Study on the depression effect and mechanism of crude fucoidan on talc surface under xanthate system

Abstract

The surface of rocky mineral talc has good floatability, and separating it from valuable sulfide minerals by flotation is challenging. Here, in the xanthate system for talc, the depression effect and mechanism of a novel depressant CF were investigated. In the system where CF was used as a depressant and xanthate as a collector, CF adsorbed on the talc surface and reduced the hydrophobicity of the surface, thus effectively reducing the floatability of talc in flotation. Moreover, the xanthate hardly adsorbed on the talc surface and did not affect the adsorption of CF, as shown by FTIR and adsorption tests. The absorption energy of CF on the surface of talc was found to be negative by DFT calculations and was physical adsorption by hydrogen bonding, and the XPS analysis also confirmed that there was no chemisorption. This finding has theoretical and practical significance for the research of talc separation.