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    Design c r i t e r i a a n d r e c e n t d e v e lo p m e n t s i - nl a r g e - c a p a c i t y W e m c o f lo t a t io n c e l l sby P . K IND*, P h.D . (C lau sth al), B .S c. (V isito r)

    SYNOPSISThe scaling-up of the large flotation cells that have been developed during the past few years has been based onhydrodynam ic considerations and has resulted in a 500 ft3 cell unit. P lant results on a porphyry copper ore showthat the 500 ft3 unit is equivalent to the previously used 300 ft3 model.. .Plant tests on the use of 300 ft3 flotation cells for the recovery of phosphate, particularly from the coarse sizefra ctio ns , a re a ls o d es cr ib ed .

    SAMEVATTINGDie skaalvergrot ing v an d ie groot f lot tas iesel le wat in die loop van die afgelope paar jaar ontwikkel is, is op hidro-dinam iese oorw egings gegrond en het gelei tot 'n seleenheid van 500 vt3. Aanlegresultate vir porfierkoperertshet getoon dat die eenheid van 500 vt3 gelyk staan met die model van 300 vt3 wat vroeer gebruik is.Aanlegtoetse in verband met die gebruik van flottasieselle van 300 vt3 vir die herw inning v an f os fa at, v er al ui td ie g rowwe groo tte fra ksie s, w ord o ok b esk ry f.

    INTRODUCTIONThe W emco flotation cell of today

    started as the Fagergren flotationcell, which was invented in theearly 1930's by W illiam Fagergrenin Utah, U.S.A. Up to 1948 it wasmarketed by Cyanamid, and sincethen by Wemco, now a Division ofE nvirotech C orporation, M enlo P ark,C alifo rn ia , U .S .A .

    T he Fagergren w as characterizedby its deep multi-piece squirrel-cage rotor and squirrel-cage shroud.In 1967/1968, W emco developed andpatented a new one-piece deep rotorand a one-piece stator (U.S. patent3,491,880), sold under the trademark 1+ 1. Fig. 1 shows the con-

    c on v en ti on al m ec ha ni sm

    ~0Im...

    ~('I +b8...,03

    ..~

    1 + 1 rotor.stator

    mJ1 "I:

    .

    ,.t.,

    +

    Fig. I-W emco m echanism s

    *W emco Europe, D ivision of Envirotech,France.

    ventional Fagergren impeller andthe 1+ 1 star rotor-disperser. Until1967, W emco cell sizes ranged from1 to 60 t3.

    In 1967, the 300 ft3 cell wasde ve lo pe d a nd suc ce ssfu lly c omparedin a parallel industrial test againstthe 60 ft3 cells. In 1970, the first500 ft3 cell (no. 144) was tested inthe flotation of iron ore in NorthAmerica.

    PRINCIPLE

    ...t.,

    The Wemco flotation cell is anopen-trough type, self-aeratingmechanical flotation cell, which isshown in Fig. 2. The mechanismconsists of a star-like rotor, whichrotates inside the shroud or disperser.When operating, the rotor createsa fluid vortex inside the standpipeand in the draft tube, this vortexbeing at a sufficient vacuum toinduce air into the standpipe throughthe air inlet from above the cellsurface. The induced air is mixedinside the rotor-stator zone withthe pulp that has been sucked intothe rotor from below. The large-capacity W emco flotation cells havea false-bottom draft-tube systemthat enhances the circulation of thepulp. It perm its a low rotor sub-m erge nce , e ven fo r the la rge -c ap acitycells. The three-phase m ixture leavesthe shroud (disperser) through thedisperser apertures in radial direct-ion. The new disperser fulfils theshrouding effect perfectly, since thetangential velocity of the three-phase mixture imparted on it bythe rotor is converted to an entirelyradial direction. This is shown by

    JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY

    the flow pattern of the laboratorycell, equipped with 1+ 1 parts (Fig.3). The particle-loaded air bubblesrising to the froth surface areseparated outside the disperser, andthe remaining pulp, which flowsdown the tank walls and returns tothe rotors, is separa,ted in the largecells through the false bottom andthe draft tube. The conical statorhood is to quieten the cell surfaceand to keep any turbulence createdby the rotor away from the frothlayer.

    The function of the mechanismin a W em co flotation cell is thereforethreefold: to circulate pulp, to mixpulp with air, and to draw in air.These functions depend on the shapeand geometric dimensions of therotor and stator, on the speed andsubmergence of the rotor, on thevertical distance between the rotorand the real tank bottom and, forthe large cell sizes, on the engage-ment of the rotor in the draft tube.

    As far as the pulp-circulationcapacity is concerned, the followingrelations can be stated.- The greater the speed of therotor tip (by increased rotationalspeed or by installation of a

    larger-diameter rotor), thegreater the circulation capacity.

    - A decrease in the clearance be-tween the rotor and the tankbottom improves the pulp-c ir cu la tio n cap ac ity .

    - Rotor engagement in the drafttube is essential for effectivepulp circulation; otherwise,short-circuiting of the pulpoccurs.

    - An increase in the tip speed andMARCH 1976 34 5

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    , rWEIR L E V E L" r " )

    '~ , R O T O R" I S U ~ ~ f R G E N C E. 11 . ; !' " I In : 1jJ " " :

    I R i ; ' . } -R O T O R T O P! I i/. , 1 I : / ' ..T U B E ~ r - y r L - " d - - . J - - r : " \ . ' ' - A D J U S T A B LE C O L L A R'. , - u u - . . L f - - . . - - u . . ~j u { ' - F A L S E B O T T O M

    A IR IN L E T D U C T ~ _ _ - -S T A N D P IP E : - - ! " -- - . , " - - -( - .

    H O O D t

    iD I S P E R S E R

    a . decrease in the distance be-tween the rotor and the tankbottom increases the power con-sumption.Concerning aeration character-

    istics, the relations listed below canbe expec ted.- The greater the speed of therotor tip, the greater the volume

    of induced air.- The lower the submergence ofthe rotor, the greater the volumeof induced air.

