CA1130258A - Method and a device for activating comminution of minerals that can be subjected to flotation and flotation concentrates - Google Patents
Method and a device for activating comminution of minerals that can be subjected to flotation and flotation concentratesInfo
- Publication number
- CA1130258A CA1130258A CA313,275A CA313275A CA1130258A CA 1130258 A CA1130258 A CA 1130258A CA 313275 A CA313275 A CA 313275A CA 1130258 A CA1130258 A CA 1130258A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- mineral components
- flotation
- comminuted
- activating
- activation
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
- B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
- B02C21/00—Disintegrating plant with or without drying of the material
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
- B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
- B02C13/00—Disintegrating by mills having rotary beater elements ; Hammer mills
- B02C13/22—Disintegrating by mills having rotary beater elements ; Hammer mills with intermeshing pins ; Pin Disk Mills
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B03—SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
- B03C—MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
- B03C1/00—Magnetic separation
- B03C1/02—Magnetic separation acting directly on the substance being separated
- B03C1/30—Combinations with other devices, not otherwise provided for
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B03—SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
- B03C—MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
- B03C7/00—Separating solids from solids by electrostatic effect
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
- B28C—PREPARING CLAY; PRODUCING MIXTURES CONTAINING CLAY OR CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
- B28C7/00—Controlling the operation of apparatus for producing mixtures of clay or cement with other substances; Supplying or proportioning the ingredients for mixing clay or cement with other substances; Discharging the mixture
- B28C7/0007—Pretreatment of the ingredients, e.g. by heating, sorting, grading, drying, disintegrating; Preventing generation of dust
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
- Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
- Crushing And Grinding (AREA)
- Crushing And Pulverization Processes (AREA)
- Disintegrating Or Milling (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A method of comminuting and activating minerals and ores that can undergo flotation or are enriched by flotation, hearth washing, tub washing, heavy fluid separation, magnetic separation, electrostatic separation and the like and which have undergone preliminary comminution to a suitable grain size, preferably smaller than 7-10 mm, and if necessary, have been dried to give a residual moisture content of less than 8-10%, comprising the step that the materials to be treated are subjected to comminution during which at the same time by infusion of energy using mechanical impacting or beating a reproducible change occurs in the fine structure and thus activation in the sense of improved separation during flotation or subsequent smelting of the prepared ores in comparison with starting materials comminuted in the usual way, e.g. in ball mills
Description
~3C~Z58 ,; . ~
The inve~tion relates to a me*hod a~d an apparatus for activating comminution of minerals, ores and ~otation concentrates tllat can undergo ~lotation or are enriched by ~lotation~ hearth washing, tub washing, neavy fluid separation, magnetic separation, electrostatic separation and the like, which have undergono preliminary comminution to a suitable grain size, preferabl~ smaller ~h~ 7 - iO mmy and if necessary, have been dried to give a residual moisture content o~ less than 8 - 10 %.
Numerous mineral raw materials re~uire e~ective enrichment 1~ the oourse o~ their ~repar~-tion to malce tlleir subse~uent prooessin~ economical. One method o~ e~rloh~e~t i~ ~lot~tion in whioh the ~ar~ing hydrophobio or hydrophilio nature~ o~ the granule surfaces are e~ploited in order to bind mineral particles to rising ~ir bubbles ~nd have them conveyed by the latter into a ~loating foam bed, or to leave them in a soaked submerged ~tate and finally extract them as hea~y medium. Ei~eotive ~lotation presupposes above all else, in addition to suitable preparation o~ the granule surfaoes with chemical additives, that the mineral components, ore and dross ha~e been separatad ~rom one another by sufficient comminu-tion.
Accordingly the co~minu-tion must go beyond -the size o~ the mineral components oontained in the raw ore or untreated rockp i.e. match the level oi i~tercrescence.
The oomminution method~ normally used merely reduced granule size and the e~ergy in~u~ed i~to t~e material in the - ~ 2 -.
., ~
:~13~
process is li~ited to tha~ Or the sur~ace additionally created9 and thus to increased adsorption capacity. Eowev0r co~minution processes have also become k~o~n which apart from reducing granule size also bring about a so-called mecha~o-chemioal activation of the co~minut0d substance ~nd there~ore impart more tha~ pure surface energy. The use o~ such processes in conjunction with the enriohment of ores a~d minerals by flotation has not become known however, and it was never to be anticipated - also because the theoretical basis ~or the phenomena observed still has not been ¢lari~ied - that special adva~ta~es would be obtainable ln connection with the very pecullar requirements o$ these preparatory processes. But it has been found - and this is the basis for the present invention - that "activatin~" comminution o~ the kind indicated can result in the mineral components acquiring other additional properties to those obtained after conventional comminution, properties which can have an influence on sub-sequent processing operations, at least in regard to yield.
Thus we haYe been able to demonstrate that copper ores comminuted in this way firstly gave a higher yield per process stage during flotation and secondly duri~g the subsequent metallurgical process far less copper passed into the slag than wa6 the case with conve~tionally comminuted ore or oonee~trateO ~hus two advantages were obtained in that both the ilotation process and the smelting process were more efficient and thus additional process stages could be eliminated.
, .
