Dr. James D. Bittner, Separation Technologies, LLC. Triboelectric separator for beneficiation of fine minerals

Transcription

1 Dr. James D. Bittner, Separation Technologies, LLC Triboelectric separator for beneficiation of fine minerals March 2012

2 Separation Technologies LLC - ATit Titan America Business Who we are Developers and suppliers of Electrostatic Separation technology and equipment Our business Sales/licensing of Electrostatic Separation technology and equipment Processing and Marketing of Fly Ash to concrete producers as a cement substitute March 2012

3 Presentation ti Overview Conventional Electrostatic Separation ST patented Triboelectrostatic Belt Separator ST Fly Ash Separation proven track record ST Experience with Industrial Minerals

4 Drum Electrostatic t ti Separator Limitations it ti Corona charging Separates conductors from non-conductors All particles must contact drum surface Lower particle size limit ~ 75 µm Ref: Elder and Yan, 2003

5 Free Fall Triboelectric i Separators limited it by particle size Particles develop charge by contact with charger Limitations Single Stage Separation Must maintain laminar flow Avoid particle particle contact in separation zone Low Particle Loading Large Electrode Gap High Applied Voltage Low Throughput /Capacity Particle Size Effects Too Large No Separation Too Small Collects on Electrodes Motion influenced by aerodynamics Lower particle size limit ~ 75 µm

6 ST Triboelectrostatic Belt Separator

7 Fundamentals of ST Process Mineral Feed Airslide Feed Distributor Electrode Gap <1.5cm Negative Electrode Feed Ports Feed Ports Belt Positive Electrode Positively Charged Particles Feed Capacity : 40 TPH Dimensions : 9.1m L x 1.7m W x 3.2m H Negatively Charged Particles

8 Dynamic Action of Belt is Key ( ve) Mineral (+ve) Carbon Belt Direction Top Negative Electrode Belt Carbon End Bottom Positive Electrode Belt Direction Mineral End

9 Multi-Stage Separation in a Single Pass Small Gap and Vigorous Agitation ti High electric field strength with moderate applied voltage (typ. 8 kv) High efficiency multi-stage separation through charging / recharging and internal recycle Very low residence times ~1 sec High Capacity 40 TPH Particle size range < 1 µm to ~500 µm

10 Multiple Parameters for Optimization Feed Conditioning Operational Variables Feed Point Belt Speed Electrode Gap Electrode Voltage Feed Rate Enables consistent product from highly variable feed material

11 ST Technology offers many advantages Charged by particle-to-particle p contact transfer of electrons based on different surface chemistry - electron work function does not depend on contact with charger surface Can separate dielectric materials that corona drum separators cannot does not depend on particle electrical conductivity Effective on small particles less than 1 µm to ~500 µm Highly efficient multi-stage separations in single device

12 Separation of Unburned Carbon from Coal-Fired Power Station ti Fly Ash EcoTherm

13 Consistent t Product Quality from Variable Feed

14 More than 10 million tons Low Carbon Fly Ash Produced d Plant/Location Separators Start Year New England Power Brayton Point/MA USA /96 Progress Energy Roxboro/ NC USA /98 CPSG Brandon Shores/ MD USA /05 Scottish Power Longannet/ Scotland UK Jacksonville Electric SJRPP/ FL USA /04 SMEPA Morrow/ MS USA NB Power Belledune/ NB Canada RWE Didcot/ England UK PP&L Brunner Island/ PA USA /08 TECO Big Bend/ FL USA RWE Aberthaw/ Wales UK EDF Energy West Burton/ England UK ZGP (Lafarge / Ciech)/ Janikowo Poland M h 100 => More than 100 separator years of operating experience

15 ST Separation S ti has h Proven P Track T k Record R d B Brunner Island, I l d PA B ll d Belledune, NB Janikowo Poland Janikowo,

16 ST Triboelectric i Separator Benefits for Minerals Processing Dry process Reduce water use / water treatment Reduce wet disposal of tailings Eliminate drying High rate / high efficiencies Tph Low power consumption ~1kwh/ton Separates fine to moderately coarse particles <1 µm to ~500 µm

17 Mineral Applications ST Separator applicable to any dry mixture of discrete particles Differential charging of particles of different surface chemistry - electron work function Performance depends on particle surface chemistry size distribution shape surface moisture aging g contaminants New applications must be empirically investigated in pilot plant

18 ST Pilot Plant Separator Full length 1/7 th width Nominal 3 8 TPH 10 kg batch runs 2000 kg feed 2000 kg feed sample

19 Electrostatic Mineral Separations - ST Experience Electrostatic Mineral Separations Potash Halite Talc Magnesite Limestone Quartz Brucite Quartz Iron Oxide Silica Phosphate Calcite Silica Mica Feldspar Quartz Wollastonite Quartz Boron Minerals Barites Silicates Zircon Rutile Silver and Gold Slags Carbon Silica Beryl Quartz Fluorite Silica Fluorite Barite Calcite FIRMENLOGO

20 Goals: ST Experience - Limestone Reduce quartz / silicate content to increase value from initial SiO 2 Content 9.5% Recover maximum quantity of CaCO 3 Results: Recovered Product SiO 2 content < 1 % 82% Mass recovery of feed 89% CaCO 3 recovery Improved brightness Other sources of CaCO 3 also successfully processed

21 ST Experience - Tl Talc Goal: Reduce magnesite content t Feed - 58% Talc/ 42% magnesite Results : two grades recovered in single pass 95% Talc / 5% magnesite - 77% talc recovery 88% Talc/12% magnesite 82% talc recovery Oth f t l l f ll Other sources of talc also successfully processed

22 ST Separator for Mineral Processing ST electrostatic separator benefits Dry process High rate in a small package Tph Low power consumption 1 kwh/ton Fine particles <1µm to ~500µm Proven industrial technology More than 16 years operating experience Demonstrated separations Talc, calcium carbonate, potash and other minerals

23 Dr. James Bittner, ScD Vice President Technology (+1) Contact t Information Mr. Herve Guicherd Director, Business Development - Minerals (+30) guicherdh@titanamerica.com Mr. Frank Hrach Director, Process Engineering (+1) fhrach@titanamerica.com