Oil agglomeration of metal-bearing shale in the presence of mixed cationic-anionic surfactants

This paper reports oil agglomeration of fine metal-bearing shale particles in the presence of cationic (dodecylamine hydrochloride) and anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate) surfactants and their mixture. The experimental results demonstrated that there was a strong relationship between zeta potential, hydrophobic coagulation, oil agglomeration and particle hydrophobicity in the presence of cationic surfactant, whereas shale neither coagulated nor agglomerated in the presence of anionic surfactant. Addition of either anionic or cationic surfactant in emulsification of a bridging oil increased the size of agglomerates and reduced the concentration of surfactant used in the suspension. The results pointed to synergism between cationic and anionic surfactants in oil agglomeration. Based on the results obtained from this study, the mechanism of oil agglomeration of shale in the presence of ionic surfactants and their mixture was elucidated

Heterocoagulation of shale particles and bubbles in the presence of ionic surfactants

Adsorption of surfactants is one of the important feature governing interactions between particulate matters. When interactions occur between two particulates, which differ from each other, heterocoagulation takes place. This paper explains heterocoagulation of bubbles and carbonaceous metal-bearing shale particles. Heterocoagulation was experimentally studied using zeta potential, adsorption and contact angle tests. The results indicated that heterocoagulation in the presence of ionic (anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS, and cationic dodecylamine hydrochloride DDA) surfactants was feasible. Based on the results, the heterocoagulation mechanism was evaluated, and thus the mechanism of shale flotation in the presence of ionic surfactants was elucidated

Control of glass surface wettability via esterification with n-alkyl alcohols

Surface wettability plays an essential role in many processes and materials applications. It depends mainly on the surface roughness and chemical composition, thus through a controlled modification of these parameters, the wettability can be restrained. Glass is an inorganic solid material, composed mainly of amorphous silica, which surface, due to the presence of reactive hydroxyl groups, can be quite easily chemically modified. This feature can be used to control the wettability of glass by reaction with organic compounds. In this study, the esterification of glass silanol groups with n-alkyl alcohols (Cn/H2n+1/OH, n=3, 4, 6, 8, 10) was employed to modify its wettability. The effect of such modification on the physicochemical properties of glass surface was comprehensively investigated and characterised by the water contact angle, surface free energy, zeta potential, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. We demonstrate that the wettability of the esterified glass surface is strongly dependent on both the chain length of used alcohol and modification time. The alcohol molecule binds to the glass surface through a Si-O-C bond, leading to the formation of a monolayer that does not significantly affect the surface morphology and zeta potential. Conducted studies provided a broader view of the influence of this technique for modifying surface wettability on its physicochemical properties

Rhamnolipids as Effective Green Agents in the Destabilisation of Dolomite Suspension

In this paper, we describe an application of mono- and dirhamnolipid homologue mixtures of a biosurfactant as a green agent for destabilisation of a dolomite suspension. Properties of the biosurfactant solution were characterised using surface tension and aggregate measurements to prove aggregation of rhamnolipids at concentrations much lower than the critical micelle concentration. Based on this information, the adsorption process of biosurfactant molecules on the surface of the carbonate mineral dolomite was investigated, and the adsorption mechanism was proposed. The stability of the dolomite suspension after rhamnolipid adsorption was investigated by turbidimetry. The critical concentration of rhamnolipid at which destabilisation of the suspension occurred most effectively was found to be 50 mg·dm−3. By analysing backscattering profiles, solid-phase migration velocities were calculated. With different amounts of biomolecules, this parameter can be modified from 6.66 to 20.29 mm·h−1. Our study indicates that the dolomite suspension is destabilised by hydrophobic coagulation, which was proved by examining the wetting angle of the mineral surface using the captive bubble technique. The relatively low amount of biosurfactant used to destabilise the system indicates the potential application of this technology for water treatment or modification of the hydrophobicity of mineral surfaces in mineral engineering

Effect of ultrasound pre-treatment on carbonaceous copper-bearing shale flotation

Although numerous studies have been implemented on identifying the impact of acoustic waves on mineral beneficiation, its fundamental aspects remain unclear in the literature. The present work, for the first time, systematically investigates the role of ultrasound pre-treatment (UPT) in the carbonaceous copper-bearing shale flotation. To this end, conditioning was carried out at different powers of applied ultrasound. Non-treated and UPT shale flotation tests were performed in the presence of frother (MIBC) and collector (KEX). To analyse particle surface charge variation and collector adsorption properties after application of UPT, zeta potential and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy measurements were implemented, respectively. The generation of sub-micron bubbles due to the acoustic cavitation was characterised by laser-based particle size measurements. Shale hydrophobicity was determined using the sessile drop and captive bubble techniques. The micro-flotation results showed that the mass recovery increased by 40% at 20 W of applied ultrasonic power. The positive effect of UPT on the copper-bearing shale flotation was related to: i) generation of ultrafine bubbles due to the acoustic cavitation phenomenon and ii) the cleaning effect through transient bubble collapse. However, rigorous ultra-sonication diminished the recoverability of the sample owing to the less intensified number of ultrafine bubbles on the particle surfaces and formation of free H and OH radicals, which led to the oxidation of particle surfaces. These statements were correlated well with the observations of the zeta potential, particle size analysis and quantified ultrafine bubbles. Finally, we briefly highlighted fundamental knowledge gaps in flotation and ultrasound-related issues for future work

Production and characterization of lipopeptide biosurfactant from a new strain of Pseudomonas antarctica 28E using crude glycerol as a carbon source

Pseudomonas is a cosmopolitan genus of bacteria found in soil, water, organic matter, plants and animals and known for the production of glycolipid and lipopeptide biosurfactants. In this study bacteria (laboratory collection number 28E) isolated from soil collected in Spitsbergen were used for biosurfactant production. 16S rRNA sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) revealed that this isolate belongs to the species Pseudomonas antarctica. In the present study, crude glycerol, a raw material obtained from several industrial processes, was evaluated as a potential low-cost carbon source to reduce the costs of lipopeptide production. Among several tested glycerols, a waste product of stearin production, rich in nitrogen, iron and calcium, ensured optimal conditions for bacterial growth. Biosurfactant production was evidenced by a reduction of surface tension (ST) and an increase in the emulsification index (E-24%). According to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), the biosurfactant was identified as viscosin. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of lipopeptide was determined to be 20 mg L-1. Interestingly, viscosin production has been reported previously for Pseudomonas viscosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas libanensis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on viscosin production by a P. antarctica 28E. The results indicated the potential of crude glycerol as a low-cost substrate to produce a lipopeptide biosurfactant with promising tensioactive and emulsifying properties