Speaker
Please indicate whether<br>this abstract may be<br>published online<br>(Yes / No)
No
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
Ab-initio density functional theory was employed to investigate the adsorption of sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX), sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX) and diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP) collectors on the nickel-rich pentlandite Fe4Ni5S8 (110) surface. Two adsorption sites have been considered; the Ni-top and Fe-top sites. The electron density of the clean (110) surface is found to be high on Ni atoms than on Fe atoms suggesting a strong covalent bonding. Furthermore, the results show that the adsorbates coordinate mainly to the surface through interaction between their S atoms with the surface Fe or Ni atoms; the sulphur atoms of these thiol collectors being the centre of reactivity. The adsorption energies showed that DEDTP adsorbs stronger than the xanthates, and the predicted adsorption strength follows the order as: DEDTP > SIBX > SEX for both Ni-top and Fe-top sites. The DOS and Bader charge analysis suggest that the xanthates act as electron donors while the DEDTP has an electron accepting character at the surface. These properties suggest that the DEDTP exhibit good selectivity in the separation of pentlandites as compared to SIBX and SEX xanthates. This study offers an insight into the collecting performance of SEX, SIBX and DEDTP on (110) nickel-rich pentlandite mineral surface, which could guide recovery operations.
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
No
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
PhD
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Phuti E. Ngoepe, phuti.ngoepe@ul.ac.za, University of Limpopo
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
Yes
