Adsorption differences of carboxymethyl cellulose depressant on ilmenite and titanaugite

Flotation performance and interaction mechanism of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) for ilmenite and titanaugite with sodium oleate (NaOL) collector were investigated. Microflotation results showed that the addition of CMC enhanced the flotation selectivity of ilmenite and expanded the floatability difference of ilmenite and titanaugite from 3.60% to 50.04% at pH 6.0. As it was revealed by zeta potential measurements, AFM, FTIR, and XPS analysis, the CMC adsorption on the ilmenite surface was less than that on the titanaugite surface, and CMC reacted with Fe active site on the titanaugite surface through chemisorption. NaOL still chemisorbed onto the ilmenite surface even CMC pre-adsorption, while NaOL was prevented to adsorb onto the titanaugite surface. These interaction forms led to the difference in the floatability of ilmenite and titanaugite, and the actual mineral flotation using the CMC depressant obtained a good index.