USING COLLOIDAL LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES AS CATIONIC MICROPARTICULATE COMPONENT

Layered double hydroxides consisting of layers with cationic charges may be potential candidates of cationic microparticles forming synergetic retention effect with anionic polyacrylamide. In this work, the layered double hydroxides with various molar ratios of Mg/Al were synthesized by co-precipitation of magnesium chloride and aluminum chloride and peptized by intense washing with water. The chemical formula, particle size, Zeta potential of the layered double hydroxide were analyzed. It was found that positively charged magnesium aluminum hydroxide with particle diameter in nanoparticle size could be prepared. The Zeta potential and particle size vary with the feed molar ratio of Mg/Al and the peptizing process, respectively. The Zeta potential is also pH dependent. The retention experiments carried out on DDJ show that when used together with anionic polyacrylamide, the positively charged colloidal double hydroxide greatly improves the retention of reed pulps. The chemical formula, particle size and Zeta potential of the colloidal double hydroxide all affect its retention behavior.