Influence mechanism of hydrated cations on surface hydration of slime mineral particles

To elucidate the microscopic mechanisms underlying the impact of hydrated cations on the surface hydration of slime mineral particles (specifically, kaolinite and quartz, the primary minerals in slime), this study focused on constructing two common hydrated cations in slime water: [Na(H2O)5]+ and [Ca(H2O)8]2+. Using density functional theory, the adsorption of these two hydrated cations on the surfaces of kaolinite (001), (\begin{document}$00\overline 1$\end{document}) and α-quartz (001), as well as their competitive adsorption with water molecules were simulated. The simulation results revealed that the adsorption energy of hydrated cations on all three surfaces was over 50% lower than that of water molecules. The adsorption stability on mineral surfaces was as follows: α-quartz (001) surface > kaolinite (001) surface > kaolinite (\begin{document}$00\overline 1$\end{document}) surface. The adsorption energy of the competitively stable configuration was 34%–57% lower than that of a single hydrated cation on kaolinite and quartz. Additionally, the [Ca(H2O)8]2+ configuration exhibited a greater stability than the [Na(H2O)5]+ configuration under both adsorption conditions. When the hydrated cations adsorbed onto three surfaces, strong hydrogen bonds formed with surface, surpassing the strength of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and kaolinite/quartz surfaces. The hierarchy of hydrogen bonds between two hydrated cations on mineral surfaces was as follows: kaolinite (001) surface > α-quartz (001) surface > kaolinite (\begin{document}$00\overline 1$\end{document}) surface. Under a competitive adsorption, the hydrogen bond between [Na(H2O)5]+ and mineral surface strengthened, while the bond between [Ca(H2O)8]2+ and mineral surface weakened. Although hydrogen bonding did not entirely correlate with changes in adsorption energy, electrostatic interactions in the adsorption configuration were identified. The electrostatic interaction in the single adsorption configuration of hydrated cations proved stronger than that in water molecular adsorption. Under a competitive adsorption, the electrostatic interactions between hydrated cations and mineral surfaces intensified, with [Ca(H2O)8]2+ demonstrating stronger interaction than [Na(H2O)5]+. Given the robust adsorption of hydrated cations on the surfaces of kaolinite and quartz, the dehydration of slime particles becomes more challenging. This could increase hydration repulsion between particles, resulting in a more stable dispersion of particles in slime water

Research on preparation and properties of porous ceramsites sintered with high-ash coal slime

In order to realize the resource and harmless utilization of high-ash coal slime in coal preparation plants, porous ceramsites were prepared by the high-temperature sintering method with coal slime as raw material. The influences of sintering temperature, sintering time and ash content on the properties of porous ceramsites were studied by experiments, and the phase composition, micro-morphology and pore structure characteristics of ceramsites were analyzed by XRD, SEM and BET. The experimental results showed that with the increase of sintering temperature and sintering time, the amount of molten liquid in ceramsite green bodies increased, the densification degree of ceramsites increased gradually, the bulk density and the apparent density increased gradually, and the water absorption and the apparent porosity decreased gradually. However, with the increase of coal slime ash content, the quantity of pores within ceramsites increased first and then decreased. When the coal slime ash content was 55%, the bulk density of porous ceramsite sample was 0.549g/cm3, the water absorption rate was 64.63%, the specific surface area was 19.40m2/g, the crushing rate and wear rate were 0.14%, with rough surface, porous structure and excellent water absorption performance, which met the optimum performance requirements of porous ceramsites. At the same time, this research also provides a new idea and method for the reuse of high-ash coal slime resource, a by-product of coal washing and dressing

Adsorption of Cr(OH)n(3−n)+ (n = 1–3) on Illite (001) and (010) Surfaces: A DFT Study

