Column Flotation at the Middle Fork Preparation Facility

Abstract

A laboratory and pilot-scale test program was carried out to assess the merits of installing column flotation cells at the Middle Fork coal preparation facility. The test data showed that column cell technology was superior to single- and multi-stage conventional flotation circuits in terms of fine coal recovery and product grade. In light of these promising results, a full-scale column flotation circuit was designed, installed and commissioned at the Middle pork plant. The circuit utilizes five 3-m diameter Microcel™ flotation columns to process approximately 100 tph of minus 150 μm raw coal. The column retrofit reduced the ash content of the plant's flotation circuit by nearly 7 percentage points and increased the combustible recovery by approximately 27 percent. This article provides a summary of the test results and discusses the scale-up procedures used to design the commercial columns.

Keywords:

• Column Flotation
• Coal Flotation
• Fine Coal Cleaning
• Froth Flotation