Comparative Studies of Quaternary Ammonium Salts on the Aggregation and Dispersion Behavior of Kaolinite and Quartz

Fine particles in the presence of flotation reagents exhibit different dispersion and aggregation behaviors in a mineral suspension, and affect the flotation separation processes. In this study, the effects of three quaternary ammonium salts (i.e., dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC), tetradecyltrimethylammonium chloride (TTAC), and hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC)) on the dispersion and aggregation behaviors of kaolinite and quartz were studied. The mechanism was systematically investigated using sedimentation tests, reagent adsorption analysis, zeta potential measurements, and SEM analysis. In the absence of reagents, the kaolinite and quartz particles exhibited good aggregation behaviors at acid and neutral pHs compared with alkaline conditions. Except for CTAC, the presence of DTAC and TTAC improved the aggregation behavior of both minerals in neutral and alkaline conditions. More, the sedimentation yields of both minerals were increased significantly with increasing the concentration of DTAC and TTAC. However, the increasing concentration of CTAC resulted in an increase in the dispersion of kaolinite and quartz particles under the same conditions. At neutral and alkaline conditions, the zeta potentials and adsorbed amounts of all three salts on the mineral surfaces were increased significantly with increasing the concentrations of salts, and the adsorbed amount adopted the following sequence: CTAC > TTAC > DTAC. The zeta potential results showed that the stronger adsorption of quaternary ammonium salts on mineral surfaces at neutral and alkaline conditions was mainly because of electrostatic interactions.