Abstract
Understanding the effect of inorganic cations on the adsorption of kerosene droplet at graphite surface is a prerequisite to predict the graphite flotation. Using a high-speed motion acquisition system, the contact angle, kerosene droplet size and three phase contact line (TPC line) were explored. The equivalent diameter of the kerosene droplet increased until 10-2 mol/L and then decreased slightly with increasing the concentration of NaCl and MgCl2. On contrary, the equivalent diameter showed an opposite trend in the presence of AlCl3. The final TPC line followed the order: AlCl3 < MgCl2 < NaCl at an ion concentration 10-2 mol/L. Through the simulation of radial distribution function (RDF) via the Material studio software, the oxygen atom was more easily attracted than the hydrogen atom by Na+, resulting in the smallest kerosene droplet-graphite block contact angle in the presence of NaCl. Furthermore, NaCl and MgCl2 presented an opposite trend to AlCl3 in the solution/kerosene interfacial tension. Our results matched the cation hydration at different pH. The subsequently conducted graphite flotation showed that the recovery of clean graphite was enhanced by 5.11% (NaCl) and 3.31% (MgCl2) at 10-2 mol/L, respectively, while gradually decreased by the addition of AlCl3. Moreover, the discussion on increasing the graphite recovery by 1% showed that 1.9 mmol/L Na+ was equivalent to 3.0 mmol/L Mg2+, 18.3 J energy input, 7 mg/L 2-octyl alcohol and 0.9 mg/L diesel, respectively. It indicated that the addition of NaCl and MgCl2 is of great significance for reducing carbon emission and cleaning flotation process. Our results can provide a valuable insight into the development of technology for surfactant adsorption and mineral flotation, especially for reducing carbon emission.
Published Version
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