Method for retrofitting process plant into flotation cell

Abstract

A method for retrofitting a process plant into a flotation cell wherein the flotation cell comprises: a flotation tank (10) comprising a center (11), a periphery (12), a bottom (13) and side walls (14); a launder (2) and a launder lip (21); wherein the method comprises forming a retrofit flotation cell (1) by installing a process plant to the flotation cell wherein the process plant comprises at least one means for combining a gas stream and a slurry feed (100) to obtain a particle-bubble aggregate, followed by introducing the combined gas stream and slurry feed (100) into a tank (10), a slurry recycling circuit (3) is provided to the retrofit flotation cell (1), where the slurry recycling circuit (3) comprises a pump system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell and a flotation line, and to a flotation line. Background Technology

[0002] Flotation cells are used to separate valuable materials containing particles from particles suspended in a slurry. However, flotation cells can be further developed to recover floating minerals. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This synopsis is intended to introduce, in a simplified form, some concepts that will be further described in the detailed description below. This synopsis is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. The scope of protection of the various embodiments of this disclosure is set forth below.

[0004] According to a first aspect, a method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell is disclosed. The retrofitted flotation cell can be used to process particles suspended in a slurry and to separate the slurry into underflow and overflow. The flotation cell may include a flotation tank, a launder, and a launder lip, the flotation tank including a center, a periphery, a bottom, and sidewalls; wherein the method may include forming the retrofitted flotation cell by installing process equipment into the flotation cell, wherein the process equipment may include at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed to obtain particle-bubble aggregate, subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the tank, and providing a slurry recycling loop to the retrofitted flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop includes a pump system. The pump system may include a pump and a pump motor. The tank may have a substantially horizontal bottom. The launder and launder lip may surround the periphery of the tank. According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one device is any sparger unit. The distributor unit can be, for example, a downcomer, a blast tube, a reflux sparger, or a cellsparger. The combination of airflow and slurry feed can generate gas bubbles and the resulting particulate-bubble aggregate, which can then be introduced into a tank.

[0005] According to one exemplary embodiment, providing a slurry recycling loop to a modified flotation cell means that existing equipment or at least a portion of the existing equipment of the cell can be used, or new equipment can be used. At least one existing piece of equipment, such as a drive motor, electrical equipment, and / or superstructure, can be reused.

[0006] The disclosed solution offers several advantages. Because the solution includes retrofitting process equipment within existing flotation cells, this means that significant portions of the flotation cell equipment and existing units can be reused. Instead of replacing the entire flotation cell or flotation line, only partial equipment upgrades are required. Therefore, the described solution provides a more sustainable technology with substantial environmental benefits compared to existing technological solutions.

[0007] One advantage of the described solution is that retrofitting is not limited to a specific type of flotation cell, tank, or line. The disclosed retrofitting method can be used with any existing flotation cell, tank, or line. This solution provides a way to reuse the "upper structure" of a flotation cell or line. Depending on the flotation equipment being retrofitted, different adjustments may be required. In some exemplary solutions, a larger portion of the flotation equipment may need to be replaced compared to other solutions. In any case, because a significant portion of any equipment can be reused, this solution can achieve substantial capital expenditure savings.

[0008] The modification may include at least providing distributor units, such as downcomers and air supply ducts. Additionally, a pump system may be provided. Preferably, the pump system can be installed and directly connected to the flotation tank.

[0009] One benefit of this invention relates to how the pump system utilizes the recycling line. In embodiments of the solution according to the invention, the pump system can be directly connected to a flotation cell or at least two flotation cells. Therefore, an external hopper is not required. Compared to conventional flotation cells with a recycling line, the total dynamic head on the pump system can be reduced. Typically, a pump system may need to be able to pump up to 20 or 30 m, but in the disclosed solution, the pumping height can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the pump system can be used in a manner that provides a significant reduction in the required energy. This reduces the carbon footprint and thus provides significant environmental benefits.

[0010] According to one embodiment, a flotation line includes at least two or at least three modified flotation cells. A flotation line may include at least one modified flotation cell. Using modification methods in several adjacent flotation cells improves benefits and the total recovery of valuable minerals from the flotation line.

[0011] According to an exemplary embodiment, an existing mechanically or pneumatically agitated flotation cell is modified into a modified flotation cell having at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed streams to obtain particulate-bubble aggregates, subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into a tank such as an air duct, and a slurry recycling loop. The mechanical flotation cell may include a mixer for agitating the slurry to keep it suspended. The mixer may be a mechanical agitator. The mechanical agitator may include a rotor-stator having a motor and a drive shaft, and the rotor-stator configuration is arranged at the bottom portion of the flotation cell.

[0012] According to one exemplary embodiment, if an existing tank is sufficiently corroded or worn, it can also be replaced.

[0013] When retrofitting an existing flotation cell, the drive mechanism, motor, rotor, and stator of the existing mechanical flotation cell can be removed. The existing tank of the original mechanical flotation cell can be equipped with at least one air duct. Fresh slurry can be supplied directly to the tank, or via the original and existing feed boxes of the mechanical flotation cell, or fresh slurry can be supplied directly from the upstream cell or tank, or any combination of these slurry flows. The drive motor of the original mechanical flotation cell can be reused as a pump motor in the slurry recycling loop. Furthermore, the existing air supply of the original mechanical flotation cell can be reused.

[0014] According to one exemplary embodiment, the modified flotation cell can be used to recover only fast-floating minerals. Therefore, it may not be necessary to generate supersonic shock waves in the outlet nozzles of the at least one air duct, and consequently, the slurry velocity in the at least one modified air duct may be lower than that in a conventional air duct. The modified air duct design can be simplified because it eliminates the need for two expensive compressors and feed hoppers typically used with flotation cells that include air ducts.

[0015] According to an exemplary embodiment, a modified flotation cell having at least one duct can be positioned as a first cell or a first and second cell in a flotation line. The flotation line may include any combination of regrinding loops, cleaners, roughing and / or scavenging flotation cells, rather than current methods where the flotation cell with the duct can be a completely independent, self-contained installation. Both the first flotation cell and the first and second flotation cells can be replaced with modified flotation cells in a roughing flotation line. The number of cells may depend on the hydraulic gradient or step height available along the flotation line. The flotation line may be a flotation loop, a flotation blank test, or a flotation system. These different terms are familiar to those skilled in the art.

[0016] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the flotation feed is approximately 180 μm to 300 μm, the flotation cell can be operated with a sonic chok that generates shock waves without modification. The slurry velocity can be low, for example, in the range of 2-3 m / s. At very high velocities, the wear rate on the feed tap, sonic chok tap, and impact bowl can be very high, potentially making modification uneconomical. Therefore, the modified flotation cell can recover rapidly floating minerals. The addition of foam washing ensures that the grade of the resulting concentrate is higher than that that could be produced using the original, unmodified flotation cell arrangement. Moreover, any contaminants, such as fluoride, are likely to be much lower than previously possible.

[0017] According to one exemplary embodiment, when the sonic critical flow slurry velocity is low, for example 2-3 m / s, the need for two or more new compressors can be eliminated, and the existing air supply can be reused in the retrofitted flotation cell because the back pressure may be significantly lower. This can result in savings.

[0018] According to one exemplary embodiment, a sonic critical flow slurry velocity can be used. To sustain the shock wave after the outlet nozzle, it may be necessary to maintain a slurry velocity of 10 m / s or higher. Slurry velocities are, for example, 10-30 m / s, or 15-25 m / s, such as 20 m / s.

[0019] The existing slurry head within the original flotation cell can also be utilized. If necessary, the pump system can be located below the tank without increasing the total static head on the pump system. This is a significant advantage for planning and maintaining the pumps and pump motors. In this disclosure, the following definitions are used with respect to flotation.

[0020] Flotation cells are used to process ore particles suspended in a slurry by flotation. Thus, ore particles containing valuable metals are recovered from the ore particles suspended in the slurry. The flotation line described herein refers to a flotation arrangement in which multiple flotation cells are arranged in fluid interconnection, such that the underflow from each preceding flotation cell is directed to a subsequent or subsequent flotation cell as feed, until the last flotation cell of the flotation line, from which the underflow is directed out of the line as tailings or discard stream. Slurry is supplied to the first flotation cell of the flotation line through a feed inlet to initiate the flotation process. A flotation line may be part of a larger flotation facility or arrangement comprising one or more flotation lines. Therefore, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, numerous different pretreatment and posttreatment units or stages can be operatively connected to the components of the flotation arrangement.

[0021] A flotation cell, as used herein, refers to a tank or container in which the steps of a flotation process are performed. Flotation cells are typically cylindrical, their shape defined by one or more outer walls. Flotation cells generally have a circular cross-section. Flotation cells may also have polygonal cross-sections, such as rectangular, square, triangular, hexagonal, or pentagonal, or radially symmetrical cross-sections. The number of flotation cells can vary depending on the specific flotation line and / or the operation used to process specific types and / or grades of ore, as is known to those skilled in the art.

[0022] Flotation cells can be froth flotation cells, such as mechanically stirred tanks or tank cells, column flotation cells, Jameson cells, or dual flotation cells. In a dual flotation cell, the cell comprises at least two separate containers: a first mechanically stirred pressure vessel with a mixer and flotation gas input, and a second container with a tailings outlet and an overflow froth discharge outlet, arranged to receive the stirred slurry from the first container. Flotation cells can also be fluidized bed flotation cells (such as HydroFloat). TM A fluidized bed flotation cell (or at least one overflow flotation cell) is used in which air or other flotation gas bubbles dispersed by a fluidization system permeate through obstructed settling areas and attach to hydrophobic components, thereby altering their density and giving them sufficient buoyancy to float and be recovered. Axial mixing is not required in a fluidized bed flotation cell. The flotation cell can also be an overflow flotation cell with a constant slurry overflow. In an overflow flotation cell, the slurry is processed by introducing flotation gas bubbles into the slurry and generating a continuous upward slurry flow along the vertical direction of the first flotation cell. At least a portion of the ore particles containing valuable metals attaches to the gas bubbles and rises upward by buoyancy, and at least a portion of the ore particles containing valuable metals attach to the bubbles and rise with the continuous upward slurry flow. The ore particles containing valuable metals are recovered by draining the continuously upward slurry flow as a slurry overflow from the at least one overflow flotation cell. Because the overflow tank operates without a real foam depth or foam layer, no actual foam zone forms on the slurry surface at the top of the flotation cell. The foam can be discontinuous on the surface of the cell. As a result, ore particles containing more valuable minerals can be carried into the concentrate stream, and the overall recovery of valuable materials can be improved.

