Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560

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Gas dispersion measurements in industrial flotation cells

S. Schwarz *, D. Alexander
JKTech Pty Ltd., Isles Road, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia

Received 30 June 2005; accepted 6 September 2005

Available online 20 October 2005

Abstract

For nearly 100 years, the flotation plant metallurgist has often wondered what is happening Ôbeneath the frothÕ. To assist in unrav-
elling this mystery, new technology has been developed as part of the Australian Mineral Industries Research Association (AMIRA) P9
project, to measure gas dispersion characteristics (such as gas hold-up, superficial gas velocity and bubble size) in industrial flotation
cells. These measurements have been conducted in a large number of cells of different types and sizes by researchers from the Julius
Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) and JKTech. A large database has been developed and the contents of this database
are described in this paper.
Typical cell characterization measurements show a wide spread in values, even in the same cell types and sizes performing similar
duties. In conventional flotation cells, the typical gas hold-up values range from 3% to 20%, bubble sizes range between 1 and 2 mm,
and superficial gas velocity ranges from 1 to 2.5 cm/s.
The ranges of cell characterization measurements given in this paper will enable plant personnel to compare their operation to other
similar types of operations from around Australia and the rest of the world, giving opportunities for further improvement to flotation
plant operations.
 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Froth flotation; Flotation machines; Flotation bubbles

1. Introduction of different types using techniques developed as part of the

Australian Mineral Industries Research Association
It is widely acknowledged that separating valuable min- (AMIRA) P9 project. A database of these parameters,
eral particles from gangue particles by flotation is depen- incorporating previously reported results from Power
dent on a wide range of complex factors. One of the et al. (2000) and additional results over the past 4 years,
most important of these factors is the hydrodynamic condi- has been developed. This paper describes the database con-
tions (or gas dispersion characteristics) within flotation tents, as well as typical ranges for selected cell types and
cells, which is known to directly influence the flotation effi- sizes.
ciency (Schubert and Bischofberger, 1978; Gorain et al.,
1995). 2. Experimental
It is also widely acknowledged that the main measure-
ments that define the hydrodynamic performance include Flotation requires a certain degree of turbulence for a
bubble size, gas hold-up and superficial gas velocity. These variety of reasons (Schubert and Bischofberger, 1978):
parameters have been measured in a large number of cells
• to maintain suspension of solids in the pulp phase;
• to introduce air to the pulp and disperse into bubbles;
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 3365 5842; fax: +61 7 3365 5900.
• to mix the aerated pulp for reagent distribution and con-
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Schwarz), d.alexander ditioning, as well as enabling opportunities for bubble–
@jktech.com.au (D. Alexander). particle collision.

0892-6875/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2005.09.022
 S. Schwarz, D. Alexander / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560 555

Gas dispersion measurements, such as bubble size, gas pulp phase is introduced into a viewing chamber made of
hold-up and gas velocity, can be used to characterize the clear PVC, where photographs can be obtained using a dig-
hydrodynamic conditions in the pulp phase of a particular ital camera (Fig. 2). Images are then analysed to determine
flotation cell. In simple terms, gas dispersion is defined as the bubble size distribution.
how well the air entering a flotation cell is dispersed Hernandez-Aguilar et al. (2004) reported that there are
throughout the volume of the cell, and is heavily dependent slight differences in bubble sizes measured by the UCT
on the air flow rate and impeller speed. and McGill bubble size analysers (up to 11% in industrial

2.1. Bubble size, d32

In general terms, smaller bubbles result in improved flo-

tation kinetics (Diaz-Penafiel and Dobby, 1994). Over the
past 10 years, bubble size distributions within industrial
flotation cells have been measured using the UCT bubble
size analysis. A detailed description of this device is given
by Tucker et al. (1994) and Power et al. (2000), with a sche-
matic of the setup shown in Fig. 1.
Briefly, the analyzer consists of a sampling system and
an optical/electronic detector system. The sampler enables
incoming bubbles to be cleaned of any attached particles
before they enter the capillary, where they are deformed
from spheres to cylinders. The length of the bubbles is de-
tected by a pair of optical sensors. The electronic detector
system interprets the signals form the sensors and calcu-
lates the results of the bubble size distribution, giving the
Sauter mean bubble diameter according to (Gorain et al.,
1997)
P
d3
d 32 ¼ Pi¼1 i2 ð1Þ
i¼1 d i Fig. 2. Schematic of the McGill bubble viewer. A: digital camera, B: filling
cap, C: viewing chamber, D: front window, E: back window, F: lamp, G:
Recently a new method for measuring bubble size has been bubble viewer inlet, H: sampling tube, I: aluminium square bars for
developed at the McGill University within the AMIRA P9 support and h: angle of the inclined window (15) (Hernandez-Aguilar
project (Chen et al., 2001). A sample of bubbles from the et al. (2004)).