The development of clay adsorption materials with high Cr(III) removal capacities requires an understanding of the adsorption mechanism at the atomic level. Herein, the mechanisms for the adsorption of Cr(OH)2+, Cr(OH)2+, and Cr(OH)3 on the (001) and (010) surfaces of illite were studied by analyzing the adsorption energies, adsorption configurations, charges, and state densities using density functional theory (DFT). The adsorption energies on the illite (010) and (001) surfaces decrease in the order: Cr(OH)2+ > Cr(OH)2+ > Cr(OH)3. In addition, the energies associated with adsorption on the (010) surface are greater than those on the (001) surface. Further, the hydrolysates are highly active and can provide adsorption sites for desorption agents. The silica (Si–O) ring on the illite (001) surface can capture Cr(OH)n(3−n)+ (n = 1–3). In addition, both Cr(OH)2+ and Cr(OH)2+ form one covalent bond between Cr and surface OS1 (Cr–OS1), whereas the hydroxyl groups of Cr(OH)3 form three hydrogen bonds with surface oxygens. However, increasing the number of hydroxyl groups in Cr(OH)n(3−n)+ weakens both the covalent and electrostatic interactions between the adsorbate and the (001) surface. In contrast, the Cr in all hydrolysates can form two covalent Cr–OSn (n = 1–2) bonds to the oxygens on the illite (010) surface, in which Cr s and O p orbitals contribute to the bonding process. However, covalent interactions between the cation and the (010) surface are weakened as the number of hydroxyl groups in Cr(OH)n(3−n)+ increases. These results suggest that the illite interlayer can be stripped to expose Si–O rings, thereby increasing the number of adsorption sites. Furthermore, regulating the generated Cr(III) hydrolysate can increase or weaken adsorption on the illite surface. Based on these findings, conditions can be determined for improving the adsorption capacities and optimizing the regeneration performance of clay mineral materials

Polymeric flocculants based on the interfacial characteristics of fine clay minerals : a review

Fine clay minerals, found in various industrial effluents, have attracted much attention in recent times. They can form a highly stable suspension in water and increase the complexity of sedimentation for the treatment of wastewater. In the past few decades, the flocculation of fine clay minerals has been significantly improved due to numerous design advancements in the molecular weight, charge density and structure of polymeric flocculants. In this article, the interfacial characteristics and affecting factors of clay minerals are discussed, the design, synthesis and application of synthetic polymers, natural polymers and natural-based grafted polymers are reviewed, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of three types of polymers. The development direction of upgrading existing clay mineral flocculants is proposed based on the interfacial characteristics of clay minerals. Weakening the hydration of clay minerals, altering the manner of molecular interaction and precisely controlling the structure of polymer chains are the design objectives of novel polymeric flocculants

Potential Evaluation for Preparing Geopolymers from Quartz by Low-Alkali Activation

Alkali fusion of granite sawdust at a high alkali dosage can significantly improve geopolymerization activity, but also result in a high alkali consumption and a poor geopolymer performance. In this work, quartz, the most inert component in granite sawdust, was selected to explore the effect of low-alkali activation on its reactivity and the compressive strength of geopolymer. It was found that the amount of activated quartz is mainly determined by the amount of alkali used for activation. The surface of a quartz particle can be effectively activated by an alkali fusion process at a low alkali dosage of 5%. The metakaolin-based geopolymer synthesized with quartz activated by an alkali dosage of 5% shows a high compressive strength of 41 MPa, which can be attributed to the enhanced interfacial interaction between quartz and the geopolymer gel, suggesting that low-alkali activation is a potential way to improve the geopolymerization ability of granite sawdust

Study on the aggregation behavior of kaolinite particles in the presence of cationic, anionic and non-ionic surfactants.

Aggregation behaviors of kaolinite particles with different surfactants were studied in this paper. Aggregation settling yield and fractal dimension analysis were used to determine the aggregation results. Zeta potential measurements, adsorption tests, Infrared spectroscopy analysis and scanning electron microscope measurements were conducted for further investigation into the mechanism. Experimental results showed that much better aggregation results was obtained in the presence of cationic surfactant than that in the presence of anionic and non-ionic surfactants. 98% aggregation setting yield was obtained in the presence of dodecylamine. Adsorption tests indicated that the adsorption capacity of dodecylamine on kaolinite surface was larger than that of sodium oleate and Tween80. Zeta potential measurements confirmed that dodecylamine was more beneficial to the aggregation of kaolinite particles. Infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that the adsorption of dodecylamine on kaolinite surface was attributed to electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Sodium oleate was adsorbed by chemical adsorption. However, Tween80 can hardly be adsorbed by kaolinite surface

Effect of dispersants on coal slime classification in a novel classification apparatus

