Foam scraping flotation machine and adjusting method

Abstract

The foam scraping flotation machine comprises a controller, a flotation machine box body, a foam scraping adjusting device and a foaming adjusting device, the foam scraping adjusting device and the foaming adjusting device are arranged in the flotation machine box body, a flotation tank is arranged in the flotation machine box body, the flotation tank is connected with a liquid level adjusting device, and the liquid level adjusting device is used for supplementing liquid to the flotation tank. According to the foam scraping device, information such as the thickness and the number of foam layers is detected through the foam sensor, signals are fed back to the controller, the controller adjusts the rotating speed of the foam scraping plate according to foam parameters recognized by the foam sensor, the foaming adjusting device adjusts the foaming rate according to the rotating speed of the foam scraping plate, and the foam amount is made to be matched with the foam scraping speed of the foam scraping plate; and the flotation effectiveness is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of mining equipment, and more particularly to a scraper flotation machine and an adjustment method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Froth flotation is a key technology in mineral processing. It is a separation technology based on the difference in material surface properties. Its basic principle is to add reagents to the slurry to change the properties of the mineral surface, so that certain minerals can adhere to the bubbles. The target mineral particles in the slurry will selectively adhere to the bubbles and rise to the surface of the slurry with the bubbles, thus forming a layer of mineralized foam. The minerals floating to the surface are collected together with the foam by reasonable scraping of the mineralized foam to form flotation concentrate, while the minerals that do not float sink to the bottom to form tailings, thereby achieving effective separation and enrichment of the minerals to be floated and the minerals that have not floated.

[0003] Many flotation operators unilaterally believe that increasing the amount of froth scraping can greatly improve the flotation recovery rate of minerals and facilitate good flotation results. In fact, this is not the case. On the surface, increasing the amount of froth scraping may seem to improve the recovery rate of minerals. However, as the amount of flotation machine froth scraping increases, a large amount of gangue minerals is scraped into the product, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the froth product. At the same time, the amount of middlings recycled will also increase accordingly, disrupting the balance of the entire flotation process and affecting the overall flotation process and efficiency.

[0004] Many factors influence flotation recovery rates, with foam being the most significant. This involves factors such as foaming speed, scraping speed, and scraping liquid level. However, in current production, flotation operators are limited to analyzing specific issues based on actual production conditions and relying on their operational experience to resolve problems and guide on-site production. This not only places high demands on operator experience, but often fails to address issues, resulting in low production efficiency and requiring multiple flotation machines to repeat operations to achieve the desired results. This wastes resources, reduces efficiency, and invisibly increases various production costs.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a flotation machine that can make corresponding automatic adjustments for foam flotation, realize self-adjustment of multiple aspects such as foaming speed, scraping speed, scraping liquid level, etc., thereby greatly improving the effectiveness of scraping, reducing dependence on operators, thereby improving the overall production efficiency and reducing production costs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to improve the froth scraping effectiveness and flotation efficiency of a froth scraping flotation machine.

