What is a flotation cells machine?

In the process of mineral resource development and utilization, flotation cells machine is the core equipment for efficient mineral sorting. It uses the difference in physical and chemical properties of the mineral surface to separate useful minerals from gangue through specific processes and plays an irreplaceable role in the fields of non-ferrous metals, ferrous metals, and non-metallic mineral processing.

Working principle of flotation cells machine

The core working principle of flotation cells machine is based on the physical and chemical action of the "gas-liquid-solid" three-phase interface. During operation, the ore is first crushed and ground into slurry, and flotation cells reagents (collectors, frothers, and regulators) are added. The collector can form a hydrophobic film on the surface of the target mineral, and the frother promotes the generation of a large number of stable tiny bubbles (usually 100-500μm in diameter) in the slurry.

The hydrophobic target mineral particles will be adsorbed on the surface of the bubbles, rise to the surface of the slurry with the bubbles to form a foam layer, and then the foam is scraped out by the scraping device to become a concentrate; while the hydrophilic gangue minerals remain in the slurry and are discharged as tailings, thereby achieving mineral sorting.

Basic structure of flotation cells machine

The flotation cells machine is mainly composed of a tank, an aeration device, a stirring mechanism and a scraping device. The tank is the place where the slurry reacts with bubbles. There are two types of tanks: single tank and multi-tank series. The volume ranges from 0.5m³ for laboratory use to 50m³ for large-scale ore dressing plants.

The aeration device is responsible for introducing air into the slurry. The mechanical stirring flotation cells machine inhales air through the rotation of the impeller, and the aerated mechanical stirring type is equipped with an external fan to ensure a more uniform distribution of bubbles. The stirring mechanism consists of an impeller and a stator, which can suspend the slurry and mix the reagents evenly, while cutting the bubbles to make them fine. The scraping device is mostly a rotating scraper, which can accurately scrape the liquid surface foam into the concentrate tank.

Main types of flotation cells machines

According to the different aeration and stirring methods, flotation cells machines can be divided into three categories: mechanical stirring type, aerated mechanical stirring type and aerated type. The mechanical stirring type has a simple structure and strong adaptability, and is suitable for small and medium-sized ore dressing plants; the aerated mechanical stirring type has low energy consumption and high sorting efficiency, and is widely used in large copper, lead and zinc ore dressing plants; the aerated type has no mechanical stirring, is suitable for fine-grained mineral sorting, and can reduce excessive particle crushing.

In recent years, new flotation cells machines have emerged continuously. The column flotation cells machine improves the sorting accuracy by optimizing the height-to-diameter ratio, and the full-section airlift flotation cells machine adopts jet aeration technology, which reduces energy consumption by 30% compared with traditional models, and is more in line with the needs of green ore dressing.

Application fields of flotation cells machines

Flotation cells machines are widely used in the field of mineral processing: when processing non-ferrous metal ores (such as copper, molybdenum, and nickel ores), the grade of the original ore can be increased from about 0.5% to 20%-30% of the concentrate grade; when processing ferrous metal ores (such as magnetite and hematite), the quality of iron concentrate can be improved by combining with magnetic separation technology; when processing non-metallic ores (such as fluorite and graphite), impurities can be effectively removed and product purity can be improved.

In addition, the application of flotation cells machines has expanded to the field of environmental protection, and is used in scenarios such as oil recovery in industrial wastewater and sludge separation during sewage treatment, providing strong support for resource recovery and environmental protection.

With the development of technology, flotation cells machines are moving towards intelligence, high efficiency, and low energy consumption. The improvement of their performance will further improve the utilization rate of mineral resources and lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the mining industry.