Abstract
Bubble size measurement is a vital part of flotation system analysis and diagnostics. This work evaluates a commercial camera probe as a novel method for in situ bubble size measurement. This device is compared to the conventional Anglo Platinum Bubble Sizer (Stone ThreeTM). It was found that, in laboratory applications, the in situ bubble size analysis technology appears to be a more user-friendly and reliable option for determining bubble size in flotation, whereas the Anglo Platinum Bubble Sizer is more applicable for full scale industrial work. This probe was then used to conduct a rigorous comparison of the behavior of different frother chemistries at a variety of background solution ionic strength conditions. The critical coalescence concentrations and the minimum Sauter mean bubble diameters were determined. Five frothers were compared in terms of their ability to reduce bubble size and sensitivity to salinity. In order to adjust plant recipe and control strategy accordingly, it is recommended that the plant would need to use less frother during periods of the high salinity of process water to achieve the minimum Sauter mean bubble size.
Highlights
In situ measurement instrumentation such as the Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM) and ParticleView TM Measurement (PVM) probes have previously been used to characterize flotation systems [15,16]
This was because the Anglo Platinum Bubble Sizer (APBS) was 1.5 m in height and the sampling tube added another 0.7 m to the total height of the rig, which would not allow for the use of a mechanical cell sitting on a bench
APBS has a field of view of 68.5 mm by 91 mm, which allows the capture of millimeter-to-centimeter-sized bubbles, as illustrated by Figure 7b
Summary
The surfaces of bubbles are the primary vehicles for the recovery of valuable mineral particles. The available bubble surface area is largely determined by the size of the individual bubbles, which makes bubble size one of the key factors affecting flotation recovery [1–3]. Parameters such as Sauter mean bubble diameter (d32) and bubble surface area flux (Sb) are essential components of determining flotation rate constants in models predicting flotation behavior [4–6]. For this reason, the accurate measurement of bubble size distributions has been an essential requirement of flotation cell characterization and performance assessment
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