Investigation of the surface free energy of several minerals by iGC (inverse gas chromatography) and correlation with floatability

It is well known that the flotation process separates particles with different wettability dispersed in water. The fundamental physical-chemical property therefore is the specific surface free energy of the mineral surface which together with the specific surface free energy of water causes wettability phenomena besides the surface morphology (e.g. roughness). Inverse Gas Chromatography is a tool which enables determination of the specific surface free energy of powders. There are a few reports on the correlation of flotation response and surface free energy, however the crucial problem is that the flotability is determined in water and the surface free energy is evaluated in the dried powder phase. To determine the effect flotation chemicals have on the specific surface free energy of minerals it is important to investigate the preparation of the dried powder after conditioning with the chemicals in water.
In this Master thesis different minerals (quartz, apatite and magnetite) and ionic collectors (sodium oleate and dodecyl ammonium acetate) with crucially different surfactant adsorption mechanisms will be used to determine floatability and specific surface free energy with different steps of preparation, i.e. washing with mother liquid only or further with solvents with another polarity. The flotation response and the specific surface free energy shall be put in context. It is important to find the proper presentation of the surface free energy components and define a quantitative description of hydrophobicity. It should finally, based on the results, be described in which way flotation samples should be treated for iGC measurements.
The literature is to be researched and summarized for the latest information on the topic.