Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202

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Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

Froth recovery measurements in an industrial flotation cell

Reza M. Rahman a, Seher Ata b,⇑, Graeme J. Jameson a
a
Centre for Multiphase Processes, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
b
School of Mining Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The froth phase serves an important role in upgrading the final concentrate in flotation. At present, the
Received 17 April 2013 techniques that are used in the mineral industry to determine the effect of froth phase on the metallur-
Accepted 20 August 2013 gical performance of plant scale flotation cells have limitations.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of the froth in an industrial flotation cell. A
unique device has been developed which is able to decouple the froth zone from the pulp zone. The
Keywords: device consists of two concentric tubes. The inner tube acts as a dropback collection chamber or catcher.
Flotation
The particles that return from the froth phase fall directly into the catcher and are collected as froth drop-
Froth
Froth dropback
back. This technique is capable of measuring plant scale flotation cell froth recovery as well as providing
Froth recovery valuable information on froth dropback particles.
The froth recovery measurements were carried out in a rougher bank of a copper concentrator treating
sulphide minerals. The dropback device is designed so that it can be immersed into an industrial size flo-
tation cell and plant froth recovery measurements can be taken at any given location. During the exper-
iments, the bubbles laden with valuable mineral particles entered the device from the flotation cell,
subsequently rising to form a froth layer at the top of the device. The particles that detached or drained
from the froth zone were collected in the dropback collection chamber whereas the concentrate sample
was collected through a launder. By sizing and chemical analysis of the concentrate and dropback sam-
ples, the froth recovery was estimated on the basis of the valuable component. The effect of air rate on the
froth recovery was also investigated. Metallurgical grades of the froth dropback device samples for dif-
ferent particle size ranges were compared to those of the concentrator to better understand the froth
dropback mechanism.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Flotation is a complex separation process that exploits the
physicochemical surface properties of mineral particles to separate
the valuable minerals from the waste rock. It is widely used for
beneficiation of ores such as metallic sulphides, feldspar, mica, salt
minerals and cassiterite along with industrial minerals. A flotation
cell is generally considered to consist of two distinct zones: the
pulp zone and the froth zone. The overall performance of the flota-
tion system is the collective result of these two zones. The pulp be-
haves as a collection zone where most of the bubble-particle
attachment occurs. Once the bubbles and particles form stable
aggregates in the pulp zone, they rise into the froth. The role of
the froth zone is crucial; in this region, the target mineral particles
are transported out of the cell to form the final product concen-
trate. Inside the froth zone, important sub-processes such as bub-
ble coalescence, drainage, detachment and reattachment of
particles take place. All these sub-processes acting together give
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9385 7659; fax: +61 2 9313 7269.
E-mail address: s.ata@unsw.edu.au (S. Ata).
the froth a vital role in determining grade and recovery from the
cell.
The significance of the froth zone in the laboratory and indus-
trial flotation cells has been recognised by researchers for many
years (Cutting et al., 1986; Laplante et al., 1989; Lynch et al.,
1981). Feteris et al. (1987) and Vera et al. (1999) demonstrated
the significant role of froth depth on flotation kinetics. Gorain
et al. (1998) found that the linear relationship between the
flotation rate constant and bubble surface area flux for shallow
froth becomes non-linear at intermediate to deep froths. Work
by Yianatos et al. (1988) also found that in an industrial flotation
column up to 20% of the particles in the froth returns to the pulp
zone. This selective nature is one of the important characteristics
of the froth and evidences have been found both in laboratory
and plant flotation system where the froth zone appears to
discriminate between the particles on the basis of hydrophobicity
and size (Savassi, 1998; Seaman et al., 2006; Vera, 2002). Until
now different approaches have been taken to investigate the froth
phase. Characterisation of the froth on the basis of solid, liquid and
gas profile is one of the important approaches used widely. Moys
(1978) introduced a plug flow model to investigate the gradient

