Summary:The well-known sorting processes like density separation, separation in magnetic or electric fields and flotation, are not suitable to apply successfully within a particle-size range smaller than 10 m. Due to insufficient selectivity of above mentioned enrichment processes the concentrate recovery at this particle size range is extremely poor, which influences accordingly the techno-economic efficiency of mineral processing negative.Based on a process design idea, investigations confirm that the biocoagulation of microorganisms and solid particles can be used to generate coarser sized coagulates which are more suitable for sorting. Experimental investigations showed that microorganisms like Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica and sulphide particles like galena and sphalerite below 10 m coagulate effectively. Theoretical thermodynamic and extended DLVO theory calculations are in good agreement with microorganisms adhesion onto metal sulphides but not on silicates and selective biocoagulation of sulphides. Furthermore it has been demonstrated that flotation is suitable for the separation of the selectively formed biocoagulates.
All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net.
For the activities of the mining industry land, equipment, material, and energy are used. During operation material and energy flows such as overburden, dead rock, tailings, wastewater, exhaust air, dust, energy, abrasion, coolant and lubricant losses, are released. These released material and energy flows are nearly always without value for the raw material supply chain as they are not production targets. Instead, they have negative effects on the economy and ecology and are, therefore, referred to as , non-intended'. The knowledge of the quantities and qualities of these non-intended outputs as a function of the processes and their parameters is the basis for technical and economical measures. A methodology for the acquisition and assessment of the material and energy flows in the mining industry was developed and tested at the Technical University Berlin, Germany. For that purpose and based on a system analysis in different mines, all relevant material and energy flows were assigned to individual processes. Causal relationships, possible interactions, quantities, and qualities were examined as functions of system parameters. Finally, a technical and economic evaluation was performed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.