[0023] According to the present invention, all flotation cells in the flotation circuit can be of a single type; that is, the roughing flotation cells in the roughing section, the scavenging and washing flotation cells in the scavenging section, and the scavenging and washing flotation cells in the scavenging and washing flotation circuit can be of a single flotation cell type, such that the flotation arrangement includes only one type of flotation cell listed above. Alternatively, multiple flotation cells can be of one type, while other cells are of one or more types, such that the flotation circuit includes two or more types of flotation cells listed above.

[0024] Depending on its type, a flotation cell may include a mixer for agitating the slurry to keep it suspended. A mixer, as used herein, refers to any suitable device for agitating the slurry within the flotation cell. The mixer may be a mechanical agitator. A mechanical agitator may include a rotor-stator with a motor and drive shaft. The cell may have agitators arranged higher up along the vertical direction of the cell to ensure a sufficiently strong and continuous upward flow of the slurry.

[0025] The flotation cell may include a bottom structure disposed at the bottom of the flotation tank and having a shape that allows particles suspended in the slurry to mix in a mixing zone generated by a slurry flow supplied from an outlet nozzle of an air duct above the bottom structure; and settling in a settling zone surrounding the bottom structure.

[0026] By arranging a bottom structure at the bottom of the flotation tank that extends upwards within the tank, a better distribution of fine and / or small particles suspended in the slurry can be achieved. At the center of the flotation tank, particles cannot descend and settle, and good mixing is ensured in this rising central section due to the slurry flow supplied from the duct. Due to the turbulent conditions in the mixing zone, particles that have separated from the flotation gas bubbles and begun to descend can be recaptured by the bubbles. On the other hand, the bottom of the flotation tank, closer to the periphery, has a sufficiently deep region that allows unfloated, likely worthless particles to settle and descend for efficient removal from the tank. This settling zone is unaffected by the slurry feed flow from the duct. Furthermore, this relatively calm region suppresses the formation of short-circuit in the slurry flow within the tank, where the same slurry material bypasses the separation zone and travels directly from the feed inlet to the tailings outlet. These features contribute to increased recovery of fine particles.

[0027] By arranging the bottom structure with specific dimensions, particularly relative to the mixing zone, the mixing and settling zones can be designed to have desired characteristics (size, depth, turbulence, particle residence time in the mixing zone, settling velocity, and the likelihood of a worthless portion in the settling zone, etc.). In conventional flotation tanks, most of this zone (without any mechanical mixing at the bottom of the flotation tank) will undergo grinding due to little or no mixing. If this zone is filled with solids, there is a risk that the solid material will collapse and simultaneously block the tailings outlet and / or recycling outlet located in the settling zone.

[0028] A blower duct is a device in which flotation gas is introduced into the slurry feed to generate finer flotation gas bubbles, which can also trap finer particles during bubble formation within the blower duct. The blower duct can be a double high-shear device. In particular, the blower duct in the flotation cell according to the invention operates under pressure and does not require a vacuum.

[0029] Overflow, as used herein, refers to the portion of the slurry collected in the flow channel of the flotation cell and thus leaving the flotation cell. Overflow may include foam, froth, and slurry, or in some cases, only or for the largest portion of the slurry. In some embodiments, overflow may be a retention stream containing particles of valuable material collected from the slurry. In other embodiments, overflow may be a discard stream. This is the case when flotation arrangements, equipment, and / or methods are used in reverse flotation.

[0030] Underflow in this paper refers to the portion or portion of the slurry that does not float to the surface of the slurry during the flotation process. Ultimately, the underflow from the final flotation cell of the flotation line or flotation arrangement may leave the entire arrangement as tailings or final residue of the flotation equipment.

[0031] In this paper, "downstream" refers to the direction parallel to the flow of slurry toward the tailings (in the direction of flow, indicated by an arrow in the figure), and "upstream" refers to the direction opposite to or against the flow of slurry toward the tailings.

[0032] In this context, concentrate refers to the floating portion of a slurry containing ore particles of valuable minerals. In normal flotation, concentrate is part of the slurry that floats to the froth layer and is thus collected as overflow into the flow channel.

[0033] Roughing flotation, the roughing section of a flotation circuit, the roughing stage, and / or the roughing cell, in this context, refer to the flotation stage that produces the roughing concentrate. Its purpose is to remove the maximum amount of valuable minerals at the coarsest possible particle size in practice. Roughing flotation does not require complete liberation, only sufficient liberation to release enough gangue from the valuable minerals to achieve a high recovery rate. The primary objective of the roughing stage is to recover as much valuable mineral as possible, with less emphasis on the quality of the produced concentrate.

[0034] Rougher concentrate typically undergoes a further washing flotation stage in the rougher washing flotation line to remove more unwanted minerals that have risen to the froth in a process called washing. The product of washing is called washed concentrate or final concentrate.

[0035] Following rougher flotation is typically scavenging flotation, which is applied to the rougher tailings. Scavenging flotation, the scavenging section, scavenging stage, and / or scavenging cell of a flotation line, refers to a flotation stage whose purpose is to recover any valuable mineral material not recovered during the initial rougher stage. This can be achieved by modifying the flotation conditions to make them more stringent than the initial rougher, or, in some embodiments of the invention, by introducing microbubbles into the slurry. Concentrate from the scavenging cell or stage can be returned to the rougher feed for refloating or directed to a regrinding step, subsequently directed to the scavenging washing flotation line.

[0036] Cleaning flotation, roughing / scavenging cleaning line, cleaning / impurity removal stage and / or cleaning unit refers to the flotation stage in which the purpose of cleaning is to produce the highest possible concentrate grade.

[0037] Pretreatment and / or posttreatment and / or further treatment refers to processes such as crushing, grinding, separation, screening, sorting, fractionating, conditioning, or washing, all of which are conventional processes known to those skilled in the art. Further treatment may also include at least one of the following: another flotation cell, which may be a conventional washing flotation cell, recovery cell, roughing cell, or scavenging cell.

[0038] The pulp surface height, as used herein, refers to the height of the pulp surface in a flotation cell, measured from the bottom of the cell to the lip of the flotation cell's channel. In practice, the pulp height is equal to the height of the flotation cell's channel lip, measured from the bottom of the cell to the lip of the channel. For example, any two consecutive flotation cells can be arranged in a stepwise manner in a flotation line such that the pulp surface heights of these cells differ (i.e., the pulp surface height of the first cell is higher than that of the second cell). This difference in pulp surface height is defined herein as a "step" between any two consecutive flotation cells. This step, or difference in pulp surface height, is the difference in the difference that allows the pulp flow to be driven by gravity or the Earth's gravitational pull, creating a hydraulic head between the two consecutive flotation cells.

[0039] A flotation line, as used herein, refers to an assembly or arrangement comprising multiple flotation units or cells in which a flotation stage is performed, and which are arranged to be fluidly connected to each other to allow gravity-driven or pumped slurry to flow between the cells, thereby forming a flotation line. In a flotation line, multiple flotation cells are arranged to be fluidly connected to each other such that the underflow from each preceding flotation cell is directed to a subsequent or following flotation cell as feed, until the last flotation cell of the line, from which the underflow is directed out of the line as tailings or discard stream. It is also conceivable that a flotation line may comprise only one flotation stage, performed in one flotation cell or, for example, in two or more parallel flotation cells.

[0040] The slurry is fed through a feed inlet into the first flotation cell of the flotation line to initiate the flotation process. A flotation line may be part of a larger processing facility comprising one or more flotation lines and multiple additional process stages for the dissociation, washing, and other treatment of the desired material. Therefore, as is known to those skilled in the art, many different pretreatment and posttreatment units or arrangements can be operatively connected to the components of the flotation line.

[0041] Ultrafine bubbles, as defined herein, refer to flotation gas bubbles ranging in size from 0.05 mm to 0.7 mm introduced into the slurry via the air supply duct. In contrast, “normal” flotation gas bubbles used in froth flotation exhibit a size range of approximately 0.8 to 2 mm. Larger flotation gas bubbles may have a tendency to coalesce into even larger bubbles during their residence in the mixing zone, where collisions occur between particles and flotation gas bubbles, as well as between flotation gas bubbles themselves. Because ultrafine bubbles are introduced into the slurry feed before being fed into the flotation tank, this coalescence is unlikely to occur, and their size can remain small throughout their residence in the flotation tank, thus affecting their ability to capture fine particles.

[0042] "Providing" in this context means using existing components or devices of the pool or installing new components or devices into the pool.

[0043] The term "superstructure" in this document refers to the superstructure of a flotation cell or flotation line, wherein the superstructure includes at least one of the following components of the flotation cell or flotation line: foundation, steel support base, pipes, wires, instruments, instrument wiring, support structure, channels, tanks and / or flotation vessels.

[0044] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the method may include directly connecting a pump system or a pump to a flotation tank.

[0045] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the method may include: forming a modified flotation cell by removing and / or reusing at least one flotation cell component or device; and installing process equipment into the flotation cell, wherein the process equipment may include at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into a tank, and providing a slurry recycling loop to the modified flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop may include a pump system.

[0046] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, an apparatus for combining airflow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into a tank may include at least one air supply duct. The at least one apparatus may be an air supply duct.

[0047] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the slurry recycling loop may include an outlet, a first slurry conduit, a pump system, and a second slurry conduit. In the pump system, the pump may be connected to a pump motor.

