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Minerals
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Fluid Engineering in Mineral Processing
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Fluid Engineering in Mineral Processing

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 July 2021) | Viewed by 4011

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christian Ihle

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Guest Editor
Department of Mining Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Tupper, Santiago 2069, Chile
Interests: fluid mechanics; solid–liquid separation; suspension rheology; efficient water use; tailing management
Dr. Erin R. Bobicki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S, Canada
Interests: slurry rheology; microwave applications; comminution; colloid and interface science; bioprocessing; value from waste

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Central to mineral processing is the need to perform unit operations that handle or alter fluids or multiphase mixtures. Examples include pulp, concentrate and tailing hydraulic transport systems, mixing and holding tanks, hydrocyclones, mills, flotation cells, thickeners, and tailing storage facilities. This Special Issue intends to present a balanced landscape of frontier research on fluid-related infrastructure, design, and applied rheology relevant to mineral processing systems, including their crossroads with efficient process water and energy use, the interaction between fluids, geo- and surface chemistry, and the impact of clay and ultra-fine minerals on key related processes such as comminution in mills and flocculation, settling and consolidation in thickener-clarifiers, and subsequent tailing disposal. The focus will be on fluids, multiphase mixtures, or suspensions rather than the processes they belong to. Works of experimental, numerical, or conceptual nature are welcome.

Dr. Christian Ihle
Dr. Erin R. Bobicki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fluid dynamics
  • suspension rheology
  • mineral processing
  • clays
  • tailings

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 620 KiB  
Article
Technical Assessment of Secondary Sedimentation Process in Copper Sulphide Tailings with the Presence of Clays, in Continental and Sea Water
by Catalina López-Espejo and Christian F. Ihle
Minerals 2022, 12(2), 257; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min12020257 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1364
Abstract
Recovery of process water for recirculation is crucial, as the cost of adding additional fresh water is an economic constraint that is often prohibitive. Solid–liquid separation is a key process in the recovery of water resources. Therefore, research is needed to understand how [...] Read more.
Recovery of process water for recirculation is crucial, as the cost of adding additional fresh water is an economic constraint that is often prohibitive. Solid–liquid separation is a key process in the recovery of water resources. Therefore, research is needed to understand how fine particles, particularly quartz, kaolinite and sodium bentonite, impact the optimal separation process. In the present work, the effect of the presence of these clays in the solid–liquid separation of synthetic copper sulfide tailings is evaluated, quantifying the impact on the separation efficiency, considering the average settling rate and the turbidity of the supernatant. The physicochemical variables that control the suspension were monitored and the observed trends were explained by variations in properties such as zeta potential and pH. The characterization and quantification of the impact of the clays in the operation will allow us to lay the foundation for the development of a novel approach for the secondary treatment of the cloudy supernatant water of the thickeners. After the study, disparate effects on sedimentation efficiency could be distinguished depending on the type of clay and the water in which it is immersed. While in the case of tailings with the presence of kaolinite clays it is seen that the higher sedimentation efficiency occurs in the case of flocculation in distilled water, the salinity or presence of cationic coagulants is detrimental to it. In the case of tailings with the presence of bentonite clays, the sedimentation efficiency increases as there is a higher concentration of cationic salts (coagulation-synthetic sea water). In contrast, in the case of distilled water, the flocculation efficiency is very low, so it is recommended to add a cationic additive, which is supported by an associated low economic cost. In the case of tailings with the presence of ultrafine quartz content, a clear effect in the increase or decrease of sedimentation efficiency cannot be distinguished with the addition of flocculants, coagulants, or when working in sea water. Overall, the results suggest the convenience of splitting thickening and clarification as two distinct unit processes that may be treated using flocculant and salts, according to the fine mineral contents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Engineering in Mineral Processing)
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21 pages, 5601 KiB  
Article
Infiltration Depth of Mineral Particles in Gravel-Bed Rivers
by Natalia Bustamante-Penagos and Yarko Niño
Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1285; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11111285 - 19 Nov 2021
Viewed by 1715
Abstract
This article discusses the results of an experimental study of a spill of mineral particles in gravel-bed rivers due to mining accidents. The purpose of this research is to characterize the dynamics of the fine mining particles spilled on a bed of immobilized [...] Read more.
This article discusses the results of an experimental study of a spill of mineral particles in gravel-bed rivers due to mining accidents. The purpose of this research is to characterize the dynamics of the fine mining particles spilled on a bed of immobilized gravel as a hyper-concentrated mixture and to experimentally characterize the infiltration phenomenon. We analyzed the type of infiltration considering the dimensionless coarse to fine particle size relationship, the dimensionless weight of the fine particles, the relative density of the particles, and the relationship between the subsurface and surface velocities, in addition to the densimetric Froude and Reynolds numbers of the fine particles. We found that the dimensionless infiltration depth is not associated with hydraulic parameters or the weight of the fine sediment spilled; however, fine sediment deposition decreases with depth, and infiltration depth may increase if subsurface flow decreases over time. Finally, a relationship of the dimensionless maximum infiltration depth with the relative density of the mining particles, the ratio of the bed sediment and the mining particles sizes, and the ratio between the subsurface and surface velocities is established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Engineering in Mineral Processing)
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