Flocculation of Oxides Using Polyethylene Oxide
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Powder Technology, 62 (1990) 253 - 259 253 Flocculation of Oxides using Polyethylene Oxide E. KOKSAL, R. RAMACHANDRAN*, P. SOMASUNDARAN** and C. MALTESH Langmuir Center for Colloid. and lnterfacu, Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (U.S.A.) (Received November 1,1989) SUMMARY to H-bonding forces, physical hydrophobic interactions and chemical mechanisms.Tadros Flocculation of oxides using polyethylene [41 examined the adsorption and flocculation oxide was investigated. Polyethylene oxide properties of silica gel with polyvinyl alcohol adsorbedstrongly on and flocculated sodium and found that maximum flocculation kaolinite...H-bonding is considered to be the occurred at the point of zero charge of the driving force for polyethylene oxide adsorp- oxide and also observedan increasein adsorp- tion on kaolinite. The mechanismof adsorp- tion of PVA upon heat treating the solid up tion of polyethylene oxide on kaolinite was to 700 °c. Tadros examined the mechanism examined by studying the adsorption/ of adsorption basedon the degreeof hydra- flocculation characteristicsof different oxide tion of the substrate. Evidently, other than minerals using the same polymer. Poly- H-bonding, no generic mechanismcould be ethylene oxide flocculated silica gel but did utilized to explain polyethylene oxide adsorp- not adsorb on or flocculate hematite and tion. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has found that alumina. Quartz was flocculated only below polyethylene oxide is an excellent flocculant pH 3. Results are examined in terms of the for clays and red mud [5) and correlated the type of surface groups and the degree of adsorption of the polymer with the electro- hydration of the solids. It is proposed that negativity index. Polyethylene oxide itself adsorption of polyethylene oxide on solids has been a widely used polymer in several requires some optimum hydroxylation of the systemsand its characteristicshave been the surface with displaceablewater species. subject of severalreviews [6,7). The present work focuses on the adsorption of poly- ethylene oxide on clay and the constituent INTRODUCTION minerals of clay. It was the aim to study the adsorption/flocculation behavior of poly- Polyethylene oxide (PEO) has servedas an ethylene oxide on a variety of oxide minerals effective flocculant in severalsystems [1,2]. such as silica gel, quartz, hematite, alumina However, the exact nature of the mechanism and kaolinite and utilize the behavior of of polyethylene oxide adsorption remains polyethylene oxide on each mineral to unexplained. Rubio [3] found that poly- explain its overall flocculation characteristics. ethylene oxide was an effective flocculant The oxides studied vary significantly in their on substancesrecognized to be hydrophobic interfacial properties such as point of zero but the polymer was ineffective on hydro- charge(pzc) and degreeof hydration. philic substratessuch as rutile, quartz and copper carbonate. Rubio attributed the specificity of polyethylene oxide flocculation MATERIALS AND METHODS .Present address: Union Carbide Corporation Na-kaolinite Limited, Technical Center, Bound Brook, New Jersey A homoionic sample of sodium kaolinite 08805. was preparedfrom a well-crystallized sample ..To whom correspondence should be addressed. of Georgiakaolinite which was obtained from 0032-59101901$3.50 @ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands 254 the clay repository at the University of The top half of the suspensionwas sucked out Missouri. The surfacearea of the samplewas using a suction device. About 20 cm3 of the determined by BET to be 9.4 m2/g. The supernatant from the unsettled portion was methodology used for clay preparation has centrifuged for determination of residual beendiscussed earlier [8]. polymer concentration. Both 100-cm3settled and unsettled portions were filtered sepa- SUicagel rately using filter papers and the residue on Silica gel was purchasedfrom Alfa Products the filter paper was dried and weighed. The Inc. The surface area of silica gel was 300 per cent solid secttledwas determined from m2/g, particle size 70 p.m and pore volume the dry weight of the solid in the settled and 1.6 cm3/g. The characteristics of silica gel unsettled portions. were provided by the manufacturer. 88% = ms. ?'!'