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194 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202
of the mineral and gangue concentration (described in mass of
particles per unit volume of froth) within the froth. This study
suggested that a substantial reduction of gangue concentration
occurs at the base of the froth, and grade varies for different
minerals. Yianatos et al. (1986) also characterised the froth zone
by investigating the gas hold up profile and bubble size
distribution. Work has been performed on different sub-processes
that occur in the froth zone such as bubble coalescence, drainage,
entrainment, detachment, reattachment of particles and froth
surface bursting (Ata et al., 2002, 2004; Cilliers, 2006; Honaker
and Ozsever, 2003; Honaker et al., 2006; Morar et al., 2012; Ross,
1991a,b). These studies focused on each single froth sub-process
and although they provide insight into what is happening in the
froth zone, the understanding of the froth zone as whole still re-
quires extensive investigation. One way to study the role of froth
phase on the flotation performance is to express all the processes
taking place in that zone in one single term, called ‘‘froth recovery’’.
Froth recovery is generally defined as the fraction of particles
attached to air bubbles entering the froth phase, that reports to
the concentrate (Finch and Dobby, 1990). Mathematically it is
represented as,
mass rate of particles reporting to the concentrate via true flotation
Rf ¼
mass rate of attached particles entering in to the froth
ð1Þ
In Eq. (1) true flotation refers to flotation by attachment only, i.e
there is no contribution from hydraulic entrainment. From Eq. (1)
it can be seen that estimation of froth recovery of a flotation sys-
tem involves measurement of mass flowrate of particles entering
into the froth and mass flowrate of particles reporting to the con-
centrate. Measurement of the numerator of Eq. (1) is quite
straightforward. However, interaction between the pulp and froth
zone creates complexity in direct measurement of accurate mass
flowrate of particles transported into the froth. As a result, instead
of direct measurement, a number of indirect froth recovery mea-
surement methods have been developed over the past few dec-
ades. These methods ranges from model fitting; correlation of
froth recovery with flotation rate constant and froth retention
time; mass balancing across the flotation cell; fundamental ap-
proaches (Alexander et al., 2003; Neethling, 2008; Savassi et al.,
1997; Seaman et al., 2004; Vera et al., 1999). Each of these tech-
niques has its own advantages and shortcomings (Ata, 2012).
Moreover, froth recovery measurement by these indirect methods
is based on some assumptions, which cannot be justified. Only two
types of direct froth recovery measurement methods such as bub-
ble load and modified column methods exist in the mineral engi-
neering field (Falutsu and Dobby, 1989; Seaman et al., 2004;
Yianatos et al., 2008).
The direct method developed by Falutsu and Dobby (1989) in-
volves decoupling interaction of pulp zone from froth zone and
independent measurement of froth recovery by collecting particles
that fall out of the froth, also called dropback particles. Unlike
other methods besides giving froth recovery results, the technique
allows the collection of froth dropback particles. The method orig-
inally was used by Falutsu and Dobby (1989) in a 2.5 cm diameter
modified flotation column. No further attempt was taken to subject
this method in pilot and plant scale flotation systems. In our previ-
ous study following Falutsu and Dobby’s concept, a froth dropback
device was developed and used in the laboratory environment. The
results showed that the froth recovery could be as low as 60% and
particle size was a strong function of the froth recovery (Rahman
et al., 2012). The aim of the present study was to apply this concept
to a plant size flotation cell. For this purpose, the froth dropback
device (FDB) developed by Rahman et al. (2010) was modified
and a robust, plant version of the FDB was built. The device was
used in an operating concentrator processing a complex sulphide
ores where the froth recovery measurements were carried out.
The effect of important flotation variables on froth recovery was
investigated and the metallurgical grades of froth dropback device
samples were compared with the concentrator samples.
2. Experimental section
2.1. Northparkes plant operation
Trial tests with the froth dropback device (FDB) were performed
at the Rio Tinto Northparkes Copper concentrator. This has two
parallel Modules, Modules 1 and 2. Each Module consists of
grinding and flotation circuits. The average feed flowrates of
Module 1 and Module 2 are 250 tph and 450 tph respectively.
The test work was conducted in Module 2. The ROM ore is crushed,
and ground in a SAG mill, followed by a ball mill, and a flash
flotation unit where high-grade fast-floating particles are removed.
The tailings from the flash flotation cell pass to conventional
rougher, scavenger, cleaner, re-cleaner and cleaner scavenger
banks. Prior to rougher flotation the particles are conditioned with
flotation reagents. Tests were performed to measure the froth
recovery in the first cell of the rougher bank, in Module 2, due to
easy access and relatively deep froth compared to the other cells
in the bank. The location of the cell was also facilitated the
collection of a feed sample from the conditioning tank. The rougher
cell is a mechanical type. The cell dimensions are 3.37 m  2.6 m. A
flow diagram of the Module 2 flotation circuit along with the test
location is shown in Fig. 1.
2.2. Ore samples