;, The sa~e results, although with differenoes in yiel~ ~rom ore to orc or mineral to mineral~ can also be obtained with other ores or minerals. In all after mechano-chemically activa-ting co~minution a~ improvemen-t in ~l~tation in the ~orm o~ increase~ selectivity or increased yield gr both to~ether with an improvement i~ the smelting properties or chemical decomposition characteristics can be expected. In additiong there was one ~urther phe-nomenon that is particularly valuable with re~ard to the preparation o~ comple~ ores: Mechano-chemically activatlng comminution results in the dissolutîon of the grain structure, partioularly at the grain boundaries, being bro~en up -to an appreciabl~ great0r d~r~e th~n with other oon~inution method~; which has a ~urther re~ult in that it malces more oomplete separation o~ the individual ore components possible. Naturally cases can also arise ~Yhere mechano chemioal activation does not appear possible be~ore the ~lotation9 e.g. when ~lotation or another sor~ o~ enrichment process ~such as ~or e~ample hearth-waslling, heav~-~luid~
magnetio or electrostatio separation has already been carried out and t~e ~i~al concentrate arrives ~or smelting or decomposi-tion, and also when some preliminary clea~ing may be necessary durin~ which the water in the pre-washed raw mineral would h~Ye to be remo~ed ~or mechano-chemical activation bu~
has to be omitted ~or reasons of space or cost~ I~ suoh cases one will have to manage without the advantage o~ mechano-chemical acti~ation for the ~lotatio~ process a~d will only 1~3~ZS1 3 be able to utilise the advantage for the smelting or decomposition.
According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of comminuting and activating mineral components selected from the group consisting of minerals and ores to improve the separation of the mineral components during flotation comprising comminuting the mineral components to reduce the grain size and activating the comminuted mineral components by subjecting the comminuted mineral components to mechanical shocks or shock impulses, the activation resul~ing from the mechanical shocks or shock impulses comprising a mechano-chemical activation.
In the following the device for implementing the method in accordance with the invention is explained with reference to the drawings. In these fiyures 1 to ~ show various types of embodiment of the device in highly simplified illustrations, figures 5 and 6 show a special kind of mixing device in section and in a side view respectively.
Suitable devices for implementing the activating comminution method in accordance with the invention are made ' from components known per se and basically contain no new elements both as regards these components or their arrangement.
Figures 1 - 4 give examples of such arrangements even if they do not constitute the only possibilities for these.
Figure 1 shows the example of preliminary crushing in a rod mill 1 from which the crushed material is discharged directly to a device 10 with the ability to carry out the mechano-chemical activation. From this device the ma-terial, comminuted further to the desired final degree of fineness, passes directly into a conditioning unit 11 whence it is fed to a flotation unit.
Figure 2 gives the example of two-stage comminutlon, the second offering the mechano-chemical activation, with pc/ ,~
~` ~13~'25~3 washing in between to remove clay-like material for example.
Once again a rod mill 1 is provided which hardly leaves any .
oversi~e lumps in the crushed material and therefore it is not - 5a -pc/,~
. ,~ ., j, ~13~$~
absolu-tely essential I'or it to be ~un in closed circuit with a screening device. The crushed mater:ial ~rom rod mill 1 passes into a rake classifier or a bowl classi~ier 2 with a grid outlet uni-t in which clay~ e e:Lements are washed out.
The sandy ~ischarge from this washing unit 2 is largely drained o~ water on a horizontal filter 8 before the pre~
crushed and washed mineral is comminu-ted to the desired final degree o~ fineness in device 10, being mechano-chemically activated in the process. Again a conditioning tan~ 11 is provided before a :~lotation ~nit ~or tho completely co~minuted mnterial.
Fi.gure 3 concerns the treatment o~ ~linorals with basically stubbornly adheri~g impuritios like clay. Comminution is carried out ~irst9 with or without circuit grading, in a ball mill 3. The material co~ uted there is i~te~sively ~ashed in a battery of a-ttrition cells 1~, then collected in a sump 5, mo~ed to an armoured dewatering hydrocyclone 7 by means o~ an armoured rotary pump 6 and separated ~rom minute abraded par-ticles. In the attrition cells the particles of the material bei~g treated are rubbed against each other so that layers of clay and other undesired parts which sit on the sur~ace o~ larger grains are rubbed o~f and w~hed away. ~le pump sump 5 is a compensating vessel from which t~le pump is taking in and in ~hich, corresponding to the changing ~eedin~7 the mass rises with increased feeding but drops with decreased ~eeding. Additionally a ~loat swi-tch may be providea so that the pump cuts of~ with a low le~el. As the washed underflow ~3~,~58 emerging from the hydrocyclone still e~hibits a moisture content oI abou-t 25 - 30 ~, i-t is drained o~ water in a pusher centri~uge 9 and the drained ~ashed material is ~inally comminuted to the ~inal degree of fineness and simultc~neously mechano-chemically ac-tivated in the device 10.
The material so treated passes via the conditioning tan~ 11 to the flotation unit.
Las-tly ~igure 4 shows the treat~ent of a concentra~
intermediate product that has undergone ~lota~ioll. T}-le prc,.~uct 9 still T~et, is drained o~ water on a ~lat ~il-t~:r & an~
~ollowing pusher contxi~u~e 9 and is then mechano-che~ic~
aotivatcd in the dovico 10 l~ith sim-ultaneous ~urthcr comminution. The activated product is stored in a silo before it is used further~ ~or example carried off, smel~e~
decomposed or given ~urther ~lotation treatment~
The most essential feature of this device is the provision o~ a special kind o~ mixer 10. This special r~i~er stands out above all as mal~ing it nossible to impart a co~paratively large amount o~ ener~y ~lechanically to t~le material supplied9 resulting on the one hand in the initiation and completion of a comminution process ~nOT~ per se and o~ t.le o-ther hand in mechanical infusion o~ energy such that through the coinciclence of suitable resonance-like phenomena changes that are stable o~er ~ period o~ time occur in the sub-microscopic structure o~ the substance so treated~ produ~ g modi~ied behaviour o~ this ~ery substance in subsequent ~3~
reactions. Such proc~sses an~ phenomena have already been widely clefined and.inves-ti~atecl ancl have passed into specialist literature wlder the terms ~mechano-chemical activation", t'energy infusion" etc.
