Seaweed glue as a novel polymer depressant for the selective separation of chalcopyrite and galena

The use of seaweed glue (SEG) as a novel polymer depressant for the separation of chalcopyrite from galena with butyl xanthate (BX) as a collector was studied through microflotation experiments. Contact angle, adsorption, dynamic potential, and infrared spectral analyses were conducted to clarify the mechanism underlying the action of SEG on minerals. The results of microflotation experiments indicated that chalcopyrite could be selectively separated from galena by using a SEG depressant concentration of 15 mg center dot L-1, BX concentration of 10 mg center dot L-1, and methyl isobutyl carbinol concentration of 8.5 mg center dot L-1 at pH 8.0. A Cu concentrate with a grading of 23.68wt% was obtained at a recovery rate of 81.52% from mixed minerals with 8.29wt% Cu content. Contact angle analysis showed that the effect of SEG on the wettability of galena was stronger than that on the wettability of chalcopyrite. Adsorption, zeta potential, and FT-IR spectral analyses revealed that SEG and BX were coadsorbed on the surfaces of galena. SEG depressed galena by covering xanthate ions in the functional groups of -COO and mainly underwent weak physisorption on chalcopyrite. These mechanisms account for the ability of SEG to depress galena effectively while enabling chalcopyrite flotation.