The valuable components of the Northparkes Mine ore are pri-
marily chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and bornite (Cu5FeS4) phases with
small amounts of chalcocite and covellite. The feed to the rougher
cell where the trial tests were performed had a grade of 0.4% Cu
and particle size P80 of 90 lm.
2.3. Chemical reagents
The slurry from the grinding circuit was treated with collector,
promoter, frother and sulphidisor prior to flotation. PAX was used
as collector whereas DSP110, Interfroth6801 and NaHS were em-
ployed as promoter, frother and sulphidisor, respectively. Most of
the chemical reagents were added in the conditioning tank. How-
ever, additional reagents were added prior to flash flotation and
the scavenger stage to promote further flotation of desirable parti-
cles. During the test, the total dosage rates of addition were around
PAX – 4 g/ton, DSP110 – 8 ppm, Interfroth 6801 – 3.4 ppm and
NaHS – 202 g/ton. These values refer only to reagents added at
the preconditioning tank. Reagent additions at the flash flotation
stage were not available.
2.4. Plant version froth dropback (FDB) device
The plant version of the FDB device is shown in Fig. 2. The de-
vice can decouple the froth zone from the pulp zone and allows
independent measurement of froth recovery. The FDB used in the
plant tests is quite similar to the one employed in our previous lab-
oratory experiment (Rahman et al., 2012) with a few modifications
to make it robust and plant workable. The FDB is a special column,
which is approximately 800 mm in height. It consists of three parts
(Fig. 2a). The bottom part is circular tube 60 mm in diameter,
which collects the bubble particle aggregates from the parent flo-
tation cell. The middle part of the device is much wider in diameter
and consists of two cylindrical concentric tubes. The inner and
 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202
Pre-Float
Frother
Promoter
Cyclone
Optional
Conditioner 1
From
Grinding
Circuit
Cleaner
Module 2
Jameson
Flotation cell
Circuit
Flash Float
Concentrate
To Concentrate
Thickener
Fig. 1. Conventional flotation circuit of Module 2 at Northparkes Mine.
outer tubes are 80 and 100 mm in diameter, respectively. The inner
tube is known as dropback collector chamber or catcher which is
connected to collection jar via a three – way valve. This cylindrical
middle part of the device has a height of 230 mm. The top part of
the device consists of froth column and concentrate launder. Froth
column has dimensions of 300 mm height and 60 mm diameter.
This segment assists the formation of froth at the top of the device.
The dimensions of the components of the device have been chosen
such a way so that the cross-sectional flow area of the open cylin-
ders and the annular region is constant.
The FDB is designed in such a way that during the experiment it
can be immersed into a flotation cell for test purposes and to take
measurements at any given location. During the test, particles
loaded bubbles from the rougher cell enter the device, rise through
the gap between the two concentric tubes and reach the top column
where they form a froth layer. The particles that leave the froth first
drop into the inner dropback chamber and then pass into a detach-
able container, shown in Fig. 2. A three – way valve is used to divert
the flow of detached particles into the collection jar during the sam-
pling time. The whole device is attached to a stainless steel frame to
assist locating and mounting at the desired location in the cell.
2.5. Experimental procedure
Fig. 2 shows the location of the FDB and experimental set up
used during the test. In operation, the froth dropback device
195
NaHS
Frother
Collector Bulky Frother
Collector
1st Roughers 2nd Roughers
1st Scavengers 2nd Scavengers
Conditioner 2
Optional
Cleaner-Scavenger
Feed Conditioner
Cleaner-Scavengers
Recleaner
Jameson
cell
To Tailings
Thickener
(FDB) was mounted in the flotation cell in such a way so that the
pulp-froth interface in the device was at the same level as in the
plant flotation cell, above the opening of the dropback collection
chamber (refer Fig. 2a). A gap of at least 60 mm maintained be-
tween the pulp-froth interface level and opening of the collection
chamber to accommodate the fluctuation in the interface level dur-
ing the operation. This ensured the efficient capture of froth drop-
back particles. Initially the detachable container connected to the
dropback collection chamber was filled with water, and the flow
from the collection chamber was directed away from the container
using the three-way valve. This allowed sufficient time for the
apparatus to reach steady-state operating conditions, approxi-
mately 10–15 min. Once steady-state was attained, the valve was
opened to permit the slurry that contained dropback particles to
flow into the collection jar. A peristaltic pump was used to with-
draw the slurry at a minimal flowrate of around 100 ml/min from
the jar. The particles that were not removed by the pump were set-
tled down in the collection jar, collected at the end of the run and
combined with the stream collected by the pump. The froth loaded
with floatable particles flowed into the launder where it was re-
moved by a peristaltic pump. A stream of wash water was added
to prevent accumulation of the concentrate in the launder. Thus,
dropback and concentrate samples were collected in separate
buckets continuously with the help of the peristaltic pump. At
the end of a run, the flow to the collection jar was stopped by clos-
ing the valve manually, controlled from the top of the cell. The FDB
196 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202

