In order to identify the mixing and segregation behaviors in a mineral processing operation, present study aimed on the hydrodynamics of solid–liquid fluidization. The study was carried out in a fluidization column w...In order to identify the mixing and segregation behaviors in a mineral processing operation, present study aimed on the hydrodynamics of solid–liquid fluidization. The study was carried out in a fluidization column with tapings at different height of the bed to collect the sample. The binary particles considered in this study are hematite(4800 kg/m3) and quartz(2600 kg/m3) at different size fractions in the range of average size 87×10^(-6)m to 400×10^(-6)m. It is observed that for various binary mixtures, both quartz and hematite particles share the equal composition by mass(50%) at a particular height of fluidized bed, referred as ‘‘locus point'' of mixing. Study indicates that the mixing zone volume will increase for a continuous fluidized bed plant operation. It is observed that the number of locus points varies from 1 to 3 signifying their dependency on the size ratios of binary mixture. Whenever, the difference in terminal velocity between quartz and hematite particles approaches to zero, mixing is enhanced.Further, the present study is extended to find the segregation index for the different size ratios of quartz and hematite particles. It is evident that depending on the size ratios, various regions such as complete segregation, partial mixing and complete mixing can be observed.展开更多
A numerical study of the motion particulates follow along a circularly vibrating screen deck was done using the three dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM). The motion of the particles was analyzed. The effects of...A numerical study of the motion particulates follow along a circularly vibrating screen deck was done using the three dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM). The motion of the particles was analyzed. The effects of vibration amplitude, throwing index, and screen deck inclination angle on the screening process are discussed. The results show that the average velocity of the particles increases along the lon- gitudinal direction of the deck. The screening efficiency is highest when the vibration amplitude, throw- ing index, and screen deck inclination angle are 3-3.5 mm, 2.7 and 15°, respectively. This work is helpful for developing a deep understanding of particle motion and for optimizing screen separator designs.展开更多
The influence on fine particle aggregation and flotation behavior induced by high intensity conditioning(HIC) from saturated of the slurry with CO2 saturation was investigated.Bubble size measurements were conducted.T...The influence on fine particle aggregation and flotation behavior induced by high intensity conditioning(HIC) from saturated of the slurry with CO2 saturation was investigated.Bubble size measurements were conducted.The effect of dissolved gas,xanthate addition and agitation speed on fine sphalerite particle aggregation-and flotation-behavior were studied.The results show that during HIC in air or CO2 saturated water xanthate acts as a frother.The dissolved gas content in the pulp and HIC play a synergistic role in promoting fine particle aggregation and hence flotation;a significantly enhanced aggregation of fine sphalerite particles in a CO2 saturated slurry by HIC is observed.The aggregate size increased when the agitation speed was increased from 700 r/min to 1500 r/min.Increasing the HIC speed to 1500 r/min caused a positive impact on flotation kinetics.Further increasing the speed to 2000 r/min resulted in an adverse effect on flotation kinetics.展开更多
As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to ...As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to improve flotation performance of fine and ultrafine particles, there is still much more to be done. In this paper, the effects of nano-microbubbles （nanobuhbles and microbubbles） on the flotation of fine （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm） and ultrafine （-14.36 ＋ 5μm） chalcopyrite particles were investigated in a laboratory scale Denver flotation cell. Nano-microbubbles were generated using a specially-designed nano- microbubble generator based on the cavitation phenomenon in Venturi tubes. In order to better under- stand the mechanisms of nano-microbubble enhanced froth flotation of fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particles, the nano-microbubble size distribution, stability and the effect of frother concentration on nano- bubble size were also studied by a laser diffraction method. Comparative flotation tests were performed in the presence and absence of nano-microbubbles to evaluate their impact on the fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particle flotation recovery. According to the results, the mean size of nano-microbubbles increased over time, and decreased with increase of frother concentration. The laboratory-scale flotation test results indicated that flotation recovery of chalcopyrite fine and ultrafine particles increased by approximately 16-21% in the presence of nano-microbubbles, depending on operating conditions of the process. The presence of nano-microbubbles increased the recovery of ultrafine particles （-14.36 ＋ 5 μm） more than that of fine particles （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm）. Another major advantage is that the use of nano-microbubbles reduced the collector and frother consumptions by up to 75% and 50%, respectively.展开更多
Drill machines used in surface mines, particularly in coal, is characterized by a very poor utilization （around 40%） and low availability （around 60%）. The main purpose of this study is to develop a drill selec- t...Drill machines used in surface mines, particularly in coal, is characterized by a very poor utilization （around 40%） and low availability （around 60%）. The main purpose of this study is to develop a drill selec- tion methodology and simultaneously a performance evaluation technique based on drill cuttings produced and drilling rate achieved. In all 28 blast drilled through were investigated. The drilling was accomplished by 5 different drill machines of Ingersoll-Rand and Revathi working in coal mines of Sonepur Bazari （SECL） and Block-II （BCCL）. The drills are Rotary and Rotary Percussive type using tri- cone rock roller bits. Drill cuttings were collected and sieve analysis was done in the laboratory. Using Rosin Ramler Diagram, coarseness index （CI）, mean chip size （d）, specific-st trace area （SSA） and charac- teristic particle size distribution curves for all the holes drilled were plotted. The predictor equation for drill penetration rate established through multiple regressions was found to have a very good correlation with an index of determination of 0.85. A comparative analysis of particle size distribution curves was used to evaluate the drill efficiency. The suggested approach utilises the area under the curve, after the point of trend reversal and brittleness ratio of the respective bench to arrive at drill energy utilization index （DEUI）, for mapping of drill machine to bench, The developed DEU1 can aid in selecting or mapping a right machine to right bench for achieving higher penetration rate and utilizations.展开更多
