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Microfluidic Buffer Exchange for Interference-free Micro/Nanoparticle Cell Engineering
Published on: July 10, 2016
Mineral-mineral particle collisions during flotation remove adsorbed nanoparticle flotation collectors
Xiaofei Dong1, Marie Price1, Zongfu Dai2
1Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7, Canada.
Abstract:
Flotation of 43μm diameter, hydrophilic glass beads with hydrophobic cationic polystyrene nanoparticle flotation collectors revealed that bead-bead collisions during conditioning and flotation caused the irreversible abrasion of the adsorbed nanoparticles. The abraded particles were present in the suspension as large aggregates. Nanoparticle abrasion explains why small polystyrene particles are more effective than larger ones, and why, much higher dosages of larger nanoparticles are required for the same flotation performance. These behaviors also were demonstrated with a phenomenological model of the abrasion dynamics.
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