catcher

pulp

(a) (b)

impeller

3.37 m rougher cell

location of FDB
0.4 m

0.47 m

2.6 m
(c)
Fig. 2. (a) Schematic diagram of plant experimental set up; (b) plant version FDB device and (c) schematic diagram of location of FDB in the rougher cell.

cell was then raised, and the dropback, concentrate sample
weights were determined. The froth recovery (Rf) was measured as,
C gical samples of rougher cell (feed, tailing, concentrate) were taken
Rf ¼  100
ðC þ DÞ
where C is the concentrate solid flowrate of attached and entrained
particles and D is the dropback solid flowrate of attached and en-
trained particles. It is noted that Eq. (2) is more likely to underesti-
mate Rf due to entrainment.
Froth recovery measurement tests were carried out at the
Northparkes concentrator on two consecutive days, at three air
flowrates. The air flow to the first cell in the rougher bank was sep-
arately instrumented so the flowrate could be measured, and the
superficial air velocity Jg calculated from the known dimensions
of the cell. Each run was repeated three times to investigate the
reproducibility of the measurements. At least one hour was al-
lowed for stabilization of the plant when the air rate had been al-
tered for test purposes. To enable comparisons to be made
between the froth recovery results measured by the froth dropback
device (FDB) with the rougher flotation cell performance, metallur-
ð2Þ for analysis. The feed and tailing samples were collected as dip
sample whereas concentrate was collected as a lip sample (Alexan-
der et al., 2003). To collect the feed and tailing sample a collection
jar attached to one end of a 3 m long metal rod was used. The
empty jar with the lid on was dipped with the help of the metal
rod in the flotation cell. Once the jar reached a certain depth of
the cell, the lid of the jar was opened manually from the top of
the cell and sufficient amount of sample was collected. The feed
sample was collected from the conditioning tank close to the inlet
of the transfer pipe leading to the rougher cell, whereas tailings
were collected from the rougher cell itself. Concentrate sample
was collected from different points of the rougher cell lip during
the test. All these samples were then separated into size fractions
from, 150 lm down to 10 lm and each size fraction was analysed
for its copper content.
 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Treatment of raw plant data
After the test work, the dry mass and copper assay data for each
of the experimental samples were collected. Because of a lack of
information concerning the inflow to the froth dropback device,
it was not possible to use a mass balance error minimisation tech-
nique to improve the accuracy of the raw data. Two approaches
were taken to apply mass balance around the froth dropback
device.
In Approach 1, four streams were considered around the froth
dropback (FDB) device (see Fig. 3a). One was the feed which was
the upward flow of slurry from the parent flotation cell to the drop-
back device, the only input for the device. The three other streams
were the dropback, concentrate and tailing, the outputs of the
device. Here, the downward slurry flow that left the FDB device
was designated as tailing. To complete the mass balance around
the device, two key equations had to be solved, Eqs. (3) and (4).
Feedmass ¼ Conmass þ D  Backmass þ Tailmass
Feedmass  FeedCu ¼ Conmass  ConCu þ D:Backmass  D:BackCu
þ Tailmass  TailCu
where Feedmass, Conmass, D.Backmass, Tailmass are mass flowrate of
feed, concentrate, dropback, tailing respectively and FeedCu, ConCu,
concentrate concentrate
froth zone froth zone
dropback dropback
feed tailing net input device
(a) (b)
Fig. 3. Streams considered in mass balance Approach 1 (a) and Approach 2 (b).
197
D.BackCu, TailCu are copper assay of feed, concentrate, dropback
and tailing samples, respectively.
