RU2457037C2 - Flotation machine - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: process engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to flotation and may be used for separation of three-phase pulp in metallurgy and chemical industry, as well as treatment of effluents. Proposed machine comprises, at least, one flotation chamber defined by bottom, lengthwise walls and partitions with pulp overflow openings and furnished with pump aeration assembly, frost concentrate collection and discharge assembly arranged at flotation chamber top, as well as initial pulp feed assembly and flotation tailing discharge assembly arranged at flotation machine outlet end. Lengthwise walls are bent in, at least, one point. Note here that distance from machine lengthwise axis to band point exceeds 1/2 of flotation chamber depth. Note also that inclination of lengthwise walls to bottom varies from 5° to 45°; while flotation chamber has mouth arranged at its top in symmetry about machine lengthwise axis. Note also that mouth base width does not exceed flotation chamber depth while its height does not exceed 1/2 of chamber depth.

EFFECT: higher efficiency, quality and yield.

8 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of enrichment by flotation methods and can be used for flotation separation of three-phase pulps in the coal, metallurgical and chemical industries, as well as for the treatment of natural and waste waters.

Currently, in the field of enrichment by flotation methods, there is a tendency to increase the productivity of flotation machines due to, as a rule, an increase in their dimensions. This is an extensive way in the modernization of processing equipment, as it is associated with quantitative rather than qualitative changes in their design: an increase in overall dimensions, mainly the depth of the flotation chamber, an increase in aeration points, etc. The productivity of the flotation machine is determined, first of all, by the consumption of pulp per unit time: with an increase in the productivity of the flotation machine, the pulp supply increases, which means that an adequate increase in the volume of aeration air is necessary to ensure the optimal degree of aeration of the pulp. To ensure this, it is necessary to increase the power of the aeration device and, as a result, increase the depth of the flotation chamber. For example, in chamber direct-flow impeller flotation machines, which are currently the most widely used, from the point of view of aerohydrodynamics, it is advisable to maintain the depth of the flotation chamber within 0.6-1.2 m, but not more than 1.5 m, while achieving maximum pulp aeration with obtaining finely dispersed air bubbles. To ensure the operability of known high-performance machines, it was necessary to change the depth of the flotation chamber, in individual machines, to 4 ÷ 5 m, which reduces the efficiency of the flotation machine both in energy and aero-hydrodynamic relations, and in terms of the completeness of extraction of the target product.

In the field of improving flotation machines, active inventive work is constantly being carried out both in Russia and abroad.

So, the flotation machine according to patent RU No. 2162371 “Flotation machine” is known (B03D 1/14, publication date - January 27, 2001, patent holder - LLC “Production, implementation, service”). The machine includes a chamber, an aeration unit containing an impeller located inside the blade stator, connected to a hollow shaft for air supply. The camera is additionally equipped with a device for feeding pulp. The device is located inside the chamber along its perimeter above the stator. The pulp feed device is provided with an inlet pipe, and uniformly located holes are made on its surface facing the inside of the chamber. The total area of the holes does not exceed the cross-sectional area of the inlet pipe, and the height of the chamber is not less than the diameter of the base of the chamber or the diameter of the inscribed circle with a square section of the chamber. According to the authors, this allows you to increase the likelihood of a bubble meeting with a mineral particle and contributes to the collapse of accidentally captured gangue.

The main disadvantage of this machine is its height, comparable or exceeding the width of the chamber. Only when this condition is met is it possible to ensure the operability of the machine, it is possible to increase its productivity.

The disadvantages include the fact that mainly radial (horizontal) pulp flows are created in the chamber, and this makes it difficult to weigh large particles, especially around the periphery.

Also known patent RU No. 22894479 "Flotation machine for foam separation Yachushko" (B03D 1/24, publication date - 12/20/2006, patent holder - Yachushko Emerik Pankratievich). The machine includes a bath with longitudinal foam gutters, a loading device, an airlift with vertical partitions, the distance between which is 150 mm. A slurry reflector is located above the airlift with a gap, which separates the aerated pulp emerging from the airlift into two streams, directing them to the foam in the flotation compartments. The bath has a loading device and an unloading pocket connected to the tail gutter. The loading device consists of arc sieves that divide the food into two products: oversize, containing large particles + 0.5 ÷ 3 mm, and sub-sieve, containing small particles, -0.5 mm in size. The under-sieve product enters the foam into the machine, and the under-sieve product through a rectangular hole enters under the foam into the volume of pulp in the bath. The airlift aerator is located under the bottom of the bath and consists of short vertical air supply tubes located along the longitudinal axis of the airlift connected to bosses with internal thread. Tubes with their bosses enter through the holes in the bottom into the bathtub to a small height, Laval nozzles are screwed into them. The gap between the bosses and the bottom of the bath is sealed. The air supply pipes are connected to a horizontal distribution pipe, which is connected to the receiver through an air pipe.

