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Abstract

A method for the treatment of a kaolin clay crude to separate by selective flocculation impurity particles contained in the crude from finely divided kaolinite particle contained in the crude, comprising: (a) forming said crude into a dispersed aqueous slurry b adding water and at least one dispersant to said crude; (b) conditioning said dispersed aqueous slurry by adding conditioning chemical thereto, the conditioning chemical providing addition of monovalent cations to the slurry without adding multivalent cations thereto; (c) selectively flocculating said conditioned slurry by adding to said conditioned slurry a composition comprising (i) a high molecular weight component comprising an organic anionic polymer having a molecular weight of at least 1 million; and (ii) a low molecular weight component comprising an inorganic anionic polyphosphate; said composition causing impurity particles in said slurry to flocculate and settle as a dense lower layer and kaolinite particles in said slurry to be deflocculated and concentrated in an upper layer above said lower layer; and (d) separating said lower layer and said upper layer; and wherein the use of said composition in step (c) increases the yield of said kaolinite particles in said upper layer.

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