In Eqs. (3) and (4), the values of Conmass, D.Backmass, ConCu and
D.BackCu were directly found from the measurement taken by the
froth dropback device. However, there were still four unknown
quantities in Eqs. (3) and (4). In order to solve these two equations,
at least two other quantities had to be known. So, it was assumed
that the pulp zone was perfectly mixed in the rougher cell which is
quite widely considered for the flotation process (Moys, 1978;
Mathe et al., 1998). This assumption allowed us to consider FeedCu
and TailCu value as the parent flotation cell feed and tailing copper
grade, respectively. However, no physically meaningful solution for
Eqs. (3) and (4) was found with this approach.
As a result, Approach 2 was taken where three streams were
considered (see Fig. 3b) instead of considering four streams around
the froth dropback device. With this approach no assumptions
were made. Feed and tailing streams were replaced by a single
stream which was designated as net device input, the only input
stream of the device. The two other streams were the output
streams of the device and known as dropback and concentrate. So-
ð3Þ lid and copper mass flowrates of dropback and concentrate
streams were directly measured from the froth dropback device.
Using these values in Eqs. (5)–(7) the net input device stream mass
and Cu assay were derived. These data were then used to calculate
ð4Þ
froth recovery by using Eq. (2).
Net Input Devicemass ¼ Conmass þ D  Backmass ð5Þ
Net Input DeviceCumass ¼ ConCumass þ D  BackCumass ð6Þ
Net Input DeviceCumass
Net Input DeviceCu ¼ ð7Þ
Net Input Devicemass
Table 1 shows assumed feed grade and net input device grade
that were used in mass balance Approach 1 and Approach 2,
respectively. It can be seen from the table that in Approach 1
where the assumption of perfect mixing in the pulp was made,
the device feed copper grade was equivalent to the rougher cell
feed grade and it was as low as 0.24%. In Approach 2, the net input
device grade was estimated by using Eq. (7) where it was consid-
ered that the net input device flow was equal to the sum of output
dropback and concentrate flow of the device. It can be seen from
Table 1 that the net input device grade was much higher, around
2.42% than that of assumed feed. So it was quite obvious that the
assumptions made in Approach 1 were not justified. This result
also carries important information as far as the flotation processes
is concerned. Most traditional flotation kinetic models are based on
the hypothesis that the pulp zone is perfectly mixed and there is no
solid concentration profile with respect to the particle size and
density in the cell. However, the results from this study strongly
suggest that this assumption is not quite met for at least in the
current flotation system.
3.2. Overall froth recovery (Rf%) value
The overall froth recovery was calculated using Eq. (2). The
average overall froth recovery values for Day 1 and Day 2 are given
in Table 2, on the basis of the copper analysis. For Days 1 and 2 the
average froth depth was 197 mm and 187 mm, respectively. Since
the froth recovery data at the highest air flowrate (AFR) used is not
available for Day 1, it is not possible to draw a firm conclusion from
the tests on this day. Generally however, from Table 2 it can be
seen that the froth recovery values are quite high for both days.
It can also be seen that froth recovery increases slightly with an
increase in the AFR on Day 2. The low standard deviation given
in Table 2 is an indication of good reproducibility across the three
tests. The standard deviation was calculated from a sample of only
198 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202

Table 1 Table 4
Assumed feed grade and net input device grade that were used in mass balance Overall copper grade (%) of different streams of FDB device as a function of air
Approaches 1 and 2. flowrate for Day 1 and Day 2.

