Settling Rates for Flocculation of Iron and Manganese Ore-Containing Suspensions by Cationic Glycogen

Novel flocculants have been synthesized on the basis of glycogen. The efficiency of cationic glycogen can be explained in terms of Singh’s qualitative easy approachability model (EAM). The jar test was used previously to evaluate flocculation efficacy, but we have recently shown that a plot of interface height vs. settling times provides a better measure. In accord with the EAM, a one-to-one correspondence between settling velocity and radius of gyration of flocculants in various solutions has been demonstrated, providing quantitative proof of the EAM. Now the flocculation efficacy of cationic glycogen is evaluated by determination of settling times in both iron and manganese ore suspensions and compared with the performance of other polymer flocculants. Its superior flocculation efficacy over commercial flocculants and other flocculants synthesized by us is demonstrated. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 48:1892–1896, 2008. a 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers