Rheology of slurries and environmental impacts in the mining industry.

The world's resource industries are the largest producers of waste. Much of this waste is produced as a fine particle slurry, which is pumped to a storage area, generally at a low concentration, where it behaves like a Newtonian fluid. Simply removing, reusing, and recycling water from the slurry represents a step toward a more sustainable practice in this industry.

Effect of cationic polyacrylamides on the interactions between cellulose fibers.

The interaction between cellulose fibers in the presence of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) was analyzed by rheology as a function of polyelectrolyte concentration, charge density, and molecular weight. CPAM was found to strongly influence the yield stress of cellulose suspensions; low doses of CPAM increased the yield stress, but at higher concentrations the yield stress declined. The charge density of the CPAM was the most significant factor in how yield stress responded to CPAM concentration; this effect was able to be normalized to a master curve by considering only the charged fraction of the polymer.