Inci Ayranci

Glendon Tan
Mikaela Dix-Cooper
Mahmoud Hossein-pour

The schematic of a flotation cell is shown in Figure 7. Mechanically agitated flotation

cells utilize an impeller to provide the agitation necessary for breaking air into bubbles and
dispersing them throughout the cell while suspending solids long enough for bubble-particle
agglomerates to form. It also creates the micro-turbulence necessary to facilitate bubble-particle
collision. Air enters the cell through a concentric pipe surrounding the impeller shaft. The
rotating impeller tips create a high-shear zone where air is broken up into a dispersion of
bubbles. The bubble formation is shown in Figure 8. The bubbles are flung outwards from the
impeller tips and scattered throughout the solid-liquid mixture (slurry) within the cell.

Figure 7. Schematic of a mechanical flotation cell 17].

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