Temperature sensitive polymers as efficient and selective flotation collectors

Abstract

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a temperature responsive polymer that undergoes changes from water soluble hydrophilic molecules to water insoluble hydrophobic colloids at temperatures below and above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 32°C. It has been comprehensively demonstrated that PNIPAM is an effective flocculant, causing the formation of particle aggregates by means of hydrophobic attraction. It has also been demonstrated that PNIPAM has potential to act as a collector in a flotation system. As such, it is potentially suitable for the use in ultrafine flotation systems, which require selective formation of hydrophobic particle aggregates. This study investigat..