Degradation of ethyl xanthate in flotation residues by hydrogen peroxide

The degradation behavior of ethyl xanthate (EX) salt was the most widely used collector in sulfide mineral flotation and emission of flotation tailings with residual EX was harmful to environment. In this work, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV/Vis) at different pH values from 3 to 12. For pH value from 5 to 12, EX was oxidized into ethyl per xanthate (EPX) by H2O2. Then EPX was further oxidized into thiosulfate (TS) salt rather than ethyl thiocarbonate (ETC) and this step was the reaction-limited step. Then depending on pH values, TS was degraded into sulphate and carbonate salts (pH > 7) or elemental sulfur (pH 3.0 during test time