Selective flocculation of sulfides with reference to environmental control

Abstract

An assessment of the use of high-mol.-wt. polymers such as polyacrylamide, cellulose xanthate, and starch xanthate in the selective flocculation of sulfides from oxide gangue was made from an environmental viewpoint. Role of the functional groups in the polymers and of operating variables such as conditioning time and desliming was examd. Studies were made on chalcopyrite-quartz and pyrite-quartz mixts. in the presence of the polymers.