The author of this machine sets the main task - to improve the flotation of large classes, and achieves this by increasing the ascending speeds of the pulp in a chamber equipped with Laval nozzles. It is doubtful the achievement of the optimal aerodynamic flotation regime in flows with high kinetic energy. Also, the disadvantages of this machine are its structural complexity and energy consumption, as well as the need to use deep cameras.

Also known patent RU No. 2235603 "Flotation pneumatic column machine" (B03D 1/24, publication date - 09/10/2004, patent holder - Benzel AF). The flotation machine includes a casing consisting of the upper expanded and lower parts, the supply and two discharge units, an air disperser and a foam collector. At the top of the camera, rails are installed in two levels. The guides of the first level are installed at an angle to the diametrical horizontal plane of the supply unit and provide a change in the hydrodynamics of the pulp-air mixture. The guides of the second level are installed above the guides of the first level at an angle to the plane of the axial diametrical section of the column, which ensures the dispersal of the ascending pulp-air stream and a sharp decrease in centrifugal force. The technical result of the introduction of this machine is to increase the extraction of the useful component due to the extraction of coarse particles and aggregates larger than 0.2 mm.

The above design is aimed at solving the problem of controlling pulp flows by forcibly changing the hydrodynamics of the pulp depending on the intracameral zone. The disadvantage of this machine is the structural complexity of the implementation of the guide nodes designed to control the hydrodynamic mode of operation of the machine, a high degree of wear of the guides in a highly abrasive environment, as well as low productivity of the machine.

The closest in technical essence and the presence of similar features is the technical solution according to patent RU No. 2053028 “Flotation machine” (B03D 1/14, publication date - 01/27/1996, patent holder - Meshcheryakov Nikolai Fedorovich). This patent is selected as the closest analogue (prototype).

The essence of the invention according to the prototype consists in the following: the machine includes at least one chamber, a hollow shaft, an axial impeller with blades, soothing plates on the sides of the chamber, a pipe with holes for circulating the pulp, and devices for supplying initial power and removing foam and chamber products. The blades are rotated relative to their radial axes with an angle of rotation of the end edges α = 20 ÷ 40 °. The blades are made with end upper protrusions. The blades are made either inclined to the bottom, or alternating horizontal and inclined; or made of two sections: horizontal and inclined adjacent to the shaft. The terminal upper protrusions are bent or made in the form of joined plates inclined towards the incoming flow at an angle β = 5–25 ° with peripheral ends parallel to the walls of the pipe for pulp circulation. On the back side of the axial impeller blade there are air-conducting channels communicating through the hollow shaft with the atmosphere.

High pulp aeration is ensured by the joint work of the upper protrusions of the blades and stator blades on the circulation pipe. Effective weighing of solid particles in the chamber is achieved by tilting the impeller blades to the bottom of the chamber, ensuring the creation of directed radial-axial flows in the bottom. If it is necessary to increase the aeration of the pulp, the axial impeller is carried out with blades equipped with air ducts on their rear side to suck in atmospheric air through openings in the hollow shaft and the hub to the ends of the blades into the rarefaction zone arising behind the blades during their movement. The aerated pulp streams emitted by the impeller in the bottom of the chamber are converted into ascending ones, their rotational movement inside the chamber is eliminated by stator vanes and soothing plates on the side walls of the chamber. When aerated flows move upward, mineralized bubbles float to the surface of the pulp, forming a foam layer that is removed by gravity or by force. Deaerated pulp flows through openings are poured into the circulation pipe into the impeller zone and the process repeats. As new portions of the initial pulp arrive, it is displaced into the subsequent chamber through the bottom windows, where the conditioning and flotation process continues. The unloading of the chamber product (tails) is carried out from the last chamber of the flotation machine.

