US3881660A - Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping - Google Patents

Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping Download PDF

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Publication number
US3881660A
US3881660A US396952A US39695273A US3881660A US 3881660 A US3881660 A US 3881660A US 396952 A US396952 A US 396952A US 39695273 A US39695273 A US 39695273A US 3881660 A US3881660 A US 3881660A
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slurry
phosphate
weathered
decompression
pressure
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US396952A
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Roger S Ribas
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United States Steel Corp
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United States Steel Corp
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Priority to US396952A priority Critical patent/US3881660A/en
Priority to PH16197A priority patent/PH10438A/en
Priority to GT197434349A priority patent/GT197434349A/es
Priority to FR7431133A priority patent/FR2243737B1/fr
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
    • B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
    • B02C19/00—Other disintegrating devices or methods
    • B02C19/06—Jet mills
    • B02C19/066—Jet mills of the jet-anvil type
    • 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
    • B03B—SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS
    • B03B1/00—Conditioning for facilitating separation by altering physical properties of the matter to be treated
    • B03B1/06—Conditioning for facilitating separation by altering physical properties of the matter to be treated by varying ambient atmospheric pressure

Definitions

  • Certain minerals, particularly weathered phosphate pebble, are treated to remove significant quantities of impurities by pressurizing a slurry thereof to about 25100 psig, preferably 30-60 psig for weathered phosphate pebble, and passing the pressurized slurry through a nozzle to the atmosphere to provide sudden release of pressure.
  • Weathered and other encrusted minerals treated in this manner are beneficiated by the dissolution and particularly by the erosion of impurities primarily encrusted on the mineral. The erosion and collapse of the crust is believed to be caused at least partly by the sudden flow of water held in the pores of the crust.
  • Lateritic weathering normally occurs in tropical countries, and is a particularly severe type of weathering. Serpentine and limestone are typical rocks attacked by lateritic weathering.
  • the top layer of a typical laterite is essentially a mixture of the hydroxides of iron and aluminum with more or less free silica.
  • the iron has a strong tendency to segregate into pellets or lumps.
  • the iron ore from Mayari, Cuba is a laterite exceptionally rich in iron and nickel. Laterities may or may not contain bauxite of economic value. In Jamica, bauxite-rich laterites are mined.
  • beneficiated phosphate rock is normally digested with sulfuric acid to extract the phosphate values.
  • Increased production and decreasing high-grade reserves of phosphate rock have forced the use of rock containing higher levels of iron, aluminum, and magnesium impurities, mainly the oxides.
  • Production of phosphoric acid with relatively high impurity levels creates a chain of problems carrying through to the manufacture of finished fertilizer products.
  • Phosphate pebble is usually recovered and classified as fine, medium, and coarse pebble, with Tyler screen particle sizes of l 6+20, 6+1 6, and
  • Coarse pebble was given one pass through an impactor, and screen analyzed. Considerable selectivity of removal was obtained, but the method was not applicable to medium pebble which, for the particular mine, represented roughly 90% of the total pebble. This was due to the lower kinetic energy of particles with diminishing diameters.
  • Many ore beneficiation operations include an attrition scrubbing step using agitator-type scrubbers, where grinding would be detrimental due to degradation of crystals or generation of excessive slimes.
  • the objective of most comminuting operations in the mineral industry is the liberation of the valuable minerals from the ore. This is accomplished by crushing or grinding the ore until the entire mass has been reduced to particles small enough that the probability of any single particle containing more than one mineral is slight. In the course of such an operation, many liberated particles, both coarser and finer than the nominal size of the final product, are nevertheless reduced further. Since fracture of such particles does not improve liberation of the valuable mineral and may even result in the formation of detrimental slimes, it represents unnecessary work and may be harmful both economically and technically to subsequent separation operations.
  • USBM Work by USBM on explosive shat tering of minerals, 1932-1933 Intermittent Process 25-100 psig., preferably 30-60 psig. to treat encrusted heterogeneous minerals in the manner I employ.
  • FIG. 2 is a more or less diagrammatic three-stage or continuous variation for decompression scalping, and specifically with reference to the treatment of weathered phosphate.
  • valve 7 in batch operation the system is filled with water through pump sump 5 with valve 7 open and valve 6 closed. Next, the sample is added at sump 5.
  • Pump 1 causes the slurry to pass through valve 7 into venturi 2 and through throat 3 of the venturi. The pressure at venturi 2 is to 100 psig and beyond the throat 3 is 0 psig. When the material completes one pass through the venturi nozzle it is discharged by opening valve 6 and closing valve 7.
  • the procedure is identical with the batch operation, except that the material is recycled for a predetermined amount of time equivalent to a number of passes through the nozzle.
  • the material is recycled for a predetermined amount of time equivalent to a number of passes through the nozzle.
  • the batch or one pass system value 7 is open and valve 6 is closed during the recycle operation.
  • An impingement plate 4 is optional.
  • Bone phosphate of lime (triealcium phosphate) als which comprises forming a slurry of particles of the mineral, subjecting the slurry to a pressure between about 25 psig. and 100 psig., passing the pressurized slurry through a nozzle to the atmosphere to provide sudden release of pressure, and then optionally but preferably, impinging the slurry onto a solid surface.
  • the slurry may be formed, pressurized, and passed through the nozzle continuously.
  • FIG. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic illustration of a batch system for decompression scalping
