ABSTRACT
The surface properties of rutile and ilmenite in aqueous solutions of a cationic collector, hydrogenated tallow amine acetate (HTAA), was investigated by making use of the zeta potential, contact angle, infra-red spectroscopy, and micro-flotation techniques. The zeta potential measurements yielded the isoelectric point (iep) of rutile as pH 3.5 and that of ilmenite as pH 4.4 in the presence of 10’2M KNO3. The iep’s of rutile and ilmenite in the presence of 10−4 M HTAA were found to be pH 11.2 and pH 11.5, respectively. Micro-flotation tests indicated that the recovery of rutile diminished to zero above pH 11.5 in the presence of 6×10−6 M HTAA, while ilmenite kept floating at this pH. A selective separation of ilmenite from ilmenite-rutile mixtures was carried out using 7.5×10−6 HTAA at pH 12. The flotation recovery of ilmenite reached 84 % while that of rutile remained only at 16 %.
