Electrokinetic Phenomena in Relation to adsorption of Surfactants on Hematite and Quartz Minerals

Abstract

Flotation is a promising technique for beneficiating iron ore. Depending upon the nature of surfactant and environment conditions, either quartz or hematite can be floated making the separation possible. This paper describes electrokinetic phenomena and their correlat- ion with the adsorption in relation to hematite/quartz sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate (SDBS) system. The SDBS adsorbs strongly on hematite at all pH levels which indicates that adsorption is by virtue of speci- fic mechanism, besides the electrostatic one. Scant and typical adsorption of the SDBS molecule is observed in case of silica mineral. The specificity in adsorption of SDBS molecule on hematite surface is confirmed through a difference in value of point of zero charge (pZC) and isoelectric point (iep).