In order to improve the dewatering rate and the effect of fine clean coal(FCC), the advanced method offine coal( 0.5 mm) dewatering and the correlated basic theory were investigated in this study. It was found that th...In order to improve the dewatering rate and the effect of fine clean coal(FCC), the advanced method offine coal( 0.5 mm) dewatering and the correlated basic theory were investigated in this study. It was found that the dewatering by sleeve type press filter was an efficient way of FCC dewatering. On the other hand, the results also proved that particle size distribution, volatile matter, ash content, pore size distribution and specific surface area of coal particles of FCC samples, as well as viscosity and density of FCC slurry, were important parameters in determining the process of efficient dewatering. Especially, wet mass to dry mass, specific resistance of average mass, compressibility factor and microstructure of filter cake explained the reasons and mechanisms of fine clean coal efficient dewatering.展开更多
One characteristic of electro-flotation is the presence of micro bubbles that are well known for improving the flotation performance of fine particles. An electro-flotation method was studied with fine scheelite and f...One characteristic of electro-flotation is the presence of micro bubbles that are well known for improving the flotation performance of fine particles. An electro-flotation method was studied with fine scheelite and fluorite particles sized into three different fractions. Experiments were performed in a modified Hallimond tube. We investigated the effects of gas holdup, particle size, and different mesh electrode apertures on mineral recovery. Flotation results show that two size fractions show increased flotation recovery as the gas holdup increases. For the sized scheelite and fluorite, the flotation effect is diverse for different sizes of the cathode aperture. Pictures of the bubbles taken by a high speed CCD were used to determine the hydrogen bubble size distribution generated as a function of collector, current density, and electrode size. The diameters of the hydrogen bubbles ranged from 12 to 117μm in alkaline conditions.展开更多
The discrete element method(DEM) has been widely used to simulate microscopic interactions between particles.Screening is a deeply complicated process when considering the law of motion for the particles,themselves.In...The discrete element method(DEM) has been widely used to simulate microscopic interactions between particles.Screening is a deeply complicated process when considering the law of motion for the particles,themselves.In this paper,a numerical model for the study of a particle screening process using the DEM is presented.Special attention was paid to the modeling of a vibrating screen that allows particles to pass through,or to rebound,when approaching the screen surface.Inferences concerning screen length and vibrating frequency as they relate to screening efficiency were studied.The conclusions were:three-dimensional simulation of screening efficiency along the screen length follows an exponential distribution;when the sieve vibrates over a certain frequency range the screening efficiency is stable;and,higher vibration frequencies can improve the handling capacity of the screening machine.展开更多
The fact that water requirements are a major problem for present and future developments in material beneficiation, and the construction of a new power plant in South Africa, forms the basis for the utilization of a R...The fact that water requirements are a major problem for present and future developments in material beneficiation, and the construction of a new power plant in South Africa, forms the basis for the utilization of a Rotary Triboelectrostatic Separator (RTS) for beneficiation of South African pulverized coal. The cleaning potential of Majuba and Koorfontein coal was first evaluated using kinetic froth flotation tests on the -177 μm coal fraction. The RTS tests were conducted under varied process parameters. Parameters such as applied separating voltage, air injection velocity, particle feed rate and splitter position were investigated. Two stage separation results show that the RTS reduced Majuba coal initially containing about 30% ash to a clean product of 14.30%, or 19.46%, ash at a combustible recovery of 15.10%, or 53.02%, respectively. Similar separation performance was also achieved with the Koorfontein coal. The mineral and organic compositions in the feed, after single stage and after the second stage separations were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis. The results show a better separation for the second stage coal products.展开更多
文摘In order to identify the mixing and segregation behaviors in a mineral processing operation, present study aimed on the hydrodynamics of solid–liquid fluidization. The study was carried out in a fluidization column with tapings at different height of the bed to collect the sample. The binary particles considered in this study are hematite(4800 kg/m3) and quartz(2600 kg/m3) at different size fractions in the range of average size 87×10^(-6)m to 400×10^(-6)m. It is observed that for various binary mixtures, both quartz and hematite particles share the equal composition by mass(50%) at a particular height of fluidized bed, referred as ‘‘locus point'' of mixing. Study indicates that the mixing zone volume will increase for a continuous fluidized bed plant operation. It is observed that the number of locus points varies from 1 to 3 signifying their dependency on the size ratios of binary mixture. Whenever, the difference in terminal velocity between quartz and hematite particles approaches to zero, mixing is enhanced.Further, the present study is extended to find the segregation index for the different size ratios of quartz and hematite particles. It is evident that depending on the size ratios, various regions such as complete segregation, partial mixing and complete mixing can be observed.
