Honorary note: Jan Drzymala – 70th birthday

Abstract

Jan Drzymala was born on September 25, 1949 in Slawa (Poland). He graduated as M. Sc. (chemistry) from the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (WUST) in 1973 and obtained a Ph.D. degree in mineral processing at WUST. In 1991 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Science. In 2002 the President of Poland appointed him as a Full Professor. Since 1973 until his retirement in 2018 he was employed by WUST. His scientific activity includes 335 records (125 journal papers, 47 conference papers, 54 book chapters, 3 monographs, 1 book (3 editions), 11 book/monograph editorial tasks, 80 reports, 2 patents, 2 patent applications). During his time with WUST he taught both mineral processing and chemistry in Polish and English. Prof. Drzymala was the editor-in-chief of the Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Processing Journal. In 1973, based on his M.Sc. thesis it was shown that green colored silicas, which occur in a weathering deposit in Szklary (Poland), can be present both as nickel-bearing microcrystalline quartz (chrysoprase) as well as nickel-bearing opals. In 1978/79 he joined Prof. D.W. Fuerstenau at UC Berkeley working on selective flocculation in the silica/hematite system. They showed that separation is possible not only as has been practiced in alkaline solution but also in acidic environments regulated with HF. They also published papers describing the mechanism of polymer sorption on oxides. After returning from the USA he worked on separation of hercynite from ilmenite and the properties of oleate-based flotation collectors. His accomplishments were summarized in a monograph later used for a partial fulfilment of the requirements to receive the degree of Doctor of Science (D. Sc., habilitation, 1991). Between 1984 and 2000 together with Prof. T.D. Wheelock and Dr. Markuszewski (ISU, Ames, IA, USA) he worked on oil agglomeration of coal publishing several papers on the mechanism of the process. He helped clarify the significant role which air plays in the oil agglomeration process. He also helped come up with the innovation of monitoring the course of oil agglomeration using turbidity. In 1999 Prof. Drzymala and coworkers measured the zeta potential of ice in water based on Prof. Drzymala’s idea to use heavy ice at temperatures between 0 and 3.8 C. The thermodynamic properties of the interfacial regions of aqueous electrolyte solutions were considered together with Prof. Lyklema. Prof. Drzymala devoted many papers to graphical representation of separation in the form of upgrading, classification, distribution, arrheniusan, limits etc. plots, to show separation results and the way to used them to find local and global efficiencies as a well as mathematical forms of separation curve. Particularly useful are the recovery-recovery upgrading curves, which he proposed to call the Fuerstenau curves. Prof. Drzymala and his co-workers published numerous papers on copperand carbon-bearing shale. Recently Prof. Drzymala has been occupied with a new graphical, and more detailed, representation of forces operating in three-phase systems leading to the Young formula, resulting from a balance of forces, and its consequence in such phenomena as capillary rise in different geometrical arrangements. Another issue is the application of the arrheniusan plot to incentive parameters other than temperature. Prof. Jan Drzymala loves research and science, outdoors activities, including gardening, rising hens, fixing things and family gatherings. His wife Henryka, who supported him and his career since 1973, passed away in December 2017 of pancreas cancer. MINERAL PROCESSING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY REVIEW 2019, VOL. 40, NO. 6, 369 https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2019.1678227