Journal article
In situ investigation of aggregate sizes formed using thermo-responsive polymers: Effect of temperature and shear
WS Ng, LA Connal, E Forbes, K Mohanarangam, GV Franks
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science | ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE | Published : 2017
Abstract
Temperature-responsive flocculants, such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), induce reversible particle aggregation upon heating above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). The aim of this work is to investigate the aggregation of ground iron ore using PNIPAM and conventional polyacrylamide (PAM) flocculants in a continuously-sheared suspension, through in situ chord length measurements using Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement techniques and real-time imaging of the particle aggregates. In the presence of uncharged PNIPAM, particle aggregation occurs only upon heating to the LCST, and the aggregates continue to grow with further heating. Subsequent cooling re-disperses the agg..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Australian Commonwealth Government through the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. We are also grateful to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for the financial support provided for this research, as well as Vale for the iron ore samples used in the current work. We would also like to thank John-Paul O'Shea for synthesising the polymer used in this study, as well as Phillip Fawell, David McCallum and Leanne Smith from CSIRO, Tara Haskell from BASF, our two reviewers for this paper, and Silvia Leo for assisting in various stages of the work.