| M. phlei possesses both a highly charged and a highly hydrophobic surface. It has an isoelectric point (iep) around pH 2 and exhibits a high contact angle. The negative charged surface is due to the presence of carboxylic groups residing on the surface and hydrophobicity is due to the surface fatty groups.;M. phlei is an excellent flotation collector for hematite. Optimum condition for flotation was obtained at about pH 2.5 with the flotation recovery of 78%. Furthermore, M. phlei is flocculent for hematite. At pH 2.5, the flocculation of hematite is rapid with a flocculation efficiency of 0.95.;The flotation of hematite with M. phlei can be explained using DLVO theory. |