Due to the design features (the impeller design, the presence of a central circulation pipe with blades, the presence of soothing devices on the interchamber walls) in the given flotation machine, the problem of streamlining and controlling pulp flows is solved in order to increase its aeration and reduce ineffective flow energy losses: radial axial flows are created in the bottom part that are converted into ascending flows, which are transferred through the holes in the central circulation pipe to the impeller zone and the process is repeated ryaetsya, providing a circulation flow from the center to the periphery and back. Under the conditions of organized, time-stable turbulent flows, the most complete mineralization of the bubbles takes place and the probability of demineralization before entering the foam product is reduced.

However, the prototype flotation machine has a number of significant disadvantages:

- to create the necessary pumping effect, to ensure sufficient aeration and homogenization of the flotated pulp, an increase in the speed of rotation of the impeller and, accordingly, an increase in the depth of the flotation chamber are required. Due to the proposed design of the impellers, it is possible to create high turbulence of flows only in the bottom of the chamber, since in the conditions of verticality of the longitudinal walls as the pulp moves upward, the turbulence and aeration of the pulp will decrease. Thus, the greatest degree of pulp aeration is observed only in the impeller region. At the same time, flotation of large fractions of the recovered product is not ensured, since when the aerator rotates, small classes (50-74 μm in size) are concentrated in the air dispersion zone, which are captured by air bubbles and then removed from the chamber as a foam product. Large classes of particles (0.1-0.3 mm or more in size) do not fall into the zone of effective dispersion of air, but are discarded by centrifugal force to the vertical walls of the chamber, settle to the bottom and transported with tails. In other words, not all particles located in the bottom are involved in the mixing and dispersion process, which reduces the overall flotation efficiency;

- when three-phase flows move upward along the vertical longitudinal walls of the chamber, intensification of the bubble coalescence process and their distribution over the volume of the upward flow are observed; as a result, by reducing the force of separation of particles from the bubbles, the target product is extracted into the foam concentrate;

- as noted above, increasing the power of the aeration unit forces to increase the depth of the flotation chamber, so the prototype machine can only be used in sufficiently high workshops;

- expanding the range of sizes of floated materials is carried out only due to the design features of the aerator, a very complex and inefficient device that does not allow to obtain sufficient indicators for the extraction of floated mineral in concentrate, with a low quality of the latter. It should also be noted the complexity and high cost of manufacturing an aeration unit;

- the presence inside the flotation chamber of additional structural elements (perforated circulation cup with vanes, soothing plates) in working conditions with abrasive media leads to significant wear, which, in turn, requires significant costs for maintenance and overhaul of the machine;

- the presence of soothing plates located on the side walls of the chamber, leads to inefficient losses of kinetic energy of the ascending pulp flows, reducing the energy efficiency of the flotation machine.

The objective of the proposed technical solution is to increase the productivity of the flotation machine, increasing the degree of extraction of the target product, as well as improving the quality of the resulting concentrate.

The technical result from the implementation of the invention is to increase the weighing ability of the machine by optimizing the hydrodynamics of three-phase pulp flows, increasing the degree of pulp aeration, increasing the degree of dispersion of air. At the same time, the specific energy consumption for flotation is reduced, the metal consumption and height of the machine are reduced, which means that the cost of the flotation machine and the costs of its current and overhaul are reduced.

The technical result is achieved in that in a flotation machine, consisting of at least one flotation chamber, bounded by a bottom, longitudinal and inter-chamber walls with windows for pulp overflow, and equipped with a pulp aeration unit, a unit for collecting and discharging foam concentrate located in the upper part of the flotation chamber, as well as the feed pulp feed unit and the flotation tail removal unit located at the output end of the flotation machine, the longitudinal walls are bent at least at one point, m away from the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine to the inflection point is greater than _^half the depth of the flotation cell, wherein the angle of inclination of the longitudinal walls to the bottom is in the range 5 ÷ 45 °; the flotation chamber is equipped with a neck located in its upper part symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine, the width of the base of the neck not more than the depth of the flotation chamber, and the height of the neck not more than ^1/2 _{of the} depth of the flotation chamber. Inside the chamber, longitudinal alignment is performed on the longitudinal walls, and the shape of the longitudinal walls can be made variant, for example:

- either the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts relative to the inflection are made with curvature;

- either the longitudinal walls in the lower part before the bend are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the upper part with curvature;

- either the longitudinal walls in the upper part before the bend are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the lower part with curvature;

- either the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts are made in the form of inclined planes connected by a vertical strip.

