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Date submitted2024-05-03
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Date accepted2024-11-07
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Date published2025-04-02
Assessment of ancylite ore dressability by flotation method
For more than 50 years, most rare earth elements were extracted from carbonatite deposits, which can contain different rare earth phases, but the main extracted minerals are bastnaesite, monazite and xenotime. Many studies focused on the improvement and development of dressing circuits for ores of these minerals. However, in some carbonatite complexes, rare earth deposits are composed partly or mainly of ancylite ores. This type of rare earth ores was very poorly studied in terms of dressability – previous experiments with ancylite ores are rare and not productive enough. Ancylite is the main concentrator of rare earth elements in most carbonatite complexes of the Devonian Kola Alkaline Province (northwest Russia). Dressability of ancylite ore from the Petyayan-Vara carbonatite field in the Vuorijärvi alkaline-ultramafic complex was assessed using the flotation method. The complex is one of the most potential rare earth deposits associated with carbonatites in the Kola Region. Petrographic and mineralogical studies demonstrated the occurrence of abundant iron and barite oxide inclusions in ancylite, which imposes restrictions on physical separation of these three minerals. The study of petrogeochemical and mineralogical composition of fractions formed during mechanical grinding of ores to a size less than 2.0 mm showed that even at this stage of sample preparation, the finest-grained fractions (less than 0.071 mm) were enriched in ancylite (to 19 vol.% or more with a content of 15 vol.% in ore). Three classes of reagents were considered as collectors in flotation experiments: fatty acids, alkyl hydroxamic acids, and amino acid derivatives. The reagent from the amino acid derivative class was highly efficient. The use of such a collector in combination with sodium hexametaphosphate depressant made it possible to obtain a flotation concentrate in an open circuit with total rare earth oxides content 33.4 wt.% at 64.7 % extraction.
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Date submitted2024-04-24
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Date accepted2024-09-24
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Date published2024-11-12
Study and justification of the combination of beneficiation processes for obtaining flake graphite from technogenic carbon-containing dusts
The most important task of modern production development is to provide the mineral and raw materials sector of the economy with resources included in the list of strategic raw materials, including flake graphite. In addition to natural raw materials, the source of its obtaining can be metallurgical production wastes not involved in processing. Development of metallurgical dust beneficiation technology will solve the problem of obtaining high-purity flake graphite with a crystal structure close to ideal and in demand in the production of high-tech materials. It will allow creating a renewable raw material base of graphite and utilising metallurgical production wastes. The research included the study of dust beneficiation by coarseness, magnetic and flotation methods, the influence of dust disintegration processes on beneficiation indicators. Based on the established technological properties of the components of dusts, magnetic, flotation and gravity beneficiation methods can be applied for their separation in different sequence. It is shown that dusts from different sites have different enrichability by these methods, and it should be taken into account when developing a complex technology of their processing. The degree of beneficiation increases in a row of dusts from the blast furnace shop (BF) – electric steel smelting shop (ESS) – oxygen-converter shop (OCS). The method of grinding has a significant influence on the separation indicators – at dry grinding in a centrifugal-impact mill with subsequent pneumatic classification the quality of graphite concentrates increases by 22.7 % of carbon for BF dust and by 13.48 % of carbon for ESS dust. OCS dust beneficiation indicators are high at coarse grinding with steel medium – mass fraction of carbon 96.1 %.
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Date submitted2023-09-08
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Date accepted2024-06-03
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Date published2024-12-25
Modern approaches to barium ore benefication
Barite is one of the critically important minerals in several industries, including the fuel and energy, nuclear, and medical sectors. For decades, its extraction did not require any complex techniques; however, with the depletion of rich barite-bearing veins around the world, the circumstances have changed. While the demand for barite is growing widely, it is necessary to optimize and improve the existing methods for benefication of barite and barite-containing ores, and create new approaches to extracting this mineral, as well as develop technogenic barite deposits accumulated in large quantities during the previous ore production. Dumps and tailings often demonstrate high barite content, while new mining technologies make its extraction cost-efficient. Russian and foreign papers of the last 14 years provide data on the current state of primary and technogenic deposits, areas of barite use and the approaches employed for its benefication. Considering the expansion of the range of barite applications, the growing need for the mineral in the oil and gas industry and the difficulties in developing new barite deposits in Russia, the importance of new approaches to the enrichment of ore tailings in polymetallic deposits is revealed.