    - The lower the specific gravity andthe viscosity of the flotationpulp, the greater the quantityof induced air.O bviom ::ly, an optim um condition

    is to be found for the variousparameters mentioned above. Thisis particularly true for the flotation ofcoarse particles, where a greaterturbulence is required to keep thecoarser solids in suspension, butit is lim ited by the reduced stabilityof the particle/air-bubble unit, Fur-ther, large air bubbles would berequired.SCALE-UP CONSIDERATIONW hen flotation cells are scaled up

    from a given size to larger units, the34 6 MAR CH 1976

    i '"1-4

    (MOTOR

    I> ._..~ :I J' - - - + - - '~

    Fig. 2-W emco I + I flotation cell

    Fig. 3-W em co laboratory cell with I + I partsJOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY

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    Fig. 4-Relation:of cell depth and roto(diamete(to cell size

    Fig. 5-Relation of rotationa'-and tangential speed to cell sizeJOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF M INING AND METALLURGY MARCH 1976 34 7

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    specific capacities of the m echanism swith regard to pulp circulation, airdispersion, and air induction mustbe maintained. Only if this is donecan one expect to process largequantities of a given raw materialin a larger cell with the samemeta llu rg ic al re su lts.If the width of the cell is regarded

    as a basic parameter of the celltank (also being the size number ofWemco flotation cells), the depth ofthe cell is scaled up in a linearway (Fig. 4). This means that abigger cell is also a deeper cell. Thelength of the tank, i.e., the distancebetween two mechanisms, can varybetween 75 and 100 per cent of thetank width, depending on the appli-cation. The ratio of blade height torotor diameter remains almost con-stant, with values of 1,14 and 1 forthe 1 ft3 and the 500 ft3 modelrespectively. As shown in Fig. 4,the diameter of the star rotorincreases linearly with the widthof the cell, which corresponds to aconstant ratio of impeller diameterto cell w idth.Once the geometric parameters

    348 MARCH 1976

    Fig. 6-Relation of power number (Np) to cell sizehave been selected, impeller speedand aeration control are the majoroperational parameters to be con-sidered in the scale-up of flotationcells. For Wemco flotation cells upto 60 ft3, the speed of the rotor tipincreases with one-third the powerof the rotor diameter, as Arbiterand Steiningerl and Arbiter, Harris,and Yap3 recommend. ]'or the largercells, a more or less constant tipspeed of 1300 ft/m in seems to befeasible. It should be noted thatthese cell sizes have the false-bottom draft-tube system (see Fig.5). In some applications, the tipspeeds of the large cells have beenincreased to higher values for thefloating of heavy and coarse m aterial.Various sizes of flotation cells

    are fully scaled up from a hydro-dynamic point of view if the powernum ber is kept constant2,3.P ow er n umbe r Np P'gl. N3. D5

    'whereP =net pow er consum ptiong =gra vita tio na l a cc ele ra tio nl = flu id de nsity

    N =rotor speedD = ro tor diame te r.Fig. 6 and Table I show that this

    hydrodynam ic characteristic is fullyrespected in all sizes of Wemcoflotation cells. It should be men-tioned that the change from thesquirrel-cage Fagergren rotor to the1+ 1 star rotor was accompanied bya higher power number due to thegreater blade area of the rotor. Forthe no. 66 cell operating at428 r/m in in water, the power num-ber increased from 1,38 to 3,05(Table I). The greater blade areamade it possible to reduce thediameter of the rotor and the tipspeed by about 25 per cent, withthe benefit of lower wear andm aintenance costs.NQ (NQl Air volume rateCell area' rotor tip speed

    QANQ2- D2.N.DThe air-flow numter, which isregarded by Arbiter2 as reflecting a

    specific operating condition of aflotation cell, is the ratio of air

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    IN3 D" p* Pr/s3 ft" h.p. ft Ibis

    865,52 0,06735 0,8 440,19578,01 0,177896 1, 2 660,28343,00 0,648405 3,0 1650,72253,64 1,357270 4,2 2311,00137,39 7,5 4126,80159,22 4,208727 8,5 4677,0452,73 17 9354,0872,51 20,692469 20 1l004,8031,86 24 13205,7652,73 47,675169 29 15956,96362,63 1,357271 5,3 2916,27

    I362,63 4,915 ! 4728

    ImpellerSize D N Nft r/min r/s

    36 0,583 57 244 0,708 50 056 0,917 42 066 1,063 38 084 1,333 310- 32 512 0 1,833 225- 25 014 1 2,166 190- 22 5------ --1,0~16 1+ I 42866 conv. 1,375 42 8

    QAQA * - QAft3/min D'ft/mill TT-N-D312,5 36,8 35,2 x 10-323 45,88 41,2544 52,32 43,3170 61,95 48,9712 5 70,34 54,3114 0 78,79 57,9326 0

    I

    77,38 59,7531 0 92,26 64,1l40 0 85,26 65,8354 0 115,10 75,23 I

    ImpellerSize D N TT.N-Dft r/m in ft/m ill36 0,583 57 2 104544 0,708 50 0 11l256 0,917 42 0 120866 1,063 380 126584 1,333 310- 129532 5 136012 0 1,833 225- 129525 0 1439144 2,166 190- 129522 5 1530

    ACellCell surfaceSize surface ft'--- 36 36 X 36 944 44x 44 13,4456 56 X 56 21,7766 66 X 66 30,2584 84 X 84 49,00120 120 X 90 75,0014 4 144 X 108 108,00

    TABLE IPOWER NUMBER Np

    9,538,337,006,335,165,423,754,173,173,751- ~:~~ --

    NpP- g

    l w- N 3. D"---- 3,8893,3063,8223,4623,6753,5944,4153,7774,4773,269.0_-11,0511,384

    * At 6-inch rotor submergence in water'P=Net powe r con sump ti ong =G rav itational constan tlw=Density o f w ate rN=Impeller speedD =Im peller d iam eter

    Unitft.lb/s3 2,1 85 ft/sa6 2,4 Ib /f t3r/sft

    TABLE IlA IR -F LOW NUMBER (NQl)NQ lQA-- - N-D3

    1l,05-312,9513,6015,3717,3018,4418,7620,1320,6723,96* A t 6-inch subm ergence in w ater' UnitN Q l=Air- flo w n um be rQA=Air -flo w ra teN=Impeller speedD =Im peller d iam eter

    ft3/minr/minftTABLE III

    A IR-FLO W N UM BER (N Q,)

    I

    Air superfi ci ale sc ape vel oc it yVA=QA :Aft/mill1,381,712,022,312,55-2,853,46- 4,133,70- 5, 0

    R oto r-tip spe edTT-N.Dft/mill10451112120812651295- 13601295- 14391295- 1530

    NQ 'QAir-flow rateQA*ft3/min12,5234470

    125- 14 0260- 31 0400- 54 0

    * At 6-inch rotor subm ergence in water' Unitsft'ft3/minft/millA=Cel l surfaceQA=Airflo w ra teVA =Superficial escape velocity of airN Q,=Air-flo w n um ber

    JO URNAL O F THE SO UTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE O F M INING AND M ETALLURG Y MARCH 1976

    A-TT-N.D1,32 X 10-31,5371,6721,8261,969 2,0962,672- 2,872,857- 3,26

    34 9

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    Fig. 7-Relation of air-flow num ber (NQ) to cell size

    Fig. 8-R elation=of air-flow =num ber (NQ1)O cell)ize350 MARC H 1976 JOURNA L O F TH E SOU TH A FR IC AN IN ST ITU TE O F M IN ING AND META LLURGY

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    RougherFine feed

    Size Distn Cum.mesh % %(+)20 1,0 1,0

    -20 +2 8 1,9 2,9-28 +3 5 7,6 10,5-35 +4 8 18,8 29,3-48 +65 27,1 56,4(-)65 43,6 100,0

    S olid s in P ho sp ha te (BPL *), % BPL*Feed rate feed recoveryton/h % Feed Concentrate %12 0 17 27,4 53,6 91,317 0 22 26,0 58,7 88,2200 25 28,0 59,9 89,3200 25 21,7 51,9 87,1170 27 22,5 58,2 85,7

    velocity (air volume rate to squareof impeller diameter, or air volumerate to cell surface) to the tangentialvelocity of the impeller. Tables 11and III and Figs. 7 and 8 show thevar io us p ar ame te rs .

