Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation of Molten Aluminum Purification by Flotation in Stirred Reactor

Abstract

The removal of inclusions by flotation in mechanically agitated vessels is widely used in liquid aluminum treatments. Originating from different sources (oxide skins, refractory, or recycling wastes), inclusions may have disastrous repercussions such as deterioration of the physical properties of the cast products or difficulties during forging processes. With the aim of both a better understanding of the physical processes acting during flotation and the optimization of the refining process, a mathematical modeling of the behavior of the population of inclusions has been set up. Transport phenomena, agglomeration of inclusions, and flotation are considered here. The model combines population balance with convective transport of the inclusions, in order to calculate the time evolution of the inclusion size distribution. An operator-splitting technique is employed to solve the coupled population balance equation (PBE) and the transport equation. The transport equation is solved using a finite volume technique associated with a total variation diminishing scheme, whereas the PBE resolution relies on the fixed pivot technique developed by Kumar and Ramkrishna. A laboratory-scale flotation vessel is modeled and the results of a two-dimensional (2-D) simulation are presented.