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Date submitted2022-04-20
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Date accepted2022-07-21
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Date published2022-11-03
Iron ore beneficiation technologies in Russia and ways to improve their efficiency
- Authors:
- Aleksei E. Pelevin
Increasing the efficiency of crushing circuits is associated with a decrease in the particle size of finely crushed ore and the use of dry magnetic separation of crushed ore. Reducing grinding costs is achieved by using drum mills jointly with mills of other designs. The use of automation systems, slurry demagnetization, technologies with staged concentrate separation, and beneficiation and fine screening in a closed grinding cycle lead to a reduction in grinding costs. The main industrial technology for improving the quality of concentrate is its additional beneficiation using regrinding, fine screening, flotation, and magnetic-gravity separators. Increasing the integrated use of iron ore raw materials is associated with an increase in the yield of iron concentrate and the production of hematite concentrate during the beneficiation of hematite-magnetite ores and ilmenite concentrate during the beneficiation of titanomagnetite ores. Incremented concentrate yield is possible by using magnetic separators with an increased magnetic induction up to 0.25-0.5 T in the first stages of beneficiation. To obtain hematite and ilmenite concentrates, combined technologies can be used, including fine screening, high-gradient magnetic, gravity, flotation, and electrical separation.
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Date submitted2022-05-17
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Date accepted2022-09-06
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Date published2022-11-03
Methodological substantiation of the choice for optimal modes of equipment operation during the stage-wise concentrate removal in iron ores beneficiation
- Authors:
- Alexandr S. Opalev
- Svetlana A. Alekseeva
The urgent task of improving the quality of iron ore concentrates was studied. We propose to use the stage-wise removal of the concentrate by combining fine screening, regrinding, and magnetic-gravity separation. Exemplified by magnetite ore from the Stoilensky GOK, a scientific and methodological approach to the search for optimal separation parameters and modes was substantiated. It includes several stages: studying the particle size distribution and release of useful components in the feed product to select classification parameters; a series of experiments on grinding oversize products to diverse sizes; beneficiation of the obtained products by MG separation. To select the optimal parameters of ore preparation, an analysis of the beneficiation efficiency was used, which is calculated according to the Hancock – Luyken criterion. The results of the research are experimental dependences that connect the process parameters of beneficiation with those of fine vibratory screening. For the studied ferruginous quartzite ore processed at the Stoilensky GOK, the obtained dependences can be described by a second-order polynomial with a high accuracy of approximation. The best performance is achieved with a particle size of 0.1 mm: Fe tot content in the concentrate is 69.7 %, recovery is 85 %, classification efficiency is 80.4 %. The top size of the product in this case is 0.076 mm, which corresponds to 70-73 % grinding size of –0.045 class.
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Date submitted2022-05-17
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Date accepted2022-09-06
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Date published2022-11-03
On the need to classify rock mass fed to dry magnetic separation
The hypothesis of a possible use of dry magnetic separation is substantiated on the example of ores from ferruginous quartzite deposits operated by plants of PAO “Severstal” Holding. Size class of ore after medium crushing is –80+0 mm when the vibrating feeder is used for feeding ore mass to the separation zone. The rationale is based on the analysis of video recording of physical simulation on a laboratory drum magnetic separator of SMBS-L series, in the VSDC Video Editor, and simulation modelling of dry magnetic separation on its virtual prototype in Rocky DEM software package. It has been proved that the use of a vibrating feeder for feeding the material to the working area of a magnetic separator makes it possible to: form a monolayer on the surface of the vibrating feeder chute with a thickness close to the maximum size of a lump of separated ore; implement batch feed of material to the separation zone; increase the spacing between lumps in the separation zone when passing through the free fall area, thereby allowing dry magnetic separation of ferruginous quartzites of size class –80+0 mm without pre-preparation.