[0007] The present invention solves the above-mentioned technical problems through the following technical means: a scraper flotation machine, including a controller, a flotation machine housing, and a scraper adjustment device and a foaming adjustment device arranged in the flotation machine housing. A flotation tank is provided in the flotation machine housing, and the flotation tank is connected to a liquid level adjustment device. The liquid level adjustment device is used to replenish liquid to the flotation tank and maintain the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank at a set value or a set range. The scraper adjustment device includes a foam sensor arranged on the inner wall of the flotation tank, a scraper plate rotatably connected to the flotation tank, and a drive motor. The foam sensor, the drive motor, the foaming adjustment device, and the liquid level adjustment device are electrically or communicatively connected to the controller. The drive motor is transmission-connected to the scraper plate and can drive the scraper plate to rotate with its axis as a rotating shaft. The controller can adjust the speed of the scraper plate according to the foam parameters identified by the foam sensor. The foaming adjustment device can adjust the foaming rate according to the speed of the scraper plate and make the foam amount adapt to the scraping speed of the scraper plate.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution, a speed sensor is provided on the central rotating shaft of the scraper plate, and the speed sensor is electrically or communicatively connected to the controller.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, the scraper plate includes a scraper shaft, a connecting plate, and a scraper blade. The scraper shaft is fixedly connected to the scraper blade via the connecting plate, and one end of the scraper shaft is transmission-connected to the drive motor.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution, the bubble regulating device includes an air intake pipe, a stator, and a rotor. A bubble channel is formed between the stator and the rotor. The bubble channel is connected to the outside world through the air intake pipe. The bubble channel is located in the flotation tank. An air flow switch is provided on the air intake pipe. The air flow switch is electrically or communicatively connected to the controller.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution, the stator is fixedly connected to the flotation machine housing, extending from the top of the flotation machine housing toward its bottom into the flotation tank, and the rotor is rotatably connected inside the stator. A central inner cavity is formed between the stator and the rotor, and an air inlet and an air outlet are provided on the stator. The central inner cavity and the air inlet and the air outlet form a bubbling channel, and the air inlet is connected to the outside world through an air inlet pipe.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution, a plurality of air outlets are provided and are evenly arranged along the circumference of the bottom of the stator.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution, two scraping blades are provided and are symmetrically arranged about the scraping rotation axis.

[0014] As an optimal technical solution, the liquid level regulating device includes a water supply tank, a water supply pipe, and a water level control valve. The water supply tank is arranged outside the flotation machine body, and the water supply tank is connected to the flotation tank through the water supply pipe. The water level control valve is fixed at one end of the water supply pipe located in the flotation tank.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, the plane where the bottom of the water outlet pipe of the water replenishment tank is located is above the plane where the top of the flotation tank is located.

[0016] The present invention also provides an adjustment method using the above-mentioned scraper flotation machine, which detects the thickness, quantity and other information of the foam layer through a foam sensor and feeds back the signal to a controller. The controller adjusts the speed of the scraper plate according to the foam parameters identified by the foam sensor. The foaming adjustment device adjusts the foaming rate according to the speed of the scraper plate and makes the foam amount adapt to the scraping speed of the scraper plate.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0018] (1) In the present invention, the thickness, quantity and other information of the foam layer are detected by the foam sensor, and the signal is fed back to the controller. The controller adjusts the rotation speed of the scraper plate according to the foam parameters identified by the foam sensor. The foam regulating device adjusts the foaming rate according to the rotation speed of the scraper plate, and adapts the foam amount to the scraping speed of the scraper plate, thereby improving the effectiveness of flotation and avoiding the situation where the amount of foam is small and the foam layer is unstable, the hydrophilic minerals are adsorbed and rise without bubbles; or the foam is too rich, and a large amount of useless minerals are entrained and floated, resulting in the inhibition of the adsorption of useful minerals, thereby avoiding the acquisition of unqualified concentrates; the liquid level regulating device is used to add water to the flotation machine housing to avoid the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank of the flotation machine housing being maintained at a set value or a set range, thereby avoiding liquid level fluctuations and destroying the stability of flotation fluctuations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of a flotation machine housing provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of a foaming regulating device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a top view of the flotation machine housing provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of two sets of connection plates provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the stator and rotor structures provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the air outlet structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure numbers: 1. Scraping foam regulating device; 11. Foam sensor; 12. Scraping foam reduction motor; 13. Scraping foam shaft; 14. Speed ​​sensor; 15. Scraping foam blade; 16. Connecting plate; 2. Foaming regulating device; 21. Air inlet pipe; 22. Air flow switch; 23. Air inlet; 24. Air outlet; 25. Stator; 26. Rotor; 27. Foaming channel; 3. Liquid level regulating device; 31. Water supply tank; 32. Water supply pipe; 33. Water level control valve; 4. Flotation machine housing; a. Foam layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] See Figure 1 、 Figure 2 A froth scraper flotation machine includes a flotation machine housing 4, a froth scraper regulating device 1 located in the flotation machine housing 4, a froth generating regulating device 2 located in the flotation machine housing 4, and a liquid level regulating device 3 partially located in the flotation machine housing 4. The froth scraper regulating device 1 can adjust the rotation speed of the froth scraper blade 15 according to the existence, quantity and size characteristics of the froth. The froth generating regulating device 2 can adjust the froth generating rate according to the rotation speed of the froth scraper regulating device, so that the froth amount is adapted to the froth scraping speed, thereby avoiding the situation where the froth amount is small and the froth layer is unstable, resulting in the hydrophilic minerals being adsorbed and rising without bubbles; or the situation where the froth is too rich, entraining a large amount of useless minerals to float, thereby inhibiting the adsorption of useful minerals, thereby avoiding obtaining unqualified concentrates; the liquid level regulating device 3 is used to replenish water to the flotation machine housing 4, thereby preventing the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank of the flotation machine housing 4 from being maintained at a set value or a set range, thereby avoiding liquid level fluctuations and destroying the stability of flotation fluctuations.

