Studies of Collector Adsorption on Iron Oxides by in Situ ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

In this work, the adsorption of three model collectors, viz., poly(ethylene glycol) monooleate (PEGMO), ethyl oleate, and maleic acid, as well as the commercial fatty-acid-type collector Atrac 1563, was studied in situ oil synthetic hematite using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (A) spectroscopy. The adsorption behavior of the studied compounds on hematite was determined to a large extent by the polar headgroup. Adsorption of Atrac and PEGMO as a function of concentration showed good agreement with the Freundlich adsorption model, suggesting energetically heterogeneous adsorption. In situ desorption experiments revealed that a large fraction of the Atrac was weakly attached to the hematite surface, as it was partially removed by flushing with water at pH 8.5 and 10. These results suggest that a separate washing unit after the flotation step could be beneficial in reducing the contamination of iron ore by flotation chemicals.