Patent ID: 8721896

Claim:
A method of treating an aqueous mineral slurry to disperse and separate the components of the slurry, to enhance recovery of components of the slurry, and to enhance dewatering of the solids in the resulting residual slurry for water recovery and solids reclamation, said method comprising: (a) providing an aqueous slurry comprising slurrying water and solid mineral components; (b) optionally adding to the slurry of (a) a sodium or potassium zeolite having a weight ratio of aluminum to silicon in the range of about 0.72:1 to about 1.3:1 in an amount sufficient to disperse and separate the components of the slurry to form a dispersed slurry; (c1) adding to the dispersed slurry of (a) sufficient quantities of a water solution of a polymer reactive with said solid mineral components, said polymer being selected from the group consisting of water-soluble multivalent cation-containing acrylate copolymers, said polymers having an intrinsic viscosity of less than 5 dl/gm (measured in 1 M NaCl at 25 degrees C.), to cause the polymer to react with the solid mineral components to cause the solid mineral components to immediately begin to floc and settle to form a product comprising a floc and supernatant water, thereby enhancing separation and subsequent recovery of solid mineral components of the slurry and enhancing subsequent water removal and consolidation of residual components of the product; or (c2) adding to the dispersed slurry of (b) sufficient quantities of a water solution of a polymer reactive with said mineral components, said polymer being selected from the group consisting of water-soluble multivalent cation-containing acrylate copolymers, said polymers having an intrinsic viscosity of less than 5 dl/gm (measured in 1 M NaCl at 25 degrees C.), to cause the polymer to react with the zeolite and solid mineral components to immediately neutralize the dispersive effect of the zeolite in (b) to cause the solid mineral components to immediately begin to aggregate and settle to form an aggregate and supernatant water, thereby enhancing separation and subsequent recovery of solid mineral components of the slurry and enhancing subsequent water removal and consolidation of residual components of the product.