Flotation Launder Design

Outotec SEAP Customer eNewsletter 3/2018 5
FLOTATION LAUNDER DESIGN, DOES IT MATTER?

There are two key factors at play when deciding the flo- Launder design and froth transport
tation equipment selection for your circuit viz. residence There are three froth transport parameters which are
time and froth transport parameters. Both are highly used to calculate the optimal launder design. Two of
dependent on the specific ore characteristics such as these parameters, froth carry rate (FCR) and lip loading
mineral grade, liberation, flotation kinetics and specific (LL), are governed by these industry ‘rules of thumb’.
gravity. With the third parameter, froth transport distance (FTD),
Outotec is not aware of any industry rules of thumb.
The first factor, residence time, dictates the circuits’ re-
quired volume and is determined from lab scale testwork So let’s discuss these two parameters which are actually
with design scale up factors applied. governed by rules of thumb and how they compare to
actual plant data.
The second factor, froth transport parameters, is used to
select the launder arrangement for froth removal. It is 1. Froth Carry Rate (FCR)
more difficult to quantify as the laboratory scraping tech- Is defined as the amount of dry concentrate (tonne) trans-
nique does not mimic the natural behaviour of a full-scale ported by the froth over a specific surface area (m2) in a
plant. Thus, industry “rules of thumb” were developed given time frame (hours), giving us the units (t/m2h). In the
some 15 years ago based on experience and metallurgical table below, you can see the “rules-of-thumb” for froth
survey data. carry rates of different flotation duties i.e. the rougher,
scavenger and cleaner. The values given refer to whole
This article will discuss how these industry rules of thumb banks of flotation cells. Individual cells in the bank may
for launder arrangements compare against plant data have higher or lower values. Particle size and mineral type
at various sites. We also discuss how to adjust these will also affect these design values. The values given are
parameters for operating float cells. generally representative of base metal sulfide operations
with a feed particle size P80 >80 microns. For non-sulfide
minerals, such as iron or coal, much higher froth carry
rates have been observed.
- note: values for whole banks of cells. Individual cell values may vary.
Rules of thumb for froth carry rates.
Outotec SEAP Customer eNewsletter 3/2018 6
2. Lip Loading (LL) for cells down the bank i.e. the first cell’s FCR and LL
The second parameter to consider is lip loading. This is were significantly higher than the last cell’s values.
defined as the amount of dry concentrate passing over the This confirmed that having one type of launder
launder lip per hour per unit length, and is expressed in arrangement for all the cells down the bank is not the
units of t/m/h. best approach.
Once, the FCR is considered suitable, the lip loading The key question “Do we need to worry about launder
should be calculated. Different launder configurations design?” considering there are so many operations with
will have different lip lengths. The rule-of-thumb is to froth transport parameters outside the industry “rules
keep this value <1.5 t/m/h. of thumb”. Well, our answer is an emphatic yes. In the
past, most circuits were designed with sufficient flotation
Froth transport parameters vs industry “rules of redundancy that efficient froth removal was not critical.
thumb” This approach can still be adopted, however ore types are
We compared froth transport parameters calculated from also becoming more difficult to treat. It would be risky to
measured plant data to the industry “rules of thumb”. ignore froth transport parameters and adopt one launder
The measured data was taken from the JKTech database, design for all ore characteristics and flotation duties.
which is one of the most comprehensive databases of
metallurgical and plant operating data. Launder design - 5 warning signs
For those existing operations, where you feel the launder
The data has been analysed in different ways and the key design may be affecting your circuit’s metallurgical
findings were: performance, below are the top five indicators…
• The froth parameters (FCR and LL) were generally 1. A change in ore feed conditions i.e. grade or mineral
below the industry “rules of thumb”. This implies that when compared to the initial circuit design
in most circuits we don’t have sufficient crowding in 2. Variable metal grade/recoveries when compared to
our cells. laboratory float testwork
• Of all the commodities investigated, copper opera- 3. Difficulty maintaining consistent concentrate mass
tions best followed the industry “rules of thumb”. recovery, periods with no mass pull and/or high mass
• There was no correlation between cell size or pull
type and the froth transport parameters. Instead, 4. Metal visually present on the float cell froth surface
emphasis was placed on cell duty (i.e. rougher, scav- due to poor froth mobility i.e. sticky froth properties
enger or cleaner). 5. High reagent consumption e.g. frother to maintain
• Operations with finer grinds had less crowding. This stable froth conditions
follows the industry practice of allowing more froth
surface area for finer sized particles.
• Lastly, and most importantly, it was observed that the
froth transport parameters were significantly different
Review of operating data - down-the-bank.

7 Outotec SEAP Customer eNewsletter 3/2018
Froth crowder. Radial froth crowder.
If this is your plant situation, Outotec can modify your For new circuits, Outotec can also provide customised
launder arrangement. Below are three most common launder arrangements depending on the specific ore
scenarios: characteristics. For example, if the ore type has very fast
floating kinetics, we would recommend a combination of
Scenario 1 – FCR is too low and/or FTD too long launder arrangements. For the first few cells, where the
(for e.g. in the scavengers) mass pull is expected to be high, external launders and
• Cell crowding can be physically modified for the last cells, where low mass pulls are likely, donut
• Easy to increase booster cone size if perimeter launders with radial crowders.
launders installed, reduces FTD
• Radial froth crowders can also be installed for Conclusions
perimeter and central launders By optimising the FCR, LL and FTD, we may get to a
• Increasing superficial gas velocity profile down-the- stage where we can reduce the residence time scale-up
bank to balance FCR factor between laboratory and full-scale, building smaller
plants and having savings in both capital and operating
Scenario 2 – LL is too high and/or FTD too long expenses.
• Install radial launders to provide additional lip length
and reduce transport distance
Scenario 3 – FCR is too high

• Split feeding – feed to first cell is split to first two
cells. Averages out FCR over both cells
Some of the launder designs available.

From left to right - external launder, internal launder and donut launder.
FOR MORE DETAILED RESULTS PLEASE CONTACT:
SHERWIN.MORGAN@OUTOTEC.COM

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Outotec SEAP Customer eNewsletter 3/2018 5

FLOTATION LAUNDER DESIGN, DOES IT MATTER?

Review of operating data - down-the-bank.

Froth crowder. Radial froth crowder.

Scenario 3 – FCR is too high

Some of the launder designs available.

FOR MORE DETAILED RESULTS PLEASE CONTACT:

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