Concentrated particle processing

Flotation process kinetics determine the residence time, the average time a given particle stays in the flotation pulp from the instant it enters the ceU until it exits. One way to study flotation kinetics is to record flotation recoveries as a function of time under a given set of conditions such as pulp pH, coUector concentration, particle size, etc. The data allow the derivation of an expression that describes the rate of the process. 

Capture efficiency is the fraction of generated contaminant that is directly captured by the hood. Measurement of capture efficiency involves measuring concentration of process-generated contaminant or a tracer material. Using process-generated contaminant requires use of instruments suited to each specific contaminant and its conditions (temperature, pressure, concentration, form, etc.). In order to facilitate these measurements, a tracer is often substituted for the process-generated contaminant. The tracer is usually a gas (sulfur hexafluoride, nitrous oxide, helium, or similar), but an aerosol (particles) can also be used (potassium iodide, polystyrene particles, microbiological particles, etc.). The chosen tracer should be as similar to the real contaminant as possible, but at the same time should... 

An estimation of the multiphase viscosity is a preliminary necessity for convenient particle processing. For particle-doped liquids the classical Einstein equation [20] relates the relative viscosity to the concentration of the solid phase ... 

The solid-liquid separation of shinies containing particles below 10 pm is difficult by conventional filtration techniques. A conventional approach would be to use a slurry thickener in which the formation of a filter cake is restricted and the product is discharged continuously as concentrated slurry. Such filters use filter cloths as the filtration medium and are limited to concentrating particles above 5 xm in size. Dead end membrane microfiltration, in which the particle-containing fluid is pumped directly through a polymeric membrane, is used for the industrial clarification and sterilisation of liquids. Such process allows the removal of particles down to 0.1 xm or less, but is only suitable for feeds containing very low concentrations of particles as otherwise the membrane becomes too rapidly clogged.2,4,8... 

An earlier section which dealt with mineral separation included flotation among the category of concentration separation processes. The introduction of flotation was one of the major milestones in the history of mineral processing. There exist variations (natural or artificially created) in the surface properties of mineral particles, and the technique of flotation is based on the utilization of these differences. The actual specific gravity of the mineral particle plays little or no part in the separation. 

Routh and Russel [10] proposed a dimensionless Peclet number to gauge the balance between the two dominant processes controlling the uniformity of drying of a colloidal dispersion layer evaporation of solvent from the air interface, which serves to concentrate particles at the surface, and particle diffusion which serves to equilibrate the concentration across the depth of the layer. The Peclet number, Pe is defined for a film of initial thickness H with an evaporation rate E (units of velocity) as HE/D0, where D0 = kBT/6jT ir- the Stokes-Einstein diffusion coefficient for the particles in the colloid. Here, r is the particle radius, p is the viscosity of the continuous phase, T is the absolute temperature and kB is the Boltzmann constant. When Pe 1, evaporation dominates and particles concentrate near the surface and a skin forms, Figure 2.3.5, lower left. Conversely, when Pe l, diffusion dominates and a more uniform distribution of particles is expected, Figure 2.3.5, upper left. 

The dominant processes are apparently sediment deposition, sediment burial, volatilization,and deposition with air particles (i.e. dry dustfall and scavenging by rain). It is believed that the concentrations and process rates may be broadly consistent with average conditions in Lake Michigan in the early 1970s. No claim is made that the model simulates Lake Michigan precisely since the Lake has complex heterogeneous water movement and sedimentation. But the general behavior is believed to be correct and, with adjustment of the parameters, a better fit could be obtained. 

A systematic investigation of the influence of pre- and post-expansion conditions, and solute concentration (general process parameters) upon the crystallinity, particle size, and particle-size distribution, was performed for the model system glyceride-CCh [67-69]. A glyceride with the compositions, 50-55 wt.% of monoglycerides, 35-40 wt.% of diglycerides, 3-8 wt.% of triglycerides, and less than 1 wt.% of free fatty acids, was used. 

Dry ground mica concentrate is processed into usable products hy several dillerent grinding methods. Relatively coarse particle sizes (1.651-0.147 mm (10-100 mesh)) are used in oil-well drilling muds. 

The available data from emulsion polymerization systems have been obtained almost exclusively through manual, off-line analysis of monomer conversion, emulsifier concentration, particle size, molecular weight, etc. For batch systems this results in a large expenditure of time in order to sample with sufficient frequency to accurately observe the system kinetics. In continuous systems a large number of samples are required to observe interesting system dynamics such as multiple steady states or limit cycles. In addition, feedback control of any process variable other than temperature or pressure is impossible without specialized on-line sensors. This note describes the initial stages of development of two such sensors, (one for the monitoring of reactor conversion and the other for the continuous measurement of surface tension), and their implementation as part of a computer data acquisition system for the emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate. 

When particles are uniformly dispersed in a gas, brownian motion will change the position of the individual particles but will not change the overall particle distribution. When the particles are not uniformly dispersed, brownian motion tends eventually to produce a uniform concentration throughout the gas, the particles moving away from areas of high concentration to regions of low concentration. This process, known as particle diffusion, follows the same two general laws that also apply to molecular diffusion, known as Fick s laws of diffusion. 

The mechanism of particle incorporation is treated extensively in the next section, but a generalized mechanism is given here to better comprehend the effects of the process parameters. Particle incorporation in a metal matrix is a two step process, involving particle mass transfer from the bulk of the suspension to the electrode surface followed by a particle-electrode interaction leading to particle incorporation. It can easily be understood that electrolyte agitation, viscosity, particle bath concentration, particle density etc affect particle mass transfer. The particle-electrode interaction depends on the particle surface properties, which are determined by the particle type and bath composition, pH etc., and the metal surface composition, which depends on the electroplating process parameters, like pH, current density and bath constituents. The particle-electrode interaction is in competition with particle removal from the electrode surface by the suspension hydrodynamics. 

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