[0028] A flotation tank is provided in the flotation machine housing 4. The foam scraping regulating device 1 includes a foam sensor 11, a foam scraping reduction motor 12, a foam scraping shaft 13, a speed sensor 14, and a foam scraping blade 15. The foam sensor 11 is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the flotation tank. The foam sensor 11 is a commercially available NTC foam sensor fixed between the working liquid level and the foam layer. The foam sensor 11 transmits a remote signal to the PLC controller through an analog quantity to feedback the instantaneous characteristics of the foam layer, such as the thickness, foam amount, and foam size of the foam layer. The PLC controller receives the signal feedback and synchronously adjusts the speed signal to the foam scraping reduction motor. The NTC foam sensor adjusts the speed signal in real time according to the foam characteristics and transmits it to the foam scraping reduction motor 12. The change in the speed of the foam scraping reduction motor 12 is related to the air intake speed and flow rate of the central cavity. According to the adjustment of the air intake amount and speed, the foaming amount is adjusted, so that the real-time adjustment of the foaming speed and the foam scraping speed tends to self-balance.

[0029] See Figure 1 、 Figure 4 The scraping shaft 13 is the central rotating shaft of the scraping regulating device 1. The scraping shaft 13 is made of round steel, but it can also be made of other materials. The scraping shaft 13 is rotatably connected to the inner wall of the flotation tank. In this embodiment, the scraping shaft 13 is fixedly connected to the flotation machine housing 4 through a fixed bracket. The flotation machine housing 4 is fixedly connected with a scraping reduction motor 12. The scraping reduction motor 12 is transmission-connected to one end of the scraping shaft 13. The other end of the scraping shaft 13 is fixedly connected with a speed sensor 14. In this embodiment, the scraping shaft 13 is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the flotation tank through a fixed bracket. The key slot is connected to the scraper reduction motor 12 for transmission. The scraper reduction motor 12 can drive the scraper shaft 13 to rotate with its axis as the shaft. The other end of the scraper shaft 13 is the optical axis. The speed sensor 14 is fixed to the other end of the scraper shaft 13 through a top screw. The speed sensor 14 is installed at the end of the scraper shaft 13 away from the scraper reduction motor 12, and is used to detect the rotation speed of the scraper shaft in real time, that is, the scraping speed. The speed sensor 14 is electrically or communicatively connected to the controller, and the speed sensor 14 synchronously transmits the instantaneous speed to the PLC controller.

[0030] Two groups of connecting plates 16 are fixedly connected to the scraper shaft 13, and each group of connecting plates includes two coaxial stainless steel connecting plates 16. A scraper blade 15 is fixedly connected to each end of each group of connecting plates 16. Therefore, the two scraper blades 15 are distributed at 180°. The scraper blade 15 is a component that directly contacts the foam and needs to lightly contact the foam. As the scraper shaft 13 rotates, the foam is gently scraped away while rotating. In order to avoid the foam from bursting during the scraping process, causing the minerals attached to the foam to fall back into the slurry tank and reduce the mineral processing effect, a lightweight polyurethane thin plate is selected in this embodiment, which can not only lightly scrape away the foam, but also be acid-resistant and corrosion-resistant, thereby increasing the service life.

