Acid Activated Montmorillonites Uses
Non-swelling calcium montmorillonite is mined from bentonite deposits and treated to produced acid-activated powders and granules for use as separation products and catalysts. In particular, acid-activated montmorillonites are used as sorbents for removing impurities from fats and oils, as catalysts for mineral oil processing and for a number of other applications. These smectite group minerals […]
Coal Washing Plant
The calculation of the performance of coal washing units that are in common use is not difficult and the principles of making such calculations have been known for many years. The flowsheets to be simulated consist primarily of coal washing units each with a target specific gravity of separation specified for each washing unit. The […]
Screening Concentrate to Remove Contaminants
This was a unique idea; to use a size separation device in a mineral separation. As metallurgists, we were taught in school to use any physical property difference available to make the mineral separation. The idea was a departure from conventional processing flowsheets employed by the majority of mineral processing plants. Plant testing began with […]
Selling a Mining Property
Very few mineral properties spend their entire lifespans from discovery to depletion in the hands of one owner. More likely, properties will have several owners, and partial interests may change quite often. Similarly, mineral companies are bought and sold with frequency, in recent years at what appears to be an accelerating rate. The reasons for […]
Ultrasonic Mineral Recovery
The ultrasonic treatment unit consists of an inclined, flat bottomed metal trough, usually made of stainless steel or aluminum, with the ultrasonic transducer attached near the upper end. A typical unit would be 91.5 cm (36 inches) wide and 244 cm (96 inches) long. Figure 1 is a photograph of an ultrasonic treatment unit being […]
Sulfate Ion & Anionic Surfactants
The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating surfactants added to water sprays to enhance the control of dust during coal mining operations. The objective of the present work was to establish the general applicability of adding sulfate ion to anionic surfactant solutions in order to improve wetting action. This was pursued through laboratory wettability testing […]
Autoclave Design and Scale-Up
Commercial pressure leaching autoclaves have been in operation since mid 1950s. Historical production data suggest that these early autoclaves were originally designed with excess capacity (Berezowsky, Collins, Kerfoot, and Torres, 1991). Process development initially consisted of tests in batch autoclaves. While in some cases this stage had been followed by continuous pilot plant tests in […]
IR Infrared Absorption Bands of Carboxylate
Carboxylate can interact with metal cations in four different modes, namely ionic, unidentate, bidentate, and bridging as depicted in Figure 9. The ionic type of interactions are usually observed in the alkali metal salts of carboxylic acids. In this case, the carboxylate ion has a symmetrical structure and the two oxygen atoms in the carboxylate […]
Biological Hydrogen Sulfide Production
The Paques technology for the biological treatment of sulfate and metal containing waste waters or process waters, marketed under the name THIOPAQ, consists of different biological processes complemented with liquid/solid and gas separation steps. The produced hydrogen sulfide can be used in various metallurgical processes. The most important biological reaction is the reduction of sulfuric […]
Reduce Kaolin Clay Viscosity
Here, the effects of different dispersion methods on improving the rheology of kaolin slurries are studied. The efficacy of desliming the kaolin slurry on reducing the viscosity of the kaolin crude is also investigated and the results are presented. Finally, the mechanism for the improvements in viscosity with the use of these dispersion methods is […]