Plodi~ied pin~ed dis~ mills, preferably with ro-tors driven in contra-rota-tion9 have prov~d to he suitable devices for such mechano-chemical activation~ The last-~amed devices, known as ~disintegrators", have tll~ aavantage of variable rotational speed and thus impact speed co~pared with the ball mills so that adaptation o~ tlle impact energy levels and impact times to the speciiio charaoteristics o~ the material bein~ treated is made ~ossible. ~all mills, even with low hourly outpu~, remain i~ contrast less ~le~iblo ~n ~he ~ace of changing raw m~terial requirements because of the narrowness e~ e ry e~', c'~/J~
of the ~æg~$~e~}}y highly effective resonance b~nd ancl consequently have a narrower range of application to sneci~ic materials, although hehaviour is more ~a~oura~le as regarcls wear in the case where the material ~ed in is inherently very hard and therefore hi~hly a~rasive. S-~nce, as mentiollecl previously, ball mills clo not nermit ally grindirlg operation de~ined in terms of numher~ timing ~ld intensity o~ the strokes o~ the grinding elements acting on the individua~
particles of the ~aterial being ground (~hich is the case ~ith disi~tegrators ~Yith closely defincd process para~eters such as nu~ber of beater rings~ dis-t~nce between the ri~gs and between the bea~ers ~i-thin each ring, ~orm ~nd align~lent of the ~3(~
beaters, speed ol' rotatio~ of the grinding disks)~ these are more sui-table, as indicatcd at the start 9 ~or use in processes ~here the instantaneous chance activation of individual particles or spatially li~ited ~ones o~ SUCil7 due to the presence o~ thc necessary reagents7 e~g, chemicals having a dissolving action in -the case o~ leac11ing processes, per-mits temporally and spatially i~edia-te use o~ the activation pheno~ena occurring but not necessarily stable over a period of ti~e cluring the grincling operation. It is possible at any rate to add certain chemicals, even in disintegrators~ during the oomminution stago ~or the purpose of obtaining as homogenous and ~inoly disL~crse~ a~lixture as possiblo, ~hich would ~e so ~uch harder to achie~e in a conventional mi~cr. ~pparently similar proceclures have been sugges-ted in -the pas-t~ e. g. in US PS 4 014 ~74, but for the di~ere~t purpose o~ libe~
~anci making available new sur~aces ~y crushing ~urther in ball mills ~or instance be-tlreen two s-tages of multi-stage flotation processes with stage-by-stage separation o~ di~ferent ores a~ter chemical neu~tralisation o~ chemicals -that ha~e been used as collectors in the prececling stage, such that the ~lo-tation characteristics o~ these nel~ sur~aces can only ta~e ef~ect in the next stage. Figures 5 ancl 6 show the fundamental structure o~ a disintegrator.
In the case o~ tAis activating device~ ~illing disks 29 and 30 are ~ixed to the end of two ~loating shafts ~7 and 28, which are provided on the sur~aces ~acaci to another ~ith concentric _ 9 _ ~L~3~
rows o~ milling and stril~ing tools, as ~or ins-tance s-ticlss, plugs, plates~ blades ~d the li~e, ~rhereb~ tlle tools o~ each ro~ are placed in an~ular dis~tances ~ro~l each other. ~he rows o~ the tools of ~oth millin~ clisLs 29 and~30 are overlapping a~d departing successively and alternatively from tlle one ~illing disl~ 29 and the other,milling disk 30, so that a row~
of -the stril~ing tools o~ t,he one milling disk is enclosed in radial distance 'by a ro-~ o~ -the stril~ing tools o~ t~e other milling disl~ In the presen-t case the millin~ disl~ 30 is provided with a row 33 of milling and po~ding pins, said row 33 being enclosed on the outar and in~er side by a row ~1 nnd a row 32 of millinG and poundin~ pin~ of t,he oth~r milling disk 29. Naturally tha null1ber o~ rows c~ bo variad, ~hereby it is also possible to let proJect t~o successive ro1Ys of the same milling dis~.
One o~ the ~entioned milling dis~s is orovided Wit}l apertures 34 near the cen-tre for the passage o~ the material trea-ted. The passage aperture is precede~ 'b~ a de~lector and guide plate 39. In ~ron-t of the, passage aperture 3~ is the space 3~, for inst~ce a ~unnel, througll ~hicll tlle ma-terial to be processed is ~ed~ Sealing rings 36 pr,event tllis ma-terial at the ou$side of the ~illing dis~ 29 ~ro~ b~-passing -the milling and pounding pins in the rows 31~ 32 and 33 and passing into the discharge space 38 via *he discharge aperture ~7.
