Comparison of Yianatos and traditional methods to determine kinetic rate constants of different size fractions in industrial rougher cells

The distribution performance of a flotation bank, consisting of a number of cells in a series is determined for different purposes such as process design, scale up, diagnosis, operation and control, and optimization. Traditionally in plant operation mass balances around the whole flotation bank is developed in order to characterize the overall recovery typically in rougher flotation. However, carrying out experiments to fit flotation rate models are seldom undertaken on industrial flotation banks due to laborious sampling, preparation and analysis. In this work, in order to investigate the effect of particle size distribution of the feed of rougher cells on metallurgical characteristics at Sungun copper plant, the kinetics of different size fractions through rougher bank was studied by using both traditional and Yianatos methods. The Yianatos method depends on collecting samples from only five locations. It is indicated that the Yianatos method can be beneficial in kinetic rate constant determination for the whole size range and the results were compared with the traditional method.

► The kinetics of different size fractions through rougher bank was studied. ► The traditional and Yianatos methods were evaluated. ► The Yianatos method depends on collecting samples from only five locations. ► The Yianatos method can determine kinetic rate constant for the whole size range. ► The short-cut method is a good approach to describe industrial flotation behavior.