Modelling of water quality impact on flotation performance
Modelling of water quality impact on flotation performance
Water scarcity pushes the mining industry to review its mineral processing practices. Beyond the reduction of water consumption, the recycling of water is gaining importance. This trend is not without consequence on the performance of a plant. Process modelling allows to assess different water management strategies without expansive plant trials. Discover in this paper a modelling approach of water quality impact on flotation performance of a Cu-Ni plant. Potential of improvement are also proposed. An article presented at the IMPC Asia Pacific 2022, Melbourne (Australia).
Process modelling of a Cu-Ni flotation plant
Water management is a key strategic driver of mineral processing plant operations. Its importance keeps increasing along with global economic and environmental concerns, leading to the need of reusing process waters within plants. To address this issue in the frame of the European project ITERAMS, a prototype model of flotation plant that accounts for impact of water quality on process performance was developed as a tool to simulate recycling scenarios. It gathers modelling tasks to provide insight in water impacted/involved operation: flotation and water treatment unit operations.
The chosen technologies for water treatment are dissolved air flotation for fines removal and ion exchange resins for sulphate removal. The influence of water quality upon flotation is assessed via the determination of empirical laws of kinetics variation depending on water composition, using the first order kinetic model with ultimate recovery. These unit models were first developed separately with specific focus. They were then adapted and integrated into a global plant model, calibrated with plant survey and lab experiment data. The obtained model simulates an industrial Cu-Ni flotation plant. It gives plant behaviour trends depending on the water treatment implementation.
Water quality impact and potential of improvement
The presented case illustrates the importance not to limit the study of water impact on process performance to lab or pilot scale survey, but to integrate their results into a plant scale model to predict behaviour which cannot be easily deduced from the experimental work only. Building this prototype also enabled to highlight the main weaknesses of the modelling approach and to suggest improvement opportunities to enhance the reliability of the simulator results. The paper describes the model structure and the method for calibration using a mix of plant and lab data. It presents the main results of the performed simulations.
Contents
- Sampling campaigns
- Modelling approach
• Water treatment (dissolved air flotation, ion exchange resins)
• Flotation - Global model implementation with USIM PAC process simulator
• Case calibration
• Determination of relationship between flotation kinetics and water quality - Simulation results
- Perspectives
Authors
- Etienne Braak, PhD. – CASPEO
- Philippe Wavrer, PhD. – CASPEO
- Marie-Amélie de Ville d’Avray
- Ounayda Mdere
Wish to discuss modelling of water quality with an author?
We develops process models for any kind of mineral and metallurgical processing plants. Our approach is phenomenological approach and comprises sampling audits, data reconciliation as well as process simulation. Our fields of intervention are very varied and concern all types of ores and all unit operations used in mineral processing.
Related articles
Join CASPEO at Quebec Mines + Energies 2024 convention
CASPEO will be at Quebec Mines + Energies 2024 convention on November 18-21, 2024 in Québec, Canada. Expanding our mineral processing optimization solutions in Canada CASPEO will exhibit at the...
CASPEO at SIM 2024, the Congress of the French Mineral Industries Society
CASPEO will exhibit at SIM 2024, the Congress of the French Mineral Industries Society on October 2-4, 2024 in Dijon, France. Come to celebrate our 20 years anniversary and discover what's new - and...
CASPEO at XXXI IMPC 2024 International Mineral Processing Congress
CASPEO will be participating as both an exhibitor and a speaker at the IMPC 2024 - XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress. The congress will take place from September 29 to October 3, 2024...
Ready to talk about your project?
Question about your process, our process simulation software or services? Write us here to be in touch.
Subscribe to our newsletter
CASPEO provides trusted process design and optimization services and simulation software to engineers dealing with solids and all types of raw materials. With CASPEO, go beyond process simulation.
Stay tuned!
Tome decisiones claras
Consultoría
Programas de ingeniería
Obtenga una cotización
Desarrolle sus competencias
Blog
Solicite una demostración
¿Necesita ayuda?
Soporte en línea
Contáctenos
2025 © CASPEO - Todos los derechos reservados