[0048] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, fresh slurry can be supplied to a flotation tank and / or a pump system.

[0049] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the slurry recycling loop can circulate slurry from the flotation tank to the slurry feed and distribute the slurry feed to the at least one air supply pipe.

[0050] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the flotation cell further includes a feed tank for supplying fresh slurry into the flotation cell and / or the pump system. The feed tank may be an existing feed tank or a modified feed tank.

[0051] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the feed box can be connected to the flotation tank and / or the pump system, wherein if the feed box is connected to the flotation tank and the pump system, the supply of fresh slurry can be transferred to the flotation tank and / or the pump system.

[0052] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the recycling loop may include at least one distribution unit or supply manifold, and a pump system, wherein the pump system may draw in a portion of slurry from the flotation tank and may transfer the portion of slurry to the at least one distribution unit or supply manifold.

[0053] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the pump system can combine fresh slurry from the feed hopper and a portion of slurry from the tank into a slurry feed, and can distribute the slurry feed to the at least one air duct, distribution unit, and / or supply manifold.

[0054] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one flotation cell component or device that is removed and / or reused may include at least one of the following: a pump, a motor, a drive motor, a drive mechanism, a rotor, a stator, and / or a blower.

[0055] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the drive motor that has been removed and / or reused can be reused as a pump motor for a pump system in a slurry recycling loop.

[0056] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the pump system may be located below or at the same height as the modified flotation cell.

[0057] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the removed and / or reused blower can be used as an air supply (air supply unit) for the at least one distributor unit, such as an air duct. The blower can be a low-pressure blower. The blower pressure is, for example, <0.9 bar.

[0058] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the flotation cell may include a superstructure, wherein the superstructure of the flotation cell to be modified by the process equipment is used in the construction of the modified flotation cell, wherein the superstructure may include at least one of the following: foundation, steel support base, pipes, wires, instruments, instrument wiring, support structure, channel, tank and / or flotation tank.

[0059] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the method may further include mounting a bottom structure on the bottom of the flotation tank, wherein the bottom structure may have a shape that can limit particle accumulation at the center of the tank. The bottom structure may have a shape that can prevent the accumulation of solid materials (such as particles in the slurry suspended at the bottom of the flotation tank). The bottom structure can be used to minimize / reduce radial settling of particles from the center of the tank. It can limit particle accumulation by settling at the center of the tank.

[0060] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the method may further include reusing or installing a mechanical mixer at the bottom of the flotation tank, wherein the mechanical mixer can be operated to prevent solid material from accumulating at the bottom of the flotation tank.

[0061] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the modified flotation cell can recover a portion of the floating minerals from the slurry.

[0062] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the modified flotation cell can recover a portion of rapidly floating minerals from a slurry. According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the modified flotation cell can process a slurry containing solid particles suspended in the slurry, the solid particles having an average particle size of about 1 to 2000 μm. According to an exemplary embodiment, the average particle size is about 5 to 400 μm, or about 10 to 380 μm, or about 15 to 370 μm, or about 20 to 360 μm, or about 25 to 350 μm, or about 50 to 340 μm, or about 100 to 330 μm, or about 120 to 320 μm, or about 150 to 310 μm, or about 180 to 300 μm.

[0063] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the process equipment may include 2-40 air ducts or 4-24 air ducts.

[0064] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one air supply pipe may include an outlet nozzle, wherein the outlet nozzle may generate a supersonic shock wave entering the slurry feed, wherein the supersonic shock wave may cause the formation of flotation gas bubbles-granular aggregate.

[0065] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into a tank may be self-aspirating.

[0066] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-aerated aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into a tank may include at least one air supply duct that can be pressurized. The at least one pressurized air supply duct can generate the velocity required for a shock wave. However, the at least one air supply duct may not need to generate a shock wave.

[0067] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, an internal deflector may be disposed inside the flotation tank to guide the fresh slurry entering the flotation tank toward the outlet.

[0068] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one air supply duct further includes an impinger configured to contact the slurry feed stream from the outlet nozzle and to guide the slurry feed stream radially outward and upward from the impinger.

[0069] According to an exemplary embodiment, the at least one air supply duct may include: an inlet nozzle for supplying slurry feed into the air supply duct; an inlet for pressurized gas, through which the slurry feed is subjected when the pressurized gas is discharged from the inlet nozzle; an elongated chamber arranged to receive the slurry feed under pressure; and an outlet nozzle configured to restrict the slurry feed flow from the outlet nozzle and to maintain the slurry feed in the elongated chamber under pressure.

[0070] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect, an internal deflector may be disposed inside the flotation tank to guide the fresh slurry entering the flotation tank toward the outlet.

[0071] According to an exemplary embodiment, a flotation line is provided. The flotation line includes a plurality of fluidly connected flotation cells, characterized in that at least one flotation cell is a modified flotation cell.

[0072] According to an exemplary embodiment, the use of the flotation line according to the invention is intended for the recovery of particles comprising valuable materials suspended in a slurry.

[0073] According to a second aspect, a method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation line is disclosed. The flotation line may include a plurality of fluidly connected flotation cells, wherein at least one flotation cell may include a flotation tank, a flume and a flume lip, and at least one flotation cell component or device, the flotation tank including a center, periphery, bottom, and sidewalls; wherein the method may include forming at least one retrofitted flotation cell by installing process equipment into the at least one flotation cell, wherein the process equipment may include at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed flow to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the tank; and providing a slurry recycling loop to the at least one retrofitted flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop may include a pump system.

[0074] According to a third aspect, a flotation line comprising multiple fluidly connected flotation cells is disclosed, wherein process equipment is configured to be retrofitted into at least one flotation cell. The at least one flotation cell may include a flotation tank, a flow channel, and a flow channel lip, the flotation tank including a center, periphery, bottom, and sidewalls; wherein the process equipment may be configured to be installed into the flotation cell; and a slurry recovery loop may be configured to provide slurry to the at least one retrofitted flotation cell, wherein the slurry recovery loop may include a pump system. The process equipment may be configured to be installed into an existing flotation cell. The existing flotation cell may already be used for another purpose.

[0075] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect, the flotation line may include at least one superstructure, wherein the at least one superstructure of the at least one flotation cell of the process equipment to be retrofitted may be configured for use in the construction of the retrofitted flotation cell, wherein the superstructure may include at least one of the following: foundation, steel support base, pipe, wire, instrument, instrument wiring and / or support structure, channel, tank and / or flotation tank.

[0076] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect, the flotation line may include a roughing section; a scavenging section arranged to receive underflow from the roughing section; and a scavenging washing section arranged to receive overflow from the scavenging section, wherein the first flotation cell or the first and second flotation cells have at least one of the following: the roughing section, the scavenging section and / or the scavenging washing section may be modified flotation cells.

[0077] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect, the flotation line may include 2-8 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-6 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-5 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-4 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-3 fluidly connected flotation cells, wherein the first flotation cell (flotation cell 1), or the first and second flotation cells (flotation cells 1-2), or flotation cells 1-3, or flotation cells 1-4, or flotation cells 1-5, or flotation cells 1-6, or flotation cells 1-7, or flotation cells 1-8 in the flotation line may be modified with process equipment according to the method of the first or second exemplary embodiment described above.

[0078] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect, the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line may be located at the same relative height and may be configured to modify the process equipment according to the method of the first or second exemplary embodiment described above, wherein the supply of fresh slurry may be configured to be directed to the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line, wherein the first flotation cell may be fluidly connected to the second flotation cell and optionally fluidly connected to a third flotation cell, wherein the fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line may be configured to be terminated by a valve or barrier, and wherein if the fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line may be configured to be terminated, the supply of fresh slurry may be configured to be independently directed to the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line, and wherein the underflow from the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line may be configured to be directed to the third flotation cell in the flotation line. According to an exemplary embodiment, the recovery of coarse particles in the flotation process may be improved. The particles may include, for example, ore particles, such as particles comprising metals.

[0079] In froth flotation of mineral ores, the concentrate is upgraded to an intermediate particle size range of 40 μm to 150 μm. Therefore, fine particles are those with a diameter of 1 to 40 μm, and ultrafine particles can be considered to fall within the lower limit of the fine particle size range of 1 to 10 μm. Coarse particles have a diameter greater than 150 μm. In froth flotation of coal, the concentrate is upgraded to a particle size range of 40 μm to 500 μm. Fine particles in coal processing are those with a diameter of 1 to 500 μm, as well as ultrafine particles falling within the lower limit of the fine particle size range. Coarse coal particles have a diameter greater than 500 μm.

[0080] Recovering very coarse or very fine particles is challenging because fine particles are not easily captured by flotation gas bubbles in conventional mechanical flotation cells and may be lost in tailings. Typically, in froth flotation, flotation gas is introduced into the flotation cell or tank via a mechanical agitator. The resulting flotation gas bubbles have a relatively large size range, typically 0.8 to 2.0 mm or even larger, and are not particularly suitable for collecting particles with finer particle sizes.

[0081] Coarse particle recovery can be improved by increasing the number of flotation cells within the flotation line, or by recycling the material from the initial flotation (overflow) or tailings stream (underflow) back to the beginning of the flotation line or back to the preceding flotation cells. The flotation line can be cleaned to improve concentrate grade. Furthermore, several flotation arrangements employing fine flotation gas bubbles or even so-called microbubbles have been designed. The introduction of these smaller bubbles or microbubbles can occur before the slurry is fed into the flotation cells; that is, the ore particles are subjected to fine bubbles in the feed connection, etc., to promote the formation of ore particle-fine bubble aggregate, which can then be floated in flotation cells such as fast flotation tanks or column flotation tanks. Alternatively, fine bubbles or microbubbles can be introduced directly into the flotation cells, for example, by utilizing cavitation distributors. These types of solutions are not necessarily feasible for mechanical flotation cells, as the turbulence caused by mechanical agitation may cause the ore particle-fine bubble aggregate to break down before it can rise to the froth layer to be collected in the overflow and thus recovered.