  • Venturi 2 may be provided with different inserts which change the diameter at throat 3. Each nozzle opening sets a specific constant pressure in the system.
  • the treated phosphate pebble is passed through a series of screens to separate the cleaned pebble from the smaller mesh size material. This is best illustrated by reference to the continuous process threestage decompression scalping system shown in FIG. 2.
  • the treated product from pump 32 passes to screen 34 where the +16 mesh pebble is removed and passed to storage.
  • the 1 6 mesh portion then passes to a sizing section 36 where the 16 +150 mesh product is passed to the beneficiation plant 38 for additional phosphate recovery by flotation techniques.
  • the -l 50 mesh portion is sent to disposal ponds.
  • Treated product is obtained by adding water and weathered phosphate pebble, for example, to sump 20 for pumping by pump 22 through venturi 24 to be received by sump 26, and pumped by pump 28 to venturi 30, and successively to pump 32.
  • the preferred pressure range upstream of the venturi is from 30 to 60 psig.
  • the range from 60 to psig has not been studied in detail, but screen analysis shows 32.59% of the Fe O and 30.9% of the A1 with a 10.40% P 0 loss, in the 20 mesh fraction.
  • the high iron and aluminum removal made possible by this method was obtained in spite of the abnormally low b. Temperatures 5 iron and aluminum content of the rock.
  • Decompression scalping is effective between 33 and 140F., with optimum results at the higher temperatures. Since the primary asset of this method is lowoperating and capital cost, it is not anticipated that Example H heating slurries could be justified, and, therefore, the Another 25 pounds of the same composite used in Processes would normally be Operated at ambem Example I was given three passes through a venturi slurry temperatureswith an outlet impact block.
  • Example No. 1 3-Pass Decompression Scalping (Batch System) (Weight P205 F5203 A1203 ACId Insol. Fraction Weight Anal. Dist Anal. Dist Anal. Dist. Anal. Dist.
  • Example No. 2 3-Pass Decompression Scalping W/Impact Blocks (Batch System) (Weight P 0 rep, A1 0 Acid Insol. Fraction Weight Anal. Dist. Anal. Dist. Anal. Dist. Anal. Dist. Anal. Dist.. Dist.
  • Example I Examples IVa and IVb Twenty-five pounds of a 50-pound composite, representing 5,000 tons of Rockland medium pebble, was given three passes through an open-end venturi (Mud Mixing Jet, by Mission Mfg. Co.) 12.38% of the total weight reported to the 20 mesh fraction. The fractions of +20 and -20+15O in Table III are the totals accumulated after three passes. Table III also shows Two equal portions of a 40-pound composite, representing 4,000 tons of Rockland medium pebble were run through the semicontinuous system at pressure of 30 psig.
  • the pebble slurry was made with a phosphoric acid plant effluent slurry (pond water), and in the case of IUb, the pebble slurry was made with a 1.5% H SO solution. Results are also included in Table IV.
  • Pond water treatment was not as effective in removing MgO as H 80 treatment.
  • Example V Four samples of phosphate pebble were obtained from phosphate minig companies in Central Florida. Each sample was subjected to psi. semicontinuous decompression scalping, which included use of an impact block at the venturi discharge. Samples C and D were relatively hard pebble with only slight evidence of a weathered crust. The products from decompression scalping were screened on a ISO-mesh screen and the 150 mesh portion discarded. Table V indicates the level of phosphate loss and the R 0 rejection to the 150 mesh fraction.
  • deposits can be classified into two groups those in 6 which the weathered crust contains the valuable mineral such as NiO and A1 O bearing laterities, and
  • Orskany Iron Ore, of Virginia is made up of earthy masses and rounded concretions of fibrous limonite filled with clay or sand. This ore is subject to a rough concentration in log washers in order to remove the clay. Decompression in nozzles could be used to improve concentration.
  • Cuban ironand nickel-bearing laterities occur as residual mantles resulting from the weathering of serpentine, and for the most part lie on plateaus at rather high elevations.
  • the material Near the surface the material is earthy and dark red, sometimes cemented, with shot-like lumps of hematite. Underneath lie yellowish ores changing into decomposed and soft serpentine, irregularly crossed by layers of chert.
  • a hard low-iron serpentinic fraction could be separated for special treatment with solid reductants since it does not yield a high nickel extraction on the standard gaseous reduction step.
  • the residual manganese deposits of the Appalachian Region occur in a decomposed surface zone of many different rocks. At the Crimera deposit, in Virginia, ore lumps are found within a clay stratum. After primary washing, crushing, and desliming. selective removal of cemented impurities and indurated clay could be achieved by decompression scalping.
  • a commercially important concentration of nickel was formed in New Caledonia by the action of weathering of serpentines and periodities.
  • the clay-rich ore, containing 57% NiO is by now well depleted.
  • Another section of the island contains lower grade deposits of partially decomposed serpentine.
  • the objective of decompression-acid scrubbing would be upgrading by scalping a hard coarse fraction.
  • Method of separating porous lateritic weathered ore particles into crust and core portions comprising forming a liquid slurry thereof, subjecting the slurry to a pressure between 25 and 100 psig, and releasing the pressure to the atmosphere through a nozzle.
  • Method of separating the weathered crust from the core of porous lateritic weathered ore particles comprising forming a liquid slurry thereof in water andsubjecting the particles to decompression scalping at a pressure between 25 and psig.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
  • Bulkheads Adapted To Foundation Construction (AREA)
  • Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
US396952A 1973-09-13 1973-09-13 Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping Expired - Lifetime US3881660A (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US396952A US3881660A (en) 1973-09-13 1973-09-13 Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping
PH16197A PH10438A (en) 1973-09-13 1974-08-22 Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping
GT197434349A GT197434349A (es) 1973-09-13 1974-09-12 Beneficiacion de mineral separandolo por descompresion
FR7431133A FR2243737B1 (de) 1973-09-13 1974-09-13

