Degradation of ethyl xanthate in flotation residues by hydrogen peroxide

摘要

The degradation behavior of ethyl xanthate(EX) salt was the most widely used collector in sulfide mineral flotation and emission of flotation tailings with residual EX was harmful to environment. In this work, hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) wasinvestigated by UV-visible spectroscopy(UV/Vis) at different p H values from 3 to 12. For p H value from 5 to 12, EX was oxidized into ethyl per xanthate(EPX) by H2O2. Then EPX was further oxidized into thiosulfate(TS) salt rather than ethyl thiocarbonate(ETC) and this step was the reaction-limited step. Then depending on p H values, TS was degraded into sulphate and carbonate salts(p H>7) or elemental sulfur(p H3.0 during test time.