Froth Flotation (Sulphide & Oxide)

Froth Flotation (Sulphide & Oxide)

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what is breathing in flotation cell? (2 replies)

f
f.hatami
8 years ago
f.hatami 8 years ago

in industry scale, the level of froth in flotation cells(column, agitated) suddenly comes down and we say the cell is in breathing, what is the cause of this matter?

J
Jorge
8 years ago
Jorge 8 years ago
2 likes by Paul Morrow and David

The level of the froth comes down for several reasons. For example, the content of valuable minerals in the fresh feed is lower. In this case, it is important to regulate the level of froth. Other situation is the excessive addition of strong collectors. Many times, It happens when the addition of PAX is very high. This situation can be critical when the content of valuable minerals is lower. It is important to reduce the addition of collector. 

In other cases the addition of activators can be problematic. For instance, the excessive addition of copper sulphate may affect the flotation of sphalerite.

Aeration problems in the flotation machine should be consider as a potential cause of the problem.

Also, some operations have an expert system to control the operation. This kind of control is not perfect and it is necessary to monitor the operation constantly and make changes manually.

The other point comment is related to the normal movement of the slurry in the flotation cell. The froth may come down for a very short period of time. This effect is produced by the system installed to control the tailings discharge in the flotation machine. Pneumatic systems equipped with dart valve experiment this action. For that reason, the system installed to control the froth level should be reviewed constantly, specially if the plant has a high level of automation. 

(unknown)
8 years ago
(unknown) 8 years ago

Hi f.hatami,

consider that your level controller or drain value is faulty (sticky) or too slow to react to hold a steady level.  

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