Effects of the Granular Properties of Bauxite Pisolithes on the Solid/Liquid Separation in Liquid Fluidized Beds of Classifiers

• Published in: Light Metals 2020 pp. 12 - 20
• Main Authors: Grillot, T., Simard, G., Chesnaux, R., Boudeville, D., Perrachon, L.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing
• Series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series
• Subjects: Collisions; Liquid fluidization; Multiphase CFD model; Numerical simulations; Particles
• ISBN: 9783030364076; 3030364070
• ISSN: 2367-1181; 2367-1696
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-36408-3_2

Bauxite pisolites found in the Cape York region of Australia are typically near-spherical particlesParticles. Ore extracted from the Andoom (Weipa) deposit is processed through a beneficiation plant to remove the finer fraction; these finer particlesParticles will otherwise lead to material handling problems. A key component of the beneficiation flowsheet is a fluidized bed classifier, where fine particlesParticles are removed via an overflow system. The objective of this project was to study and understand the solid/liquid separation phenomena taking place in the fluidized bed, especially determining the role of the granular properties in controlling the separation mechanisms. Laboratory-scale experiments, using a transparent tank and glass beads of controlled grain size in place of bauxite, allowed an accurate observation of the fluidized bed behavior. Computer modeling, using multi-phase flow, was used to perform numerical simulationsNumerical simulations of the experimental setup and establish the relative effects of the parameters that control the separation processes in the fluidized bed.