Surface spectroscopic techniques applied to the study of mineral processing

This review paper discusses the most important spectroscopic methods that can be used to study the surface phenomena involved in mineral processing. Spectroscopic measurements can, in fact, provide a better understanding of mineral surface composition and mineral-water and mineral-reagent interactions. The discussion includes air techniques, namely infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy (PAS), and vacuum techniques, including Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS, UPS, ESCA), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS), Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). Fundamental aspects and potential applications are reviewed and compared. Some representative examples are reported from the literature in order to evaluate the most useful techniques that can be utilized to solve various problems. © 1993.