Mechanism for the selective separation of lepidolite from albite by sodium lauroyl glutamate as a green environment collector.

The sodium lauroyl glutamate (SLG) as a green environment collector was first utilized to separate lepidolite from albite in this study. Under optimized conditions, Li 2 O achieved a recovery of 87.95 % and a grade of 5.28 % in binary mixed pure mineral flotation. The contact angle indicated that the Ca2+-activated surface of lepidolite shifted from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with increasing SLG concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectrum and Zeta potential analyses indicated that SLG can form strong adsorption on the Ca2+-activated surface of lepidolite, while only weak adsorption on albite surface. Adsorption amount measurements indicated that SLG exhibited greater adsorption on the surface of lepidolite compared to that of albite. X-ray photoelectron spectrum analysis further revealed that addition of Ca2+ enhanced the ability of SLG to trap lepidolite. Ca2+ exhibited strong adsorption capacity by interacting with the O sites of lepidolite and SLG. Therefore, the outstanding SLG collector with high selectivity, have colossal potential practical application in the flotation of lepidolite ores. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]