SEPARATION AND DETERMINATION OF THE SULPH-HYDRYL FLOTATION COLLECTORS USING ION-INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY

This paper discusses simple and practical methods for the separation and determination of various sulph-hydryl flotation reagents by ion-interaction chromatography. Physical and chemical parameters such as column length, the support, and the constituents of the mobile phase and their respective concentrations were considered. A set of capacity factors, determined for a given set of conditions, is used to assist in the design of separation methods. The developed methodology enables the determination of various sulph-hydryl compounds in a given mixture of flotation reagents, distinction between compounds with the same functionality, and the separation of structural isomers of a particular compound. The applicability of the methods was demonstrated by the analysis of some commercial flotation reagents, as well as samples generated in an investigation of synergism of the sulp-hydryl collectors.