The effect of physical properties of air intake hole on flotation performance in flotation column supported with conduits

SUMMARY The Effect Of Physcal Properties of Air Intake Hole on Flotation Performance in Flotation Column Supported With Conduits The process of flotation is used for several purposes, such as; processing metallic and non-metallic ores, deputaring domestic and industrial wastewater, ore flotation in ore processing plants. The process of flotation is majorly based on aeration and oxygen transfer. The process of regaining oxygen into the water by physically taking oxygen from atmosphere is called aeration by using the hydrualic engineering principles, substantial amount of air bubble can be transferred into the water in a short time. At the present time, some hydrualic structures are used in the process of aeration. Conduits are the most important among these. As a result of throtting(narrowing), the cover of conduit, high water velocity and fairly low pressure occur. This low pressure brings about a vacuum effect in the constriction region. In this region, also known as "vena contracta " ambient air blends into the water in bubbles with the aid of an air hall opened to the atmosphere. Air intake, is derived from balancing low pressure provided by closed conduit with the atmospheric pressure. Several bubble shapped drifting air fastens the oxygen transfer and thus increases the aeration efficiency. In thıs study, provision of air bubble entry is intended by imtegrating a high-head conduit to flotation cell. In the developed new pilot scale system, the effects of physical parametres like conduit opening ratio and the length and diameter of the aeration hall, on aeration performance and flotation yield are experimentally searched. As a conclusion remark, thanks to this new system, a very high amount of air bubble entry into the flotation cell is provided. Furthermore, it is observed that the physical features of the aeration hall has significant effects on the amount of air entering the cell. Keywords: Flotation, Hydrualic Structures, Aeration, High-head conduit