Feasibility study of iron ore fines beneficiation by shallow bed air fluidized separator

Magnetic separation, dense media suspension fluidization techniques are tested for dry beneficiation of iron ore fines presently and found to have limitations. In the present study, the potential of shallow bed air fluidized separator (SBAFS), which does not have any suspension media and has high throughput is investigated for iron ore fines beneficiation. A set of experiments was designed by response surface methodology. Three parameters air flow rate, vibration frequency, and side tilt were considered for the experimentation. The individual effects of these factors and their interaction on yield and grade of concentrate products were studied. Experimental results show that grade of iron ore fines was enhanced by 5.5% in single stage operation with reasonable yield. Experimental results indicate that SBAFS has a huge potential for iron ore fines beneficiation with the added advantage of the reduction of water consumption during the beneficiation process. In order to understand the segregation of iron ore fines on SBAFS, mathematical equations were derived from the first principle of the force balance equation. Particle trajectories of different densities of mineral phases in iron ore fines were estimated by using the developed model. Simulation of particle trajectories was carried out by MATLAB software.

Automated summary

The study found that using shallow bed air fluidized separator (SBAFS) for iron ore fines beneficiation has great potential, with significantly improved grade of concentrate and reduced water consumption, showing practical application possibilities.