    The air-flow number increaseswith increasing cell size because theair velocity increases faster than thetangential speed of the rotor. Thisis related to the scale-up of thetank geom etrics, w hich is character-ized by a linear scale-up of the celldepth. On the other hand, constantair intensity of the cell volume isrequired. In other words, at naturalaeration capacity, the air in ano. 120 cell would escape faster thanthat in a no. 66 cell.

    Arbiter2 has shown with Balmatflotation that, only w hen the aerationis restricted, can plant results bereproduced in laboratory and pilotcells. From his investigation, it alsoappears that the sam e m etallurgicalresults can be obtained in Wemcocells having the following air-flownumbers:

    2-litre laboratory cell:NQ=I-2xlO-31 ft3 pilot cell:N Q=I,9 -2 ,3 X 10-3

    61 ft3 plant cell:N Q=2,7 X 10-3.The magnitude of the N Q values ofArbiter's investigation and those inthe tables of this paper differ sincethe latter are related to the starrotor in water while the other data2are related to a squirrel-cage rotorin industrial flotation pulp.

    RECENT DEVELOPM ENTSAND TESTS

    In spite of the recent progress inthe hydrodynam ics of flotation-celldesign, major development workshould still be done in industrialplants. W emco's work during thelast few years has been directed intw o d istin ct d ire ction s.

    One was the development oflarge-capacity flotation cells, w hichhas now resulted in the 500 ft3cell. It is obvious that lower prim aryores need bigger installations, andconsequently larger equipm ent. Theneed for autom atic operation of theseplants favours the trends towardsbigger units. The 500 ft3 cell witha daily unit capacity of up to 830 tjdof an average porphyry copper ore

    is now being used in various plantsin North America. It should fulfilthe requirement of even the largestm ill of today to accommodate onlyone flotation line to one grindingcircuit.

    The other development wasdirected towards the use of large-capacity cells for the flotation ofcoarse particles, especially of phos-phates.Flotation Tests at Brewster Plant

    At the Haynsworth Mine atBradley, Florida, of the AmericanCyanamid Co., a nine-month testusing three no. 120 W emco cells wascarried out to determ ine whetherlarge-capacity cells can be used toup-grade fine and coarse feed ofFlorida phosphate, about whichCustred, Degner, and LongS, 6 havereported.

    Since the flotation feed in thesize range of 20 to 150 mesh is theundersize of the preceding up-grading steps such as washing,screening, cycloning, and hydraulicclassification, and since no crushingand milling steps are involved, theflotation feed is coarser than in most

    other mineral applications. Them inus 150 m esh fraction is discardedas slimes, and the 20 to 150 meshfraction is classified by hydraulicsizers and vibrating screens into acoarse flotation feed (minus 20plus 35 mesh) and into a fineflotation feed (minus 35 plus 150mesh).

    In the rougher flotation, thephosphate is floated separately inthe coarse and fine circuit, usingcrude fatty acid, fuel oil, andammonia for pH 9 to 9,5. Thetwo rougher froth products are thencombined, acid-washed, and sub-jected to a common cleaner circuit,where silica is floated with aminesand where the phosphate reports toth e c ell u nd erflo w.The tests were conducted forroughing only, both on the fine andcoarse feed. The test unit consistedof three no. 120 by 90 by 53 Wemcocells (300 ft3 unit cell volume) withdouble overflow and skimmers, andwith feed and discharge box andautomatic level control. Table IVsummarizes the size distribution ofthe fine and coarse feed, and Table Vgives the results of several months'

    ROUGHER FLOTATION FEED" - SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF SOLIDS (% by mass - b y screenfraction)TABLE IV

    circuitCoa rse fe ed

    Distn% Cum.%4,28,615,928,9

    26,915,5

    4,212,828,757,684,5100,0

    * Rotor submergence=9 in* Rotor speed=210 r/m in

    THREE-CELL ROUGHER FLOTATION CIRCUIT" - PERFORMANCE ON FINE FEED (Operatingcondition A )

    TABLE V

    JOURNAL OFTHE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY* Bone phosphate of lim e

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    RotorI

    Operating (top) Rotor Feed Solids in Phosphate (BPL*), % Phosphatecondition submergence speed rate feed

    I

    recoverym r/m in ton/h % Feed Concentrate %

    ---A 9 210 120 20 26,4 58,1 85,9Bt 9 21 0 120 20 31,0 56,0 90,4C 13 210 120 20 27,8 56,8 87,8D 13 23 5 120 20 33,0 64,3 88,7D 13 235 180 25 30,2 62,9 88,3

    TABLE VITHREE-CELL ROUGHER FLOTATION CIRCUIT" - PERFORMANCE ON COARSE FEED

    * Bone phosphate of limet F alse -bo tto m m od ific atio n(See text for details)operation on the fine feed at210 r/m in (1208 ft/m in, 6,14 m/s) anda rotor submergence of 9 inches. Thefeed rate was varied between 120and 200 ton/h and the solids con-centration between 17 and 27 percent by mass.T he m etallurgical results achievedin the test unit on fine feed were thesame as obtained in the air cellsoperating in this plant. However,it was possible to increase the solidsconcentration to 27 per cent in thefeed, whereas it had up to thenbeen 17 per cent solids.The test results obtained on thecoarse feed are shown in Table VI.In the first test scries on the coarsefeed, the operating conditions (A )were the same as for the fine feed.The result was that the same gradeof concentrate as in the plant couldbe obtained, but that the recoverycould not be achieved (85,9 percent for the test unit, 88,5 per centfor the plant). The 300 ft3 cellscould therefore not duplicate theplant results under standard opera-ting conditions, although the condi-tions were sufficient to give goodresults on the fine feed.In order to improve the recoveryon the coarse feed, the test cellswere modified by covering the gapbetween the false bottom of twoadjacent cells with a plate called a'false-bottom extension plate'. Thism odification resulted in a continuousfalse bottom for the three cells andis referred to as operating conditionB. The test results show an improve-ment in recovery, most likely be-cause of better circulation of thepulp and better suspension of thecoarse m aterial. However, the gradeof the concentrate was lower.Then, in order to improve thegrade of the concentrate, the entire352 MARCH 1976

    mechanisms were lowered by 4inches, and the rotor submergencewas consequently increased from9 to 13 inches. This modificationresulted in an improved grade ofconcentrate but lower recovery. Thelast modification was to increasethe rotor speed from 210 to 235 r/m in(1208 to 1352 f/m in or 6,14 to6,87 m/s), which brought the re-covery to the plant value (88,5per cent) while the grade of theconcentrate of the test cells wasthe same or up to 3 per cent higherthan that of the plant cells. Further-more, the throughput could beincreased without any major lossin grade and recovery by 50 percent to 180 ton/h.A final test consisted of feedingthe fine feed into the test unit and

    operating at 235 r/m in with thelowered mechanism and the con-tinuous false-bottom . At a feedrate of 200 ton/h, 30 per centsolids, and 24,4 per cent phosphatein the feed, a concentrate of 58,6p~r cent bone phosphate of lime(BPL) at a recovery of 86,2 perc en t w as o bta ine d.Fig. 9 shows the power and air-flow characteristics of the no. 120

