US-India Cooperative Research: Dispersion-Flocculation Phenomena in Colloidal Oxide Suspensions at Low Concentrations of Polymers

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9605197 Somasundaran Description: This award is for the US-India Cooperative Research: Dispersion-Flocculation Phenomena in Colloidal Oxide Suspensions at Low Concentrations of Polymers. The collaborators are Dr. P. Somasundaran, Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University and Dr. Pradip of the Tata Research, Development & Design Centre, Pune, India. This research will focus on usage of combinations of low polymer concentrations for flocculation of oxide minerals. The motivation stems from novel results obtained from a current project on iron oxide-alumina where at low concentrations of polyacrylic acid, it was found that alumina can be effectively flocculated. The researchers will study the fundamental mechanisms of polymer-polymer, particle-particle and polymer-particle interactions in order reach the goal of this research which is to develop a unified theory of polymeric flocculation. The knowledge gained from this study will help develop strategies for an industrially important and technologically challenging problem--the selective separation of fine particulates in general and oxide suspensions in particular. Scope: This project supports pioneering research at two well regarded laboratories and between scientists with complementary expertise and excellent research track records. Students in both countries will be involved in the research. The project enhances international collaboration in an area of high scientific interest and mutual benefit. The project meets INT objectives. ***