Influence and mechanism of xanthan gum on the aggregation and flotation behavior of talc, olivine, and serpentine

Abstract

Finding appropriate flotation reagents to separate copper-nickel sulfide ores from various magnesium silicate gangue minerals has always been a challenge in the mineral processing industry. This study introduced xanthan gum (XG) as a non-toxic and environmentally friendly depressant of talc, olivine, and serpentine. The effects and mechanisms of XG on the aggregation and flotation behavior of talc, olivine and serpentine were investigated by flotation tests, sedimentation tests, IC-FBRM particle size analysis tests, adsorption quantity tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) tests, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis tests and Zeta potential tests. The flotation results indicated that when the three minerals were mixed, XG caused the talc-serpentine aggregation in the solution to shift to olivine-serpentine aggregation, with the remaining XG adsorbing on talc to depress its flotation. In addition, combining XPS and zeta potential tests, the —OH (hydroxyl) groups in XG molecules preferentially adsorbed on Mg sites on the surface of olivine through chemical bonding. The surface potential of olivine significantly shifted to a more negative value, with the negative charge on the olivine surface far exceeding that on the talc surface. This resulted in an increased aggregation effect between positively charged serpentine and negatively charged olivine due to enhanced electrostatic forces.

Keywords

flotation reagents / copper-nickel suifide / magnesium silicate gangue minerals / xanthan gum / aggregation / mechanisms / potential

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