Selecting Flotation Equipment is like buying a vehicle, Walsh said. Proper selection depends on the specific needs of a project and the equipment features. There are models that provide 95% separation efficiency. "This equipment is very large and heavy," Walsh said. He said that these systems have been installed offshore, but with the penalty of weight and space. More compact systems are available that provide only 50% separation efficiency. There is also equipment that provides separation efficiency in the range of 20% to 40%, which is extremely compact and relatively inexpensive.

Flotation is a complex multifaceted process that is widely used for the separation of finely ground minerals. The theory of froth flotation is complex and is not completely understood. This fact has been brought many monitoring challenges in a coal processing plant. To solve those challenges, it is important to understand the effect of different parameters on the fine particle separation, and control flotation performance for a particular system. This study is going to indicate the effect of various parameters (particle characteristics and hydrodynamic conditions) on coal flotation responses (flotation rate constant and recovery) by different modeling techniques. A comprehensive coal flotation database was prepared for the statistical and soft computing methods. Statistical factors were used for variable selections. Results were in a good agreement with recent theoretical flotation investigations. Computational models accurately can estimate flotation rate constant and coal recovery (correlation coefficient 0.85, and 0.99, respectively). According to the results, it can be concluded that the soft computing models can overcome the complexity of process and be used as an expert system to control, and optimize parameters of coal flotation process.

Flotation has promoted a wide scope of research activities ranging from fundamental chemistry and hydrodynamic studies to studies of industrial operations. In general, fundamental studies have been mainly related to ideal situations. In recent years, however, large efforts have been focusing on achieving a better insight into the actual sub-processes provided by the development of new and more sophisticated instrumentation. Since the massive incorporation of flotation columns, around 15 years ago, a renewed interest in flotation fundamental studies, process modelling and new cell designs have been observed worldwide. The key role of the froth has been recognized as an independent and sometimes rate limiting process step. Thus, separation of pulp and froth process stages seems the most appropriate in terms of process modelling, diagnostic, design and scale-up purposes.In relation to Flotation Equipment development, until the middle of the 1970’s, only the sub-aeration mechanical cells were dominant. Since the 1980’s, the use of pneumatic cells and forced air mechanical cells has emerged strongly. Also, in the last decade, flotation equipment has shown a dramatic increase in size, reaching values of 200m3 in unitary mechanical cells and more than 300m3 in columns.

Flotation process modelling is not a simple task, mostly because of the process complexity, i.e. the presence of a large number of variables that (to a lesser or a greater extent) affect the final outcome of the mineral particles separation based on the differences in their surface properties. The attempts toward the development of the quantitative predictive model that would fully describe the operation of an industrial flotation plant started in the middle of past century and it lasts to this day.

"While grindability changes due to the variation in ore properties are disturbances to the grinding circuit, they generate feed rate changes as disturbances to the flotation circuit. The variations in ore properties which affect flotation from those assumed in the design criteria must therefore necessarily include grindability changes."This reflects important differences in Flotation Machine characteristics between the two processes. Grinding circuits are built and designed with fixed total mill volumes and energy input, so the grinding intensity is not a controllable variable, instead grinding retention time is changed by variation of feed rates. In contrast, the flotation circuit is provided both with adjustable froth and pulp volume for variation of flotation intensity by aeration rate or hydrodynamic adjustment. Reagent levels and dosages provide a further means for intensity control."The Metplant ’13 conference started on July 14, with the GD Delprat Distinguished Lecture on Flotation given by Prof Graeme Jameson, Laureate Professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and one of the nominees to the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame. His lecture ‘Size matters- coarse and quick flotation can reduce costs’ discussed the everpresent need to reduce the costs of mining and milling operations. The greatest cost in ore concentration is the energy consumed in size reduction, particularly in grinding.Some progress has been made in reducing energy consumption in grinding, through better use of existing technologies, and the introduction of grinding methods such as HPGR. However, most attention is usually given to the grinding operation itself, with little reference to downstream separation processes beyond a target grind size. Since flotation is widely used to separate the values from the gangue, the particle size distribution of the particles leaving the grinding circuit is generally determined by the known capabilities of conventional flotation machines.Existing flotation equipment work very well for sizes typically in the range of 50 to 150 μm.
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