Effects of Hydrogen Bonds between Ethoxylated Alcohols and Sodium Oleate on Collecting Performance in Flotation of Quartz

Hydrogen bonds play an important role in the interaction between surfactants. In this study, the effect of three different ethoxylated alcohols (OP-10, NP-10, AEO-9) on the collecting behavior of sodium oleate (NaOL) in the flotation of quartz was investigated. To explore the mechanism, the hydrogen bond between ethoxylated alcohols and NaOL was analyzed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results showed that ethoxylated alcohols promoted the collecting performance of NaOL and reduced the dosage of the activator CaO and the collector NaOL in the flotation of quartz. The Zeta potential measurement illustrated that ethoxylated alcohols promoted the adsorption of OL(−) on the activated quartz surface and the degree of promotion was in the order of OP-10 > NP-10 > AEO-9. The MD simulation results showed that a hydrogen bond presented between ethoxylated alcohols and OL(−). Due to the hydrogen bond between the ethoxylated alcohols and OL(−), the attraction force between OL(−) and the quartz surface increased with the addition of ethoxylated alcohols in the order of OP-10 > NP-10 > AEO-9 based on the MD simulation results. As the result, the addition of ethoxylated alcohols increased the adsorption density of OL(−) on the activated quartz surface, which explained the promotion of the collecting performance of OL(−) in the flotation of quartz.