6781097174

F. Durao etat. / The European Journal of Minerał Processing and Environmental Protection Vol.4, No.3, 1303-0868, 2004, pp. 272-281

Chemical analysis

Sam ple of pulp

X-Rays Fluorescence

Figurę 5. Schematic diagram of the supervisory control system of the flotation column

Air holdup in the collection zonę and the collection zonę height are calculated from measurements on two pressure sensors mounted on the column wali. The value of the bias water flow ratę is approximated by the difference between underflow and feed flow rates (corrected for the variation of the froth depth).

The feed flow ratę and the manipulated variables flow rates are measured with different flow meter types and their control is achieved by direct manipulation of the speed of peristaltic pumps and by the opening of the valves, using local PID controllers at the lowest level of control. The grades of feed and underflow streams are analysed by an on stream analyser.

Several tests were performed to tune the equipment. The best results were achieved with the operational conditions shown in Table 5. The hydrocyclones and the flotation column were fed with 20% solids in weight, while the conditioning stage before flotation was done with 50% solids in weight. The reagents and respective concentrations were the same used in the bench flotation tests. The pH was kept equal to 2.5 by addition of sulphuric acid during conditioning and flotation. The conditioning time was 10 minutes.

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