The atmosphere
3-way Valve
Flush water

Burette

The atmosphere Peristaltic

The atmosphere
Pump 1

Water reservoir
Photo -Detector MPU Timer Laptop
Capillary Amplifier Detector Computer

Peristaltic Plant water

Pump 2

Cleaning column Compressed air

The atmosphere

Pinch valve

Fig. 1. Schematic of UCT bubble size analyser.

556 S. Schwarz, D. Alexander / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560

cells). Although currently being investigated within the VdVp

eg ¼ ð2Þ
AMIRA P9 project, it is believed that the discrepancy in- Vd
volves the measurement of smaller bubbles as the UCT
analyser is limited by the diameter of the capillary used. where Vd is the total volume of the tube between the valves.

2.2. Gas hold-up, eg 2.3. Superficial gas velocity, Jg

Gas hold-up is the volume fraction of air within a flota- Superficial gas velocity is a measure of the aeration abil-
tion cell. Increasing gas hold-up values, to a certain point, ity of a cell and has a direct influence on flotation kinetics
results in improved flotation kinetics due to a greater num- (Ahmed and Johnson, 1989). The general definition of Jg is
ber of bubbles per unit volume (Ahmed and Johnson, Q
1989). However, values greater than 30% indicate reduced Jg ¼ ð3Þ
A
cell capacity and thus reduces the cell residence time.
Gas hold-up is measured by taking a sample of aerated where Q is the volumetric air flowrate into the cell and A is
slurry within the pulp phase of a flotation cell (Power et al., the cell cross-sectional area. Too high a Jg can result in in-
2000). The gas hold-up probe is a vertical cylinder with creased entrainment into the froth, and reduce the stability
pneumatic valves at the top and bottom of the cylinder of the pulp-froth interface. Measurement of Jg at various
(Fig. 3). The probe is lowered into the pulp phase of the cell locations within a cell has shown to be a good indicator
and the valves are opened to allow pulp and bubbles to of the efficiency of gas dispersion in the pulp phase of a cell
pass through the probe. After 30 s the valves are closed (Gorain et al., 1996).
and the volume of pulp collected is measured. This volume Superficial gas velocity is measured using a Jg probe
(Vp) is then used to calculate the gas hold-up using: (Gorain et al., 1996; Power et al., 2000). It comprises of a
Perspex tube with a pneumatically controlled pinch valve
at one end and a water inlet and an air outlet line on the
other end (Fig. 4). The probe is placed in the cell and the
Rubber tube Rubber tube pinch valve at the bottom closed pneumatically. The water
Plastic cylinder tube inlet and air outlet valves are opened to fill the tube with
water, before both valves are closed. The pinch valve is
then opened to allow the air in the cell to move up the tube,
displacing water. The time taken for the water level to fall a
Three-way valve known distance, L (between two marks) is measured and
Compressed air Air line
the Jg calculated from:
Pinch valve 1 Pinch valve 2
The atmosphere L
Jg ¼ ð4Þ
Fig. 3. Schematic of the vertical device for measuring local air hold-up. t

Water

Atmosphere

Compressed Air
Feed 3-way Valve
Mark 1

Mark 2

Perspex
Tube

Pinch
Valve
Nozzle

Tailings

Fig. 4. Experimental set-up for measurement of Jg.