The milling dis~s are enclosed by a casing 40 whicll ca~ be ' opened along the ~lange 40' D " , ' -- :LO -- , , , t ' ', ~3~25El b In figure ~ it is made appar~nt by arrows that the pounding pins are alternately moved in contra-rota~tlon. This resul-ts in ~ery hi~h impac-t velocities. ~ing to simplieity tlle i~1er and the outer row 32 and 31 o~ the pins of the milling disk 2~ are ~igured with a line dotted circle and the between lyi~g ro~ 33 o~the ~illin~ disl~ 30 ~Jith a line and two points-circle.
Devices o~ the type described have been l~no~n l'or a long time. They mostly have in con~lon that -the striking pins exhibit - cylindrical ~orm~ through lrhich a strong directional scat-ter results ~or the par-ticles accelerated thereb~ ~or tlle ~urpos~
in accordancè with the invention by contrast a de~ice is pr~erably suitable ~ith non-cyllnclrical strikin~ ele~ilcnts 7 which is in a position to impart a clirected acceleration to the particles~
The material is fed in through the space 35 centrally and axially ancl tal~en up by the suction of the through flow of air or protective gas and the centrifugal force throu~h the openings 34 and accelerated out~ards, possibly with the aid o~ ~a~ blades, whioh ~or lnstance can be disposed on the outer border o~ one o~ both millin~ disl~s or between the pins '31 on the milling ~is~ 29. The stream o~ air or protective gas producing the outward movement can be intensi~ied by means o~ ~an blades on $he milling dis~s~ Through this it arrives in the pounding zone of the innermost series o~ pins and experiences a~ approximately tangential accèleration7 whic~ is -- 11 -- .
r , 4~ ~ ~ ~
converted by the next in the outward directiont contra-rotating set of pins into an opposite, likewise approximately tangential acceleration. This is repeated from one row of pins to another, until the particles leave th~ zone of the rotors.
Conditioned by the rotational speed of -the disks and the radii of the rows of pins 7 impact speeds of from 50 to over 300 meters per second are attained~ The resultant impact energies of the particles are regulated according to their mass and according to the resistance which the surro~ding~gas opposes to their motion. Through variation of the rotational speed it i.s possible to have an in1uence upon the ef~ect of the ractionation as we}1 as upon the mechano-ch~nical activation and the energy bein~ stored up by the particlesO ~7ith regard to externally perceptible efects of energies so stored9 it is possible in accordance with the method for desirable properties to be so optimised that a desired parameter is cohtinuously controlled and the results of the control are used for the regulation o the rotational speed and t~us the acceleration and the ultimate speed of the particles.
This has already been described in Austrian Patent Specification 334,848 for,the specific case of the treatment of mud-laden ~luids.
The activation treatment is effected ln that way that the material to be treated is SUD; ected to a ~nechanical beating or impact action o~ preferably 3 to 8 mechanical beats and impact pulses respectively within a time o 10 2 to 10 3 seconds~
~ 12 ., ~, '~J~
~ 113~2SB
In addition means for preliminary washing9 preliminar~
10tation, main flotation, intermedia-te water removal, hearth washin~, tub washing, heavy fluid separation7 magnetic separation, electrostatic separa~ion and the like may be employed before the disintegrator while means for the re-flotation, smelting, chemical decomposition etc. may be - pro~ided after the treatment b~ flotatlon~
~, .
~ - 13 -Y
,. . . . .
The inve~tion relates to a me*hod a~d an apparatus for activating comminution of minerals, ores and ~otation concentrates tllat can undergo ~lotation or are enriched by ~lotation~ hearth washing, tub washing, neavy fluid separation, magnetic separation, electrostatic separation and the like, which have undergono preliminary comminution to a suitable grain size, preferabl~ smaller ~h~ 7 - iO mmy and if necessary, have been dried to give a residual moisture content o~ less than 8 - 10 %.
Numerous mineral raw materials re~uire e~ective enrichment 1~ the oourse o~ their ~repar~-tion to malce tlleir subse~uent prooessin~ economical. One method o~ e~rloh~e~t i~ ~lot~tion in whioh the ~ar~ing hydrophobio or hydrophilio nature~ o~ the granule surfaces are e~ploited in order to bind mineral particles to rising ~ir bubbles ~nd have them conveyed by the latter into a ~loating foam bed, or to leave them in a soaked submerged ~tate and finally extract them as hea~y medium. Ei~eotive ~lotation presupposes above all else, in addition to suitable preparation o~ the granule surfaoes with chemical additives, that the mineral components, ore and dross ha~e been separatad ~rom one another by sufficient comminu-tion.
Accordingly the co~minu-tion must go beyond -the size o~ the mineral components oontained in the raw ore or untreated rockp i.e. match the level oi i~tercrescence.
The oomminution method~ normally used merely reduced granule size and the e~ergy in~u~ed i~to t~e material in the - ~ 2 -.
., ~
:~13~
process is li~ited to tha~ Or the sur~ace additionally created9 and thus to increased adsorption capacity. Eowev0r co~minution processes have also become k~o~n which apart from reducing granule size also bring about a so-called mecha~o-chemioal activation of the co~minut0d substance ~nd there~ore impart more tha~ pure surface energy. The use o~ such processes in conjunction with the enriohment of ores a~d minerals by flotation has not become known however, and it was never to be anticipated - also because the theoretical basis ~or the phenomena observed still has not been ¢lari~ied - that special adva~ta~es would be obtainable ln connection with the very pecullar requirements o$ these preparatory processes. But it has been found - and this is the basis for the present invention - that "activatin~" comminution o~ the kind indicated can result in the mineral components acquiring other additional properties to those obtained after conventional comminution, properties which can have an influence on sub-sequent processing operations, at least in regard to yield.
