Ion flotation of zinc using ethylhexadecyldimethylammonium bromide

Zinc ions react with the surfactant ethylhexadecyldimethylammonium bromide (EHDABr) to form a surface active sublate which can be removed from aqueous chloride solutions by ion flotation. A typical ion flotation procedure involves passing air through a 235-ml solution containing 5 ppm Zn²⁺, 2.0 M HCl, and 2.5 × 10^?3M EHDABr at a flow rate of 40 ml/min for 150 min. The procedure is simple and rapid. Cadmium, copper, lead, and nickel ions cause reductions of zinc flotation efficiencies of less than 2.5% under the experimental conditions.