The flocculation performance of grafted sodium alginate and other polymeric flocculants in relation to iron ore slime suspension

The flocculation characteristics of sodium alginale-g-polyacrylamide (grade VI) SAG-Vt developed in authors' laboratory was compared with some commerc ially available flocculants in aqueous suspensions of 0.5 wt.% iron ore sli mes, Two varieties of iron ore slimes were taken, one is denser than other, for comparison. The iron ore slime samples were characterized using XRD an alysis: IR spectroscopy, chemical analysis and density measurements. Among the various polymeric flocculants, SAG-VI, shows better performance than ot hers in one case, whereas its performance is comparable or at par in the ot her case. lion ore slimes with smaller particle size are better flocculated by the neutral flocculants than those with a larger particle size. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.