基金support from the Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50921002)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (No. BK2010002)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 2011QNA10,2010QNB17)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No.20110491485)
文摘A numerical study of the motion particulates follow along a circularly vibrating screen deck was done using the three dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM). The motion of the particles was analyzed. The effects of vibration amplitude, throwing index, and screen deck inclination angle on the screening process are discussed. The results show that the average velocity of the particles increases along the lon- gitudinal direction of the deck. The screening efficiency is highest when the vibration amplitude, throw- ing index, and screen deck inclination angle are 3-3.5 mm, 2.7 and 15°, respectively. This work is helpful for developing a deep understanding of particle motion and for optimizing screen separator designs.
基金Project 50674103 supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The influence on fine particle aggregation and flotation behavior induced by high intensity conditioning(HIC) from saturated of the slurry with CO2 saturation was investigated.Bubble size measurements were conducted.The effect of dissolved gas,xanthate addition and agitation speed on fine sphalerite particle aggregation-and flotation-behavior were studied.The results show that during HIC in air or CO2 saturated water xanthate acts as a frother.The dissolved gas content in the pulp and HIC play a synergistic role in promoting fine particle aggregation and hence flotation;a significantly enhanced aggregation of fine sphalerite particles in a CO2 saturated slurry by HIC is observed.The aggregate size increased when the agitation speed was increased from 700 r/min to 1500 r/min.Increasing the HIC speed to 1500 r/min caused a positive impact on flotation kinetics.Further increasing the speed to 2000 r/min resulted in an adverse effect on flotation kinetics.
基金the Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), the Iran Mineral Processing Research Center (IMPRC) and the IMIDRO for the technical assistance and financial support
文摘As is well known to mineral processing scientists and engineers, fine and ultrafine particles are difficult to float mainly due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies. Though many efforts have been made to improve flotation performance of fine and ultrafine particles, there is still much more to be done. In this paper, the effects of nano-microbubbles （nanobuhbles and microbubbles） on the flotation of fine （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm） and ultrafine （-14.36 ＋ 5μm） chalcopyrite particles were investigated in a laboratory scale Denver flotation cell. Nano-microbubbles were generated using a specially-designed nano- microbubble generator based on the cavitation phenomenon in Venturi tubes. In order to better under- stand the mechanisms of nano-microbubble enhanced froth flotation of fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particles, the nano-microbubble size distribution, stability and the effect of frother concentration on nano- bubble size were also studied by a laser diffraction method. Comparative flotation tests were performed in the presence and absence of nano-microbubbles to evaluate their impact on the fine and ultrafine chalcopyrite particle flotation recovery. According to the results, the mean size of nano-microbubbles increased over time, and decreased with increase of frother concentration. The laboratory-scale flotation test results indicated that flotation recovery of chalcopyrite fine and ultrafine particles increased by approximately 16-21% in the presence of nano-microbubbles, depending on operating conditions of the process. The presence of nano-microbubbles increased the recovery of ultrafine particles （-14.36 ＋ 5 μm） more than that of fine particles （-38 ＋ 14.36 μm）. Another major advantage is that the use of nano-microbubbles reduced the collector and frother consumptions by up to 75% and 50%, respectively.
