Controlled flocculation of coarse suspensions by colloidally dispersed solids I: Interaction of bismuth subnitrate with bentonite.

Deflocculated suspensions of coarse powders tend to cake as the individual particles settle out and form compact, cohesive sediments. Limited flocculation results in looser sediments because the settled-out flocs incorporate large amounts of the liquid suspending medium. Controlled flocculation of bismuth subnitrate suspensions was achieved by the addition of small amounts of bentonite. The interaction of the coarse, positively charge bismuth subnitrate particles in aqueous suspension with negatively charged, colloidally dispersed bentonite was investigated by measuring electrophoretic mobility, sedimentation volume, and viscosity. Gradual addition of bentonite dispersion to bismuth subnitrate suspensions first reduced the zeta-potential of the bismuth subnitrate particles from +28 mv to zero, then inverted it, and finally caused it to level off at -20 mv for bismuth subnitrate-bentonite weight ratios below 200. Owing to the much greater specific surface area of bentonite, the surface of the bismuth subnitrate lath-shaped crystals was completely covered by 0.5% of its weight in clay platelets. Adhesion was promoted by electrovalences between surface bismuthyl ions and cation-exchange sites of the clay and by secondary valences. The charge neutralization of bismuth subnitrate by bentonite was a heterocoagulation process: the addition of small amounts of the clay flocculated the bismuth subnitrate suspensions and eliminated caking. While the zeta-potential of the bismuth subnitrate particles leveled off when their surface was saturated with bentonite platelets, sedimentation volume and viscosity continued to increase when the clay concentration was increased further while maintaining the bismuth subnitrate concentration constant. The excess, nonadsorbed bentonite formed the characteristic house-of-cards structure, incorporating the bentonite-coated bismuth subnitrate particles as cornerstones.