    W emco ce1l5 for the four operatingconditiom of the test unit. Anincrease in the submergence of therotor from 9 to 13 inches at thesame rotational speed resulted ina decrease in the aeration and con-sequently in the air-flow number.At the same time, the power draw,and consequently the power inten-sity, rose. An increase in the speedof the rotor from 210 to 235 r/m inraised the pumping capacity of therotor and the power commmption.Since the aeration rate also increased,the power consumption increasedto a lesser extent than it would have

    done w ithout an increase in aeration.In summary, the 300 ft3 test cells

    achieved the same or better metal-lurgy than the existing air cellsin the plant. The specific flotationcapacity (tons of feed per hour persquare foot of floor space) could beincreased by 50 per cent. It wentup to 0,65 ton/h per ft2 with finefeed, and to 0,59 ton/h per ft2 withcoarse feed. The specific powerconsumption could be reduced tobetween 0,27 and 0,36 h.p. per ton/hwith fine feed, and to 0,42 h.p. perton/h with coarse feed. It wasfurther possible to increase thesolids concentration in the feed to30 per cent for fine feed (as com-pared with 18 per cent solids in theplant), and to 25 per cent for coarsefeed (as compared with 16 per centsolids in the plant).Fig. 10 shows a partial view of theflotation area of the Brewster plantafter recomtruction. In a total oftwenty-four no. 120 Wemco cells,1260 ton/h are treated for roughingand partial cleaning, the balanceof the cleaning being done in theexisting air cells.Flotation Tests at PhosphateDevelopment Corp. LtdThe Phosphate Development Corp.

    Ltd of Phalaborwa, Transvaal, con-ducted parallel flotation tests tocom pare the metallurgical perform -ance of 300 ft3 (8,4 m3) no. 120Wemco cells with that of the 50 ft3(1,4 m3) cells currently in use in thee xis tin g p la nV .The test unit consisted of a

    four-cell no. 120 Wemco machine,120 by 90 by 53, consisting of feedbo x - 2 cells - connection box-2 cells - discharge box. The cellshad double froth overflow withfroth skimmers. The test machine

    JOURNA L O F TH E SOUTH A FR IC AN IN ST ITU TE O F M IN ING AND META LLURGY

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    ..Q"* POWER INTENSITYe POWEFVCEL~-VO LUME-;--:-'--:--'--+-"' :-oN=ROTORSPEED-(RPM) , .,; ; ,:: ,;: :-:_-o~=ROTOR(TOP) SUBMERGENCE .(IN} , -:-' :_-~- - :,_~_L,o.'P=P~LP DENSITY=,62,4 LEVFT3(W~TER ONLY) . ,;- :" . ~ ,:.-HO PERATrNG ---u_L'_H_-_h__:_-"_H " '-"'~"_:'-' - 0-- - - .-- : --_:, --,--- ' .

    CONDITION (C ) " ;.- '

    .OPERATING:- --':-'---:-.-'

    -' CONDITION (DJ:. - w ' . 0..x 8.......18 1r-LL~I- 76>- 5

    ~=14. S=12&=10- 0" , ,:6=8 N=2J-S -T - .

    ;' - -- - .. --:"""'--- . -- ;--~--.. ..:....(j)ZWr-Z0: :w~0Q...

    ~ -, .___,__-,- -- -, .., :. - - - ,------&=4, ,

    ,- ,- : 5=2 .':. ..~: ,.:.u, ',:~ :::1 .- :'6 -='0 ', -, , ~-~-:-:~".-;-"OPERATlNG'_' : : : -:,~- ::',::,,F~NDITION (A)f(8r~--:':-~---j~:~-:-r--~~'

    ,L--:

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    Four 300 ft' W emco ceC ond itio n o f fo ur p.~., %Test 300 ft'no . Wemco cells Feed Conc. Tail.

    2F Standard no. 1 20 ro to r, 14,7 25,7 8,7220 r/min, 1300 flmin,9 in rotor submergence3F No. 144 A rotor, 22 0 17,6 29,2 10,7r lm in , 1 50 0 f lm in , 1 31 inrot or submergence6F As in 3F plus additional 12,4 24,9 6,4small -ho le d if fu se rc linde r

    Two rows 0 1250 t ce s 1 e re nc ei n r ecoveryp.~., % p.~. 300 ft'I recovered cells-50Feed Conc. Tail. % ft' c ells

    14,7 26,6 7,4 68,8 -7,1

    17,6 28,7 10,5 63,6 -1,7

    12,3 23,9 6,7 63,6 +1,5I

    TABLE VIIROUGHER FLOTATION TESTS?

    y

    llsp.~.recovered%61,7

    61,9

    65,1

    f f 3 D'ffiI

    was operated in parallel w ith tworows of twelve 50 ft3 cells each inthe Foskorite plant on roughing.Rougher feed was split after thepoint of m iddling addition and senthalf to the test machine and theother half to the two rows of 50 ft3cells. The rest of the flotation circuit(scavenging, cleaning, and reclean-ing) was unchanged for the testmachine and the control unit. Re-agent conditions were the same.Since the test unit had only fourmechanisms as compared with thetwelve mechanisms of the controlunit, there was a greater danger ofpulp short-circuiting for the large-capacity machine. To reduce thisrisk, a connection was installedafter tw o cells.Samples were taken around therougher cells (rougher feed, con-centrate, and tailings) so that the300 ft3 and 50 ft3 cells could becompared operating under identicalconditions for the same total volum eof rougher cells. The recoverieswere determined by the three-product formula. Table VII sum -marizes the results of three of them ost relevant tests.In the first tests (no. 2F), themechanisms were equipped with the

    standard no. 120 rotor operatingunder standard conditions, i.e.,220 r/m in or 1300 f/m in. The testunit showed a lower grade and a7,1 per cent lower recovery, andwas therefore not able to achievethe same metallurgical results asthose achieved by,. the 50 ft3 cells.To improve the results; the stand-ard rotor was replaced by thebigger rotor - no. 144A (test no.3F), resulting in the same rotation

