CONTACT-ANGLE STUDIES OF ETHYL XANTHATE COATED GALENA PARTICLES

The wettability of ethyl xanthate coated galena particles has been det ermined from measurements of the equilibrium capillary pressure across a packed bed. Both the advancing liquid powder contact angle, theta(p ), and the specific wettable surface area, A(wet), of galena particles have been obtained. The influence of particle size and ethyl xanthate surface coverage on the powder contact angle have been investigated a nd compared with floatability. Ethyl xanthate at a surface coverage of less than ten percent of an equivalent monolayer significantly increa ses both theta(p) and particle floatability. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.