CFD SIMULATION ON INFLUENCE OF SUPERFICIAL GAS VELOCITY, COLUMN SIZE, SPARGER ARRANGEMENT, AND TAPER ANGLE ON HYDRODYNAMICS OF THE COLUMN FLOTATION CELL

The use of flotation columns in the mineral processing industry has experienced a remarkable growth over the years. The detailed hydrodynamics study of a column flotation cell demands the solution of mass, momentum, phase-transfer, and turbulence quantities. Simulations have been carried out to examine the influence of superficial air velocity, column size, column taper angle, and sparger arrangement on hydrodynamics of the column flotation cell. A commercial CFD software package (ANSYS CFX 10.0) has been used to predict the complex unsteady air-water flow. The k- turbulence model for shear-induced turbulence, Sato's eddy viscosity model for bubble-induced turbulence, and the effect of interfacial momentum transfer terms (lift force, wall force) were considered. Present findings suggest use of low height-to-diameter ratio, low airflow rate, small column taper angle, and uniformly distributed sparger to achieve good separation in a column flotation cell.