TECHNICAL EVALUATION OF REAGENT DOSING PUMPING SYSTEMS IN FLOTATION CIRCUITS

• Main Authors: Ronaldo Almeida Fonseca, Francisco das Chagas Olegario Júnior, Helbert Felipe Lino, Maurício Guimarães Bergerman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte 2017-12-01
• Series: Holos
• Subjects: flotation; copper; reagent dosing
• Online Access: http://www2.ifrn.edu.br/ojs/index.php/HOLOS/article/view/6525

Vale's ore processing plants use different types of pumping circuits for flotation reagent dosing. Most commonly, circuits with centrifugal pumps, diaphragm pumps, and peristaltic pumps are used. Alternative arrangements can also be used, such as helical pumps and direct dosing from reagent storage drums (with manual or automatic dosing systens). This study aims to technically evaluate some of the alternatives available in the marketplace and present the results of an industrial evaluation comparing a peristaltic pump circuit to a circuit with centrifugal and diaphragm pumps, all operating in parallel. The results showed that the three types of circuits meet the operational requirements of reagent dosing control. However, the peristaltic pump circuit has proven to be less complex and costly.