Variations in the shape of the bottom are possible, for example: the bottom of the chamber can be flat or made with curvature.

The technical essence of the invention is as follows.

According to the proposed technical solution, the flotation machine is a design symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis. The pulp aeration unit is located along the longitudinal axis of the machine, which ensures the formation of identical pulp flows in the direction from the center to the longitudinal walls of the chamber. The longitudinal walls of the chamber are made with an inflection at least at one point, and the distance from the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine to the inflection point is greater than ^1/2 _{of the} height of the flotation chamber. As one of the embodiments of the claimed shape of the longitudinal wall is an elliptical shape. At the inflection point, according to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (St. Petersburg, 1890-1907), the curve passes from one side of the tangent to the other, so the pulp flow when it moves upward at the inflection point changes its direction from the longitudinal wall to the center. Thus, in the upper central part of the flotation chamber, equivalent turbulent oncoming pulp flows collide, due to which mutual damping of turbulence of oncoming flows occurs.

At the inflection point of the longitudinal walls, the flow turns smoothly, without impact, due to which the mineralization of air bubbles not only does not decrease, but its increase takes place. This is due to the fact that when the direction of movement of the turbulent flow changes (when the flow swirls), additional pulp aeration occurs, and the dispersion of air bubbles also increases, which significantly increases the likelihood of contact and fixing of hydrophobic particles, including large ones. Changing the direction of flow also allows you to intensify the process of collision of particles with bubbles.

To increase the degree of aeration and dispersion of the pulp on the longitudinal walls of the chamber performed arithmetic. The protrusions (curvature) on the longitudinal wall contribute, firstly, to additional dispersion of air bubbles, which increases the stability of the ascending pulp flows, increasing the flotation efficiency of the proposed machine, and secondly, the flotation of large particles. The generation of additional small air bubbles on the longitudinal walls promotes the upward movement of the already formed aeroflocs of the useful component, increasing their lifting force, while increasing the stability of the aggregates to the destruction and decay of hydrophobic particles. When using the flotation machine of the proposed design, it is possible to switch to a larger material without changing the power of the aerators.

The proposed solution allows to increase the degree of aeration of the pulp and the degree of dispersion of air bubbles without additional energy costs, using and transforming the initial energy of the upward flow. The absence of soothing elements inside the chamber allows to reduce inefficient losses of flow energy caused by sharp braking on soothing elements.

A high degree of pulp aeration helps to increase the productivity of the flotation machine, reducing pulp flotation time.

The neck of the chamber, designed to collect foam concentrate, is also located symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chamber. At the base of the neck, due to mutual damping of identical identical flows, the pulp has insignificant turbulence and a high degree of aeration, which ensures the almost complete preservation of the attachment of large hydrophobic particles to air bubbles and the rapid removal of all mineralized bubbles into the ascending foam layer with its subsequent removal from the neck into in the form of foamy concentrate.

In addition, the execution of the neck in the zone of the calmest pulp flows provides the most complete sedimentation of gangue particles mechanically captured by ascending turbulent pulp flows in the bottom of the chamber. The intensification of the process of separation of hydrophobic and mechanically trapped gangue particles provides additional purification of the concentrate. The combination of flotation and classification effect in the neck area improves the quality of the foam product. To ensure efficient removal of concentrate from the flotation machine, the neck height in the proposed solution should not exceed half the height of the flotation chamber.

The downward non-aerated pulp stream moves through the inter-chamber windows into the subsequent chamber.

The degree of twisting of the flow is determined by the ratio of the overall dimensions of the chamber, namely, by the ratio of the width of the chamber at the inflection points to the depth of the chamber, and the width is always greater than the depth. For example, with a camera height of 0.6 m to 1.5 m, the optimal ratio of these sizes is more than 1.2. The implementation of the longitudinal walls of the chamber according to the invention allows to create small flotation machines with immersion aerator devices to the optimum depth from the point of view of aerohydrodynamics, at which maximum pulp aeration is achieved and finely dispersed air bubbles are obtained. Increased turbulence in the bottom of the flotation chamber by reducing its height eliminates clogging and clogging of the bottom, as well as eliminates the process of coalescence of bubbles. The increase in turbulence and dispersion of the bubbles allows retrieval of hard-floated fractions of mineral grains with a particle size of less than 10 microns.