The effects of the dispersants NaOH and Na2CO3 on the classification of coal slimes was studied in a novel classification apparatus. A dispersion effect was characterized through slurry pH and transmittance measurements as well as zeta potential determinations of the slimes. The pH increased and the zeta potential became more negative, while the transmittance decreased with the increase in the NaOH and Na2CO3 addition. The miscellany rates in the overflow decreased by 15.18% and 11.22% with NaOH and Na2CO3, respectively, while that in the underflow was 31.81% and 27.08%, respectively. An ash-removal efficiency from the coal slurries increased by 20.03% and 10.50% with NaOH and Na2CO3, respectively. It was found that the largest difference in classification efficiency between these dispersants in the overflow was 26.05% and underflow was 14.86%. At the high classification efficiency, the transmittance of the slurry decreased, indicating that better dispersion effect led to the higher classification efficiency of the coal slurry. NaOH showed to be a better dispersant for coal slimes classification than Na2CO3 in the novel classification apparatus

Study of flocculation performance and mechanism of ultrafine montmorillonite particles with NPAM

Ultrafine montmorillonite particles are the main clay minerals in industrial wastewater. In order to explore the flocculation performance and mechanism of flocculant with montmorillonite, the effects of nonionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) dosage and molecular weight on flocculation effect were studied using a flocculation sedimentation experiment. The morphology of flocs was observed by metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope, and the microscopic adsorption mechanism was studied utilizing density functional theory (DFT). The results show that the best reagent system for the montmorillonite sample is that the molecular weight of NPAM is 14 million and the added amount is 100 g/t. The floc size increases with rising NPAM dosage, forming a unique multi-level compact space network structure through polymer bridging. The adsorption energy of acrylamide on the Na-(001) surface of montmorillonite is -108.81 kJ/mol, which is significantly higher than -50.66 kJ/mol on the None-(001) surface. Hydrogen bonding is not the main reason for the adsorption of acrylamide on the montmorillonite surface. NPAM mainly causes the flocculation and sedimentation of montmorillonite through the processes of polymer bridging and electrostatic attraction. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the design and synthesis of new flocculants

The flotation of aluminosilicate polymorphic minerals with anionic and cationic collectors

Andalusite, sillimanite, and kyanite are three polymorphic minerals with the same formula of Al2SiO5 but different crystal structures. Despite their high economic values, selectively recovering them by flotation is a challenge. In this study, the flotation behavior of the three minerals with two types of widely used collectors, anionic sodium hexadecanesulfonate (SHS) and cationic octadecylamine (OA) were examined at acidic pH. It was found that the flotation behavior of the three polymorphic minerals was different under the same flotation condition. In the presence of collector OA, the order of the flotation recovery of the three minerals was kyanite > sillimanite > andalusite, and the recovery increased with slurry pH. However, in the presence of collector SHS, the trend of the flotation recovery of the three minerals was completely opposite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was applied to quantitatively measure the collector adsorption and the surface active sites. The interaction between collectors and minerals was also studied by zeta potential measurements and calculating the adsorption energy using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. It was found that the adsorption of collector OA was through the interaction of amine cations with O atoms by electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. The highest flotation recovery of kyanite among the three minerals was related to the closest packing arrangement of oxygen atoms which leads to the highest electronegativity and therefore the lowest adsorption energy of OA. In comparison, the adsorption of collector SHS was mainly through the chemical interaction of sulfonate anions with Al atoms. The adsorption energy of SHS on andalusite surface was the lowest, which resulted from the lowest electronegativity of andalusite surface

Effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on coal slime flotation

Combined with the characteristics of flotation feed originating from China’s Panyidong Coal Preparation Plant, the ash, zeta potential, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and contact angle test were used to study changes in the surface properties of flotation feed under ultrasonic pre-treatment, and its effect on flotation of coal slime. Results show that Preferred pre-treatment process is ultrasonic secondary treatment, ultrasonic secondary pre-treatment can remove most of the high-ash fine mud for instance kaolinite, montmorillonite and quartz in the coal slurry, reduce the surface electronegativity of coal particles, and increase the contact angle of coal particles. Thus, the concentrate ash content decreases to 13%, the recovery rate, yield of flotation concentrate and combustible matter recovery reach 92.6%, 90.9% and 97.6%, respectively