Electrical Aspects of Adsorbing Colloid Flotation. XVIII. Flotation with Mixed Surfactant Systems

Abstract

The effect of a number of alcohols in reducing the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) was measured conductimetrically; it was found that alcohols quite substantially reduce the cmc. This suggested that these alcohols might be used as relatively low-cost surfactant extenders in precipitate: and adsorbing colloid flotation separations. It was found that n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and octanoic acid quite markedly reduced the quantity of SDS needed for the flotation of ferric hydroxide floes and of ferric hydroxide floes in which Cu(II) had been coprecipitated/adsorbed. Octanoic acid was found to be the most effective cosurfactant for the adsorbing colloid flotation of Cu(II) with ferric hydroxide.