Thus, using the proposed technical solution, it is possible to create high-performance flotation machines with a width and length of chambers several times greater than the generally accepted aero-hydrodynamically appropriate depth (not more than 1.5 m). This will ensure the creation of machines of any given volumetric capacity on the pulp (at least 2 m ³ pulp per minute per 1 m ³ of the machine chamber volume) with a minimum residence time of the pulp in the machine chambers (no more than 0.5 min.).

For various types of enriched material, the proposed solution provides for the manufacture of machines with different angles of inclination of the longitudinal walls to the bottom: within 5 ÷ 45 °. With a change in the elevation angle of the pulp in the lower part of the chamber, the aero-hydrodynamic characteristics of the flows along the height of the flotation chamber change. The optimal angle of inclination of the longitudinal wall is selected specifically for each material according to the results of laboratory tests.

In the proposed claims claimed the following distinctive features from the prototype signs:

- the longitudinal walls are made with inflection, at least at one point;

- the distance from the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine to the inflection point is greater than ^1/2 _{of the} depth of the flotation chamber;

- the angle of inclination of the longitudinal walls to the bottom is made within 5 ÷ 45 °;

- the flotation chamber is equipped with a neck;

- the neck is located in the upper part of the chamber symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine;

- the width of the base of the neck is not more than the depth of the flotation chamber, and the height is not more than ^1/2 _{of the} depth of the flotation machine;

- inside the chamber on the longitudinal walls made arithmetic;

- the bottom of the chamber is made either flat or with curvature;

- the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts relative to the inflection are made with curvature;

- the longitudinal walls in the lower part before the bend can be made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the upper part with curvature;

- longitudinal walls in the upper part before the bend can be made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the lower part with curvature;

- the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts are made in the form of inclined planes connected by a vertical strip.

The presence in the proposed technical solution of the above signs that are different from the signs of the closest analogue allows us to conclude that it meets the condition of patentability “novelty”.

In order to determine the “prior art”, a search was conducted on patent and scientific and technical literature. The analysis showed that at the time of filing the application for the invention is not known a device characterized by the entire set of features set forth in the claims, although some features of the claimed flotation machine are known.

So it is known that the longitudinal walls of the flotation machine are not vertical, but with curvature according to a number of patents:

1. A flotation chamber with a cross section in the form of a circular segment is known:

- Japanese patent JP2010043374 (publication date 2010-02-25, B03D 1/02), in which a flotation chamber is declared having a circular segment in cross section (chord at the top);

- German patent DE3120202 "Method for removing paint from paper waste by flotation" (publication date 1982-12-09, D21B1 / 32, applicant "VOITH PATENT GMBH"). A flotation chamber is declared having a circular segment in cross section (chord below).

2. A flotation chamber with a cross-section in the shape of a circle is known:

- English patent GB2108858 "Injector" (publication 1983-05-25, B01F 3/04, applicant "VOITH PATENT GMBH");

- German patent DE3634903 "Flotation machine" (publication date 1988-04-28, B03D 1/24, applicant "VOITH PATENT GMBH"). This machine, in addition to a circular cross-section, is characterized by the presence of two symmetric injectors in the chamber and the removal of the foam product through a pipe located vertically in the center of the flotation chamber in the zone of the flotation chamber.

3. A flotation chamber with an elliptical cross-section is known:

- European patent EP2202003 "Flotation method of cleaning and apparatus for its implementation" (publication date 2010-06-30, B01F 3/04, the applicant - "VOITH PATENT GMBH"), which declared the flotation chamber in the form of an ellipse in cross section. The injector is located offset from the center of the chamber to an ellipsoid longitudinal wall opposite the wall with a device for unloading the foam product;

- German patent DE4309918 "Flotation chamber with an injector that provides the optimal number of air bubbles for flotation" (publication date 1994-09-15, B01D 17/035, the applicant is "VOITH PATENT GMBH"). The shape and layout of the flotation chamber is similar to the previous patent.