 S. Schwarz, D. Alexander / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560 557

Adjustments are then made to account for the pressure dif- Table 2
ference between the location of sampling (pinch valve) and Number of cells by country
water displacement (Perspex tube). Cell location Number of cells
Australia 612
2.4. Bubble surface area flux, Sb South Africa 11
Canada 32
Alaska 36
The bubble surface area flux is a measure of the rate of Ireland 33
bubble surface area rising through the cell per unit cross- PNG 11
sectional area (Gorain et al., 1997). This parameter com- Chile 87
bines the superficial gas velocity (a measure of aeration Total 822
ability) and bubble size (a measure of air dispersion) into
a single quantity, according to:
6J g Table 3
Sb ¼ ð5Þ Number of cells by cell duty
d 32
Cell duty Number of cells
Sb is considered to be an important parameter as it links
Rougher 255
gas dispersion to flotation performance directly as de-
Mids 8
scribed by Gorain et al. (1997). Scavenger 186
An estimate of the bubble surface area flux can be ob- Cleaner 217
tained using measurements of the superficial gas velocity Cleaner scavenger 47
(Jg), impeller speed (Ns), impeller design—characterized Recleaner 54
Retreat 31
by the ratio of height to diameter (aspect ratio, As) and
Other 18
the particle size of the feed entering the cell (P80), or an-
other relevant pulp parameter. The form of this model is Total 816
(from Gorain et al., 1999):
S b ¼ aN bs J cg Ads P e80 ð6Þ
Table 4
where a, b, c, d and e are model parameters. These param- Number of cells by commodity
eters have been fitted for a variety of experimental condi- Mineral Number of cells
tions and these parameters have been refitted for the Copper 341
wider range of experimental conditions contained in the Lead 56
database. Zinc 171
Gold 42
Nickel 200
3. Database
Total 810
3.1. Number of cells measured
Table 5
The database currently contains hydrodynamic mea- Number of cells by cell size
surements from over 800 cells. Tables 1–5 give a summary
Cell volume (m3) Number of cells
of the number of cells for various cell manufacturers, du-
ties, sizes, minerals and locations. Note that some informa- <20 370
20–50 206
tion was unavailable for several cells, resulting in different
50–100 36
totals in these tables. 100–150 116
These tables show that there is a large amount of data >150 78
spread across cells operating in a broad range of condi- Total 806

Table 1
Number of cells by manufacturer tions. Table 5 shows, for example, that the data range of
Cell manufacturer Number of cells cells by volume is relatively equally spread, and this reflects
Agitair 154
the current trend of new plants to install and characterize
Bateman 6 large flotation machines (greater than 100 m3).
Dorr-Oliver 28 While it is known that mechanical and self-aerating cells
Maxwell 3 function differently, the same methodology was applied to
Outukumpu 394 both cell types to give gas dispersion measurements. Com-
Wemco 213
Columns 21
parisons can be made between these cell types for similar
cell duties, volumes, etc. An example of measurements
Total 822
taken in a mechanical cell is given further in this paper,
558 S. Schwarz, D. Alexander / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560

and similar measurements can be reported for self-aerating 2.0 mm, with the larger bubbles occurring in the larger cells
cells. (greater than 100 m3).
The wide range in bubble sizes resulted in a very large
3.2. Typical measurements range of bubble surface area flux, from 5.8 to 178.2 s1,
with the majority in the range of 30–80 s1. While it is
Table 6 gives the ranges in gas dispersion measurements known that increasing bubble surface area flux will im-
that were observed across all cell types, sizes, duties and prove flotation performance in the pulp phase (Gorain
minerals. Most of these measurements resulted from sur- et al., 1997), care must be taken to ensure the froth perfor-
veying campaigns conducted using the AMIRA P9 flotabil- mance is not affected adversely at these high values.
ity component modelling methodology (Alexander and
Wigley, 2003; Alexander et al., 2005). These campaigns in- 3.3. Example of database use
cluded taking measurements of gas hold-up, superficial gas
velocity and bubble size in at least one position in all flota- The database has been used for many applications, but
tion cells required. Where only one measurement per cell the main use is in benchmarking a flotation cell operation.
was made, this was generally located approximately equal Many plant metallurgists question if their cells are operat-
distance between the impeller and the cell wall, and just ing in the ÔtypicalÕ range for that particular cell type and
below the pulp/froth interface (the quiescent zone). Each duty, and this database has been invaluable in providing
campaign, however, generally included mapping the gas that information. For example, an investigation can be per-
dispersion measurements across the horizontal and vertical formed on an Outukumpu 100 m3 (OK100) cell. Typical
distance within at least one flotation cell. gas dispersion measurements for the OK100 cells in the
Using the data contained in this database, relationships database (greater than 60 cells measured) are given in Figs.
can be observed between gas velocity, bubble size and air 5–8.
hold-up for varying operating conditions, and this is often The majority of air hold-up values for the OK100 cells
performed on a site-by-site basis. Note that variations in were between 12% and 18%, with a significant number
chemical conditions were not included as a variable in greater than 60%. As discussed previously, gas hold-up val-
the database, however these have been noted during the ues greater than 30% are likely to indicate that the pulp vis-
individual campaigns. cosity is high due to very fine particles (or the shape factor
Air hold-up measurements varied from 1.6% to 63.1%,
with an average of 13.7% across all cells measured. The
majority of air hold-up measurements were between 3% 35
and 20%. There were only a few measurements above 30
40%, and the reasons behind these high values are likely 25
due to ore viscosity properties. 20
%

