Examination arrangement

Course content

This course is intended to provide the basic scientific knowledge to treat fine particles in mining (flotation, flocculation and dewatering), water treatment and purification, and mining waste management.

Introduction: Particulates and particle sizing; Particles in aquatic systems; Conceptualizing dispersions; Particulate dispersions and interfaces; State of aggregation and collective stability.

Theoretical principles: Origin of surface charge; Electrokinetic phenomena; Static electric double layers; Combination of electrokinetics with static double layers; Introduction to more advanced electrokinetics; DLVO classical & extended theories; Potential energy diagrams and suspension stability.

Surface active agents: Structure of surfactant, classification, properties and functions; Adsorption at interfaces; Phenomenology of surfactants in aqueous media.

Adsorption at solid-liquid interfaces: Specific adsorption of inorganic ions; Specific adsorption of organic ions; Adsorption isotherms; Hemi-micelle, two-dimensional condensation and admicelle hypotheses; Inorganic and organic ions adsorption models.

Technological methods: Flotation; Spherical agglomeration; Liquid-liquid extraction; Selective flocculation; Dewatering; Water treatment and purification; Environmental chemistry and waste management.

Learning outcome

Knowledge: The students should

• Understand the pure and applied aquatic chemistry of minerals.
• Understand the reagents and their properties used in mineral processing operations.
• Understand the stability or instability of fine mineral suspensions.
• Understand the selectivity of reagents adsorption at solid-liquid interface.
• Understand the desired alterations of interfacial properties in ore processing and wastes of ore processing.
• Understand the theory and practice of froth flotation, spherical agglomeration and selective flocculation methods of fine particle processing.

Skills: The students should be able to assess fine particle processing by calculation of interacting energies between particles of their aggregation and/or dispersion, and separation efficiency. The students should be able to plan, perform and report their own fine particle processing methods.

General competence: The students should know the basic scientific principles of treating fine particles. The students should have an overview of the processes of treating fine particles by flotation, spherical agglomeration and selective flocculation methods.

Learning methods and activities

Mainly through lectures (4 hours per week), exercises and problem solving (2 hours per week).

Further on evaluation

To pass the course a score of at least 70 percent is required.

Recommended previous knowledge

Colloid and surface chemistry.

Required previous knowledge

Basic knowledge of physical sciences (physics, chemistry and mathematics).

Course materials

Will be provided at the beginning of the course in the form of comprehensive presentation slides of the lectures. Selected papers to be given at the beginning of the course. Principles of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, Third Edition, Paul Hiemenz and Raj Rajagopalan (Authors), Marcel Dekker (Publ.), 1997.