Thus we haYe been able to demonstrate that copper ores comminuted in this way firstly gave a higher yield per process stage during flotation and secondly duri~g the subsequent metallurgical process far less copper passed into the slag than wa6 the case with conve~tionally comminuted ore or oonee~trateO ~hus two advantages were obtained in that both the ilotation process and the smelting process were more efficient and thus additional process stages could be eliminated.
, .
;, The sa~e results, although with differenoes in yiel~ ~rom ore to orc or mineral to mineral~ can also be obtained with other ores or minerals. In all after mechano-chemically activa-ting co~minution a~ improvemen-t in ~l~tation in the ~orm o~ increase~ selectivity or increased yield gr both to~ether with an improvement i~ the smelting properties or chemical decomposition characteristics can be expected. In additiong there was one ~urther phe-nomenon that is particularly valuable with re~ard to the preparation o~ comple~ ores: Mechano-chemically activatlng comminution results in the dissolutîon of the grain structure, partioularly at the grain boundaries, being bro~en up -to an appreciabl~ great0r d~r~e th~n with other oon~inution method~; which has a ~urther re~ult in that it malces more oomplete separation o~ the individual ore components possible. Naturally cases can also arise ~Yhere mechano chemioal activation does not appear possible be~ore the ~lotation9 e.g. when ~lotation or another sor~ o~ enrichment process ~such as ~or e~ample hearth-waslling, heav~-~luid~
magnetio or electrostatio separation has already been carried out and t~e ~i~al concentrate arrives ~or smelting or decomposi-tion, and also when some preliminary clea~ing may be necessary durin~ which the water in the pre-washed raw mineral would h~Ye to be remo~ed ~or mechano-chemical activation bu~
has to be omitted ~or reasons of space or cost~ I~ suoh cases one will have to manage without the advantage o~ mechano-chemical acti~ation for the ~lotatio~ process a~d will only 1~3~ZS1 3 be able to utilise the advantage for the smelting or decomposition.
According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of comminuting and activating mineral components selected from the group consisting of minerals and ores to improve the separation of the mineral components during flotation comprising comminuting the mineral components to reduce the grain size and activating the comminuted mineral components by subjecting the comminuted mineral components to mechanical shocks or shock impulses, the activation resul~ing from the mechanical shocks or shock impulses comprising a mechano-chemical activation.
In the following the device for implementing the method in accordance with the invention is explained with reference to the drawings. In these fiyures 1 to ~ show various types of embodiment of the device in highly simplified illustrations, figures 5 and 6 show a special kind of mixing device in section and in a side view respectively.
Suitable devices for implementing the activating comminution method in accordance with the invention are made ' from components known per se and basically contain no new elements both as regards these components or their arrangement.
Figures 1 - 4 give examples of such arrangements even if they do not constitute the only possibilities for these.
Figure 1 shows the example of preliminary crushing in a rod mill 1 from which the crushed material is discharged directly to a device 10 with the ability to carry out the mechano-chemical activation. From this device the ma-terial, comminuted further to the desired final degree of fineness, passes directly into a conditioning unit 11 whence it is fed to a flotation unit.
Figure 2 gives the example of two-stage comminutlon, the second offering the mechano-chemical activation, with pc/ ,~
~` ~13~'25~3 washing in between to remove clay-like material for example.
Once again a rod mill 1 is provided which hardly leaves any .
oversi~e lumps in the crushed material and therefore it is not - 5a -pc/,~
. ,~ ., j, ~13~$~
absolu-tely essential I'or it to be ~un in closed circuit with a screening device. The crushed mater:ial ~rom rod mill 1 passes into a rake classifier or a bowl classi~ier 2 with a grid outlet uni-t in which clay~ e e:Lements are washed out.
The sandy ~ischarge from this washing unit 2 is largely drained o~ water on a horizontal filter 8 before the pre~
crushed and washed mineral is comminu-ted to the desired final degree o~ fineness in device 10, being mechano-chemically activated in the process. Again a conditioning tan~ 11 is provided before a :~lotation ~nit ~or tho completely co~minuted mnterial.
Fi.gure 3 concerns the treatment o~ ~linorals with basically stubbornly adheri~g impuritios like clay. Comminution is carried out ~irst9 with or without circuit grading, in a ball mill 3. The material co~ uted there is i~te~sively ~ashed in a battery of a-ttrition cells 1~, then collected in a sump 5, mo~ed to an armoured dewatering hydrocyclone 7 by means o~ an armoured rotary pump 6 and separated ~rom minute abraded par-ticles. In the attrition cells the particles of the material bei~g treated are rubbed against each other so that layers of clay and other undesired parts which sit on the sur~ace o~ larger grains are rubbed o~f and w~hed away. ~le pump sump 5 is a compensating vessel from which t~le pump is taking in and in ~hich, corresponding to the changing ~eedin~7 the mass rises with increased feeding but drops with decreased ~eeding. Additionally a ~loat swi-tch may be providea so that the pump cuts of~ with a low le~el. As the washed underflow ~3~,~58 emerging from the hydrocyclone still e~hibits a moisture content oI abou-t 25 - 30 ~, i-t is drained o~ water in a pusher centri~uge 9 and the drained ~ashed material is ~inally comminuted to the ~inal degree of fineness and simultc~neously mechano-chemically ac-tivated in the device 10.