Assumed feed grade, Net input device grade, Test Jg (cm/s) Copper grade (%)
Cu(%) – Approach 1 Cu(%) – Approach 2 day
Net Standard Concentrate Standard Dropback Standard
Run 4 0.28 2.42 input deviation deviation deviation
Run 5 0.24 1.81 device
Run 6 0.26 2.24
Day 1 1.6 3.38 0.24 11.74 1.25 0.35 0.01
1.8 2.36 0.11 7.77 0.75 0.26 0.01
Day 2 1.6 2.24 0.16 7.51 1.52 0.24 0.01
Table 2 1.8 2.42 0.23 7.05 1.91 0.23 0.02
Overall froth recovery as a function of air flowrate for Day1 and Day 2. 1.9 1.81 0.05 3.9 0.15 0.21 0.01

Air flowrate (AFR) (m3/h) Jg (cm/s) Day 1 Day 2

Rf (%) Standard Rf (%) Standard
deviation deviation chances of particles to transfer to the dropback stream. This obser-
* vation is in general agreement with the flotation practice. We note
519 1.6 92.3 0.94 92.3 0.32
572* 1.8 92.0 0.39 93.7 0.47 that the results reported here not only include the particle recov-
607* 1.9 – – 94.0 0.30 ery by attachment or true flotation but also those recovered by
*
mechanical entrainment which may contribute the recovery of
Average air flowrate.
particles in the fine size ranges. The entrainment process is more
likely to operate for the fine particles as particles less than
three measurements so its relevance is questionable, but is never- 50 lm are more prone to be carried over in liquid due to their rel-
theless interesting. It is noted that the increase in the AFR to the atively low mass (Smith and Warren, 1989).
rougher cell where the measurements were conducted was small Particle size distribution of the concentrate and dropback based
due to the plant restrictions and perhaps this is the main reason on mass is shown for Jg 1.8 cm/s on Day 2 in Fig. 6. It is evident
why slight changes in the froth recovery with the air flowrate are from the graph that the coarse particles are more prone to detach-
observed in the FDB. ment from the froth and report to the dropback stream while rel-
Tables 3 and 4 present the average solid mass flowrate and cop- atively fine particles are collected in the concentrate. The same
per grade of different streams around the FDB device with their trend was observed with the other tests. The mass fraction by size
corresponding standard deviation for Day 1 and Day 2, respec- for the concentrate and dropback streams under the same test con-
tively. In Tables 3 and 4, dropback and concentrate solid mass dition can be seen in Table 5.
flowrate and copper grade are experimentally measured values
whereas net input device flowrate and copper grade are calculated 3.4. Comparison of metallurgical performance of froth dropback device
value. It can be seen from the tables that the dropback stream con- with rougher cell
sists of high solid mass flowrate with relatively low grade particles
whereas concentrate stream contains high grade particles with low Fig. 7 compares the metallurgical performance of the froth
solid mass flowrate. The standard deviation values in Tables 3 and dropback device (FDB) and the rougher cell. The bars in the figure
4 indicate that higher fluctuation in solid mass flowrate data of dif- represent the concentrate samples of froth dropback device and
ferent streams whereas the copper grade values of different rougher cell and their corresponding copper grade is shown on
streams have high consistency. the primary y-axis. The lines in the figure indicate the dropback,
feed and tailing samples and their corresponding copper grade is
3.3. Froth recovery and particle size shown at the secondary y-axis. It can be seen that for both Day 1
and Day 2 the copper grade of the concentrate sample from the
Froth recovery as a function of particle size for Day 1 and Day 2 FDB is lower than the copper grade of rougher cell concentrate.
is given in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. In these figures, each data The column diameter of the FDB in which the froth rises was
point is the mean of three froth recovery values and the bars pres- 60 mm, much more smaller than the rougher cell, and the low
ent the 95% confidence interval. In both figures, for particle sizes up diameter to height ratio would restrict the lateral froth movement
to 50 lm froth recovery is higher than 90%, but beyond that how- in the column allowing the froth to rise only vertically. The rougher
ever, it drops rapidly with an increase in particle size. It is evident cell has dimensions of 3.37 m  2.6 m so the froth covers much
from the figures that the increase in the air flowrate or superficial more lateral distance comparatively; as a result the froth residence
gas velocity seems to slightly improve the recovery of relatively time is expected to be much longer for the rougher cell than the
coarse particles presumably due to shorter residence time of parti- FDB device. This could lead to more effective drainage of entrained
cles in the froth column. The shorter residence time minimises the particles and consequently improvement of the rougher concen-
trate grade. From Fig. 7, it can also be seen that both the FDB
Table 3 and rougher concentrate grades decrease with an increase in air
Overall solid mass flowrate of different streams of FDB device as a function of air
flowrate, showing the dilution of the concentrates by free gangue
flowrate for Day 1 and Day 2.
or even low grade mineral particles that are more likely to be
Test Jg (cm/s) Solid mass flowrate (g/min) recovered by entrainment. From the overall copper grade FDB
day
Net Standard Concentrate Standard Dropback Standard dropback stream, the rougher feed and tailing in Fig. 7 it can be
input deviation deviation deviation seen that for both Day 1 and Day 2 the dropback sample grade is
device
higher than the tailing grade but quite close to the feed grade.
Day 1 1.6 101.4 16.34 26.7 1.89 74.7 16.37 An increase in the air flowrate appears to lead to a drop in the
1.8 119.6 2.80 33.1 2.60 86.6 1.15
dropback grade and at higher air rate the dropback stream has low-
Day 2 1.6 125.1 5.45 35.8 6.14 89.3 0.69 er grade than the feed grade. The tailing grade in Fig. 7 shows a
1.8 120.0 12.61 41.1 10.55 78.9 2.57
decreasing trend with increase in air flowrate although the trend
1.9 155.84 3.41 71.4 2.91 84.5 0.86
is not that obvious for Day 2. Those particles with relatively higher
 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202 199

