U.S. patent number 3,872,010 [Application Number 05/501,501] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-18 for flotation machine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Tatsuya Nagahama.
United States Patent |
3,872,010 |
Nagahama |
March 18, 1975 |
Flotation machine
Abstract
A flotation machine comprising a flotation cell having therein
an air inlet pipe for introducing air into the liquid being
treated, a rotating body for agitating said liquid, and a
dispersing unit having a plurality of guide vanes, characterized by
the improvement that the outer end of the external periphery of
each guide vane in the dispersing unit is positioned
circumferentially forwardly of an imaginary straight line
connecting the center of the dispersing unit to the inner end of
the trailing side of the adjacent leading guide vane in the
direction of rotation of the rotating body.
Inventors: |
Nagahama; Tatsuya (Tokyo,
JA) |
Assignee: |
Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co.,
Ltd. (Tokyo, JA)
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Family
ID: |
27285866 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/501,501 |
Filed: |
August 29, 1974 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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341269 |
Mar 14, 1973 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Mar 18, 1972 [JA] |
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47-27601 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
210/219;
210/221.1; 209/169; 261/87 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B03D
1/20 (20130101); B03D 1/1493 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B03D
1/16 (20060101); B03D 1/14 (20060101); B03d
001/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;209/168-170
;210/219-221 ;261/87,93 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Adee; John
Assistant Examiner: Spitzer; Robert H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 341,269, filed Mar.
14, 1973, now abandoned.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A froth flotation machine comprising a flotation cell having an
air inlet pipe for introducing air into the flotation liquid close
to the bottom of the cell, froth removal means for removing froth
from the upper end of the cell, a rotatable impeller disposed close
to the bottom of the cell for mixing the flotation liquid with the
air supplied by the pipe and circulating the mixture along the
bottom of the cell, an annular stationary dispersing unit mounted
on the lower end of said air inlet pipe and adjacent to the bottom
wall of the cell, said impeller being disposed within the central
opening of said dispersing unit and said dispersing unit being
coaxial with the axis of rotation of said impeller, said dispersing
unit comprising two coaxial, vertically spaced, imperforate,
annular supports, a series of substantially uniformly spaced guide
vanes mounted on and extending between said supports and located in
the path of flow of said mixture from said impeller and being
forwardly curved in the direction of rotation of the impeller for
directing the liquid in a direction substantially tangential to the
side wall of the cell and substantially parallel to the bottom wall
of the cell, with the radially outer edge of each guide vane being
positioned forwardly of its radially inner edge in the direction of
rotation of said impeller, each pair of adjacent guide vanes
defining a discharge passage for said mixture, said discharge
passage having an inlet at the radially inner end thereof and an
outlet at the radially outer end thereof, said outer edge of each
guide vane also being positioned circumferentially forwardly of
said inner edge of the adjacent leading guide vane in the direction
of rotation of said impeller, the entirety of the outlet of each
discharge passage being disposed circumferentially forwardly of the
entirety of the inlet of the same discharge passage in the
direction of rotation of said impeller, and the radially outer edge
of said upper annular support is located substantially at and
directly above the outer edges of said guide vanes.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flotation machine in which a
dispersing unit equipped with a plurality of improved guide vanes
is installed in the flotation cell.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A flotation machine is required to provide the function of
generating bubbles in the liquid, or slurry of solids and liquid,
being treated therein. The material desired to be separated from
the flotation liquid adheres to the bubbles so that it rises to the
surface of the tank or cell with the bubbles. Therefore a large
amount of bubbles must be generated and at the same time the
bubbles must be caused to contact the flotation liquid as
intimately as possible.
In general, the amount of bubbles that is generated depends on the
amount of air that is introduced into the cell. Methods have
heretofore been employed for vigorously agitating the flotation
liquid, for example, by increasing the speed of rotation of the
rotating body, such as an impeller or a rotor, used for effecting
agitation of the flotation liquid in order to increase the amount
of air sucked into the cell, or by blowing a large amount of the
air progressively into the cell of the flotation machine. However,
these techniques have drawbacks. When the speed of rotation of the
rotating body of the flotation machine is increased and the amount
of air sucked in is increased, not only does the consumption of
power, for example, electric power, increase, but also an increased
amount of wear of the rotating body and its supporting mechanical
structure is caused. And, when the method of progressively flowing
air into the cell of the flotation machine is employed, there is a
drawback that extra equipment and power for preparation and supply
of the pressurized air are required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended to provide an improved flotation
machine in which the bubbles of air are caused to contact the
flotation liquid more effectively, without increasing the amount of
air sucked in.
The inventor has discovered, as a result of numerous studies, that
the opportunities for contact of the generated air bubbles and the
flotation liquid can be increased, by employing a flotation machine
in which an air suction pipe, such as a stand pipe or a hollow
shaft, is positioned in parallel with the vertical axis of the
flotation cell. The flotation machine has a rotating body for
agitating the flotation liquid and a dispersing unit consisting of
a plurality of guide vanes at the bottom of the flotation cell.
According to the invention, when the direction of flow of the
flotation liquid from the center of the cell through the dispersing
unit and thence toward the internal wall of the cell, caused by the
rotating body, is directed tangentially and in parallel with the
bottom surface of the flotation cell, the opportunities for contact
between the flotation liquid and the bubbles are increased. As a
consequence the separation efficiency is substantially and
unexpectedly increased even though the total amount of air is not
greatly different from the amounts conventionally employed.
The present invention is based on this discovery.
