Application of Biosurfactants for Mineral Surface Treatments
Treatment of mineral surfaces with appropriate surfactants plays an important role in mineral processing operations such as flotation, flocculation and dewatering. Recently biosurfactants, in particular, have received a considerable amount of attention because of their unique surface active properties and biodegradability. In this work we examined the performance of biosurfactants, sugar based alkyl glycosides and sophorolipid esters as reagents to control the hydrophobicity of minerals with selectivity of adsorption on mineral surfaces for flotation applications. It was discovered that n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside adsorbs on alumina, titania and hematite but, interestingly, not on silica.The hydrophobicity obtained is governed both by the surface coverage as well as the nanostructure of the adsorbed layer in terms of orientation of the adsorbed species. Surprisingly, even though the above surfactants are non-ionic, their adsorption was pH-dependent. We have correlated this pH dependence to the type of species on the mineral surface. Also it is shown that mixing of these surfactants with traditional ones can help reduce the carbon footprint due to synergy between the reagents and help selectivity due to antagonism. The experimental results were analyzed to get information on optimal pH and dosage conditions, for mineral surface modification. The study provides guidance for mineral treatments using biosurfactants and the potential use of these next generation reagents in mineral processing.
Biosurfactants Adsorption Mineral surface treatments
P. Somasundaran S. H. Lu L. Zhang
Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, New York, USA Akzo-Nobel Chemicals, New York, USA
国际会议
XXIV International Mineral Processing Congress(第24届国际矿物加工大会)
北京
英文
2559-2569
2008-09-24（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）