Studies of Collector Adsorption on Iron Oxides by in Situ ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

In this work, the adsorption of three model collectors, viz., poly(ethylene glycol) monooleate (PEGMO), ethyl oleate, and maleic acid, as well as the commercial fatty-acid-type collector Atrac 1563, was studied in situ on synthetic hematite using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The adsorption behavior of the studied compounds on hematite was determined to a large extent by the polar headgroup. Adsorption of Atrac and PEGMO as a function of concentration showed good agreement with the Freundlich adsorption model, suggesting energetically heterogeneous adsorption. In situ desorption experiments revealed that a large fraction of the Atrac was weakly attached to the hematite surface, as it was partially removed by flushing with water at pH 8.5 and 10. These results suggest that a separate washing unit after the flotation step could be beneficial in reducing the contamination of iron ore by flotation chemicals.