Dense medium separation using a teetered bed separator

Abstract

A Teetered Bed Separator (TBS) was used autogenously, and with a range of media, to study the dense medium separation of a coal feed slurry, −2.00+0.375 mm in size. The feed slurry consisted of separate portions of a clean coal fraction, and a mineral matter fraction. A series of experiments were conducted using (i) the clean coal only, (ii) the clean coal combined with a portion of the mineral matter, (iii) the clean coal and mineral matter combined with dense media such as magnetite, or sand, or barite. These combinations of feeds provided a basis for assessing the benefits gained from using autogenous dense media, and a range of possible dense media. It was conluded that the TBS performance is improved by increasing the suspension density, and that this is best achieved by operating at the lowest possible water fluidization rate, and using a media with a settling velocity of similar magnitude to the settling velocities of the particles to be separated.