[0082] Flotation cells can be used for the liberation of all suitable minerals in flotation, and flotation lines typically include one or two such cells at the end of the liberation loop for recovering particularly fine coal particles. Suitable minerals for flotation include, for example, coal, base metals such as copper, lead, and zinc, precious metals (PEMs), gold, silver, graphite, talc, rare earth minerals, lithium, and any other valuable minerals that can be removed using flotation processes. In the liberation loop, a process water recirculation system circulates water from the end portion of the loop (i.e., from the flotation line and the dewatering loop) back to the preceding loop (the starting point of the liberation loop).

[0083] By using the modified flotation cell according to the invention, the amount of frothing agent required to optimize the flotation process can be significantly reduced without significantly impairing bubble formation, bubble-to-particle bonding, stable foam layer formation, or the recovery of desired materials. Simultaneously, problems associated with recirculating process water from the downstream loop to the upstream loop can be mitigated. The pressurized duct can operate completely independently of the flotation tank. Because duct operation is independent of the frothing agent dosage, better flotation gas flow rates can be achieved, resulting in finer bubbles, and the use of frothing agent is optimized.

[0084] In a modified flotation cell according to an exemplary embodiment, sufficiently small gas bubbles, known as ultrafine bubbles, can be generated to ensure effective retention of fine ore particles. Typically, ultrafine bubbles can have a bubble size distribution of 0.05 mm to 0.7 mm. For example, reducing the "Sotter average" flotation gas bubble size to a diameter of 0.3 to 0.4 mm means that 1 m 3 The number of air bubbles in the slurry can be as high as 30 to 70 million, and the total average surface area of ​​the air bubbles is 15 to 20 m². 2 Conversely, if the average bubble size is approximately 1 mm, then 1 m 2 The slurry contains approximately 2 million air bubbles, with a total average surface area of ​​6 m². 2 Therefore, in the modified flotation cell, a bubble surface area 2.5 to 3 times higher than that in flotation cells using existing technology solutions can be achieved. Needless to say, this increase in bubble surface area has a significant effect on the recovery of valuable materials containing particles.

[0085] One of the advantages of this invention is that, compared to a traditional mechanical pool, the modified pool allows for an increased depth or thickness of the foam layer. A thicker foam layer contributes to higher grades and also facilitates the recovery of smaller particles.

[0086] By incorporating multiple air ducts into the flotation cell, the likelihood of collisions between flotation gas bubbles and between gas bubbles and particles can be increased. Having multiple air ducts ensures an improved distribution of flotation gas bubbles within the flotation tank, with bubbles exiting the ducts evenly distributed throughout the tank. The distribution areas of individual air ducts have the potential to intersect and converge, thus promoting a broad and uniform distribution of flotation gas bubbles within the tank. This, in turn, can advantageously influence the recovery of particularly small particles and also contributes to the aforementioned uniform and thick foam layer. With several air ducts present, the mixing of different flows and the creation of localized sub-mixing zones promote collisions between flotation gas bubbles and / or particles in the slurry fed from different air ducts. With increased collisions, more bubble-particle aggregate is generated and trapped in the foam layer, thus improving the recovery of valuable materials.

[0087] By setting the outlet nozzles of the air supply duct at an appropriate depth—that is, at a specific vertical distance from the lip of the flow channel—the distribution of flotation gas bubbles can be optimized in a uniform and constant manner. Because the outlet nozzles of the air supply duct at an appropriate depth allow for a sufficiently high residence time of bubbles within the mixing zone, the bubbles can effectively contact and adhere to fine particles in the slurry, thereby improving the recovery of smaller particles and also promoting foam depth, stability, and uniformity at the top of the flotation tank.

[0088] In this context, the mixing zone refers to the vertical portion or section of the flotation tank, where particles suspended in the slurry actively mix with flotation gas bubbles. In addition to this mixing zone generated throughout the entire vertical section of the flotation tank, separate and regional sub-mixing zones can form at the areas where the slurry flows, guided radially outward by a single impactor, meet and mix. This can further promote contact between flotation gas bubbles and particles, thereby increasing the recovery of valuable particles. Furthermore, this additional mixing can eliminate the need for a mechanical mixer for suspending solids in the slurry.

[0089] The settling zone is the vertical section of the flotation tank's cross-section, where particles that are not associated with flotation gas bubbles or otherwise unable to rise toward the foamy area at the top of the tank descend and settle toward the bottom of the tank to be removed as underflow in the tailings. The settling zone is below the mixing zone.

[0090] By providing a tailings outlet on the sidewall of the flotation tank, the underflow can be removed from the area where the slurry largely comprises particles descending or settling towards the bottom of the tank. In the flotation cell according to the invention, the settling zone is deeper near the sidewall of the flotation tank. In this zone, the mixing and turbulence generated by the vent do not affect the settling particles, which largely do not contain any valuable material, or contain only a very small amount of valuable material. Settling is also most significant in this section because there is no turbulence interfering with the particles' descent due to gravity. Furthermore, the friction generated by the tank sidewall further reduces turbulence and / or flow. Therefore, removing the underflow from the flotation tank at a location situated in this relatively calm settling zone ensures that as little valuable material as possible, including particles, is removed from the flotation tank; instead, these particles should float, or, if for some reason, be recycled back into the flotation tank as slurry feed through the vent. Furthermore, by removing underflow from the settling zone near the sidewalls of the flotation tank, the entire volume of the flotation tank can be effectively utilized without the need for a separate lower settling zone below the duct, as is the case in Jameson tanks, for example. In some embodiments, it is even conceivable that the volume of the flotation tank can be reduced at the center, thereby reducing the volume of the settling zone where turbulence caused by the slurry supplied from the duct can affect the likelihood of particles settling towards the bottom of the tank, and allowing for full utilization of the flotation tank volume. The volume of the flotation tank can be reduced at the center, for example, by arranging a bottom structure at the bottom, in the center of the tank. Moreover, the duct (outlet nozzle) can be positioned relatively deep into the flotation tank while still ensuring a sufficiently smooth settling zone at the sidewalls of the tank. This further facilitates the efficient use of the entire volume of the flotation tank.

[0091] The flotation cell and flotation line according to the present invention, and their use, have the technical advantage of allowing flexible recovery of various particle sizes and efficient recovery of ore particles containing valuable minerals from lean ore feedstocks initially containing relatively low amounts of valuable minerals. The advantages provided by the structure of the flotation line allow for precise adjustment of the flotation line structural parameters according to the target valuable material at each installation.

[0092] By processing the slurry according to the invention as defined in this disclosure, the recovery of particles containing valuable materials can be increased. The initial grade of the recovered material may be low, but the material (i.e., the slurry) is thus easily prepared for further processing, which may include, for example, regrinding and / or washing.

[0093] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell, the flotation cell was a mechanically or pneumatically agitated flotation cell prior to the retrofit.

[0094] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell, other flotation cells may follow the retrofitted flotation cell in the flotation line. Preferably, the first flotation cell or the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line may be retrofitted with new process equipment.

[0095] In one embodiment, the flotation cell prior to retrofitting may include process equipment including one or more motors, one or more drive motors, one or more rotors, one or more stators, one or more agitators, and / or one or more blowers, which may optionally be removed and / or reused in the retrofitting installation. Reusing existing process equipment can significantly reduce the cost of retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell.

[0096] In another embodiment, the modified flotation cell may utilize one or more motors and / or one or more drive motors from the flotation cell as one or more pump motors.

[0097] In another embodiment, the flotation cell can be configured as a rapid flotation section for recovering particles suspended in the slurry. The rapid flotation section may include particles suspended in the slurry, which can be considered liberated particles of valuable minerals, which can be easily separated, preferably into the froth. In this configuration, the feed slurry rate can be reduced, offering the additional benefits of reduced wear and tear on flotation cell components and equipment, as well as reduced time required for repair and maintenance.

[0098] In an embodiment of the flotation cell, the air supply duct also includes an impactor configured to contact the slurry feed stream from the outlet nozzle and to guide the slurry feed stream radially outward and upward from the impactor.

[0099] The impactor deflects the slurry feed stream radially outwards to the sidewall of the flotation tank and upwards toward the upper surface of the flotation tank (i.e., toward the froth layer), preventing fine flotation gas bubbles – ore particles – from short-circuiting into the tailings. Before gravity has a chance to affect particles not yet attached to the flotation gas bubbles, all the slurry feed from the duct is forced upwards toward the froth layer in the top region of the flotation tank, forcing them to descend and eventually form the tailings stream or underflow. This eliminates the possibility of short-circuiting particles containing valuable material. The energy of the deflected flow highly agitates the slurry and creates mixing vortices, where the size of the bubbles can be further reduced by the shear forces acting upon them. These high shear conditions also advantageously induce significant contact between the flotation gas bubbles and the particles in the slurry within the flotation tank. As the slurry flow is forced upwards toward the froth layer, turbulence decreases and the flow becomes relatively uniform, which may contribute to the stability of the already formed bubbles and the flotation gas bubble-particle aggregate, especially those containing coarser particles.

[0100] By arranging the outlet nozzle and impactor at an optimal distance from each other, the impactor can be configured to deflect and radially guide the slurry feed flow upwards and toward the impactor, thereby creating the aforementioned mixing zone within the flotation tank and promoting particle ascent toward the foam layer. Simultaneously, it may be necessary to minimize wear caused by the high-speed flow of slurry on the impactor. By positioning the outlet nozzle and impactor with a specific relationship to each other, the flotation process within a flotation cell equipped with a duct can be optimized, and wear on the impactor components can be minimized.

[0101] In one embodiment of the flotation cell, the volume of the flotation tank is at least 5 m³. 3 Preferred depth is 20 to 1500m 3 .

[0102] In one embodiment of the flotation cell, the air supply duct is arranged concentrically around the periphery of the flotation tank at a certain distance from the foam plugging component.

