Effect and Mechanism of Sodium Polyacrylate on Flotation of Serpentine

Effect of sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) on the flotation and surface properties of serpentine was studied systematically by means of flotation test, Zeta potential test, Infrared spectral (IR) and SEM-EDS analysis. The flotation results showed that the addition of the depressant sodium polyacrylate could effectively depress the flotation of serpentine, and the recovery of serpentine decreased from 36% to 10% after the addition of 24.7 mg/L sodium polyacrylate. Zeta potential test results showed that sodium polyacrylate could significantly reduce the surface charge of serpentine.Infrared spectral (IR) and SEM-EDS analysis showed that sodium polyacrylate had obvious chemical adsorption on serpentine surface.The mechanism analysis shows that sodium polyacrylate can flocculate serpentine by interacting with the Mg²⁺ on the serpentine surface, and change the dispersion state of serpentine particles, thus effectively depressing the serpentine particles.