Flotation
Flotation
Flotation is arguably the most versatile of all separation techniques since it separates mineral according to differences in their surface chemistry. Most minerals can be separated by adding specific chemicals that selectively modify the mineral surfaces. Since its inception in the early 20th century, flotation has become the standard processing solution for a wide variety of ores.
The mineral processing laboratory at NTNU has the wide experience in providing bench and pilot plan testing on hundreds of different ores and other materials. Flotation equipment with different size and capacity, from 2 g to 10 kg, are used in the laboratory testing. The mobile mini pilot plant, with a capacity of 70 kg/h, can be used to extensively study and complete the flowsheet development, reagent scheme development, as well as grade and recovery optimization.
A selection of the flotation equipment is presented below:
| Equipment | Type | Mode | Capacity | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RFC REFLUX FLOTATION CELL | PNEUMATIC | CONT. / BATCH | 0-70 kg/h | PILOT |
| AKER PILOT ROUGHER FLOTATION MACHINES (2 units) | MECHANICAL | CONTINUOUS | 0-50 kg/h | PILOT |
| AKER CLEANER FLOTATION MACHINES (2 units) | MECHANICAL | CONTINUOUS | 0-20 kg/h | PILOT |
| WEMCO FLOTATION MACHINE | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 1/2.5 L | LAB |
| DENER D12 FLOTATION MACHINES (2 units) | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 1/2.5/5/10 L | LAB |
| GTEK XFLB 0.75 L FLOTATION MACHINE (with scraper) | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 0.75 L | LAB |
| GTEK XFLB 1.5 L FLOTATION MACHINE (with scraper) | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 1.5 L | LAB |
| MAELGWYN FLOTATION MACHINE | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 0.5/1/2 l | LAB |
| MAELGWYN V-CELL PNEUMATIC FLOTATION SYSTEM | PNEUMATIC | BATCH / CONT. | Up to 20 kg/h | LAB/PILOT |
| HALLIMOND TUBE | PNEUMATIC | BATCH | 10 g | LAB/ANALYTICAL |
| UCT MICRIFLOTATION UNIT | PNEUMATIC | BATCH | 10 g | LAB/ANALYTICAL |
| XFGC MINIFLOT FLOTATION MACHINE | MECHANICAL | BATCH | 40-200 mL | LAB |
| TANKS (4 units) | 25 L | PILOT |