Abstract: The effect of molecular structure on the performance of organic depressants was studied.An organic depressant of aliphatic hydrocarbon with simple molecular structure was investigated through the separation of pure lead and zinc minerals and was found to have evident functional group effect.When the molecular structure contained a benzene ring, the functional group effect was not so evident.The basis for the molecular selection and design of the organic depressant for lead and zinc separation was proposed.Test research was made on the organic depressants selected and verified that the new agent GZT has remarkable effect on lead and zinc separation.

Key words: Aliphatic hydrocarbon, Organic depressant, Sulfide, Lead and zinc separation