[0103] In another embodiment of the flotation cell, the outlet is located on the side wall of the flotation tank, at a certain distance from the bottom of the flotation tank.

[0104] In another embodiment of the flotation cell, the distance from the outlet to the bottom of the flotation tank is 0 to 50% of the height of the flotation tank.

[0105] By removing the slurry from the bottom of the flotation cell, it is ensured that the finer particles settling at the bottom of the flotation tank can be effectively reintroduced into the section of the flotation tank where the active flotation process takes place, before they form tailings. Therefore, the recovery rate of valuable materials can be improved because particles containing even minimal amounts of valuable material can be collected into the concentrate.

[0106] The flotation process can be made more efficient when only a portion of the slurry in the flotation tank is recirculated back to the same flotation tank as the slurry feed via a duct. In particular, as mentioned earlier, impactors designed to guide the slurry flow radially outward and upward to create turbulent conditions in the mixing zone and to the additional sub-mixing zone are highly effective in generating conditions favorable for flotation gas bubble-particle aggregate production, and thus ensure efficient recovery of particles including valuable materials, thereby eliminating the need to recirculate large quantities of untreated slurry in the same flotation cell.

[0107] Embodiments of the flotation circuit according to the invention are particularly designed to recover mineral ore particles, including non-polar minerals such as graphite, sulfur, molybdenite, coal, and talc.

[0108] Valuable minerals can be, for example, Cu, or Zn, or Fe, or pyrite, or metal sulfides such as gold sulfide. According to different aspects of the invention, mineral ore particles containing other valuable minerals such as Pb, Pt, PGM (platinum group metals Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt), oxide minerals, industrial minerals such as Li (i.e., spodumene), selenite, and rare earth minerals can also be recovered.

[0109] By using the flotation arrangement according to the invention, the recovery of such small quantities of valuable minerals, such as copper, can be effectively improved, and even lean deposits can be utilized cost-effectively. As known enriched deposits are increasingly being used, there is also a real need to process less desirable deposits that may have previously remained unexploited due to a lack of suitable technologies and processes for recovering valuable materials from ores in very low quantities. Attached Figure Description

[0110] The accompanying drawings, which provide a further understanding of this disclosure and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, help to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

[0111] Figure 1 A flotation cell according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted in a side view.

[0112] Figure 1a A flotation cell according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted in top view.

[0113] Figure 2 A flotation cell according to another embodiment of the present invention is depicted in a side view, showing in detail the dimensions of the system.

[0114] Figure 3a , 3b 3c is a schematic diagram of a flotation circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0115] Figure 4 This is a schematic representation of the form of the bottom structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0116] Figure 5 An exemplary method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell is shown; and

[0117] Figure 6 An exemplary method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation line is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0118] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of this disclosure, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0119] The following description discloses in detail some embodiments that enable those skilled in the art to utilize flotation cells, flotation lines, and their uses based on this disclosure. Not all steps of the embodiments are discussed in detail, and many steps will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure.

[0120] For simplicity, in the case of duplicate components, the item number will be maintained in the following exemplary embodiments.

[0121] The publicly disclosed Figure 1 and Figure 2 Flotation cell 1 is shown in detail. The accompanying drawings are not to scale, and many components of flotation cell 1 are omitted for clarity. Figures 3a-3c An embodiment of a flotation circuit is illustrated schematically. The flow direction of the slurry is indicated by arrows in the figure. Figure 1 The example illustrates a modified flotation cell 1. The flotation cell may include a flotation tank 10 comprising a center 11, a periphery 12, a substantially horizontal bottom 13, and sidewalls 14. The flotation cell may also include a channel 2 and a channel lip 21 surrounding the periphery 12 of the tank 10, and at least one flotation tank component or device. When the modified flotation cell 1 is formed, at least one flotation tank component or device may be removed, and process equipment may be installed into the flotation cell. The process equipment may include at least one means for combining an airflow and a slurry feed flow to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed 100 into the tank, such as at least one air duct 4 for introducing the slurry feed 100 into the tank 10.

[0122] The apparatus for combining airflow and slurry feed flow to obtain granular-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into the tank can be any distributor unit, such as a downcomer, air duct, countercurrent distributor, pool distributor, or mechanical distribution system, or any other obvious distributor solution to those skilled in the art, such as a self-priming distributor unit.

[0123] Flotation cell 1 can be designed to process ore particles suspended in slurry and to separate the slurry into underflow 400 and overflow 500, the overflow 500 containing a concentrate of the desired mineral.

[0124] The underflow 400 can be removed or diverted from the flotation tank 10 via the tailings outlet 140. According to one embodiment, the tailings outlet 140 can be located on the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10, at a distance L6 from the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The distance L6 should be understood as the distance between the lowest point of the tailings outlet 140 or the outlet opening in the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10 and the bottom 13 of the tank, which can be 1 to 15% of the height H of the flotation tank 10; for example, distance L6 can be 2%, 5%, 7.5%, or 12% of the height H. Alternatively, the tailings outlet 140 can be located at the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The tailings outlet 140 can be controlled by a dart valve or any other suitable means known in the art to control the flow rate of the underflow from the flotation tank 10. Even if the tailings outlet 140 is controlled by internal or external structures, such as an up-flow dart box or a down-flow dart box, the tailings outlet 140 is ideally located at the lower part of the flotation tank 10, i.e., near or adjacent to the bottom 13 of the flotation tank, or even located at the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. More specifically, at least a portion of the underflow 400 or tailings is removed from the flotation tank 10 and at or near the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10.

[0125] Special reference Figure 1-2 The flotation cell 1 may include a flotation tank 10 having a center 11, a periphery 12, a bottom 13 and a sidewall 14. The flotation cell 1 also includes a flow channel 2 and a flow channel lip 21 surrounding the periphery 12 of the flotation tank 10.

[0126] In the accompanying drawings, channel 2 is a peripheral channel. It should be understood that, alternatively or additionally, channel 2 may include a central channel arranged at the center 11 of the flotation tank 10, as known in the art. The lip of the central channel may face the periphery 12 of the flotation tank 10, or the center 11 of the flotation tank 10, or both. As overflow 500 passes over the channel lip 21 from the foam layer formed at the top of the flotation tank 10, the overflow 500 may be collected into channel 2 or the channels. The foam layer may include an open foam surface at the top of the flotation tank 10.

[0127] The flotation tank 10 has a height H, which is the distance from the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10 to the lip 21 of the flow channel. At the periphery 12 of the flotation tank 10, the height H may be substantially equal to or greater than the height at the center 11 of the flotation tank 10. In other words, the flotation tank 10 may have a different vertical cross-section, and the sidewall 14 of the flotation tank 10 may include a section at its lower part that can slope towards the center 11 of the flotation tank 10.

[0128] Flotation tank 10 can have at least 5m 3 The volume of the flotation tank 10 can range from 20 to 1500 m³. 3 The volume. For example, the volume of flotation tank 10 can be 100 m³. 3 or 200m 3 or 450m 3 or 630m 3 .

[0129] The modified air supply duct 4 can introduce the slurry feed 100 into the flotation tank 10. The air supply duct 4 may include an inlet nozzle 41 for supplying the slurry feed 100 into the air supply duct 4; an inlet 42 for pressurizing air or other gas, such that the slurry feed 100 is subjected to pressurized air or other gas as it exits from the inlet nozzle 41; an elongated chamber 40, arranged to receive the slurry feed 100 under pressure; and an outlet nozzle 43, configured to restrict the flow of the slurry feed 100 from the outlet nozzle 43 and maintain the slurry feed in the elongated chamber 40 under pressure.

[0130] The flotation gas can be entrained by the turbulent mixing caused by the jet, and as the flotation gas travels downward through the elongated chamber 40 to the outlet nozzle 43, the flotation gas can be dispersed into small bubbles in the slurry feed 100. The outlet nozzle is configured to restrict the flow of the slurry feed 100 from the outlet nozzle 43, and the flotation gas can be further configured to maintain the slurry feed 100 in the elongated chamber 40 under pressure.

[0131] According to one embodiment, the outlet nozzle 43 can be further configured to generate a supersonic shock wave entering the slurry feed 100, which can induce the formation of flotation gas bubbles-particle aggregates. For example, and for the outlet nozzle 43, a supersonic shock wave can be introduced into the slurry feed 100 as it exits the duct 40. Furthermore, the supersonic shock wave can extend into the slurry adjacent to or around the outlet nozzle, so that small-sized flotation gas bubbles-particle aggregates can be generated even outside the duct.

[0132] To restrict flow, the outlet nozzle 43 may include a throttle valve, such as a throat-like restrictive structure. From the outlet nozzle 43, and more specifically from the throttle valve, the slurry feed 100 is discharged under pressure into the flotation tank 10.

[0133] As the slurry feed 100 passes through the outlet nozzle 43 or through a throttle valve of the outlet nozzle 43, the size of the flotation gas bubbles decreases due to pressure changes and the high shear environment downstream of the outlet nozzle 43. When the flow becomes a chocked flow, and the flow downstream of the throttle valve becomes supersonic, and a shock wave is formed in the outlet nozzle 43, the velocity of the gas-liquid mixture in the outlet nozzle 43 or the throttle valve can exceed the speed of sound. In other words, the outlet nozzle 43 can be configured to induce a supersonic shock wave into the slurry feed 100.

[0134] When the ratio of the absolute pressure upstream of the outlet nozzle 43 to the absolute pressure downstream of the confinement structure of the outlet nozzle 43 exceeds a critical value, the flow of slurry feed 100 may become choked. When the pressure ratio is higher than the critical value, the flow of slurry feed 100 downstream of the confinement structure of the outlet nozzle 43 can become supersonic and can form a shock wave. By forcing small flotation gas bubbles in the slurry feed 100 mixture through the shock wave and forcing them to contact the hydrophobic ore particles in the slurry feed 100, causing them to even break into smaller particles, flotation gas bubble-ore particle aggregate is generated.