    35 4 MARCH 1976

    speed and a tip speed of 1500 ft/m in.A t the same time, the whole mechan-ism was lowered by 4t inches andthe submergence of the rotor wasincreased by the same amount. Thislargely improved the recovery of thetest unit since the difference inrecovery dropped to 1,7 per cent.The grade of concentrate from thetest unit was still lower than that ofthe control unit.A final modification consisted in

    the installation of a so-called small-hole diffuser cylinder around thedisperser in order to improve theair dispersion (test no. 6F). Theresults of the modification appearto be an improvement both ingrade and recovery, since the testunit exceeded the control unit inboth. It is to be noted that theslightly better m etallurgical resultswere achieved by the 300 ft3 testcells, in spite of the fact that onlyfour mechanisms were available ascompared with twelve units for thecontrol sections. It was thereforefelt that at least the same, if notbetter results, especially in recovery,can be expected of a twelve-cell3 00 ft3 m ach in e.The overall test results wererelated to the size fractions toascertain which size fraction re-quired improvement during the test-ing period. The results of theanalyses for the above three testsare given in Tables VIII to X .Because of the obvious changes inthe rougher feed during the varioustest periods, only the results duringthe sam e period should be com pared.It appears that the standardno. 120 impeller resulted in aninsufficient recovery in all size

    fractions, which might be due toinsufficient agitation and aeration.After the large rotor was installed,the recoveries of the medium andthe finer size fraction im proved morethan that of the coarser sizes. Thisseems to coincide with the practicein other mineral flotation, for ex-ample potash, where a higher rotorspeed is required for the finer part-icles than for the coarse particles.The modification of test 6F, inwhich the feed is coarser and lowerthan that of the preceding tests,seems to have been more favourableto the recovery of the coarser size.The quieter cell surface might havebeen a major reason for this result.

    Copper Concentrator at McGillThe 21 500 ton/d copper concen-

    trator of the Nevada Mines Divisionof Kennecott Copper Corporationat McGill, Nevada, D.S.A., wasconverted to 300 and 500 ft3 Wemcoflotation cells in September 1974.Anderson, W ilmot, and Jackson8have reported on the reasons forthe use of large-capacity cells.The m ill used modified Forrester

    air cells throughout, with the excep-tion of twenty-four 200 ft3 Boothcells. The ore treated w as a porphyrycopper ore w ith chalcopyrite as themain copper mineral. The ore fedto the m ill had started to changeto a limestone ore with chalcociteand tarnished chalcopyrite, whichhad reduced the efficiency offlotation.L abo ratory an d pilo t inv estigationhad shown that the recovery ofcopper could be increased by about

    7 to 88,7 per cent under the sameJOUR NAL O F TH E S OU TH AFR IC AN IN STITU TE O F M IN IN G AN D METALLU RGY

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    +4 8 28,2I

    13,5448-100 16,8 21,58100-200 14,1 20,29200-400 12,7 11,87-400 28,2 9,9

    o ta l (a ss ay )' 100,0 14,7t al ( re ca lco )1 (14,6)

    12,8 37,88 37,718,0 39,20 17,016,0 34,78 12,913,4 19,06 10,139,8 17,20 22,3100,0 26,6 100,0

    (26,9)

    ' 9,60 38,9710,62 69,647,32 80,954,02 83,805,4 66,247,4 68,8(7,98)

    Feed, %Mass p.O.23,1 15,419,7 23,714,5 23,611,9 17,330,8 13,6100,0 17,6

    (17,89)

    D iffere nce inp.O. recovery 300recovery fta-50 ftaMass p.O. % cells28,1 11,5 35,2 -0,618,4 15,2 58,2 -6,813,2 11,9 73,1 -2,310,1 7,4 78,9 -3,030,2 8,6 65,2 -2,4100,0 10,7 61,9 -1,7

    (10,94)

    11,5 35,813,7 65,011,6 75,47,6 81,98,8 67,610,5 63,6(10,89)

    -- Mass p.O.-----11,5 38,921,2 39,617,3 37,014,6 26,935,4 19,7

    100,0 29,2(30,17)

    23,1 15,4 0,7 39,4 31,119,7 23,7 21,0 39,0 20,214,5 23,6 18,2 35,6 13,211,9 17,3 16,1 24,1 9,330,8 13,6 35,0 18,4 26,2100,0 17,60 100,0 28,7 100,0

    (17,89) (28,81)TABLE X

    R OU GH ER FLO TA TIO N - TEST 6F1

    I

    D ifferen ce inFeed, % Concentrate, % Tailings, % p.o. r ecover y 300--- recovery fta-50 ftaMesh I Mass p.O. Mass p.O. Mass p.O. % cells+4 8 28,8 10,70 11,9 35,81 32,9 6,68 46,18 + 13,9148-100 19,9 15,49 21,5 34,84 19,2 7,46 65,94 + 4,98100-200 18,7 14,61 22,3 25,26 14,1 8,15 65,26

    I

    -10,00200-400 11,3 12,95 16,3 19,37 18,8 5,35 81,06 - 4,90-400 21,3 10,6 28,0 15,90 15,0 5,9 70,5 -05,18---T ota l (a ssa y) 100,0 12,4 100,0 24,9 100,0 6,4 65,1 + 1, 5Tot al ( re ca lc o) ] (12,62) (24,99) (6,67)50 fta cells

    +4 8 28,8 10,40 8,6 38,27 34,948-100 20,6 15,61 18,0 35,79 21,7100-200 17,5 14,25 22,2 26,23 15,9200-400 10,2 13,37 16,6 19,71 8,1-400 22,9 10,6 34,6 15,9 19,4

    T ota l (a ss ay ) I 100,0 12,3 100,0 23,9 100,0To ta l ( recalc. )1 (12,49) (24,33)JOURNA L O F THE SOU TH A FR IC AN IN STIT UT E O F M IN ING AND METAL LURGY

    7,72 32,278,30 60,965,96 75,264,50 85,965,2 75,686,7 63,6(6,82) i ..

    300 fta cellsFeed, % Tailings, % D iffe ren ce inrecovery 300fta-50 ftacellseah

    +4 848-100100-200200-400-400-- -Tota l ( as sa y)To ta l ( recalc. ),

    Mass p.O.