The material so treated passes via the conditioning tan~ 11 to the flotation unit.
Las-tly ~igure 4 shows the treat~ent of a concentra~
intermediate product that has undergone ~lota~ioll. T}-le prc,.~uct 9 still T~et, is drained o~ water on a ~lat ~il-t~:r & an~
~ollowing pusher contxi~u~e 9 and is then mechano-che~ic~
aotivatcd in the dovico 10 l~ith sim-ultaneous ~urthcr comminution. The activated product is stored in a silo before it is used further~ ~or example carried off, smel~e~
decomposed or given ~urther ~lotation treatment~
The most essential feature of this device is the provision o~ a special kind o~ mixer 10. This special r~i~er stands out above all as mal~ing it nossible to impart a co~paratively large amount o~ ener~y ~lechanically to t~le material supplied9 resulting on the one hand in the initiation and completion of a comminution process ~nOT~ per se and o~ t.le o-ther hand in mechanical infusion o~ energy such that through the coinciclence of suitable resonance-like phenomena changes that are stable o~er ~ period o~ time occur in the sub-microscopic structure o~ the substance so treated~ produ~ g modi~ied behaviour o~ this ~ery substance in subsequent ~3~
reactions. Such proc~sses an~ phenomena have already been widely clefined and.inves-ti~atecl ancl have passed into specialist literature wlder the terms ~mechano-chemical activation", t'energy infusion" etc.
Plodi~ied pin~ed dis~ mills, preferably with ro-tors driven in contra-rota-tion9 have prov~d to he suitable devices for such mechano-chemical activation~ The last-~amed devices, known as ~disintegrators", have tll~ aavantage of variable rotational speed and thus impact speed co~pared with the ball mills so that adaptation o~ tlle impact energy levels and impact times to the speciiio charaoteristics o~ the material bein~ treated is made ~ossible. ~all mills, even with low hourly outpu~, remain i~ contrast less ~le~iblo ~n ~he ~ace of changing raw m~terial requirements because of the narrowness e~ e ry e~', c'~/J~
of the ~æg~$~e~}}y highly effective resonance b~nd ancl consequently have a narrower range of application to sneci~ic materials, although hehaviour is more ~a~oura~le as regarcls wear in the case where the material ~ed in is inherently very hard and therefore hi~hly a~rasive. S-~nce, as mentiollecl previously, ball mills clo not nermit ally grindirlg operation de~ined in terms of numher~ timing ~ld intensity o~ the strokes o~ the grinding elements acting on the individua~
particles of the ~aterial being ground (~hich is the case ~ith disi~tegrators ~Yith closely defincd process para~eters such as nu~ber of beater rings~ dis-t~nce between the ri~gs and between the bea~ers ~i-thin each ring, ~orm ~nd align~lent of the ~3(~
beaters, speed ol' rotatio~ of the grinding disks)~ these are more sui-table, as indicatcd at the start 9 ~or use in processes ~here the instantaneous chance activation of individual particles or spatially li~ited ~ones o~ SUCil7 due to the presence o~ thc necessary reagents7 e~g, chemicals having a dissolving action in -the case o~ leac11ing processes, per-mits temporally and spatially i~edia-te use o~ the activation pheno~ena occurring but not necessarily stable over a period of ti~e cluring the grincling operation. It is possible at any rate to add certain chemicals, even in disintegrators~ during the oomminution stago ~or the purpose of obtaining as homogenous and ~inoly disL~crse~ a~lixture as possiblo, ~hich would ~e so ~uch harder to achie~e in a conventional mi~cr. ~pparently similar proceclures have been sugges-ted in -the pas-t~ e. g. in US PS 4 014 ~74, but for the di~ere~t purpose o~ libe~
~anci making available new sur~aces ~y crushing ~urther in ball mills ~or instance be-tlreen two s-tages of multi-stage flotation processes with stage-by-stage separation o~ di~ferent ores a~ter chemical neu~tralisation o~ chemicals -that ha~e been used as collectors in the prececling stage, such that the ~lo-tation characteristics o~ these nel~ sur~aces can only ta~e ef~ect in the next stage. Figures 5 ancl 6 show the fundamental structure o~ a disintegrator.
In the case o~ tAis activating device~ ~illing disks 29 and 30 are ~ixed to the end of two ~loating shafts ~7 and 28, which are provided on the sur~aces ~acaci to another ~ith concentric _ 9 _ ~L~3~
rows o~ milling and stril~ing tools, as ~or ins-tance s-ticlss, plugs, plates~ blades ~d the li~e, ~rhereb~ tlle tools o~ each ro~ are placed in an~ular dis~tances ~ro~l each other. ~he rows o~ the tools of ~oth millin~ clisLs 29 and~30 are overlapping a~d departing successively and alternatively from tlle one ~illing disl~ 29 and the other,milling disk 30, so that a row~
of -the stril~ing tools o~ t,he one milling disk is enclosed in radial distance 'by a ro-~ o~ -the stril~ing tools o~ t~e other milling disl~ In the presen-t case the millin~ disl~ 30 is provided with a row 33 of milling and po~ding pins, said row 33 being enclosed on the outar and in~er side by a row ~1 nnd a row 32 of millinG and poundin~ pin~ of t,he oth~r milling disk 29. Naturally tha null1ber o~ rows c~ bo variad, ~hereby it is also possible to let proJect t~o successive ro1Ys of the same milling dis~.
