Study on the aggregation behavior of kaolinite particles in the presence of cationic, anionic and non-ionic surfactants

PLoS One. 2018 Sep 13;13(9):e0204037. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204037. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Aggregation behaviors of kaolinite particles with different surfactants were studied in this paper. Aggregation settling yield and fractal dimension analysis were used to determine the aggregation results. Zeta potential measurements, adsorption tests, Infrared spectroscopy analysis and scanning electron microscope measurements were conducted for further investigation into the mechanism. Experimental results showed that much better aggregation results was obtained in the presence of cationic surfactant than that in the presence of anionic and non-ionic surfactants. 98% aggregation setting yield was obtained in the presence of dodecylamine. Adsorption tests indicated that the adsorption capacity of dodecylamine on kaolinite surface was larger than that of sodium oleate and Tween80. Zeta potential measurements confirmed that dodecylamine was more beneficial to the aggregation of kaolinite particles. Infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that the adsorption of dodecylamine on kaolinite surface was attributed to electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Sodium oleate was adsorbed by chemical adsorption. However, Tween80 can hardly be adsorbed by kaolinite surface.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Anions
  • Cations
  • Coal Mining
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Kaolin / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Particle Size
  • Polysorbates / chemistry
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
  • Static Electricity
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry*
  • Wastewater / chemistry

Substances

  • Anions
  • Cations
  • Polysorbates
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Waste Water
  • Kaolin

Grants and funding

The financial supports for this work from the Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant No. 51504011, the Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Anhui province (KJ2017A071), the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant No. 1508085QE90 and No. 1808085QE120 are gratefully acknowledged. URLs: www.nsfc.gov.cn, www.ahkjt.gov.cn. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.