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Date submitted2021-03-17
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Date accepted2021-04-12
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Date published2021-06-24
Application of the resonant energy separation effect at natural gas reduction points in order to improve the energy efficiency of the gas distribution system
- Authors:
- Andrei M. Schipachev
- Alena S. Dmitrieva
Maintaining the gas temperature and the formation of gas hydrates is one of the main problems in the operation of gas pipelines. Development and implementation of new effective methods for heating the gas during gas reduction will reduce the cost of gas transportation, solve the problem of resource and energy saving in the fuel industry. Study is aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of the natural gas reduction process by using a resonant gas heater to maintain the set temperature at the outlet of the gas distribution station (GDS) and prevent possible hydrate formation and icing of the station equipment. Paper considers the implementation of fireless heating of natural gas and fuel gas savings of heaters due to the introduction of a thermoacoustic reducer, operating on the basis of the Hartmann – Sprenger resonance effect, into the scheme of the reduction unit. By analyzing the existing methods of energy separation and numerical modeling, the effectiveness of the resonant-type energy separation device is substantiated. Modification of the reduction unit by introducing energy separating devices into it will allow general or partial heating of natural gas by its own pressure energy. Developed technology will allow partial (in the future, complete) replacement of heat energy generation at a gas distribution station by burning natural gas.
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Date submitted2020-05-16
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Date accepted2021-03-02
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Date published2021-04-26
Study of drive currents for lifting bridge cranes of metallurgical enterprises for early diagnosis of load excess weight
The article discusses an approach based on the analysis of the drive motor currents to create an additional means of protection against emergency situations during the operation of bridge cranes associated with lifting a load with a mass exceeding the permissible one . A mathematical model of an overhead crane drive is described, as well as the results of computer simulation. It is shown that in the process of lifting up, before the stage of lifting the load, the stator current of the drive electric motor does not depend of the load mass, but when the load is detached, already for several periods of the mains voltage after the rope is pulled, when the mass of the load is exceeded, a measurable excess of the amplitude value of the current is recorded. This pattern has been confirmed for a number of cranes of various lifting capacities used at metallurgical enterprises. The possibility of diagnosing excess weight of the lifted load with a higher speed than existing mechanical methods of overload control is demonstrated, at the same time it is not required to make changes to the structural elements of overhead cranes.
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Date submitted2019-06-27
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Date accepted2019-09-07
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Date published2019-12-24
Optimization of geometrical parameters of the hydro-cyclone inertial Venturi separator
- Authors:
- V. N. Makarov
- A. V. Ugolnikov
- N. V. Makarov
The usage of nanosized particles as modifying agents opens new possibilities in the creation of materials with unique properties. The effective qualitative improvement of Russia's GDP structure is based on the recycling of technogenic mineral formations (TMF) and the production of high-tech products. Numerous studies have shown that the efficiency of this process is limited by high requirements to the fractional composition, median size, and dispersion of TMF particles, as well as imperfection of equipment and technology and their classification. The strict classification requirements must be taken into account, when developing separation methods for the dispersion of the median sizes of TMF microparticles under the conditions of the probabilistic distribution of the physical and mechanical parameters of the feed. The studies covered in the article are based on the provision on a significantly greater influence of inertial forces on the trajectory of a hydrodynamically unsteady motion of the dispersed «a microparticle – a drop of liquid» system during the hydro-cyclone separation with respect to the aerodynamic forces of their movement in a fluidized bed. The paper shows that within the range of kinetic energy of the translational motion of liquid droplets, which overcomes the aerodynamic barrier of coagulation of hydrophobic TMF particles, the minimum diameter of absorbed microparticles during hydro-cyclone coagulation depends only on the magnitude of the angular velocity of rotation of the liquid droplets. We obtained the equations for the Euler and Reynolds criteria, their average values, and the relaxation time of liquid droplets with integrated micro and nanoparticles of TMF, depending on their median size during hydro-cyclone separation. The developed mathematical model of inertial hydro-cyclone separation of finely dispersed TMF allows determining the optimal geometric parameters and energy characteristics of the Venturi separator, its aerator, and the position of the receiving tanks. The experimental results confirmed the possibility of classifying finely dispersed wastes of mining and metallurgical production in the range of median sizes (0.5-5)∙10 –6 m by fractions with a dispersion of not more than 20 %.