One o~ the ~entioned milling dis~s is orovided Wit}l apertures 34 near the cen-tre for the passage o~ the material trea-ted. The passage aperture is precede~ 'b~ a de~lector and guide plate 39. In ~ron-t of the, passage aperture 3~ is the space 3~, for inst~ce a ~unnel, througll ~hicll tlle ma-terial to be processed is ~ed~ Sealing rings 36 pr,event tllis ma-terial at the ou$side of the ~illing dis~ 29 ~ro~ b~-passing -the milling and pounding pins in the rows 31~ 32 and 33 and passing into the discharge space 38 via *he discharge aperture ~7.
The milling dis~s are enclosed by a casing 40 whicll ca~ be ' opened along the ~lange 40' D " , ' -- :LO -- , , , t ' ', ~3~25El b In figure ~ it is made appar~nt by arrows that the pounding pins are alternately moved in contra-rota~tlon. This resul-ts in ~ery hi~h impac-t velocities. ~ing to simplieity tlle i~1er and the outer row 32 and 31 o~ the pins of the milling disk 2~ are ~igured with a line dotted circle and the between lyi~g ro~ 33 o~the ~illin~ disl~ 30 ~Jith a line and two points-circle.
Devices o~ the type described have been l~no~n l'or a long time. They mostly have in con~lon that -the striking pins exhibit - cylindrical ~orm~ through lrhich a strong directional scat-ter results ~or the par-ticles accelerated thereb~ ~or tlle ~urpos~
in accordancè with the invention by contrast a de~ice is pr~erably suitable ~ith non-cyllnclrical strikin~ ele~ilcnts 7 which is in a position to impart a clirected acceleration to the particles~
The material is fed in through the space 35 centrally and axially ancl tal~en up by the suction of the through flow of air or protective gas and the centrifugal force throu~h the openings 34 and accelerated out~ards, possibly with the aid o~ ~a~ blades, whioh ~or lnstance can be disposed on the outer border o~ one o~ both millin~ disl~s or between the pins '31 on the milling ~is~ 29. The stream o~ air or protective gas producing the outward movement can be intensi~ied by means o~ ~an blades on $he milling dis~s~ Through this it arrives in the pounding zone of the innermost series o~ pins and experiences a~ approximately tangential accèleration7 whic~ is -- 11 -- .
r , 4~ ~ ~ ~
converted by the next in the outward directiont contra-rotating set of pins into an opposite, likewise approximately tangential acceleration. This is repeated from one row of pins to another, until the particles leave th~ zone of the rotors.
Conditioned by the rotational speed of -the disks and the radii of the rows of pins 7 impact speeds of from 50 to over 300 meters per second are attained~ The resultant impact energies of the particles are regulated according to their mass and according to the resistance which the surro~ding~gas opposes to their motion. Through variation of the rotational speed it i.s possible to have an in1uence upon the ef~ect of the ractionation as we}1 as upon the mechano-ch~nical activation and the energy bein~ stored up by the particlesO ~7ith regard to externally perceptible efects of energies so stored9 it is possible in accordance with the method for desirable properties to be so optimised that a desired parameter is cohtinuously controlled and the results of the control are used for the regulation o the rotational speed and t~us the acceleration and the ultimate speed of the particles.
This has already been described in Austrian Patent Specification 334,848 for,the specific case of the treatment of mud-laden ~luids.
The activation treatment is effected ln that way that the material to be treated is SUD; ected to a ~nechanical beating or impact action o~ preferably 3 to 8 mechanical beats and impact pulses respectively within a time o 10 2 to 10 3 seconds~
~ 12 ., ~, '~J~
~ 113~2SB
In addition means for preliminary washing9 preliminar~
10tation, main flotation, intermedia-te water removal, hearth washin~, tub washing, heavy fluid separation7 magnetic separation, electrostatic separa~ion and the like may be employed before the disintegrator while means for the re-flotation, smelting, chemical decomposition etc. may be - pro~ided after the treatment b~ flotatlon~
~, .
~ - 13 -Y
,. . . . .
Claims (16)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1, A method of comminuting and activating mineral components selected from the group consisting of minerals and ores to improve the separation of the mineral components during flotation comprising comminuting the mineral components to reduce the grain size and activating the comminuted mineral components by subjecting the comminuted mineral components to mechanical shocks or shock impulses, said activation resulting from said mechanical shocks or shock impulses comprising a mechano-chemical activation,
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comminuted mineral components are subjected to mechanical shocks or shock impulses by subjecting the comminuted mineral components to the mechanical impact action of the pins of a pin mill, wherein impact speeds of greater than 50 meters per second are attained.
3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the mineral components are comminuted to a grain size smaller than 10 mm.
4. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said mineral components are comminuted to a grain size smaller than 7 mm.
5. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said activation comprises subjecting said mineral components to from 3 to 8 mechanical shocks or shock impulses in time intervals of from 10-2 to 10-3 seconds.
6. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said comminuted mineral components are dried to a residual moisture content of less than 10% before said activation.
7. The method of claim 1 ox claim 2 in which said comminuted mineral components are dried to a residual moisture content of less than 8% before said activation.
8. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said activated mineral components are separated by flotation.
9. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said activated mineral components are smelted.
10. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which said mineral components are activated in a pinned disk mill, the processing property of at least one of said mineral components is measured and the value obtained is used to control the speed of rotation of said pinned disk mill.
