Ultrasound supported flocculation of borate tailings with differently charged flocculants

Abstract

Mining activities are followed by mineral processing and wet beneficiation methods which generate a significant amount of tailings. Slime fractions are discharged to the tailing ponds with associated process water and this causes storage and disposal difficulties and creates severe environmental problems. Therefore, dewatering these tailings is necessary for both economic and environmental aspects. In this study, the flocculation behaviors of the boron tailings from Ağıldere and Hisarcık (Turkey) were studied in the presence of anionic, cationic, and nonionic flocculants. The results showed that the free settling condition was optimum for the Ağıldere sample. On the contrary, the settling rate of the Hisarcık sample increased considerably by the use of flocculants with a significant decrease in the turbidity of the suspension. Flocculation experiments indicated that the effect of the flocculant type on the flocculation of the Hisarcık sample can be generally ordered as anionic>cationic>non-ionic>no-flocculant. Furthermore, ultrasound was used as a supporting application. The results indicated that although the ultrasound application decreased the settling rate of both samples, lower sediment bed heights were obtained for the Hisarcık sample with ultrasound because of the formation of a more compact sediment bed in the presence of ultrasound.

Enhancement of shear flocculation of a galena suspension by ultrasonic treatment

“…In addition, distortions at solid-liquid interfaces alter the surface properties of the mineral particles, which affects the adsorption of collectors and thus the flotation performance (Slaczka, 1987). Although there are few studies of the influence of ultrasonic processes on the sedimentation of minerals, the beneficial effect of ultrasound has also been noted in this regard (Onal, Ozer, and Arslan 2003;Demir et al, 2021). Onal, Ozer, and Arslan (2003) reported that flocculant consumption and settling time decreased as a result of the use of ultrasound in clay flocculation.…”