Experimental Study on the Thickening Characteristics of Ultrafine Tailings

To investigate the thickening characteristics of ultrafine tailings and the relationship between bed height and underflow concentration, a series of experiments, including graduated cylinder sedimentation tests, small-scale dynamic thickening, and semi-industrial experiments, were conducted. The results show that adding flocculants accelerates settling velocity, with a significant change occurring at 50 g/t when the bridging effect weakens. Solid flux increases initially with feed concentration but decreases after reaching a peak at 8%, where the maximum solid flux is 0.322 t·m−2·h−1. Reducing solid flux, lowering flocculant dosage, and increasing bed height all contribute to higher underflow concentration, while reducing solid flux and increasing flocculant dosage lowers overflow turbidity. The variation in underflow concentration in the deep cone thickener (DCT) occurs in three phases: continuous feeding with no discharge, dynamic equilibrium with a stable bed height, and bed descent with increasing underflow discharge. At the same bed height, underflow concentration is lower during the bed descent phase compared to the continuous feeding phase. This study offers valuable insights for the precise control of underflow concentration in ultrafine tailing thickening processes.