Paste Thickening of Iron Tailings with Vibrating Lamella Thickener

Abstract

Vibrating lamella thickener (VLT) developed by Kunming University of Science and Technology is a new generation of inclined plate settling device, and in this device such long-standing problems in traditional lamella thickener (LT) as material bonding and blockage between channels in inclined plates, material deposits and blockage in cone bucket, as well as unsteady discharging of high solids underflow, etc. are effectively resolved, through periodic vibration of inclined plate modules, the use of built-in device for removal of deposited material on cone wall and of forced discharging device for high solids underflow. Paste discharging is now a new way for the effective treatment of tailings in recent years, due to its superiority for mining safety and environmental protection. The industrial tests for paste thickening of iron tailings were carried out in a mineral processing plant of Mining Co., Ltd. of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group, using a ZXNQP-32 VLT. In the test the size distribution and settling characteristics of the tailings were analyzed, and the main operating parameters in the VLT were tested under the natural settling and flocculated settling conditions, respectively. The results of test indicate that the solids concentration of underflow from the VLT is capable of reaching higher than 70%; meanwhile, the solids content in overflow from the VLT is as low as less than 300 mg/l while flocculant is added in the ore pulp for pretreatment and such an overflow can be directly discharged into environment or be recycled in the plant. It is thus concluded that VLT is effective for paste thickening of iron tailings.