Ultrafine Particle Recovery Using Thin Permeable Films.

ABSTRACT: The selective recovery of ultrafine, <10 μm, particles remains a significant challenge in the minerals industry. Indeed, these particles often report to tailings impoundments, resulting in under-utilization of mined resources and the need for tailings dams. Recently, a technique has been developed offering the potential to selectively recover particles down to <1 μm in size. This technique, originally inspired by oil agglomeration, uses a high internal-phase water in oil emulsion as a binder to selectively agglomerate hydrophobic particles. Due to the significant concentration of the dispersed aqueous phase, ~95%, the continuous organic phase forms a network of very thin, permeable films, estimated to be 60 nm thick. These are stabilized by an emulsifier. In the high shear field of the agg

SUBMITTER: Borrow DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6018405 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature