Abstract
At present, efficient dewatering of mineral-processing-plant tailings still presents a serious challenge, especially for tailings with a high proportion of clay minerals. In this study, cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) was degraded using hydrodynamic cavitation and was used for the flocculation and dewatering of kaolin. The properties of CPAM after degradation were characterized using a rheometer. At the same time, focused beam reflectance measurement, particle video microscopy, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance were used to study the flocculation and filtration characteristics of kaolin treated by degraded CPAM. The results showed that with an increase in the cavitation time, the viscosity of CPAM decreases gradually and a flocculant mixture system with multimolecular weight is formed. In the process of kaolin flocculation, the pretreated CPAM makes the flocs smaller and denser, resulting in the acceleration of kaolin filtration.