COLLECTION RATE CONSTANT MODELING IN A FULL-SCALE FLOTATION COLUMN

In the present study collection rate constant (k(c)) was modeled as a function of the most significant operating variables which affect gas dispersion in a flotation column (i.e. superficial gas velocity, slurry density (solids%) and frother dosage/type) using artificial neural network (ANN) and statistical techniques. Experiments were performed in an industrial flotation column (4 m in diameter and 12 m in height) in rougher circuit of a copper concentrator. RTD studies using a radioactive tracer have already confirmed that mixing condition in the existing columns is closed to well-mixed and could be characterized by the large and small tank-in-series model. Accordingly, a kinetic model to calculate k(c) in industrial flotation columns was proposed. The development of the models and validation using a number of randomly selected datasets is outlined in the present communication.