The influence of solution pH (in the range 3–9) on mixed silica-alumina suspension in the absence and presence of polyacrylic acid (PAA) was studied. The composition of the adsorbent was SiO2 (97%) and Al2O3 (3%). The turbidimetry method was applied to record changes in the stability of the investigated systems as a function of time. It was shown that the suspension without the polymer is less stable at pH 3, whereas at pH 6 and 9, the systems were stable. PAA with molecular weights 100 000 and 240 000 at pH 3 (improvement of system stability conditions) and PAA 2 000 at pH 6 (deterioration of suspension stability) have a great effect on the silica-alumina suspension stability. The stabilization-flocculation properties of polyacrylic acid are a result of a specific conformation of its chains on the solid surface where it depends on the solution pH and the polymer molecular weight.
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