    TABLE VIIIR OU GH ER FLO TA TIO N - TEST 2F1Concentrate, %

    Mass I P.0 . Mass25,717,014,113,429,8

    13,722,119,512,310,114,7

    10,515,414,312,547,3

    38,638,933,920,816,6

    33,615,013,312,126,0100,0

    (14,69)100,0 I 25 7

    I (25:35)100,0

    5 :) f ta c ells(8,83)

    TTo

    p.O.p.o.recovery%

    9,813,09,85,26,4

    38,1461,8369,9576,9559,61

    - 0,83- 7,81-11,00- 6,85- 6,638,7 61,70 - 7,1

    300 fta cells

    Meah+4 848-100100-200200-400-400

    T otal (assay )I

    T ota l (re calc o)50 fta cells

    +4 8I

    48-100100-200200-400-400T otal (assay )T ota l (re ca lco )

    300 fta cells

    TABLE IXRO UG HER FL OTA TIO N - TEST 3F1

    Concentrate, % Tailings, %

    MARCH 1976 3 5 5

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    -- - --I

    2750 2750 220000,988 0,988 0,9880,305 0,239 0,30024,640 23,420 21,63069,1 75,8 69,632,8 31,6 32,036,2 37,9 N/At37,549 41,190 N/A

    3,641

    TEST ROW300 FT3 CELLS

    Flotation Feed~;eetions 5 - 6

    WFinalCone.

    2nd Scavenger

    Final'TAi 1

    Fig.::"II-Flowsheet and cell arrangement of no. 120 Wemco test row, McGiII

    milling conditions by the followingsteps:(1) increased agitation of the pulpby the use of mechanical flota-

    tion cells, and(2) an increase in the volume ofthe flotation cell by approxi-mately 50 per cent to result in17 minutes for roughing andscavenging. (The total volumefor roughing and scavenging inthe old plant was 15768 fP.)

    In M ay 1972, a test unit consistingof fourteen no. 120 Wemco cells wasinstalled to treat 3000 ton/d. Fig. IIshows the flowsheet of the test unit.The flotation feed was 25,9 per centplus 100 mesh, 50 per cent minus200 mesh, and 28 per cent solidsby mass. The te3t unit was comparedwith mill section V , both unitsreceiving identical flotation feedfrom a splitter box.Table XI summarizes the average

    results of 92 shifts of the test unit,control section 5, and the generalmill, and shows an increase inrecovery of about 6 per cent of theno. 120 test unit. The higher gradeof concentrate in control section 5was caused b.y the impossibility ofpumping the froth of the last356 MARCH 1976

    scavengers back into the first clean-ing.Since the 300 ft3 cell test unit hadproved that the same increase in

    recovery as predicted in laboratoryand pilot flotation could be achieved,it was decided to convert the wholeflotation section to m echanical flota-tion cells. For roughing and scaveng-ing, a total cell volume of 24 000 it3w as projected. T o in stall the flotationcells in the existing building underfull production and to reduce thecosts of modifications to the build-ing, only cell sizes of 300 ft3 unitcell v olum e o r larger w ere considered .Because it was not possible to test

    m ach ines un der iden tical con dition s,the selection of machines was basedon local experience with cells fromthree different manufacturers andcorporate experience w ith a fourthmachine. The selection was basedmainly on maintenance repairs, lift-ing height for removal of the mecha-nisms, and purchase costs. Forty-eight 500 it3 W em co cells w ere chosenfor the required volume of flotationcells for roughing and scavenging(24000 it3). The 500 ft3 no. 144W emco cell has the tank dimensions144 by 108 by 63. The forty-eightcells are in the form of four machinesw ith twelve cells each: feed box-

    TABLE XI

    Controlsection 5

    COMPARATIVE TEST RESULTS OF NO. 120WEMCO. CELLS AT MC G ILL (92 SHIFTS)Generalmill_J I No. 120 W em co Itest row- --Oper at ing r at e, t on /d*C opper in feed, %C opper in tailing, %

    C opper in concentrate, %C op per re cov ery , %+ 1 00 m esh , %Concentrate, ton/dCopper Ib/d ----A dditio nal co pp er, Ib/d

    * 7 day operating rate (22 000 ton/d)t N ot app licableJOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFR ICAN INST ITUTE OF M IN ING AND METALLURGY

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    Fig. 12-No. 144 W em co cells at M cG iII (tem porary installation)

    COMPLETED SOUTH R~LF

    FEEDROUGHERS 500 CUBICFOOT CELLS

    SCAvLNGERS 500 CUBIC FOOTCELLS

    "

    FINALTAILS

    SCAvLNGER CLEA~~RS 200 CUBIC FOOT CELLS

    00 ~

    \ I~CMLEANER 300 cv IC FOOT CELLS

    FINAL CONCEN TRATE

    Fig. I3-Flowsheet and cell arrangement of no. 144 cells (south half) at McGiII

    JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY MARCH 1976 35 7

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    0,594 0,5940,04 0,04

    16,39 14,030,58 0,4816,9 21,0

    0,108 0,14635,5 35,9

    82,4 76,241,0 40,1

    TABLE XIICOMPARATIVE RESULTS OF NO. 14 4 WEMCO8 - CELL SECTION AND FORRELTER AIR-CELLSECTION

    North half of plantForrester air cellsHead Copper, %

    Insoluble copper, %ConcentrateCopper, %MoS., %Insolubles, %TailingCopper, %+ 1 00 me sh , %RecoveryCopper, %MoS., %

    4 c ells - connection box - 4 cells -connection box - 4 cells - dis-ch arge box.Fig. 12 shows no. 144 W emco cellson a temporary installation duringthe construction period. Fig. 13show s the flow sheet and cell arrange-ment for one half of the new flotationplant. The rougher concentrate iscleaned tw ice in open circuits offour 300 ft3 cells each. The scavengerconcentrate is cleaned in eight200 ft3 cells and is then subjectedto the same two-stage cleaning a'!th e ro ug her co nce ntra te.As shown in Fig. 13, the twoparallel rows have one common

    central froth launder 3 ft w ide andone outer launder 2 ft wide w ith adepth of from 4 to 8 ft. The walk-ways are above the cell surface andthe froth launder, and perm it asubstantial saving in floor space.All cells have slide-gate air controlto throttle air back both for the300 and the 500 ft3 cells.Table XII compares the results ofthe completed half of the plantwith the old half of the plant. Theseresults confirm the findings of theno. 120 300 ft3 test row , i.e., animprovement in the recovery ofcopper by about 6 per cent andin the grade of concentrate by about2 per cent.HydrometallurgyA recent development is the pos-sible use of flotation machines in

    the field of hydrometallurgy. Theleach reactors used in Anaconda'sArbiter process at Anaconda, Mon-tana, for the ammonium leachingof copper concentrate w ill be equip-ped with Wemco no. 144 mechan-35 8 MARCH 1976

    South half of plantNo. 144 W emco cells

    isms. More details are expected tobe reported elsewhere at a laterdate. CONCLUSIONSThe following conclusions can

    b e d raw n.1. The plant results now availableindicate that the metallurgyand specific flotation capacity ona porphyry copper ore are thesame for the 500 ft3 Wemcono. 144 flotation cell as for the300 ft3 W emco no. 120 flotationcell. O ther units of the 500 ft3size are in operation in NorthAmerica on the flotation ofiron ore (reverse silica float). Itm ight be expected that 500 ft3will soon be the favourite cellsize fo r rou ghin g and scav eng ingin new large-capacity concen-trators. The 300 ft3 model m ightbe used more exten'!ively as acleaner in future big mills.