[0135] from Figure 1 As can be seen in the example, tank 10 can be divided into a foaming zone C, a mixing zone B, and a settling zone A. Foaming zone C, as described herein, refers to a vertical portion or section of flotation tank 10. Foaming zone C can be approximately 1-25% of the height of settling zone A. In foaming zone C, desired minerals can adhere to the bubbles and be transported to the lip of the flow channel. Foaming zone C can contain both foam and slurry.

[0136] Mixing zone B, as used herein, refers to a vertical portion or section of flotation tank 10, in which active mixing of particles suspended in the slurry with gasified fluid bubbles can occur. Mixing zone B may include gas bubbles, slurry, and fluid. Mixing zone B may be located below foam zone C.

[0137] Settling zone A refers to a vertical section of flotation tank 10, in which particles in flotation zone C that are not associated with the gasifying fluid bubbles, cannot rise towards flotation zone C, or cannot remain on the top portion of flotation tank 10 can descend and settle towards the bottom of the tank to be removed in the tailings as underflow. Settling zone A is located below mixing zone B. Settling zone A may contain slurry. In settling zone A, gangue minerals can be settled and transported to tailings outlet 140 and / or outlet 31.

[0138] The outlet nozzle 43 can be positioned at a desired depth inside the flotation tank 10. The outlet nozzle 43 can be positioned at a vertical distance from the flue lip 21. The outlet nozzle 43 can be positioned below the flue lip 21 and the foam region C. The outlet nozzle 43 can be located within the mixing region B.

[0139] According to one exemplary embodiment, when the flotation feed is approximately 180 μm to 300 μm, the flotation cell 1 can be operated together with the sonic critical flow that generates shock waves without modification. The slurry feed velocity exiting the outlet nozzle 43 can be even lower, for example, in the range of 2 to 3 m / s.

[0140] At least one air supply duct 4 may also include an impactor 44 configured to contact the flow of slurry feed 100 from outlet nozzle 43 and guide the flow of slurry feed 100 radially outward and upward from the impactor 44. Thus, slurry feed 100 exiting from outlet nozzle 43 is guided to contact the impactor 44. The distance L3 from the bottom 440 of the impactor 44 to the outlet nozzle 43 can be 2 to 20 times the diameter of the outlet nozzle 43. For example, the distance L3 can be 5, 7, 12, or 15 times the diameter of the outlet nozzle 43.

[0141] The slurry (which may essentially be a two-phase gas-liquid mixture) can rise away from the impactor 44 and enter the upper part of the flotation tank 10, and the flotation gas bubbles can rise upward and separate from the liquid to form a foam layer. The foam can rise and be discharged into the flow channel 2 above the flow channel lip 21, and discharged from the modified flotation cell 1 as an overflow 500. The tailings or underflow 400, from which the desired material has been substantially removed, can be discharged from the flotation tank 10 through an outlet arranged at or near the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10.

[0142] Some coarse hydrophobic particles carried into the foam can then detach from the flotation gas bubbles and fall back into the flotation tank 10 as a result of bubble coalescence in the foam. However, most of these particles can fall back into the flotation tank 10 in such a manner and location that they can be captured by bubbles newly entering the flotation tank 10 from the air supply duct 4 and carried back into the foam layer.

[0143] The flotation cell 1 can be equipped with 2-40 or 4-24 air supply pipes 4. In one embodiment, there are 16 air supply pipes 4. In another embodiment, there are 24 air supply pipes 4. In yet another embodiment, there are 8 air supply pipes 4. The exact number of air supply pipes 4 can be selected according to specific operations, such as the type of slurry processed in the flotation cell 1, the volumetric flow rate supplied to the flotation cell 1, the mass throughput supplied to the flotation cell 1, or the volume or size of the flotation tank 10. To properly disperse the flotation gas within the flotation tank 10, 4-6 air supply pipes 4 can be used.

[0144] The air supply duct 4 can be arranged concentrically with the periphery 12 of the flotation tank 10 and at a certain distance from the center 11 of the flotation tank 10. This can be the case when the cross-section of the flotation tank 10 is circular. The air supply duct 4 can be further arranged such that each air supply duct 4 is located at a certain distance from the outlet nozzle 43 to the center 11 of the flotation tank 10, which is preferably equal for each air supply duct 4.

[0145] The air supply duct 4 can be arranged parallel to the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10, at a certain distance from the side wall 14. This can be the case when the cross-section of the flotation tank 10 is rectangular.

[0146] In addition, in all the above embodiments, the air supply ducts 4 can be arranged at equal distances from each other, such that the distance between any two adjacent outlet nozzles 43 is the same.

[0147] The slurry portion 300 can be removed from the flotation tank 10 via an outlet 31 disposed on the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10. This slurry portion 300 is recycled as feed slurry to the air supply duct 4. In one embodiment, the slurry feed 100 comprises 100% or less of the slurry portion 300. In one embodiment, fresh slurry 200 can be introduced into the flotation tank 10 from the feed tank 90 through a slurry inlet 33 near or adjacent to the bottom 13 of the flotation tank. Alternatively, the fresh slurry feed 200 from the feed tank 90 can be directly supplied to the pump system of the slurry recycling loop 3. The pump system may include a pump 32 and a pump motor 53. Alternatively, the fresh slurry feed 200 may optionally be transferred to the flotation tank 10 and / or to the pump system via the slurry inlet 33. The flow of fresh slurry 200 into the flotation tank 10 and / or the pump system can be adjusted using valves 34 and 35. If a stream of fresh slurry enters the flotation tank 10, the fresh slurry can be mixed with the slurry in the flotation tank, and the mixed slurry can form a slurry portion 300, which can be recycled back to at least one air supply pipe 4 via a recirculation loop 3.

[0148] In one embodiment, the slurry flow in the slurry recycling loop 3 includes at least a portion 300 of slurry from the flotation tank 10, wherein the volumetric flow of the recycled slurry from the flotation tank 10 to the slurry feed 100 is at least 100% of the feed volume of the fresh slurry 200. Slurry recycling has the advantage of reintroducing particles suspended in the slurry into the slurry feed 100 and potentially increasing the likelihood of capturing valuable substances into the foam.

[0149] In an embodiment of the invention, the flow of fresh pulp 200 arriving at the flotation tank 10 through the pulp inlet 33 is deflected downward toward the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10 by an internal deflector. The internal deflector can be arranged such that the supply of fresh pulp 200 is directed toward the pulp outlet 31. Supplying fresh pulp 200 to the flotation tank 10 has the additional benefit of mixing fresh pulp with pulp in the flotation tank. The internal deflector helps the flow of fresh pulp 200 mixed with pulp in the flotation tank 10 to preferably flow toward the pulp outlet 31.

[0150] The outlet 31 can be located at a distance L4 from the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. This distance can be understood as the distance from the lowest point of the outlet or outlet opening in the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10 to the bottom 13 of the tank. The distance L4 is 0 to 50% of the height H of the flotation tank 10. Even if the outlet 31 is controlled by internal or external structures such as upstream or downstream dartboxes, the outlet 31 is ideally located at the lower part of the flotation tank 10, i.e., close to or adjacent to the bottom 13 of the flotation tank. More specifically, the pulp removal portion 300 is located from the lower part of the flotation tank 10. The lowest part of the outlet 31 can be located at the same height as the bottom 13. The outlet 31 can be located at the settling zone A.

[0151] according to Figure 1a For example, viewed from above, tank 10 is divided into four quadrants Q1-Q4. Outlet 31 may be located in the same quadrant Q1 as inlet 33. This quadrant is a sector equal to one-quarter of the tank's cross-section. This quadrant is one-quarter of a circle or one-quarter of the circumference of a circle. The circumference of the circle may be the circumference of the tank's sidewall 14 when viewed from above. Outlet 31 and inlet 33 may be positioned at an angle of 0° to 90° or 0° to 45° relative to each other when viewed from above.

[0152] Inlet 33 can be positioned at a distance L8 from the bottom 13 of flotation tank 10. This distance can be understood as the distance from the lowest point of the inlet or inlet opening in the side wall 14 of flotation tank 10 to the bottom 13 of the tank. Distance L8 is 0 to 50% of the height H of flotation tank 10. Preferably, distance L8 is greater than distance L4, such that inlet 33 is located above outlet 31. Inlet 33 can be located in mixing zone B. Inlet 33 can be located at the same height as impactor 44.

[0153] Additionally, flotation tank 10 may also include bottom structure 7 (see Figure 4 The bottom structure is arranged on the bottom (13) and may have a shape that allows particles suspended in the slurry to mix in the mixing zone B created above the bottom structure 7 and settle in the settling zone A surrounding the bottom structure 7. Optionally, the bottom structure 7 may have a shape that prevents the accumulation of solid materials, such as particles suspended in the slurry at the bottom of the flotation tank.

[0154] The bottom structure 7 can be, for example, a cone, a truncated cone, a pyramid, or a truncated pyramid. A cone or truncated cone is suitable for flotation tanks with a circular cross-section. A pyramid or truncated pyramid is a suitable form for flotation tanks with a rectangular cross-section.

[0155] The bottom structure 7 has a height h4 measured from the top of the bottom structure 7 to the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. In the case where the bottom structure is in the form of a cone or a pyramid, the top is also the first vertex 71 of the functional triangle 700. In the case where the bottom structure 7 has a truncated form, the height h4 is measured from the horizontal top of the truncated form (see...). Figure 4 The height h4 is measured from the middle image of the flotation tank 10 to the bottom 13. The height h4 is greater than 1 / 5 and less than 3 / 4 of the height H of the flotation tank 10. Additionally, the diameter d3 of the base 73 of the bottom structure 7 can be 1 / 4 to 3 / 4 of the diameter D of the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. In cases where the flotation tank 10 and / or the bottom structure 7 have a non-circular cross-section, this diameter is measured as the maximum diagonal of the corresponding portion (base 73 and bottom 13). In one embodiment, the surface area of ​​the base 73 of the bottom structure 7 is less than 80% of the surface area of ​​the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The surface area of ​​the base 73 can be 25% to 80% of the surface area of ​​the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10.

