Does polyacrylamide behave at oxide-aqueous solution interfaces?

Acrylamide-based polymers such as polyacrylamide (PAM) and their derivatives are widely used as additives to enhance solid-liquid separation in the mineral processing industry. Thus, an investigation of polyacrylamide behaviour at oxide-aqueous solution interfaces is of vital importance.

What is a polyacrylamide reagent?

Polyacrylamides (PAMs) are commercially available water-soluble polymers commonly used as multifunctional reagents in processes to concentrate valuable minerals (Moody, 1992). These PAMs and their derivatives can be utilised as collectors, flocculants, modifiers, depressants or activators based on the presence of different functional groups.

Does anionic polyacrylamide adsorb more strongly to iron oxide at low pH?

Anionic polyacrylamide adsorbed more strongly to iron oxide at low pH. Anionic polyacrylamide adsorption exceeded that of neutral polyacrylamide at low pH. Acrylamide-based polymers such as polyacrylamide (PAM) and their derivatives are widely used as additives to enhance solid-liquid separation in the mineral processing industry.

Can polyacrylamide adsorption be quantified at different pH values?

In this work, the adsorption of different molecular weight polyacrylamides onto iron oxides and silica was quantified at different pH values. Mineral oxides were characterised by zeta potential, particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction.

Is polyacrylamide adsorption on iron oxide selective?

Polyacrylamide adsorption on iron oxide is selective over silica as a function of pH. The adsorption of polyacrylamide on magnetite and hematite was compared. Anionic polyacrylamide adsorbed more strongly to iron oxide at low pH. Anionic polyacrylamide adsorption exceeded that of neutral polyacrylamide at low pH.

Does cationic polyacrylamide have effective flocculant behaviour?

They concluded that cationic and anionic polyacrylamide showed effective flocculant behaviour at pH 6 and pH 11 respectively. Leet and Somasundaran studied adsorption of neutral polyacrylamide (MW 700 kg/mol) on a series of mineral oxides including Fe 2 O 3, Cr 2 O 3, Al 2 O 3, TiO 2, SnO 2 and SiO 2 (Leet and Somasundaran, 1989).