Effects of Operating Parameters on the Froth and Collection Zone Recovery in Flotation: An Industrial Case Study in a 10 m3 Cell

Abstract

The effects of flotation operation parameters, including froth depth, air flowrate, and frother dosage, on the froth and collection zone recovery and the flowrate of particles into the froth phase were investigated in a 10 m3 industrial cell. The results showed that froth recovery increases upon increasing air flowrate and frother dosage, as well as reducing froth depth. While all tested parameters affected the particles that entered into the froth phase, air flowrate and frother dosage showed the most and least significance, respectively. When the air flowrate, frother dosage, and froth depth were 146 m3/h, 150 mL/min, and 5 cm, respectively, froth recovery was found to be above 84%. Also, the effect of the parameters studied on collection zone recovery was different from their effect on the froth zone, with air flowrate having the greatest impact on the former.

Effect of air flow rate and froth depth on the flotation performance: An industrial case study in a 10 m³ cell

“…Because the bubbles that are coated with weaker particles burst faster (Ata, 2012;Wang et al, 2019) and as a result, they come out of this area through liquid drainage. It should be noted that the explained factors can affect the pulp zone as well (Ostadrahimi et al, 2021). It has been reported that higher air flowrate results in decreased bubble loading (Ostadrahimi et al, 2019), which leads to the formation of weaker bubbles.…”

“…Therefore, the upper layer of the froth is usually dry in contrast to the lower area (Ata, 2012). Extensive studies have been performed on liquid drainage in two-phase foams (Pal and Masliyah, 1990;Neethling and Cilliers, 2002;Stevenson, 2006;Yianatos et al, 2018). Since mineral flotation contains large amounts of solid particles with different physical and chemical properties with high fluid content, theories have been developed that two-phase foam cannot be applied in understanding the flotation behaviour directly as solid properties affect the froth drainage dynamics (Ata, 2012).…”

Recycled (Bio)Plastics and (Bio)Plastic Composites: A Trade Opportunity in a Green Future

“…In another work, the floatation of PET from the plastic mixture of PVC, polycarbonate (PC), and acrylonitrile–butadienestyrene copolymer (ABS) was efficiently achieved, modifying the hydrophilicity the PET surface by potassium hydroxide (KOH) and ethylene glycol ((CH 2 OH) 2 ) with the aid of sonication [ 17 ]. Significant efforts have been made by researchers to make the process efficient and economically attractive; furthermore, the rate at which plastic must be separated for the process has to be economically viable [ 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”