Research Projects

Objective: The study proposes a set of new green reagents to be used for minerals containing Cu-Pb-Zn; apatite, and calcite and develop a deep understanding of the underlying mineral-reagent mechanism which will further pave the way for the development of new reagents in future

Summary: The surfactants derived from renewable raw materials are known for their positive impact on the environment, biodegradability, low or non-toxicity, and innocuousness for human health. However, the knowledge about their application in mineral processing is very limited. In this context, the proposed project envisages the exploitation of renewable resources to develop non-toxic reagents to be used in flotation/flocculation of minerals. In this study, available green surfactants which have yet not been used for flotation/flocculation will be subjected to molecular modeling studies involving density functional theory, molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics to understand their interaction with mineral surfaces. Based on this computational modeling, different reagents /functional groups will be screened for being used as reagents. The reagents will be either extracted or synthesized from available renewable bio or petrochemical byproducts. Detailed flotation/flocculation studies will be carried out to validate these new products as efficient reagents and comparison of their performance with the existing reagents will be done to establish them as suitable substitutes. The study will propose a set of new green reagents to be used for minerals containing Cu-Pb-Zn; apatite, and calcite and develop a deep understanding of the underlying mineral-reagent mechanism.