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US396952A US3881660A (en) 1973-09-13 1973-09-13 Mineral beneficiation by decompression scalping

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PH (1) PH10438A (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4391411A (en) * 1980-12-18 1983-07-05 Process Development Corporation Method and apparatus for pulverizing materials by vacuum comminution
US4718609A (en) * 1986-03-20 1988-01-12 T. D. J. Co., Inc. Material comminutor
US4892261A (en) * 1986-03-20 1990-01-09 The T.D.J. Co., Inc. Material communitor
US5660335A (en) * 1993-05-18 1997-08-26 Wacker-Chemitronic Gesellschaft Fur Elektronik Grundstoffe Mbh Method and device for the comminution of semiconductor material
US20210031210A1 (en) * 2018-02-06 2021-02-04 Johnny Tshibangu KALALA Flash milling inside a flotation cell

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0601724A3 (de) * 1992-12-09 1995-01-18 Halliburton Co Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Verringern der Grösse von Feststoffpartikeln in Flüssigkeiten.

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3253791A (en) * 1964-12-21 1966-05-31 Mineral Ind Corp Of America Method of treating kaolin
US3326474A (en) * 1963-10-11 1967-06-20 Grace W R & Co Process for the beneficiation of phosphate rock

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3326474A (en) * 1963-10-11 1967-06-20 Grace W R & Co Process for the beneficiation of phosphate rock
US3253791A (en) * 1964-12-21 1966-05-31 Mineral Ind Corp Of America Method of treating kaolin

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4391411A (en) * 1980-12-18 1983-07-05 Process Development Corporation Method and apparatus for pulverizing materials by vacuum comminution
US4718609A (en) * 1986-03-20 1988-01-12 T. D. J. Co., Inc. Material comminutor
US4892261A (en) * 1986-03-20 1990-01-09 The T.D.J. Co., Inc. Material communitor
US5660335A (en) * 1993-05-18 1997-08-26 Wacker-Chemitronic Gesellschaft Fur Elektronik Grundstoffe Mbh Method and device for the comminution of semiconductor material
US20210031210A1 (en) * 2018-02-06 2021-02-04 Johnny Tshibangu KALALA Flash milling inside a flotation cell
US11850602B2 (en) * 2018-02-06 2023-12-26 Johnny Tshibangu KALALA Flash milling inside a flotation cell

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2243737A1 (de) 1975-04-11
GT197434349A (es) 1976-03-05
FR2243737B1 (de) 1979-04-20
PH10438A (en) 1977-03-21

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Owner name: USX CORPORATION, A CORP. OF DE, STATELESS

Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION (MERGED INTO);REEL/FRAME:005060/0960

Effective date: 19880112