The present invention will be further described in detail with
reference to the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially cut away perspective view showing the inside
of the cell according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line II--II of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The construction of the cell, except the specific construction and
arrangement of the guide vanes (6, 7) of the dispersing unit (5),
of the flotation machine as shown in the drawings is generally
similar to a conventional flotation machine and it will be
described only briefly.
The apparatus comprises a flotation cell 1 having a rotating body
or impeller 2 for drawing air into the cell and circulating the
liquid through the cell. The impeller 2 is rotated by a shaft 3. An
air inlet pipe 4 encircles and is spaced from the shaft 3. A
stationary dispersing unit 5 is mounted on the lower end of the
pipe 4. The dispersing unit 5 has a series of guide vanes, such as
the guide vanes 6 and 7. A froth discharging trough 8 is provided
in the side wall of the cell at the upper end thereof. The vanes
are mounted on support rings 9 and 10.
When the impeller 2 is rotated by shaft 3 in the direction of the
arrow (FIG. 1), after feeding the flotation liquid into the
flotation cell 1, air is sucked into the cell through the inlet
pipe 4. This air flows to the inside of the dispersing unit 5 is
moved, together with the flotation liquid, toward the side wall of
the flotation cell by rotation of the impeller 2. The liquid and
the air are dispersed through the gaps between the guide vanes 6, 7
of the stationary dispersing unit 5.
In the conventional dispersing unit, the outer end of the external
peripheral side of each guide vane, such as vane 6, is positioned
so that it trails or is spaced circumferentially rearwardly of an
imaginary straight line connecting the end point A of the trailing
side of the inner end of the adjacent leading vane, and the center
point O of the dispersing unit. For example, in the conventional
dispersing unit, the outer end of a given vane 6 is set at a
position in the vicinity of the point C of FIG. 2 relative to its
adjacent leading vane 7. All of the guide vanes of the dispersing
unit are arranged similarly. For this reason, it has been observed
that the flotation liquid and air bubbles are directed in the
non-tangential direction in the flotation cell. There is a large
tendency for splashing to occur, and the opportunities for smooth
uniform contact of the bubbles and the flotation liquid and/or the
contacting time thereof is reduced, and this causes a drop of the
flotation efficiency.
According to the present invention, the flotation liquid and the
air bubbles circulated by the impeller 2 are caused to move in a
more nearly circumferential direction and in parallel with the
bottom surface of the flotation cell. This advantageous flow
pattern is attained by shaping the guide vanes with a greater
curvature than is customary so that the outer end (B) of the
external peripheral side of each of the guide vanes of the
dispersing unit is positioned so that it is located forwardly (in
the direction of rotation) of the imaginary line of O - A as shown
in FIG. 2. The bubbles are thereby caused to float from the broad
surface or the layer at a position close to the bottom surface of
the cell and the contacting opportunity of the bubbles and the
flotation liquid is enhanced.
In other words, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end point B of the
external peripheral side of the first guide vane 6, which point is
positioned between the support elements 9 and 10 of the dispersing
unit 5, is positioned at a location forwardly of the imaginary
straight radial line connecting the center O point of the
dispersing unit to the end point A of the trailing side of the
inner end of the adjacent leading guide vane 7. All of the guide
vanes are arranged in like fashion. The contacting opportunity of
the air bubbles and the flotation liquid is thereby enhanced.
In the flotation machine equipped with the dispersing unit as
described in the foregoing, the flow of the flotation liquid caused
by the rotating impeller is directed in a substantially
circumferential direction and horizontally relative to the bottom
of the cell without being moved in an aslant upper direction in the
flotation cell. Also the introduced bubbles are capable of floating
to the upper part of the cell. According to the present invention,
a concentrated bubble layer is formed which is nearly parallel with
the bottom wall of the cell and between the external peripheral
portion of the dispersing unit 5 and the side wall of the flotation
cell 1. The floating distance of the bubbles from the said layer to
the upper surface of the liquid in the cell is considerably
extended as compared with the case of the conventional flotation
machine. Therefore, the contacting opportunity of the bubbles and
the flotation liquid becomes remarkably enhanced.
Accordingly, the opportunity for adherence of the bubbles to the
material being floated out of the liquid is enhanced, and the
amount of mass transfer per unit time of the valuable substance to
the froth which is discharged from the froth discharging trough 8
is also increased, whereby the flotation efficiency is
increased.
The dispersing unit according to the present invention may be
installed not only in a cylindrical flotation cell, as illustrated,
but also in any type of flotation cell, and in both cases, a
similar effect can be obtained.
The invention will be further described with reference to the
following illustrative example.
Example
Using a flotation machine (a) according to the present invention,
as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which point B of each guide vane
of the dispersing unit is forwardly of the imaginary line O - A and
a comparative flotation machine (b) having a similar structure
except that the end of each guide vane of the dispersing unit is
positioned at point C, flotations were effected under identical
conditions. An industrial waste water having a Cu.sup.+.sup.+
concentration of 30 ppm was supplied to each flotation machine and
furthermore, ethyl xanthate and a frother were added thereto to
form precipitates of Cu xanthate. Flotation was effected for 10
minutes. The floating conditions of each flotation machine
(temperature, speed of rotation of impeller) were made identical.
The results were as shown in the following table.
Table 1 ______________________________________ Performance Cu
concentration Distribution ratio Flotation in tailings after of CU
(%) machine flotation (ppm) tailings froth
______________________________________ (a) flotation 0.8 2.7 97.3
machine according to the present invention (b) comparative
flotation machine 2.0 6.7 93.3
______________________________________
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