Flotation behavior and adsorption mechanism of sodium lauroamphoacetate to cassiterite

The flotation behavior and adsorption mechanism of cassiterite using sodium lauroamphoacetate (SLA) as a collector were investigated by adsorption tests, micro-flotation tests, zeta potential measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Adsorption test results indicated that the adsorption of SLA on the cassiterite surface increased continually with the increase of SLA concentration. Micro-flotation test results demonstrated that SLA had a stronger collecting ability to cassiterite than salicylhydroxamic acid (SHA) and sodium oleate (NaOL) in the pH range of 2-12, and showed a higher selectivity in the separation of cassiterite-quartz than in cassiterite-clinochlore. The zeta potential measurement results indicated that the isoelectric point (IEP) of cassiterite minerals changed from pH 3.9 to 3.4, suggesting the adsorption of SLA on cassiterite surface. The FTIR spectra and XPS analysis further confirmed that SLA chemically adsorbed on cassiterite surface.