Molecular weight and colloidal effects in polymer adsorption in mineral processing systems.

选矿工业依靠一系列物理化学方法从水悬浮液中分离细小的矿物颗粒。泡沫浮选、选择性聚集、选择性絮凝是此类技术的例子。人们认识到，这些过程的选择性很大程度上取决于待如此处理的矿物的表面性质的改变。水的润湿性、表面充电、分散和颗粒的聚集可以通过添加专用化学品来控制和操纵。在许多情况下，可以使用各种类型的聚合物来执行这些专门任务。 聚合物在矿物加工应用中的作用源于聚合物吸附到矿物表面上。由于聚合物可以生产出具有多种分子尺寸和化学性质的聚合物，因此该计划的主要目的是确定分子尺寸和性质的广泛变化对聚合物对细矿物颗粒的所需作用的影响。 实验计划将包括广泛的测量技术，用于确定测试聚合物的分子量特征、聚合物与矿物表面的相互作用，以及这些相互作用对细矿物颗粒的聚集、分散和润湿性行为的影响。超速离心、多角度光散射、红外光谱和微量热法将是该研究项目中使用的一些最先进的技术。这项研究的结果将增强矿物加工行业回收越来越细颗粒的能力，同时为优化特定应用的聚合物性能提供指导。该计划中测试的大多数聚合物都是天然存在的多糖，它们也是环保且可生物降解的。它们在矿物加工领域的更广泛应用将取决于我们对其吸附机制的进一步了解。该计划的研究结果还应与聚合物利用的所有领域相关，包括食品、化妆品和制药行业。

The mineral processing industry relies on a range of physicochemical methods to separate fine mineral particles from aqueous suspensions. Froth flotation, selective aggregation, selective flocculation are examples of such technologies. It is recognized that the selectivity of these processes strongly depends on modification of the surface properties of the minerals to be so treated. Wettability by water, surface charging, dispersion, and aggregation of the particles can be controlled and manipulated by the addition of dedicated chemicals. In many cases, various types of polymers can be used to perform those specialized tasks. The action of a polymer in a mineral processing application results from adsorption of the polymer onto the mineral surface. Since polymers can be produced to exhibit a wide range of molecular sizes and chemical properties, the main objective of the proposed program is to determine the effect of those broad variations in molecular sizes and properties on the desired action of the polymer towards fine mineral particles. The experimental program will include a wide range of measuring techniques for determining the molecular weight characteristics of the tested polymers, interactions of the polymers with mineral surfaces, and the consequences of those interactions to the aggregation, dispersion, and wettability behavior of fine mineral particles. Ultracentrifuging, multi-angle light scattering, infrared spectroscopy, and microcalorimetry will be some of the most advanced techniques to be utilized in the research program. The results of this research will enhance the capabilities of the mineral processing industry to recover finer and finer particles, while providing guidelines for optimizing polymer properties for a particular application. Most of the polymers to be tested in this program are naturally-occurring polysaccharides which are also environmentally-friendly and biodegradable. Their wider applications in the mineral processing sector will depend on our enhanced understanding of their adsorption mechanisms. The findings of this program should also be relevant to all areas of polymer utilization, including food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.