文摘Drill machines used in surface mines, particularly in coal, is characterized by a very poor utilization （around 40%） and low availability （around 60%）. The main purpose of this study is to develop a drill selec- tion methodology and simultaneously a performance evaluation technique based on drill cuttings produced and drilling rate achieved. In all 28 blast drilled through were investigated. The drilling was accomplished by 5 different drill machines of Ingersoll-Rand and Revathi working in coal mines of Sonepur Bazari （SECL） and Block-II （BCCL）. The drills are Rotary and Rotary Percussive type using tri- cone rock roller bits. Drill cuttings were collected and sieve analysis was done in the laboratory. Using Rosin Ramler Diagram, coarseness index （CI）, mean chip size （d）, specific-st trace area （SSA） and charac- teristic particle size distribution curves for all the holes drilled were plotted. The predictor equation for drill penetration rate established through multiple regressions was found to have a very good correlation with an index of determination of 0.85. A comparative analysis of particle size distribution curves was used to evaluate the drill efficiency. The suggested approach utilises the area under the curve, after the point of trend reversal and brittleness ratio of the respective bench to arrive at drill energy utilization index （DEUI）, for mapping of drill machine to bench, The developed DEU1 can aid in selecting or mapping a right machine to right bench for achieving higher penetration rate and utilizations.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21206190)the Science Fund Project of China University of Mining & Technology (No. 2008A027)the China Coal Industry Association 2012 Annual Scientific and Technological Guidance Project (Nos. MTKJ 2012-288 and MTKJ 2012-289) for their financial support
文摘In order to improve the dewatering rate and the effect of fine clean coal(FCC), the advanced method offine coal( 0.5 mm) dewatering and the correlated basic theory were investigated in this study. It was found that the dewatering by sleeve type press filter was an efficient way of FCC dewatering. On the other hand, the results also proved that particle size distribution, volatile matter, ash content, pore size distribution and specific surface area of coal particles of FCC samples, as well as viscosity and density of FCC slurry, were important parameters in determining the process of efficient dewatering. Especially, wet mass to dry mass, specific resistance of average mass, compressibility factor and microstructure of filter cake explained the reasons and mechanisms of fine clean coal efficient dewatering.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51074184)
文摘One characteristic of electro-flotation is the presence of micro bubbles that are well known for improving the flotation performance of fine particles. An electro-flotation method was studied with fine scheelite and fluorite particles sized into three different fractions. Experiments were performed in a modified Hallimond tube. We investigated the effects of gas holdup, particle size, and different mesh electrode apertures on mineral recovery. Flotation results show that two size fractions show increased flotation recovery as the gas holdup increases. For the sized scheelite and fluorite, the flotation effect is diverse for different sizes of the cathode aperture. Pictures of the bubbles taken by a high speed CCD were used to determine the hydrogen bubble size distribution generated as a function of collector, current density, and electrode size. The diameters of the hydrogen bubbles ranged from 12 to 117μm in alkaline conditions.
基金Project 2006HZ0002-2 supported by the Special Topic Fund of Key Science and Technology of Fujian Province
文摘The discrete element method(DEM) has been widely used to simulate microscopic interactions between particles.Screening is a deeply complicated process when considering the law of motion for the particles,themselves.In this paper,a numerical model for the study of a particle screening process using the DEM is presented.Special attention was paid to the modeling of a vibrating screen that allows particles to pass through,or to rebound,when approaching the screen surface.Inferences concerning screen length and vibrating frequency as they relate to screening efficiency were studied.The conclusions were:three-dimensional simulation of screening efficiency along the screen length follows an exponential distribution;when the sieve vibrates over a certain frequency range the screening efficiency is stable;and,higher vibration frequencies can improve the handling capacity of the screening machine.
基金the financial support of the South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI)
文摘The fact that water requirements are a major problem for present and future developments in material beneficiation, and the construction of a new power plant in South Africa, forms the basis for the utilization of a Rotary Triboelectrostatic Separator (RTS) for beneficiation of South African pulverized coal. The cleaning potential of Majuba and Koorfontein coal was first evaluated using kinetic froth flotation tests on the -177 μm coal fraction. The RTS tests were conducted under varied process parameters. Parameters such as applied separating voltage, air injection velocity, particle feed rate and splitter position were investigated. Two stage separation results show that the RTS reduced Majuba coal initially containing about 30% ash to a clean product of 14.30%, or 19.46%, ash at a combustible recovery of 15.10%, or 53.02%, respectively. Similar separation performance was also achieved with the Koorfontein coal. The mineral and organic compositions in the feed, after single stage and after the second stage separations were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis. The results show a better separation for the second stage coal products.
