Improving copper recovery from oxide sources in flotation process using sodium dodecyl sulfate modified ZnO nanoparticles as new collector

This study aims to investigate the best route to increase the recovery of oxide-sulfide copper ore. Among various methods, using nanoparticles is more desirable because of their high efficiency. So, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized and surface modified via anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants. The results showed a recovery increased increase from 27.37 to 38% using the ZnO nanoparticles. Moreover, it was observed that changing pH could leads to some changes in the recovery value. According to the results, because of changing the surface charge of ZnO nanoparticles with pH and anionic SDS, the recovery will vary in various PH values. Besides, it was found that increasing the concentration of nanoparticles modified with SDS (from 2.25 to 7.5 ml) leads to an increase in the recovery (from 77 to 88%), indicating the synergistic effect of SDS on nanoparticles.