*4.1.3.3 Modifiers*

These are chemical compounds applied to the pulps of flotation to strengthen the collector-mineral Adsorption, that is, selectivity enhancement. This may be achieved by either (a) creating an environment or revitalizing the floatability of the desired mineral, (b) by suppressing the flotation activity of the undesired mineral (at a particular stage of flotation operation), (c) by removing the deleterious elements which hinder effective flotation of desired minerals or (d) by providing proper hydrophobicity for the selective adsorption between the mineral and collector.

There are different types of modifiers.


Along with flotation, colloidal chemistry plays an important role in flocculation. Inorganic salts and synthetic high-molecular - weight polymers are commonly used in the treatment of mine waste and oil sands tailings to coagulate/flocculate the solid particles. Following its biomedical applications by settling experiments, the feasibility of using highly biocompatible glycopolymers in solid–liquid separation has been explored.
