Characterization of Hydrodynamics and Mixing Regime of a HydroFloat ® Cell

A study was conducted to characterize the performance of a HydroFloat® coarse particle flotation (CPF) cell using rougher tailings samples from an industrial copper mining operation. The work involved measuring internal hydrodynamic variables under a wide range of operating conditions. The effect of different operational and hydrodynamic conditions on the metallurgical performance of the HydroFloat® cell was also evaluated. Gas dispersion measurements, such as bubble size distribution, superficial gas velocity (Jg), superficial area flux (Sb), and residence time distribution (RTD), were recorded, enabling a detailed analysis of the cell’s operation. Results show that copper recovery is strongly influenced by the superficial gas velocity (Jg) and the superficial liquid velocity (Jl). It was observed that the bubble diameter (d32) remained relatively constant at 0.5 mm across all operating conditions, which is well below typical bubble sizes for conventional flotation cells. This suggests that contrary to what may be expected, in this kind of machine, small bubbles are able to float coarse particles. Bubble image inspection suggests that the HydroFloat® cell creates conditions conducive to bubble–particle aggregates, which would explain how small bubbles can float coarse particles. This study contributes to the understanding of CPF and establishes a framework for optimization in copper concentrators.