Recovery vs. mass pull: The link to air recovery

In recent years, developments in control strategy for banks of flotation cells have included process control based on mass pull. Mass pull, or the flowrate of solids reporting to the concentrate, is affected by changes in froth structure and stability which are in turn affected by changes in operating parameters such as air flowrate and froth depth.Air recovery, or the fraction of air entering a cell that overflows the lip as unburst bubbles, is a robust, non-intrusive measure of froth stability that passes through a peak as cell air rate is increased. Furthermore, it has been shown that when operating a cell at the air rate that yields the ‘Peak Air Recovery’ (PAR), an improvement in flotation performance, particularly mineral recovery, can be obtained.In this paper, results from industrial experiments are reported that compare the effect of air rate on air recovery and flotation performance, and specifically the effect on mass pull and mineral recovery. The results show that an increase in mass pull does not necessarily yield an increased mineral recovery in all cases, since it is dependent on whether the air rate must be increased or decreased to obtain the ‘Peak Air Recovery’. This work shows the potential gain to be made from control using air recovery measurements and operating at PAR conditions.