THICKENING OF AQUEOUS MINERAL SUSPENSIONS

摘要

A process of thickening an aqueous suspension of mineral solids by sedimentation comprising adding to the suspension water-soluble anionic bridging polymeric flocculant having intrinsic viscosity at least 5 dl/g and water-soluble cationic polymeric flocculant, allowing the solids to settle under gravity so as to form a lower underflow fraction containing a concentration of solids greater than that of the suspension and an upper overflow fraction containing a concentration of solids lower than that of the suspension and removing the underflow fraction, characterised in that the anionic and cationic flocculants are added to the suspension as an aqueous composition formed by blending 1 part by weight of the cationic polymeric flocculant with 2 to 99 parts by weight of the anionic polymeric flocculant and sufficient water to give a total polymer concentration of below 5 wt.% and under conditions whereby counter-ionic precipitation can occur and in the aqueous composition substantially all of the anionic polymeric flocculant which is not precipitated by the cationic polymeric flocculant is in solution. An advantage of the invention is that the flocculants are not restricted by considerations of compatibility and thus it is not necessary (as in much of the prior art) to use, for instance, free-base cationic or free acid anionic flocculants in an attempt at minimising incompatibility, and it is not necessary to add acid, salt or other additives in order to minimise incompatibility.