[0031] See Figure 2 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6 The foaming regulating device 2 includes an air inlet pipe 21, an air flow switch 22, an air inlet 23, an air outlet 24, a stator 25, and a rotor 26. The stator 25 is fixedly connected to the flotation machine housing 4 and extends from the top of the flotation machine housing 4 toward the bottom thereof into the flotation tank. The stator 25 is rotatably connected to the rotor 26, and a foaming channel is formed between the stator 25 and the rotor 26. The foaming channel has a central inner cavity, which is also located between the stator 25 and the rotor 26. The stator 25 is provided with an air inlet 23 and an air outlet 24. The air inlet 23 is connected to the outside world through the air inlet pipe 21. An air flow switch 22 is installed on the air inlet duct 21. An air inlet 23 and an air outlet 24 are each connected to the central inner cavity. Multiple air outlets 24 are provided, evenly spaced along the bottom circumference of the stator 25. The rotor 26 is rotatable relative to the stator 25, with the air outlet 24 located at the bottom and the air inlet 23 at the top. As the rotor 26 rotates relative to the stator 25, and the central inner cavity rotates, negative air pressure is created, allowing air to continuously flow into the central inner cavity, through the air outlet 24, and ultimately into the flotation cell, forming air foam that adheres to the flotation minerals. The stator gas outlet area is a key factor in flotation and is paramount in forming a stable foam layer.

[0032] The liquid level regulating device 3 includes a water supply tank 31, a water supply pipe 32, and a water level control valve 33. The water supply tank 31 is located outside the flotation machine housing 4 and is connected to the flotation tank through the water supply pipe 32. The volume of the water supply tank 31 is one tenth to one fifth of the flotation tank. A water inlet pipe is provided on the upper part of the water supply tank 31, and a water outlet pipe is provided on the lower part. The plane where the bottom of the water outlet pipe of the water supply tank 31 is located is above the plane where the top of the flotation tank is located. The water level control valve 33 is fixed to one end of the water supply pipe 32 located in the flotation tank. The water level control valve 33 is a nylon water level control valve. The liquid level in the tank is maintained at a set position. The nylon water level control valve is resistant to acidic corrosion from the flotation fluid. When the flotation tank liquid level falls below the set liquid level line of the water level control valve 33 due to factors such as scraping, the water level control valve 33 opens, and water is automatically replenished from the water supply tank 31 to the flotation tank until the water level rises to the control valve water level line. The water level control valve 33 closes and stops replenishing water, thereby controlling the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank to always maintain a stable liquid level, preventing the liquid level from fluctuating, which could disrupt the stability of the entire flotation process and affect the flotation effect. It should be noted that the set liquid level line height is the same as the plane where the water level control valve 33 is located.

[0033] Directions:

[0034] When the foam state is normal, the scraping speed remains unchanged; the tank liquid level is stable

[0035] When the amount of foam decreases, the foam sensor 11 feeds back a signal to the controller, and the controller issues an instruction to control the foam scraping reduction motor 12 to frequency-modulate and reduce the speed, and the foam scraping shaft 13 drives the foam scraping blade 15 to reduce its speed, that is, to reduce the foam scraping speed, so as to avoid rapid foam collection leading to foam bursting and ineffective foam scraping, which wastes resources and affects flotation efficiency; when the foam scraping speed decreases, the speed sensor 14 synchronously senses and feeds back to the controller, and the controller issues an instruction to control the air flow switch 22 to increase the opening, thereby increasing the air intake volume, increasing the gas flow entering the rotor center cavity through the rotor gas inlet 23, and increasing the air flow through the air outlet 24, thereby increasing the foaming speed and foaming amount, and finally the foam amount increases rapidly and returns to normal state;

[0036] When the amount of foam is too much, the foam sensor 11 feeds back a signal to the controller, which issues an instruction to control the foam scraping reduction motor 12 to frequency-modulate the speed, and the foam scraping shaft 13 drives the speed of the foam scraping blade 15 to increase, that is, to increase the foam scraping speed, so that the foam layer can be scraped out of the flotation machine in time to avoid the accumulation of the foam layer, which is too late to be collected; when the foam scraping speed increases, the speed sensor 14 synchronously senses and feeds back to the controller, and the controller issues an instruction to control the air flow switch 22 to reduce the opening, thereby reducing the air intake volume, reducing the gas flow entering the central cavity through the rotor air inlet 23, and reducing the air flow through the air outlet 24, thereby reducing the foaming speed and foaming amount, and finally the foam amount is rapidly reduced and restored to normal state;

