The effect of sodium hexametaphosphate（SHMP） on the separation of serpentine from pyrite and its mechanism were studied systematically through flotation tests,sedimentation tests,surface dissolution,ζ potential tests,adsorption measurements,and infrared spectroscopic analyses.The results show that the SHMP could significantly reduce the adverse effect of serpentine on the flotation of pyrite and make the mixed sample of pyrite and serpentine more disperse in the alkaline condition,thus improve the adsorption of xanthate on pyrite.The action mechanism of the SHMP is that it lowers the pH value at the isoelectric point of serpentine and enhances the negative charge through the dissolution of magnesium from the surface of serpentine and adsorbing on the surface of serpentine.It changes the total interaction energy between serpentine and pyrite from gravitational potential energy to repulse potential energy,according to the calculation of the EDLVO theory.
The background pulp potential of zinc anode slime,and its influence on the occurrence of lead,silver and xanthate,were investigated with thermodynamic method.The thermodynamic conclusion and XRD analysis pointed out that in zinc anode slime,the thermodynamically stable compound of xanthate is dixanthogen,anglesite is the only mineral of lead,and kerargyrite is one of silver minerals occurring.Microflotation tests on single minerals of anglesite and kerargyrite in sulfuric acid solution by amyl dixanthogen indicated that dixanthogen has a much stronger collecting ability to kerargyrite than to anglesite.Molecular dynamic simulation indicated that amyl dixanthogen can only be adsorbed on the surface of kerargyrite in the presence of SO42-.The FTIR tests also verified the selective adsorption of amyl dixanthogen on the surface of kerargyrite in the presence of SO42-.