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Date submitted2015-10-14
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Date accepted2015-12-18
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Date published2016-08-22
Complex utilization of treatment wastes from thermal power plants
- Authors:
- A. N. Shabarov
- N. V. Nikolaeva
The paper investigates present-day challenges related to accumulation, processing and disposal of the coal combustion wastes. The analysis of technogenic materials beneficiation practices using gravitation, magnetic and flotation beneficiation methods has been carried out. Quantitative and qualitative microscopic analysis of materials has been conducted. The study target were ash and slag wastes (ASW) from thermal power plant and coal combustion ash. Most metals are contained in coals and coal ashes in fine-dispersed (1-10 μm) mineral form. Various native metals and intermetallic compounds, sulfides, carbonates, sulfates, tungstates, silicates, rare earths phosphates and niobates have been discovered. Each metal may occur in several mineral phases, for instance tungsten may be in the form of wolframite, stolzite, ferberite, scheelite and represented by impurities. Not only composition of compounds is diversified, but also morphology of grains: well-defined and skeleton crystals, aggregates and polycrystalline structures, crystal twins and fragments; druses, globules and microspherules; porous shapes, flocculous and splintery clusters, lumpy aggregations, etc. Based on chemical silicate analysis of main ASW components the petrochemical properties of material have been assessed. Preliminary analyses have shown that concentration of ferrum-bearing components in ASW is around 5-11 %. The magnetic method of technogenic waste beneficiation with the help of high-gradient magnetic separation has been studied. The obtained evidences show that fine ASW are most efficiently separated in separators with high-gradient magnetic system. The studies provided justification of a process flow for complex treatment of technogenic carbon-containing material, including flotation, gravitation separation, magnetic heteroflocculation enrichment and high-gradient magnetic separation. The determined complex utilization ratio has proven the efficiency of complex processing.
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Date submitted2014-07-13
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Date accepted2014-09-13
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Date published2014-12-22
Separation and extraction of lanthanides from low concentrations of raw materials using extraction methods
- Authors:
- T. E. Litvinova
- O. V. Cheremisina
At the present time, the unique physical and chemical properties of rare earth metals (REM) mean they can find wide application in the metallurgy, mechanical engineering, avionics, petrochemical, laser and glass industries. In metallurgy, rare earth metals using for production of special grades of steel and cast iron. Adding REM can improve their mechanical properties: hardness, toughness, resistance to corrosion. REM are also used for the deoxidation of metals and alloys. The REM production technology from loparite concentrate that already exists in Russia is not enough for the metal-lurgical, oil, glass, ceramic, nuclear and military industries (just 2 % of the world’s REM are produced in Russia). REM for these industrial proposes is purchased in China, which is recog-nized as having a monopoly on the production of rare metals (96% of REM produced world-wide). If we want to supply these needs in future, we will have to produce 10 tons per year of REM, which requires processing all available resources: mono- and polymineral raw materials. One of the most acceptable source of rare earth metals and some rare metals (zirconium, niobium, hafnium) is eudialyte. The world’s biggest deposits of eudialyte are found on the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia, near the Lovozero mining and processing plant. Eudialyte concentrate is easily decomposed by acids, which explains its layered structure and weak chemical bonds between its constituent groups. The easy leaching process is the main reason that it is processed. In our work the technological possibility of extraction and separation of lanthanides has been shown, using solutions of naphthenic and oleic acid in an inert diluent with a stoichiometric reagent consumption, without the preoxidation step of the cerium to the tetravalent state. The technological parameters and stages of the process have been established.