[0037] During the rapid scraping process, the liquid level in the tank may drop due to the large amount of foam brought out. When the water level is lower than the water level control line of the control valve, the water inlet valve of the water level control valve 33 is automatically opened, and water is automatically replenished from the water replenishment tank 31 to the flotation tank through the water replenishment pipe 32 until the water level rises to the water level control line of the control valve. The water inlet valve is closed and the water replenishment is stopped, so that the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank is always maintained at a stable liquid level, avoiding liquid level fluctuations that destroy the stability of the entire flotation process, and at the same time avoiding uneven scraping or ineffective action of the scraping blade 15 that affects the flotation effect.

[0038] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A scraper flotation machine, characterized in that: The flotation machine comprises a controller, a flotation machine housing, and a scraping adjustment device and a foaming adjustment device arranged in the flotation machine housing. A flotation tank is arranged in the flotation machine housing, and the flotation tank is connected to a liquid level adjustment device. The liquid level adjustment device is used to replenish liquid to the flotation tank and maintain the flotation liquid level in the flotation tank at a set value or a set range. The scraping adjustment device comprises a foam sensor arranged on the inner wall of the flotation tank, a scraping plate rotatably connected to the flotation tank, and a drive motor. The foam sensor, the drive motor, the foaming adjustment device, the liquid level adjustment device and the controller are electrically or communicatively connected. The drive motor is transmission-connected to the scraping plate and can drive the scraping plate to rotate with its axis as the rotating shaft. The controller can adjust the speed of the scraping plate according to the foam parameters identified by the foam sensor. The foaming adjustment device can adjust the foaming rate according to the speed of the scraping plate and adapt the foam amount to the scraping speed of the scraping plate.

2. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A speed sensor is provided on the central rotating shaft of the scraping plate, and the speed sensor is electrically or communicatively connected to the controller.

3. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The foam scraping plate comprises a foam scraping shaft, a connecting plate and a foam scraping blade. The foam scraping shaft is fixedly connected with the foam scraping blade via the connecting plate. One end of the foam scraping shaft is transmission-connected to the driving motor.

4. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The foaming regulating device includes an air intake pipe, a stator, and a rotor. A foaming channel is formed between the stator and the rotor. The foaming channel is connected to the outside world through the air intake pipe. The foaming channel is located in the flotation tank. An air flow switch is provided on the air intake pipe. The air flow switch is electrically or communicatively connected to the controller.

5. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The stator is fixedly connected to the flotation machine casing, extending from the top of the flotation machine casing toward its bottom into the flotation tank. The rotor is rotatably connected inside the stator, and a central inner cavity is formed between the stator and the rotor. An air inlet and an air outlet are provided on the stator. The central inner cavity and the air inlet and the air outlet form a bubbling channel. The air inlet is connected to the outside world through an air inlet pipe.

6. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: A plurality of air outlets are provided and are evenly arranged along the circumference of the bottom of the stator.

7. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: Two scraping blades are provided and are symmetrically arranged about the scraping rotation axis.

8. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid level regulating device includes a water supply tank, a water supply pipe, and a water level control valve. The water supply tank is arranged outside the flotation machine body. The water supply tank is connected to the flotation tank through the water supply pipe. The water level control valve is fixed at one end of the water supply pipe located in the flotation tank.

9. A scraper flotation machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: The plane where the bottom of the water outlet pipe of the water supply tank is located is above the plane where the top of the flotation tank is located.

10. A method for adjusting a scraper flotation machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The foam sensor detects the thickness, quantity and other information of the foam layer and feeds the signal back to the controller. The controller adjusts the speed of the scraping plate according to the foam parameters identified by the foam sensor. The foaming adjustment device adjusts the foaming rate according to the speed of the scraping plate and makes the foam amount adapt to the scraping speed of the scraping plate.

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