[0156] The bottom structure 7 may additionally include any suitable support structure and / or connection structure for mounting the bottom structure 7 into the flotation tank 10 and onto the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The bottom structure 7 may be made of any suitable material, such as metal, for example stainless steel.

[0157] According to an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes installing a slurry recycling loop 3 into a modified flotation cell 1.

[0158] The slurry recycling loop 3 may include a first slurry conduit 50 that supplies slurry portion 300 from outlet 31 to a pump system and a second slurry conduit 51 that supplies slurry portion 300 from the pump system to slurry feed 100.

[0159] According to an exemplary embodiment, the flotation cell further includes a feed box 90 for supplying fresh slurry 200 to the slurry recycling loop 3 or to the flotation tank 10.

[0160] According to an exemplary embodiment, the pump system combines fresh slurry 200 and slurry portion 300 into slurry feed 100 and distributes slurry feed 100 to at least one air duct 4.

[0161] The outlet 31 can be located on the side wall 14 of the flotation tank 10, at a distance L4 from the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The distance L4 can be 0 to 50% of the height H of the flotation tank 10. For example, the distance L4 can be 2%, 8%, 12.5%, 20%, or 33% of the height H of the flotation tank 10.

[0162] Additionally, the slurry recycling loop 3 may include a pump system arranged to draw slurry portion 300 from flotation tank 10 and transfer slurry feed 100 to at least one duct 4. Slurry portion 300 may include low-sedimentation-velocity particles, such as fine, slowly floating particles. The slurry portion may be removed from or near the bottom of flotation tank 10, for example, from settling zone A. The pump system may also be used to transfer slurry feed 100 into duct 4.

[0163] According to an exemplary embodiment, the total dynamic head h3 on the pump system can be measured as the distance from the slurry surface at the periphery 12 of tank 10 to the slurry level at the highest point of the second slurry pipe 51 in the slurry recycling loop 3. The total dynamic head on the pump system can be reduced compared to a conventional flotation cell with a recirculation line. Typically, pump 32 may need to be able to pump up to 20 or 30 m, but in the disclosed solution, since the slurry within tank 10 is in constant communication with the pump system, the pumping height can be significantly reduced, thereby reducing the total head on the pump system.

[0164] According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one flotation cell component or device for removal includes at least one of the following: a motor, a drive motor, a drive mechanism, a rotor, a stator, and / or a blower.

[0165] According to an exemplary embodiment, the removed drive motor is reused as a pump motor 53 in the slurry recycling loop 3.

[0166] According to an exemplary embodiment, the pump system is located below the modified flotation cell 1.

[0167] According to an exemplary embodiment, the removed blower is used as an air supply for at least one air duct 4.

[0168] According to an exemplary embodiment, the pump system is directly connected to the flotation tank 10.

[0169] According to an exemplary embodiment, the modified flotation cell 1 is configured to be formed by removing and / or reusing at least one flotation cell component or device. Process equipment can then be installed into the flotation cell. The process equipment may include at least one device for combining the gas flow and slurry feed 100 to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate. Subsequently, the combined gas flow and slurry feed 100 may be configured to be introduced into tank 10, and a slurry recycling loop 3 is configured to supply the modified flotation cell 1, wherein the slurry recycling loop may include a pump system.

[0170] According to an exemplary embodiment, the means for combining airflow with slurry feed 100 to obtain granular-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed 100 into tank 10 includes at least one air supply duct 4.

[0171] According to an exemplary embodiment, the slurry recycling loop 3 includes an outlet 31, a first slurry conduit 50, a pump system, and a second slurry conduit 51. The pump system may include a pump 31 and a pump motor 53, wherein the pump 31 is connected to the pump motor 53.

[0172] According to an exemplary embodiment, fresh slurry 200 is supplied to flotation tank 10 and / or to a pump system.

[0173] According to an exemplary embodiment, the slurry recycling loop 3 is configured to circulate slurry portion 300 from flotation tank 10 to slurry feed 100 and to distribute slurry feed 100 to at least one air duct 4.

[0174] According to an exemplary embodiment, the flotation cell further includes a feed tank 90 for supplying fresh slurry 200 into the flotation cell 1 and / or to the pump system.

[0175] According to one exemplary embodiment, the feed tank 90 is connected to the flotation tank 10 and / or to the pump system, wherein if the feed tank 90 is connected to the flotation tank 10 and the pump system, the supply of fresh slurry 200 is configured to be transferred to the flotation tank and / or the pump system. If the feed tank 90 can be connected to the flotation tank 10 and the pump 32, the supply of fresh slurry 200 is configured to be transferred to the flotation tank and / or the pump 31.

[0176] According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one flotation cell component or device for removal and / or reuse includes at least one of the following: a motor, a drive mechanism, a rotor, a stator, and / or a blower.

[0177] According to an exemplary embodiment, the motor that is removed and / or reused is configured to be reused as a pump motor 53 for a pump system in the slurry recycling loop 3.

[0178] According to one exemplary embodiment, pump 32 and pump motor 53 are located below or at the same height as the modified flotation cell 1.

[0179] According to an exemplary embodiment, the blower for removal and / or reuse is configured to serve as an air supply for at least one air duct 4.

[0180] According to an exemplary embodiment, the flotation cell 1 includes a superstructure, wherein the superstructure of the flotation cell 1, the process equipment to be retrofitted, is configured as part of the construction of the retrofitted flotation cell 1. The superstructure may include at least one of the following: a foundation, a steel support base, pipes, electrical wires, instruments, instrument wiring, support structures, channels, tanks, and / or flotation tanks 10.

[0181] According to an exemplary embodiment, the bottom structure 7 is configured to be mounted on the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The bottom structure 7 has a shape that allows particles suspended in the slurry to be restricted from accumulating at the center of the tank 10.

[0182] According to one exemplary embodiment, a mechanical mixer is configured for reuse or installed at the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10. The mechanical mixer may be configured to operate to prevent solid material from accumulating at the bottom 13 of the flotation tank 10.

[0183] According to an exemplary embodiment, the modified flotation cell 1 is configured to recover floating minerals from the slurry portion.

[0184] According to an exemplary embodiment, the modified flotation cell 1 is configured to process a slurry containing solid particles suspended in a slurry having an average particle size of about 1 to 2000 μm.

[0185] According to one exemplary embodiment, the process equipment includes 2-40 air supply ducts 4 or 4-24 air supply ducts 4.

[0186] According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed 100 to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed 100 into tank 10 is self-aspirating.

[0187] According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed 100 to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed 100 into tank 10 includes at least one air supply pipe 4, which is pressurized.

[0188] According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one air supply duct includes an impactor 44 configured to contact the flow of slurry feed 100 from outlet nozzle 43 and to guide the flow of slurry feed 100 radially outward and upward from the impactor 44.

[0189] According to the aforementioned method, an internal deflector is provided inside the flotation tank 10 to guide the fresh pulp 200 entering the flotation tank 10 toward the outlet 31.

[0190] According to another aspect of the invention, Figure 3a , 3b Flotation line 8 is shown in Figure 3c. Flotation line 8 includes a plurality of fluidly connected flotation cells 1a, and at least one flotation cell is a modified flotation cell 1 according to the embodiments described above. In embodiments of flotation line 8, at least one flotation cell 1a follows the modified flotation cell 1. The flotation cell 1a can be of any type known in the art. Alternatively or additionally, a mechanical flotation cell can precede the flotation cell 1a.

[0191] In an embodiment of flotation line 8, it includes: a roughing section 81 having a modified flotation cell 1; a scavenging section 82 having the flotation cell 1 and arranged to receive the underflow 400 for the roughing section 81; and a scavenging washing section 820 having the flotation cell 1 arranged to receive the overflow 500 from the scavenging section 82 (see [link to previous embodiment]). Figure 3b In flotation line 8, the first and second flotation cells 1 of the roughing section 81, the first and second flotation cells 1 of the scavenging section 82, and the first flotation cell 1 of the alternatively or additionally scavenging and washing section 820 can be modified flotation cells 1 according to the invention, having at least one air supply pipe 4. Furthermore, in flotation line 8, as described above, the modified flotation cell 1 according to the invention, having at least one air supply pipe 4, can be followed by a mechanical flotation cell 1a.

[0192] According to an exemplary embodiment, in the flotation line 8, at least one flotation cell 1 of the scavenging section 82, at least one first flotation cell 1 of the scavenging and washing section 820, and / or at least one first flotation cell 1 of the roughing section 81 are modified flotation cells 1 according to the present invention.

[0193] Other processes (such as grinding, classification, screening, heavy media processes, coarse particle recovery processes, spiral separation, and other separation processes) and other flotation processes may be performed before flotation line 8. After flotation line 8, multiple processes (such as regrinding, washing) or other flotation processes, centrifugation, filtration, screening, or dewatering may be performed.

[0194] According to another aspect of the invention, flotation line 8 can be used to recover particles comprising valuable materials suspended in a slurry. In one embodiment, this use may involve recovering particles comprising non-polar minerals such as graphite, sulfur, molybdenite, coal, talc, etc.

[0195] According to an exemplary embodiment, a flotation line 8 comprising a plurality of fluidly connected flotation cells is disclosed. Process equipment may be configured to be adapted to at least one flotation cell. The at least one flotation cell may include a flotation tank 10 comprising a center 11, a periphery 12, a substantially horizontal bottom 13, and sidewalls. The at least one flotation cell may also include a flow channel 2 and a flow channel lip 21 surrounding the periphery 12 of the tank 10. Process equipment may be configured to be installed in at least one flotation cell 1. Process equipment may include at least one means for combining gas flow and slurry feed 100 to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the tank 10. A slurry recycling loop 3 may be configured to provide to at least one adapted flotation cell 1, wherein the slurry recycling loop 3 may include a pump system.