- German patent DE 102008056040 "Method for the extraction of contaminants from aqueous suspensions, especially paper waste" ((publication date 2010-05-06, B03D 1/20, applicant - "VOITH PATENT GMBH"). The shape and layout of the flotation chamber is similar to the previous one patent.

4. A flotation chamber with one vertical side wall and the other convex is known:

- patent US 2010/0108584 "Flotation chamber" (publication date May 6, 2010, B03D 1/26, the applicant-ACQUA & CO.SRL/(IT). One of the side walls of the chamber is made with curvature, which in conjunction with the proposed the aerator design provides horizontal flow movement in the bottom and flow rise along the curved side wall with the flow moving in the opposite direction.With a guide wall installed inside the chamber in its upper part, the foam concentrate flow is directed to the concentrate discharge zone, and the deaerated bullet flow Py is sent to the aeration zone.

From the above patents, we see that the German developers are most active in the development of various forms of flotation chambers: the applicant is VOITH PATENT GMBH. Their flotation machines are adapted to the paper industry and are used mainly to remove paint and impurities from the recycling of recycled paper.

Also known international patent WO 2010/026289 "Flotation method of cleaning and apparatus for its implementation" (B03D 1/02, date of international publication - March 11, 2010), in which the flotation chamber is equipped with a neck, symmetrically located relative to the axis of the apparatus. The neck has a width less than the width of the flotation chamber.

A.S. USSR No. 1717239 "Pneumatic column flotation machine" (publication date 03/07/92, B03D 1/24), in which the flotation machine is equipped with a foam receiver with expansion in the form of two truncated pyramids connected by large bases with the possibility of changing the height and cross section of the foam receiver to provide the required specific surface of the foam layer to the flow of pulp.

Also known is a camera with an extension in the form of two truncated cones along the A.S. USSR No. 297396 "Column flotation machine" (publication date 03/11/1971, B03D 1/24), designed to collect foam product.

According to patent RU No. 2275968 "Pneumatic flotation machine" (publication date 05/10/2006, B03D 1/24, patent holder of GOU VPO "Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloys"), a sign is known - the presence of a foam sump installed in the upper part of the flotation chamber for reinforcement secondary concentration and reduction of water content in the foam layer by increasing the time of destruction of the foam.

The use in the claimed solution of a new combination of known and unknown features allows you to create a flotation machine of a higher level: high-performance, with much less depth compared to known flotation machines of similar productivity, which allows to increase the extraction of the target product, including from pulps containing large fractions. Moreover, the machine can be manufactured in a wide range of sizes, taking into account the real requirements of the customer.

Pilot tests have confirmed that the proposed flotation machine allows to increase the extraction of the target product by increasing the efficiency of flotation of both small and large fractions from the bottom of the machine and to increase its reliability and durability by optimizing the aerodynamic regime provided by the proposed machine design.

The foregoing allows us to conclude that the proposed solution meets the conditions of patentability: “inventive step” and “industrial applicability”.

The invention is illustrated by the following graphic depiction:

figure 1 is a cross section of a flotation chamber. In general, the flotation machine is not shown, since according to the claims it consists of at least one flotation chamber, the chambers being identical in design. The node for the removal of foam concentrate, the feed unit for the initial pulp and the unit for the removal of flotation tailings are also not shown in the graphic image, since their design is not the object of protection in this technical solution.

The inventive flotation machine includes:

- the feed unit of the original pulp (figure 1 is not shown);

- node removal of the flotation tailings, located in the output end of the flotation machine (not shown in figure 1);

- node removal of foam concentrate (figure 1 is not shown);

- at least one flotation chamber 1, limited by the bottom 2, longitudinal 3 and interchamber 4 walls. In the inter-chamber wall 4, a window 5 for overflowing the pulp is made. The chamber is equipped with a pulp aeration unit 6 and a neck 7 located in its upper part symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine. The longitudinal walls 3 are made with an inflection at point “A”, and the distance (L) from the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine to the inflection point “A” is greater than ^1/2 _{of the} depth of the flotation chamber (N). The angle of inclination (α) of the longitudinal walls 3 to the bottom 2 is made within 5 ÷ 45 °. The width of the base (m) of the neck 7 is not more than the depth (H) of the flotation chamber 1, and the height (h) of the neck 7 is not more than ^1/2 _{of the} depth (H) of the flotation chamber 1.