~~"'~ Quartz ms + mus Natural Brazilian quartz prepared by wet SS% = solid settled per cent grinding and leaching was used. The surface ms = weight of solid in 100 cm3 of settled areaof quartz as measuredby BET was 0.5 portion m2/g. mus = weight of solid in 100 cm3 of unsettled Hematite portion Synthetic hematite was obtained from Polymer concentration was determined Alfa Products Inc. The surface area of using the method of Attia and Rubio [9]. hematite as measuredby BET was 7.5 m2/g. Alumina RESULTS Alumina of 0.3 /lm size was purchased from Alfa Products. Effect of conditioning time The role of conditioning time in determin- Polymer ing flocculation was investigatedinitially at a Polyox coagulant obtained from Union concentration of 0.5 ppm of polyethylene Carbide Corporati9n was used as a flocculant. oxide. The polymer was added dropwise for Polyethylene oxide used in the experiments 55 s at a steady flow rate of 0.1 cm3fs.Con- had an approximate molecular weight of ditioning time here refers to the time for 5 million as determined by the manufacturer. which the suspensionwas further stirred after Polyethylene glycol (PEG), molecular weight addition of the polymer. Figure 1 showsthat 8000, was also used in some experiments. maximum flocculation occurs when the All experiments were conducted in solution made up with triply distilled water. 100 ~ Adsorption and flocculation experiments Five grams of the solid were equilibrated v. 80 E with 195 cm3 of triply distilled water or solu- :70 tion of appropriate ionic strength and pH in a :! 250-cm3glass beaker using a magnetic stirrer ."eo-0 at bar for about 2 h. The pH of the suspension ~ was measuredafter equilibration and taken as PEO 5.106 MW/No-kOOIINte in Water the final pH. The beaker was fitted with pH .6.8 baffle plates and the suspensionstirred using Polymer Concentration' O.5j1pm a propeller for 3 min. Five cubic centimetres of the polymer solution at the desired concen- tration was added dropwise while the suspen- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 sion was being stirred. As soon as all the Conditioning Time, min. polymer was added, the stirring was stopped Fig. 1. Flocculation of sodium kaolinite as a function and the suspensionallowed to settle for 15 s. of conditioning time. 255 stirring is stopped as soon as polymer addition Polymer solutions and suspensionswere pre- is complete. Per cent solid settled dropped pared at the same ionic strength in these from 78% to 65% in 1 min and did not change experiments. It is clear that maximum floc- significantly beyond that time period. It was culation occurs in triply distilled water both also possible to visually observe the floc in the presence and in the absence of breakageduring conditioning after polymer polymer. Addition of salt led to reduction in addition was complete. All flocculation flocculation and reached a constant value at results reported in this work were obtained about 0.1 kmol/m3 NaCI. Figure 4 showsthe at zero conditioning time after polymer effect of pH on flocculation of kaolinite. addition. Clearly, flocculation is enhancedat acidic pH conditions. The molecular weight of poly- Effect of polymer concentration ethylene oxide also had a significant role in Figure 2 shows per cent solid settled of determining flocculation. Literature data have sodium kaolinite as a function of initial shown the importance of molecular weight in polymer concentration. It is clear that flocculation of colloidal dispersions. In this kaolinite is flocculated by polyethylene oxide study, polyethylene glycol (MW 8000) and even at very low concentrations (1 ppm). polyethylene oxide (MW 5 million) were used. Over the concentration range studied, no As shown in Fig. 5, the higher molecular restabilization occurred. The effect of ionic 100 strength on flocculation is shown in Fig. 3. ~ 90 ~ 80 ~ ~ 10 '".. ~"~ ~ :! 60 '" " ~ ""I ~~::::::::::~.. ~50 PEO 5.10. MWINa-Kaolinlte In Wat... Pafrmer Concentratian . 0 0 0.5,pm , I I I . I I I I I 234557.9101112 pH Fig. 4. Effect of pH on the flocculation of sodium - kaolinite. .. ~ 80 .! ; 70 go ~ go080 ~ 50 40 IonicStre",th(MI pH (Noturol) 0 -2 6.89 3.10 4.95 0.5 4.71 1 4.94 I I I I I I I . I 0 0;1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 to Ionic Strength, kmole/m3 NoCI Fig. 3. Effect of ionic strength on the flocculation of sodium kaolinite. 256 * I:~ 1 eo~ # 10 40 PEO5.10. _'&".'.a .. Wato, 0" . ..8 (Nat.all 0 2 4 6 . 10 12 14 .. 16 20 22 25 1.."101 POI,.. COftCM'ro'i..., pp" Fig. 9. Flocculation of alumina as a function of polymer concentration. weight polyethylene oxide is a much better flocculant than polyethylene glycol. This is probably due to the bigger molecule being more amenableto the formation of tails and loops that are favorable for bridging floccula- tion to occur. In order to identify the key solid proper- ties responsible for polyethylene oxide adsorption, flocculation of a seriesof oxide minerals of varying hydration and surface charge characteristicswere studied. Figures 6 - 9 show the flocculation of silica, quartz, hematite and alumina along with adsorption densitiesas a function of polymer concentra- tion. Figures 10 - 12 show the flocculation of these oxide minerals as a function of pH. Silica gel was strongly flocculated by poly- DISCUSSION ethylene oxide at natural pH (around 6.9) but the polymer had little effect on the settling The kinetics of flocculation monitored by behavior of alumina and hematite over a wide stirring the suspensionafter addition of the pH range. Quartz in contrast to silica gel was polymer show the importance of hydro- flocculated only at pH 2.5.