amounts of adsorption of sodium silicate occurs at about pH 9.8. The adsorptivity was in the order of calcite > fluorite > scheelite. The amount of adsorption of sodium silicate increased with the increase in temperature of sodium silicate solutions. The amount of adsorption of sodium silicate decreases in the low concentration range of ferrous sulfate, while in the high concentration range of ferrous sulfate, the adsorption of sodium silicate increases.

Jan 1, 1986

By Raquel Franco de Souza Lima, Isao Matsuoka

"Microflotation studies and abstraction experiments were conducted with synthetic oxide spinels relating to chromite (MgCr2O4, FeCr2O4, FeFe2O4 and FeAl2O4), using sodium oleate as collector. An attempt was done to correlate this data with the speciation of oleate in the bulk solution and at the interface solid-water, to explain the floatability curves. The microflotation tests were conducted using a microflotation cell. The abstraction of sodium oleate was measured at 25°C, with one gram of synthetic spinel and the abstraction time was 30 minutes. After centrifuging, the residual oleate concentration in the supernatant was measured by using the spectrophotometric method described by Mizuniwa et al. (1977), that covers the range from 1.5 to 9 ppm. To cover the range from 0.2 to 1.5 ppm, the residual oleate concentration was measured using the spectrophotometric method described by Gregory (1966). The amount of oleate abstracted was calculated from the difference between initial and residual (equilibrium) concentrations.Figure 1 shows the floatability of FeCr2O4, FeAl2O4, FeFe2O4, MgCr2O4 as a function of pH and sodium oleate concentration of 1 x 10-5 M. The IEP of each sample is indicated in the figure by a vertical line in the horizontal axis. The chromium-bearing spinels FeCr2O4 and MgCr2O4 show the lowest isoelectric points (IEP), around pH 6, while in the case of FeFe2O4 and FeAl2O4, the isoelectric points lie at pH 6.5 and 7.3, respectively. It is seen that the flotation-pH curve for FeFe2O4 has a peak at the pH of the IEP, while flotation peak for FeCr2O4 appears at pH below the IEP and that of MgCr2O4 does at pH above the PZC. On the other hand, FeAl2O4 is floated at pH range between about 4 and 7,3 (IEP). This suggests that the pH value at which the maximum flotation occurs is dependent on the sort of spinel to be floated, though it appears in the vicinity of the respective IEP."

Jan 1, 2003