In our previous study, a NaClO oxidized wheat starch (Ox 5/120) showed promising selectivity between chalcopyrite and graphite flotation compared to the native counterpart. Building from that, this paper presents a systematic investigation conducted on a series of NaClO oxidized starches in a quest to minimize chalcopyrite depression during flotation. Active chlorine of different concentrations was used in the synthesis of the starch derivatives (Ox 1/120, Ox 5/120 and Ox 10/120). Each chlorine level varies the degree of starch oxidation with respect to depolymerisation leading to new orders of molecular weight and size distributions of the polymer fractions. This is in conjunction with the proportion and type of carbonyl functional groups generated. A combination of adsorption isotherms and nanoscale characterisation using AFM revealed dissimilar adsorbability and visual morphological features, providing new insights into the depressive actions of oxidized starches during chalcopyrite flotation.

在我们先前的研究中，NaClO氧化的小麦淀粉（Ox 5/120）与天然的相比，在黄铜矿和石墨浮选之间显示出有希望的选择性。在此基础上，本文提出了对一系列NaClO氧化淀粉进行的系统研究，目的是最大程度地减少浮选过程中黄铜矿的凹陷。在淀粉衍生物的合成中使用了不同浓度的活性氯（Ox 1/120，Ox 5/120和Ox 10/120）。相对于解聚，每个氯水平改变淀粉氧化的程度，导致新的分子量和聚合物级分的尺寸分布。这与所产生的羰基官能团的比例和类型有关。