Patent ID: 8093303

Claim:
A mineral slurry concentrate composition consisting essentially of: an aqueous mineral slurry concentrate; a nonionic surfactant that is an alkyl ethoxylate alcohol having the chemical formula R—(OCH 2 CH 2 ) x OH wherein x is an integer from about 1 to 15, inclusive, and R is a linear or branched aliphatic radical comprising from about 6 to about 24 carbon atoms, inclusive, in the alkyl moiety, and having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number from about 1 to about 15, inclusive, an amine ethoxylate having the chemical formula R—N—((CH 2 CH 2 O) x —H) 2 wherein x is an integer from about 1 to about 15, inclusive, and R is a linear or branched aliphatic radical comprising from about 6 to about 24 carbon atoms, inclusive, in the alkyl moiety, or a mixture of said alkyl ethoxylate alcohol and said amine ethoxylate, wherein an effective amount of said nonionic surfactant is from about 0.005 pounds to about 3.0 pounds, inclusive, per one long ton of said aqueous mineral slurry concentrate on a dry mineral weight basis; and a cationic polymer that is a Mannich condensation polymer or a polymer derived from at least one cationic monomer selected from the group consisting of acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium methosulfate, aminomethylated polyacrylamide, methacrylamidopropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, acrylamidopropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, methacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, methacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium methosulfate, diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, diallyldiethyl ammonium chloride, diallyldimethyl ammonium bromide, diallyldiethyl ammonium bromide, a quaternary diallyldialkyl ammonium monomer, a cationic acrylamide monomer, a quaternized derivative of an acrylate or methacrylate, salts thereof, and combinations thereof, wherein an effective amount of said cationic polymer is from about 0.002 pounds to about 3.0 pounds, inclusive, per one long ton of aqueous mineral slurry concentrate on a dry mineral weight basis, wherein the amounts are effective in dewatering the aqueous mineral concentrate slurry, and producing a filter cake, and in decreasing a moisture content and for increasing production of the filter cake compared to the use of the nonionic surfactant alone.