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US 10,464,075 B2Granted
Froth flotation with anisotropic particle collectors
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJulia Baldauf, Alexe Bojovschi, Benjamin S. Mashford, Christine Schieber, George Yiapanis
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Abstract
In one example, a method includes providing a pulp composed of a combination of particulate materials including particles of a target material. The pulp is mixed with a collector composed of anisotropic particles having at least two separate spatial domains that have different physiochemical properties, and the mixture of pulp and collector is fed into an aqueous solution containing air bubbles.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- providing a pulp comprising a combination of particulate materials including particles of a target material;
- mixing the pulp with a collector comprising anisotropic particles having at least two separate spatial domains that have different physiochemical properties, wherein a first domain of the at least two separate spatial domains is hydrophobic, and a second domain of the at least two spatial domains is hydrophilic, and wherein at least some particles of the anisotropic particles comprise:
- a plurality of hydrocarbon chains;
- and
- functional groups borne on a first subset of the plurality of hydrocarbon chains;
- and, wherein the at least some particles of the anisotropic particles are arranged to provide a hierarchical surface structure comprising:
- a micro-scale surface comprising bodies of the at least some particles of the anisotropic particles;
- a nanoscale surface extending from the micro-scale surface and comprising at least some of the plurality of hydrocarbon chains;
- and
- feeding a mixture of the pulp and the collector into an aqueous solution containing air bubbles.
7 more elements
A method comprising:
- providing a pulp comprising a combination of particulate materials including particles of a target material;
- mixing the pulp with a collector comprising anisotropic particles having at least two separate spatial domains that have different physiochemical properties, wherein at least a portion of at least some of the anisotropic particles is treated with a hydrophobic coating;
- and
- feeding a mixture of the pulp and the collector into an aqueous solution containing air bubbles.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.