Abstract
<p>This article shows the main experimental results related to the measurement of dielectric properties of Pyrite ore mineral samples as a function of temperature, and their effect on the heating behavior of the samples. It was found that the sample’s dielectric properties strongly depend on temperature. The best model for and that fitted the experimental data, was a Gaussian model. Besides, and under certain conditions, it was possible to roast the mineral even better than with an electric furnace, while requiring less processing time and with lower electrical energy consumption. Additional exploratory tests revealed that microwaves can be used to smelt a roasted mineral ore with time reductions of about 90%, while keeping recovery margins above 95%. Thus, we conclude that, as a next stage, the process should be directed to using a single mode applicator, for processing higher volumes of mineral at pilot plant scale.</p>
Highlights
In the field of microwave-assisted processing the interaction between electromagnetic field and the Material Under Test (MUT) is well established [1]
The resulting effect is strongly dependent, among other variables, on the complex electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability of the sample, as well as on the geometry relation between the microwave applicator and the MUT. This does not imply that a direct scaling of the problem can be carried out to pilot plant or industrial levels, since electromagnetic field distribution relates to the size of the microwave applicator
We showed an experimental analysis related to measuring dielectric properties of Pyrite ore mineral samples as a function of temperature, as well as the effect of those properties on their ability to absorb microwave energy
Summary
In the field of microwave-assisted processing the interaction between electromagnetic field and the Material Under Test (MUT) is well established [1]. The resulting effect is strongly dependent, among other variables, on the complex electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability of the sample, as well as on the geometry relation between the microwave applicator and the MUT. Still, this does not imply that a direct scaling of the problem can be carried out to pilot plant or industrial levels, since electromagnetic field distribution relates to the size of the microwave applicator. Several researches have reported experimental results, at lab scale, dealing with the interaction between microwave and mineral ores They found, for example, that most sulfides, sulfosalts, and arsenides strongly interacted with microwaves and were rapidly heated [2]. This increasing interest seems to be due to the great pressure to achieve energy savings and clean production in the mineral processing and extractive metallurgical new industries [3]-[8]
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