11. A method of comminuting and activating mineral components selected from the group consisting of minerals and ores to improve separation of the mineral components during flotation comprising comminuting said mineral components to a grain size smaller than 10 mm, said comminuted mineral components having a residual moisture content of less than 10%, and activating said mineral components by subjecting said mineral components to from 3 to 8 mechanical shocks or shock impulses in time intervals of from 10-2 to 10-3 seconds, said activating resulting from said mechanical shocks or shock impulses comprising a mechano-chemical activation, and separating said mineral components by flotation.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the mineral components are subjected to mechanical shocks or shock impulses by subjecting them to the mechanical impact action of the pins of a pin mill, wherein impact speeds of greater than 50 meters per second are attained.
13. The method of claim 2 or claim 12, wherein the pin mill has beating pins arranged on two parallel counterrotating grinding disks in concentric alternating rings of increasing diameter.
14. An apparatus for effecting the process defined in claim 1 comprising means for preliminary comminution of said mineral components and means for treatment by flotation of said mineral components; between the said means for preliminary comminution and the said means for treatment by flotation being provided a pinned disk mill disintegrator, the said pinned disk mill having grinding disks driven in contrarotation, the said grinding disks being fitted with concentric rows of meshing grinding pins which mechano-chemically activate at the same time as they comminute said mineral components fed through them in that they subject each particle of said mineral components to 3 - 8 beats or impact pulses within a time of 10-2 to 10-3 seconds.
15. An apparatus as defined in claim 14 further comprising an additive storage and metering means such that an additive from said storage and metering means is mechano-chemically activated with said mineral components by passage through said pinned disk mill.
16. An apparatus as defined in claim 14 comprising a plurality of said pinned disk mills.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATA7339/77 | 1977-10-13 | ||
| AT733977A AT351477B (en) | 1976-10-15 | 1977-10-13 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE ACTIVATING CRUSHING OF FLOTABLE MINERALS AND FLOTATION CONCENTRATES |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1130258A true CA1130258A (en) | 1982-08-24 |
Family
ID=3595051
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA313,275A Expired CA1130258A (en) | 1977-10-13 | 1978-10-12 | Method and a device for activating comminution of minerals that can be subjected to flotation and flotation concentrates |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU4049978A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1130258A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2827924B2 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES474191A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2006735B (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA785751B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112474030A (en) * | 2020-11-19 | 2021-03-12 | 金川集团股份有限公司 | Beneficiation method for copper-nickel sulfide ore |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE2830574C2 (en) * | 1978-07-12 | 1982-05-19 | Albert Prof. Dr.-Ing. 3392 Clausthal-Zellerfeld Bahr | Process for processing aluminum salt slag |
| DE3534224A1 (en) * | 1985-09-23 | 1987-04-02 | Gock Eberhard Priv Doz Prof Dr | METHOD FOR THE WET-CHEMICAL EXTRACTION OF PRECIOUS METALS FROM CARBON-CONTAINING ARSENOPYRITE CONCENTRATES |
| SE8604241D0 (en) * | 1986-10-06 | 1986-10-06 | Lars Jorgen Lidstrom | RETURN MATERIALS PROCESSING |
| DE4323339C1 (en) * | 1993-07-13 | 1995-01-26 | Metallgesellschaft Ag | Process for obtaining silver from the zinc leach residue by flotation |
| EP0760258A1 (en) * | 1995-09-02 | 1997-03-05 | Thyssen Industrie Ag | Method for conditioning an inhomogeneous material from a grinding or shredding installation |
| AU2013334500C1 (en) | 2012-10-26 | 2019-03-07 | Vale S.A. | Iron ore concentration process with grinding circuit, dry desliming and dry or mixed (dry and wet) concentration |
| CN111469270B (en) * | 2020-04-17 | 2021-10-15 | 陕西盛泰浩景建材有限公司 | Stirring station construction waste material feeding system |
| CN111617868B (en) * | 2020-06-05 | 2022-01-07 | 余承好 | Building waste treatment device with dregs screening function |
| CN112452797A (en) * | 2020-11-06 | 2021-03-09 | 漆晓杰 | Tin ball size screening device and method |
Family Cites Families (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE371754B (en) * | 1972-09-26 | 1974-12-02 | Boliden Ab |
-
1978
- 1978-06-26 DE DE2827924A patent/DE2827924B2/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1978-10-06 AU AU40499/78A patent/AU4049978A/en active Pending
- 1978-10-12 GB GB7840326A patent/GB2006735B/en not_active Expired
- 1978-10-12 CA CA313,275A patent/CA1130258A/en not_active Expired
- 1978-10-12 ZA ZA00785751A patent/ZA785751B/en unknown
- 1978-10-13 ES ES474191A patent/ES474191A1/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112474030A (en) * | 2020-11-19 | 2021-03-12 | 金川集团股份有限公司 | Beneficiation method for copper-nickel sulfide ore |
| CN112474030B (en) * | 2020-11-19 | 2022-03-15 | 金川集团股份有限公司 | Beneficiation method for copper-nickel sulfide ore |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2006735A (en) | 1979-05-10 |
| DE2827924A1 (en) | 1979-04-19 |
| AU4049978A (en) | 1980-04-17 |
| DE2827924B2 (en) | 1981-05-21 |
| ES474191A1 (en) | 1979-05-16 |
| ZA785751B (en) | 1979-10-31 |
| GB2006735B (en) | 1982-09-29 |
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