[0196] According to an exemplary embodiment, the floating line 8 may include at least one superstructure. At least one superstructure of at least one flotation cell 1 of the process equipment to be retrofitted may be configured for use in the construction of the retrofitted flotation cell 1. The superstructure may include at least one of the following: foundation, steel support base, pipes, wires, instruments, instrument wiring, support structure, channel, tank and / or flotation tank 10.

[0197] According to an exemplary embodiment, flotation line 8 may include 2-8 fluidly connected flotation cells 1, 1a, or 2-6 fluidly connected flotation cells 1, 1a, or 2-5 fluidly connected flotation cells 1, 1a, or 2-4 fluidly connected flotation cells 1, 1a, or 2-3 fluidly connected flotation cells 1, 1a. The first flotation cell 1, or the first and second flotation cells 1, or flotation cells 1-3, or flotation cells 1-4, or flotation cells 1-5, or flotation cells 1-6, or flotation cells 1-7, or flotation cells 1-8 in flotation line 8 may be configured to be modified using the aforementioned process equipment.

[0198] According to an exemplary embodiment, the first and second flotation cells 1 in flotation line 8 may be located at the same relative height and may be configured to be modified with process equipment according to any of the above embodiments. The supply of fresh slurry 200 may be configured to be directed to the first flotation cell 1 and / or the second flotation cell 1 in flotation line 8, wherein the first flotation cell 1 may be fluidly connected to the second flotation cell 1, and the first flotation cell may optionally be fluidly connected to the third flotation cell 1a. The fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells 1 in flotation line 8 may be configured to be terminated by a valve or barrier. If the fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells 1 in flotation line 8 is configured to be terminated, the supply of fresh slurry 200 may be configured to be directed independently to the first flotation cell 1 and / or the second flotation cell 1 in flotation line 8. The underflow 400 from the first flotation cell 1 and / or the second flotation cell 1 in flotation line 8 may be configured to be directed to the third flotation cell 1a in flotation line 8.

[0199] Figure 5 An example of a method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell is shown. The method may include forming the retrofitted flotation cell 1 by removing at least one flotation cell component or device, or retaining all components of the flotation cell by verifying that there is no interference with any process equipment to be installed. The flotation cell may include a flotation tank 10, which includes a center 11, a periphery 12, a substantially horizontal bottom 13, and sidewalls 14. The flotation cell may also include a flow channel 2 and a flow channel lip 21 surrounding the periphery 12 of the tank 10.

[0200] At operation 500, the method may include forming a modified flotation cell 1 by installing process equipment into the flotation cell, wherein the process equipment may include at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed 100 to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate, and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed 100 into tank 10.

[0201] At operation 510, the method may include further providing the slurry recycling loop 3 to the modified flotation cell 1, wherein the slurry recycling loop 3 may include a pump system.

[0202] Figure 6 An example of a method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation line 8 is shown. The method may include forming the retrofitted flotation line 8 by removing at least one flotation cell component or device, or retaining all components of the flotation cell by verifying that there is no interference with any process equipment to be installed. At least one flotation cell may include a flotation tank 10, which includes a center 11, a periphery 12, a substantially horizontal bottom 13, and sidewalls 14. The flotation cell may also include a flow channel 2 and a flow channel lip 21 surrounding the periphery 12 of the tank 10.

[0203] At operation 600, the method may include forming at least one modified flotation cell 1 by installing process equipment into at least one flotation cell, wherein the process equipment may include at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed 100 to obtain granular-bubble aggregate, and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed 100 into tank 10.

[0204] At operation 610, the method may include providing a slurry recycling loop 3 to at least one modified flotation cell 1, wherein the slurry recycling loop 3 may include a pump system.

[0205] The embodiments described above can be used in any combination. Several embodiments can be combined together to form another embodiment. The flotation cell involved in this disclosure may include at least one of the foregoing embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of ​​the present invention can be implemented in various ways. Therefore, the present invention and its embodiments are not limited to the above examples, but can be varied within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation cell, wherein, The flotation cell includes: A flotation tank includes a center, perimeter, bottom, and sidewalls; Flow channel and flow channel lip; The method includes forming a modified flotation cell by installing process equipment into the flotation cell, and removing and / or reusing at least one flotation cell component or device, wherein, The process equipment includes at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed to obtain granular-bubble aggregate, subsequently introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into the flotation tank. The device for combining the airflow and slurry feed includes at least one air supply duct; and At least one flotation cell component or device for removal and / or reuse includes at least one blower, which serves as the air supply for the at least one air duct; and A slurry recycling loop is provided to the modified flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop includes a pump system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The method includes directly connecting the pump system to the flotation tank.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The method also includes forming a modified flotation cell through the following steps: The process equipment is installed in the flotation tank, wherein the process equipment includes at least one means for combining gas flow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the flotation tank, and The slurry recycling loop is provided to the modified flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop includes the pump system.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The slurry recycling loop includes an outlet, a first slurry pipeline, a pump system, and a second slurry pipeline.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Fresh slurry is supplied to the flotation tank and / or the pump system.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The slurry recycling loop circulates a portion of the slurry from the flotation tank to the slurry feed and distributes the slurry feed to the at least one air supply pipe.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The flotation cell also includes a feed tank for supplying the fresh slurry into the flotation cell and / or the pump system.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The feed hopper is connected to the flotation tank and / or the pump system, wherein if the feed hopper is connected to the flotation tank and the pump system, the supply of fresh slurry is transferred to the flotation tank and / or the pump system.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The at least one flotation cell component or device for removal and / or reuse also includes at least one of the following: a motor, a drive mechanism, a rotor, and / or a stator.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The motor, which is removed and / or reused, is used as a pump motor in the pump system of the slurry recycling loop.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The pump and the pump motor are located below or at the same height as the modified flotation cell.

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The flotation cell includes an upper structure, wherein the upper structure of the flotation cell to be modified with the process equipment is used in the construction of the modified flotation cell, wherein the upper structure includes at least one of the following: foundation, steel support base, pipes, wires, instruments, instrument wiring, support structure, channel, tank and / or the flotation tank.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The method further includes mounting a bottom structure on the bottom of the flotation tank, wherein the bottom structure has a shape that allows particles to be suspended in the slurry to limit particle accumulation at the center of the flotation tank.

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The method also includes reusing or installing a mechanical mixer at the bottom of the flotation tank, wherein the mechanical mixer can be operated to prevent solid material from accumulating at the bottom of the flotation tank.

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The modified flotation cell recovers a portion of the floating minerals from the slurry.

16. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The modified flotation cell processes slurries containing solid particles suspended in the slurry, the solid particles having an average particle size of about 1 to 2000 μm.

17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The process equipment includes 2-40 air supply pipes or 4-24 air supply pipes.

18. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The at least one device for combining gas flow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the flotation tank is self-aspirating.

19. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, At least one air supply duct is pressurized.

20. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The at least one air supply duct includes an impactor configured to contact the slurry feed flow from the outlet nozzle and to guide the slurry feed flow radially outward and upward from the impactor.

21. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, An internal deflector is disposed inside the flotation tank to guide the fresh slurry entering the flotation tank toward the outlet.

22. A method for retrofitting process equipment into a flotation line, wherein, The flotation line includes multiple fluidly connected flotation cells, wherein at least one flotation cell includes: A flotation tank includes a center, perimeter, bottom, and sidewalls; Flow channel and flow channel lip; The method includes forming at least one modified flotation cell according to any one of the preceding claims by installing the process equipment into the at least one flotation cell, wherein the process equipment includes at least one means for combining gas flow and slurry feed to obtain particulate-bubble aggregate and subsequently introducing the combined gas flow and slurry feed into the flotation tank; and The slurry recycling loop is provided to the at least one modified flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop includes a pump system.

23. A flotation line comprising multiple fluidly connected flotation cells, wherein, The process equipment is configured to be adapted to at least one flotation cell, and at least one flotation cell component or device is configured to remove and / or reuse, wherein the at least one flotation cell comprises: Flotation tank, including center, perimeter, bottom, and sidewalls; and The flow channel and the flow channel lip; wherein, The process equipment is configured to be installed in the at least one flotation tank, wherein the process equipment includes at least one device for combining airflow and slurry feed to obtain granular-bubble aggregate, and then introducing the combined airflow and slurry feed into the flotation tank, the device for combining airflow and slurry feed including at least one air supply duct. The at least one flotation cell component or device for removal and / or reuse includes at least one blower configured to serve as an air supply for the at least one air duct; and A slurry recycling loop is configured to provide to the at least one modified flotation cell, wherein the slurry recycling loop includes a pump system.

24. The flotation circuit according to claim 23, wherein, The flotation line includes at least one superstructure, wherein the at least one superstructure of the at least one flotation cell to be modified using the process equipment is configured for use in the construction of the modified flotation cell, wherein the superstructure includes at least one of the following: foundation, steel support base, pipe, wire, instrument, instrument wiring, support structure, channel, tank and / or the flotation tank.

25. The flotation circuit according to claim 23 or 24, wherein, The flotation line includes 2-8 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-6 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-5 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-4 fluidly connected flotation cells, or 2-3 fluidly connected flotation cells, wherein the first flotation cell, or the first flotation cell and the second flotation cell, or flotation cell 1-3, or flotation cell 1-4, or flotation cell 1-5, or flotation cell 1-6, or flotation cell 1-7, or flotation cell 1-8 in the flotation line are modified with the process equipment of any one of the preceding claims.

26. The flotation circuit according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein, The first and second flotation cells in the flotation line are located at the same relative height and are configured to be modified with process equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the supply of fresh slurry is configured to be directed to the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line, wherein the first flotation cell is fluidly connected to the second flotation cell and optionally fluidly connected to a third flotation cell, wherein the fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line is configured to be terminated by a valve or barrier, and wherein if the fluid connection between the first and second flotation cells in the flotation line is configured to be terminated, the supply of fresh slurry is configured to be independently directed to the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line, and wherein the underflow from the first and / or second flotation cells in the flotation line is configured to be directed to the third flotation cell in the flotation line.

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