Inside the flotation chamber 1 on the longitudinal walls 3, a flashing 8 is made.

Figure 1 presents the camera 1 with a flat bottom 2. Perhaps the implementation of the bottom 2 with curvature.

The implementation of the longitudinal walls 3 optionally:

- the longitudinal walls 3 in the lower part from the bottom to the inflection point "A" are made with curvature and in the upper part from the inflection point to the neck also with curvature, while the bottom is made flat (Figure 1);

- the longitudinal walls 3 in the lower part from the bottom to the inflection point "A" are made with curvature and in the upper part from the inflection point to the neck also with curvature, while the bottom is made with curvature (Figure 2);

- the longitudinal walls 3 in the lower part to the inflection are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the upper part with curvature (Figure 3);

- longitudinal walls 3 in the upper part to the inflection are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the lower part with curvature (Figure 4);

- longitudinal walls 3 in the lower and upper parts are made in the form of inclined planes connected by a vertical strip 10 (Figure 5).

The operation of the flotation machine is as follows.

Through the feed unit, the initial two-phase pulp (liquid + solid) enters the flotation machine. In flotation chamber 1, using the aeration unit 6, the initial pulp passes into the state of a three-phase system (liquid + solid + gas). The aeration unit of the pulp 6 is located symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the machine, which ensures the formation of two identical pulp flows in the direction from the center to the longitudinal walls of the chamber 3. The aerated pulp under the action of centrifugal forces is thrown to the longitudinal walls 3, while rising up due to aeration by air, and due to the implementation of the lower part of the longitudinal walls with the rise (tilt to the horizon). The flow of pulp during its movement upward at the inflection point “A” changes its direction to the opposite - from the longitudinal wall to the center with the rise, and the movement along the longitudinal wall 3 is smoothly unhindered. Two equivalent turbulent oncoming pulp flows collide in the upper central part of the flotation chamber, due to which mutual turbulence of the oncoming flows is mutually quenched. Foam concentrate 9 floats up unhindered and collects in the neck 7, and from there spontaneously or forcibly goes to the foam concentrate discharge unit (the unit is not shown in the attached figures). Deaerated pulp spontaneously lowers down and under the action of a continuously incoming source pulp flows through window 5 into the next flotation chamber.

The proposed flotation machine is a qualitatively new equipment, as it allows you to radically change the flotation technology, creating the ability to control turbulent flows inside the flotation chambers. Moreover, the proposed technical solution is extremely simple to implement and allows to achieve the maximum extraction of the target product in the concentrate, as well as to obtain the concentrate with the maximum purification possible for flotation enrichment. The proposed flotation machine allows you to expand the range of fineness of the solid phase of the original pulp and, not least, can be installed in low production workshops.

Pilot tests have confirmed the effectiveness of this machine. Usolmash Production Association OJSC is ready to cooperate with interested parties in the manufacture of any type of flotation machine according to the proposed solution.

Claims (8)

1. A flotation machine, consisting of at least one flotation chamber, bounded by a bottom, longitudinal and interchamber walls with pulp overflow windows, and equipped with a pulp aeration unit, a unit for collecting and discharging foam concentrate located in the upper part of the flotation chamber, as well as a feed unit for the initial pulp and a flotation tail removal unit located at the output end of the flotation machine, characterized in that the longitudinal walls are bent at least at one point, the distance from the longitudinal hydrochloric flotation machine axis to the inflection point is greater than ½ the depth of the flotation cell, wherein the angle of inclination of the longitudinal walls to the bottom is in the range 5 ÷ 45 °; the flotation chamber is equipped with a neck located in its upper part symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the flotation machine, the width of the base of the neck not more than the depth of the flotation chamber, and the height of the neck not more than 1/2 the depth of the flotation chamber. 2. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts relative to the bend are made with curvature. 3. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal walls in the lower part before the bend are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the upper part with curvature. 4. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal walls in the upper part before the bend are made in the form of an inclined plane, and in the lower part with a curvature. 5. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal walls in the lower and upper parts are made in the form of inclined planes connected by a vertical strip. 6. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the inside of the chamber on the longitudinal walls made arithmetic. 7. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of the chamber is made flat. 8. The flotation machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of the chamber is made with curvature.

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