The superficial gas velocity varied greatly between 0.1

15
and 4.1 cm/s, with an average value of 1.4 cm/s. In operat-
10
ing cells with values less than 1 cm/s, it was recommended
5
to investigate increasing the air flow rates to improve the
pulp kinetics. However, values greater than 3 cm/s indi- 0
6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
cated possible flooding (pulp recovered in the concentrate)
Air hold-up (%)
and it was recommended decreasing the air flow rates to
improve the froth performance (increase stability and de- Fig. 5. Frequency distribution of air hold-up measurements obtained
crease entrainment). from OK100 flotation cells.
There was a wide range of bubble sizes measured in the
pulp phases across the cells investigated, ranging from 0.7
to 4.0 mm, with an average size of 1.7 mm. Note that the 25
majority of bubble sizes contained in this database were 20
measured using the UCT bubble analyzer, with a small
amount of bubbles measured using the McGill bubble 15
%

viewer. The majority of bubbles were between 1.0 and

10
Table 6 5
Typical measurements across all cells
Parameter Minimum Maximum Average 0
0.25 0.75 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75
Air hold-up (%) 1.6 63.1 13.7
Superficial gas velocity (cm/s) 0.1 4.1 1.4 Superficial gas velocity (cm/s)
Bubble size (mm) 0.7 4.0 1.7
Fig. 6. Frequency distribution of superficial gas velocity measurements
Bubble surface area flux (s1) 5.8 178.2 50.9
obtained from OK100 flotation cells.
 S. Schwarz, D. Alexander / Minerals Engineering 19 (2006) 554–560 559

60 past 10 years. The database currently contains gas disper-

sion measurements, such as bubble size, air hold-up and
50
superficial gas velocity, for over 800 cells and is continually
40 growing with ongoing pulp phase investigations.
There has been a wide range of measurements collected,
%

30
with general trends across all cells investigated indicating
20
typical values of air hold-up range from 3% to 20%, super-
10 ficial gas velocity from 1 to 2.5 cm/s and bubble sizes from
0 1 to 2 mm.
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3 This database has been used in a number of areas
Bubble size (mm) including benchmarking current flotation cell operations
and comparing to similar cell operations, as well as giving
Fig. 7. Frequency distribution of bubble size measurements obtained
from OK100 flotation cells.
estimates of starting operating conditions for newly in-
stalled flotation cells. Continuing these measurements in
more flotation cells will enable more information to be ob-
30 tained regarding the gas dispersion characteristics to better
understand the science of flotation.
25

20 Acknowledgements
%

15

10
The authors would like to acknowledge Professor JP
Franzidis, Doctor Emmy Manlapig, the staff and students
5 of the AMIRA P9 project and its sponsors for the work
0 and the funding, which developed the methodology and
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 contributed greatly to the database. In addition, the
Bubble surface area flux (1/s) authors wish to thank various site personnel who have also
Fig. 8. Frequency distribution of bubble surface area flux measurements
contributed to the database, especially Anglo American
obtained from OK100 flotation cells. Research Laboratories, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Final-
ly, acknowledgement is given to the many JKTech person-
nel who have performed these measurements at the various
of the particles). These high values also raised questions of sites around the world.
the depth of measurement, and this is currently being
investigated.
References
The distribution of superficial gas velocity (Fig. 6) shows
two main ranges—between 0.75 and 1.25 cm/s, and be- Ahmed, N., Johnson, G.J., 1989. Flotation kinetics. Mineral Processing
tween 1.75 and 2.5 cm/s. In general, the cells with high Jg and Extractive Metallurgy Review 5, 77–99.
values were used for roughing duties, while the cells with Alexander, D.J., Wigley, P., 2003. Flotation circuit analysis at WMC Ltd.,
low values were used for cleaning. Olympic Dam Operation. In: Proceedings of the 8th Mill Operators
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