    2. It has become possible to floatcoarse phosphate in 300 ft3 cellsby modification of the standardcell. In one case, the designimpeller speed was increasedby 10 per cent; in anothercase, a higher tip speed wasachieved by the use of anoversize impeller. In both cases,the submergence of the rotorwas increased. The3e resultsmight be of interest to flotationplants w ith modern grinding-cy clo ne circuits. In cases of diffi-culties w ith classification w henthe grinding-m ill product isdischarged direct into the flota-tion cell, the increased suspen-sion capacity of the loweredmechanism could help to trans-

    3.

    port this eoarse materialthrough the flotation cell. Itis to be noted that the rotor stilloperates above the cell bottomand above the trash material.Dangerous rotor impacts arestill avoided, and this is furtherfacilitated by the flexible, all-polymer 1+1 rotor-stator,which has no metallic core.The example of the McGillcopper concentrator, where thewalkways are installed abovethe froth launders, m ight be ofgeneral interest in the saving offlo or s pa ce .To avoid the manual operationof flotation machines, there is,at least in North America, anincreased tendency to equipboth dart valves of flotationcells w ith automatic level con-trols. When there is a powerfailure, the level controls auto-matically shut off the celldischarge and avoid emptyingof the flotation cells.

    4.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe author w ishes to thank the

    Brewster Phosphate Company, theKennecott Copper Corporation, theNevada M ines Division, and thePho sp hate D evelo pm ent C orporationLtd for permission to use materialfor this paper.

    REFERENCESl. ARBITER, N., and STEININGER, J.Hydrodynamiques des machines deflottation. C ongres de C annes, 40J.2. ARBITER, N., and WEISS, N. L.Design of flotation ce~ls and circuits.8M E preprint 70-B-89.3. ARBITER, N., HARRIS, C. C ., andYAP, R. F. A hydrodynam ic approachto flo tation scale-up . Paper D -19, 8t hInternational M ineral Processing Con-gre ss, L enin grad, 1 96 8.4. DEGNER, V. R. Internal CompanyReports. Final Report R-73-004-Wemco (I + I) mechanism air transferand rotor power. 23rd Aug., 1973.5. CUSTRED , U . K., DEGNER, V. R., andLONG, E. W . Recent advances incoarse particle recovery utilizing largecapacity flotation machines. S.M .E.Fall M eeting. 22nd-25th Sep., 1974.A ca pu lc o, Mexic o.6. Wemco on the job. G981-16.7 . PHOSPHATE DEVELOPMENT CORPORA -TION LTD . Phalaborwa, Transvaal.R es ea rc h D ep t., R es ea rc h r ep or t n o. 83 .8. ANDERSON, M . A., W ILMOT, C. I.,and JACKSON, C. E. A concentratorimproveme.n.t . and modernisation pro-

    g ramme u tI lI zI ng la rg e- vo lum e f lo ta tio nmachines. S.M .E. Upper PenninsulaSection, Houghton, M ichigan, V .S.A .3rd M ay, 1974.9. Wemco on the job. G881-25.JOURNAL OFTHE SOUTH AFR ICAN INST ITUTE OF M IN ING AND METAL LURGY

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    Discussion of the above paperD . A . Ire lan d*The design of the Impala Concen-

    trator incorporates sixteen identicalrun-of-m ine m illing units in parallel,each with its own independentflotation circuit. The flow in all theflotation circuits is identical, con-sisting simply of roughing andcleaning. However, in the firstfour units installed, the roughersections each consist of three parallelbanks of 16 Wemco no. 66 cellswhilst, from No. 5 unit onwards, asingle row of ten no. 120 roughercells was installed for each unit. Inall other respects the circuits are thesame. The roughing is followed bycleaning in no. 44 cells.Initially, the no. 66 units wereall equipped w ith squirrel-cage m ech-anisms, but these have now largelybeen replaced with 1+ 1 mechan isms .T his design of independent parallelflotation circuits is obviously wellsuited to the testing of reagents,circuits, and cell performance sinceclassical statistical m ethods of com -pa riso n a re e asily a pplied .As soon as the first circuit wasinstalled with the no. 120 roughers,

    com parative tests were m ade of theseunits with and without froth skim-mers, and against the no. 66 cellswith squirrel-cage mechanisms andwith 1+ 1 mechan isms .A study of the metallurgical

    results obtained on Impala orerevealed that there w as no statisticaldifference in flotation perform ance(i) between the no. 66 cells equip-

    ped with squirrel-cage and 1+1mechanism,(ii) between the no. 120 cells withand without froth skimmers,an d(iii) between the no. 120 and theno. 66 cells.

    It was found that the larger cellsconsumed 25 per cent less powerper unit cell volume than the no.66 cells with 1+ 1 m echanism s w hilstgiving essentially the same metal-lurgical results. Experience hasshown that fewer man hours arerequired in the maintenance andoperation of the larger cells.Dr Kind has pointed out and

    *Im pala Platinum L im ited.

    clearly shown from the results oftests that an optimum conditionis to be found for the various para-meters he has mentioned. He hasalso said that, despite the recentprogress in the field of hydro-dynamics in the design of flotationcells, the major development workmust still be done in industrialplants. I must agree with him onthis and I am certain that thereis still much to be gained by suchde velopmen t a nd op tim iza tion .My thanks are due to theM anaging Director of Im pala Platin-um Limited for permission to makethi s cont ri bu ti on .R. J. AdcocktThe use of extremely coarse

    grinds and the presence of materialsof high specific gravity such asm agnetite, w hich are both conduciveto settlement at the bottom of thetank, has led to research work byWemco in the D.S.A. as well as byFraser & Chalmers Equipment inSouth Africa. Coarse grinds in thisinstance are defined as those havingless than 40 per cent m inus 200 meshin the flotation feed. Examples ofthis are the 32 to 35 per cent minus200 mesh feed of a copper plant inArizona at which modifications tothe tank were carried out, and agrind of 35 to 40 per cent m inus 200mesh at Palabora M ining Company,at which rotor dimensions werealtered.Research work has centred round

    change in the design characteristicsof the rotor dimensions and theshape of the tank bottom .D im ensional C hanges in the R otorAt the Palabora M ining Com pany,

    where the coarse feed is furtheraggravated by the high percentageof magnetite, and hence wheresanding problems have occurred,it was felt necessary to lengthen therotor so that the suction of the rotorwould penetrate deeper into thesand bed. The dimensions of therotor in use were 660 mm diameterand 470 mm length. The rotor--tFraser & Chalmers Equipment (Pty)Limited.

    JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY

    rotated at a speed of 220 r/m in,which is equivalent to 7,6 m/soThis-sized rotor w as unsatisfactoryand had the following detrimentaleffects on the flotation cell.(a) A sand bed formed and coveredthe false bottom , preventing

    circulation of the pulp.(b) Because of the sand bed, high-density layers at the base of therotor caused high wear at thispoint, leading to short rotorlife.(c) B ecause of inefficient circulationof pulp, the air drawn wasbelow the requirem ents, result-ing in insufficient froth depths.

    The length of the rotor was thenincreased to 584 mm, the rotorspeed and diam eter being m aintainedas before. In the tests carried out,these large rotors were installedin two connecting cells, and thetests to date have been in operationfor eight m onths. The observationsmade are as follows.(1) The sand bed is now almost

    non-existent except in the cellcorners, which can be describedonly as natural settlement. Theside intakes and suction holesof the false bottom are com-pletely free of sand.(2) The air induction has beenincreased by 25 to 30 per cent,resulting in an increase in thefroth depth from 50 mm tobetween 125 and 150 mm.(3) Indications are that, owing tothe elim ination of the heavydensity at the bottom of thecell, rotor life will show anincrease.

    It should be noted that, as thetests were carried out in two cellsin a rougher/scavenger bank con-taining 22 cells, it was not possibleto m easure the effect on recovery.Tanks with Sloping Bottom sThe design of tanks with sloping

    bottoms originated in the Arizonacopper complex. These have beeninstalled in various concentrators inthis area. Wemco claim the bestinstallation has been in Florida oncoarse phosphate rock. It is atpresent not possible to make adirect comparison in that tanks of

    MARCH 1976 35 9

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    SECTION THRO' STANO"RO TANK.

    Fig. I-The standard flat bottom tank is shown in the bottom left-hand corner. Itcan be seen that the draught tube does not protrude below the false bottom asit does in the sloping-bottom type. The upper diagrams show the change in design,indicating the change in slope across the length and breadth of the cell. As can beseen, the slope takes place between the cell-supporting steel and therefore doesnot increase the overall cell height. If this were the case, it would increase thebu il di ng d imens ions.

    both designs are not in operationin the same plant. However, W emcoare at present delivering standardflat-bottom no. 144-inch tanks tothe Florida phosphate operations,where it will be possible to makecomparIsons.Manufacturing costs are high for

    sloping-bottom tanks and, unlesscoarse m aterial is involved, sloping-bottom tanks are not recomm ended.Sloping bottoms have been incor-porated only in the no. 120 cell,i.e., 8,4 m 3.The sloping-bottom tank obtains

    its slo pe in tw o d irec tio ns:(a) in a longitudinal direction, Le.,

    along the length of a bank, thedrop being 1 in 30, which isequivalent to a drop of 76 mmper tan k;(b) across the width of the cellform ing a sloping trough.The slope is easily seen in Figs.

    1 to 6.360 MARCH 1976

    Fig. 2-A close up of tank 3. The slope is clearly seen and the extension of thedraught tube below the false bottom .JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY

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    Fig. 3- Tanks I and 2

    Fig. 4- Tanks 3 and 4

    Fig. 5-A tank with a mechanisminstalled

    JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY MARCH 1976 36 1

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    Fig. 6- The standard flat-bottom tank (no. 144, 14,3m3), taken at the KennecottM cG iII C oncentrator in Nevada

    Company Affilia tesThe following members have beenadmitted to the Institute as Com-pany Affi lia tes .AE & Cl Limited.AfroxjDowson and Dobson Lim ited.Amalgam ated C ollieries ofS .A . L im it-ed .A pex M ines L im ited.

    Associated Manganese M ines of S.A.Limited.

    B lackw ood H odge (S.A .) L im ited.Blyvooruitzicht G .M . Co. Ltd.Boart & Hard Metal Products S.A.Limited.

    B ra cke n M in es L im ite d.B uffe lsfon te in G .M . C o. L im ite d.Cape A sbestos South A frica (Pty) Ltd.Compair SA (Pty) Limited.Consolidated M urchison (Tvl) Gold-fields & D evelopm ent 10. Lim ited.

    Deelkraal Gold M ining Co. Ltd.D oornfontein G .M . Co. L im ited.Durban Roodepoort Deep Lim ited.E ast D riefontein G .M . C o. L im ited.East R and Prop. M ines L im ited.E nvirotech (P ty) L td.F ree S tate Saaiplaas G .M . C o. L im ited.F raser & C halm ers S.A . (P ty) L im ited.

    G ardner-D enver Co. A frica (Pty) L td.G old fie ld s o f S .A . L im ited .The Grootvlei (Pty) M ines Lim ited.Harm ony Gold M ining Co. Lim ited.H artebeesfontein G .M . C o. L im ited.H ighveld Steel and V anadium Corpo-r atio n L im ite d.

    H udemmco (Pty) L im ited.Im pa la P latinum L im ite d.Ingersoll Rand Co. SA (Pty) Ltd.K in ross M ine s L im ite d.K loof G old M ining Co. Lim ited.L enn in gs H old in gs L im ite d.L es lie G .M . L im ite d.L ibanon G .M . C o. L im ited.L onrh o S .A . L im ite d.L oraine G old M ines L im ited.M arievale Consolidated M ines L im it-ed .

    M atte Sm elters (Pty) L im ited.Northern Lim e Co. Limited.O 'okiep Copper Com pany Limited.Palabora M ining C o. L im ited.Placer Development S.A. (Pty) Ltd.President Stern G.M . Co. Limited.Pretoria Portland Cem ent Co. Lim it-ed .

    Prieska Copper M ines (Pty) Lim ited.R and M in es L im ite d.

    Roo ib erg M inerals D ev elo pm en t C oLimited.R ustenb urg P la tin um M in es L im ited(Union Sect ion ).R ustenb urg P la tin um M in es L im ited(Rustenburg Sect ion ).S t. H ele na Gold M in es L im ite d.Sha ft S inke rs (P ty ) L im i ted.S .A . Land Exp lo ra tio n Co . L im it ed .S tilfo nte in G .M . Co. L im ite d.The G riqualand Exploration and Fi-n an ce Co. L im ite d.The M essina (Transvaal) D evelop-m ent C o. L im ited.T he S teel E ng in eering C o. L td.T ra ns-N ata l C oa l Corp ora tio n L im ic -ed .T vl C ons. L and & E xploration C o.T sum eb C orp oration L im ited .U nio n Corp ora tio n L im ite d.V aal R ee fs E xplo ra tio n & M in in g C o.Limited.V en te rsp ost G .M . Co. L im ite d.V erg en oe g M in in gCo. (P ty ) L im ite d.V lakfonte in G .M . Co. L im ited.Welk om Gold M ining C o. L im ited.West D rie fo ntein G .M . C o. L im ited .Western D eep L eve ls L im ited .We ste rn Hold in gs L im ite d.Winkel haak Mines L im ited.

    362 MARCH 1976 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METAL LURGY