100 100

90 90

80 80

70

cumulative passing (%)

70
froth recovery (%)

60 60
50 Jg 1.6 cm/s 50
Jg 1.8 cm/s concentrate
40
40 dropback
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
10 20 38 53 75 106 150 0
average particle size in band (micron) 0 25 50 75 100 125 150
average particle size in band (micron)
Fig. 4. Froth recovery vs particle size for Day 1.
Fig. 6. Comparison of average particle size distribution of concentrate and
dropback streams at Jg 1.8 cm/s on Day 2.

100 sizes the dropback grade is higher than the tailing grade where the
90 dropback grade is lower than the feed grade for finer particles. It
should be noted that the feed sample for analysis was taken ahead
80 of the rougher bank. In a normal operation, the grade of the tails
from the cell would be expected to lie between grades for the feed
70
and the concentrate. The grade of entrained particles in the FDB
froth recovery (%)

60 froth should be similar to the contents of the rougher cell, i.e. to

Jg 1.6 cm/s
50
Jg 1.8 cm/s
40
Jg 1.9 cm/s
30
20
10
0
10 20 38 53 75 106
average particle size in band (micron)
Fig. 5. Froth recovery vs particle size for Day 2.
grades than the tailing but lower grades than the concentrate rep-
resents those that have been selectively collected in the pulp zone
and entered in the froth layer, but have detached and fallen from
the froth into the dropback collector.
Comparison between the copper grade of concentrate from the
froth dropback device and rougher cell are shown in Figs. 8 and 9,
respectively, as a function of particle size for different air flowrates.
The concentrate grade from the FDB device is considerably lower
than the concentrate grade of rougher cell for all particle size. How-
ever, it appears that the difference in grades between the concen-
trate of FDB and rougher cell is much smaller for coarser particles
than the finer particles. This indicates that in the FDB device the fi-
ner particles are more likely to be recovered by entrainment mech-
anism than the coarser particles. Another important observation
from Figs. 8 and 9 is that with increase in superficial gas velocity,
dilution of concentrate grade of both FDB and rougher cell appears
to occur. The degree of dilution of concentrate grade is more prom-
inent for finer range than the coarse particles, as expected.
Figs. 10 and 11 show the grade of feed, dropback and tailing
samples as a function of particle size for various superficial veloc-
ities on Day 1 and Day 2, respectively. It appears that for all particle
the tails from the same cell. The most likely explanation for the
small negative difference between dropback and cell feed is that
it is a result of experimental error. In contrast, for coarse particles
the dropback grade is much higher than the feed grade to the cell.
The data in both Figs. 10 and 11 indicate that coarse particles that
report to the dropback collector are mostly middling/composite
particles which have grades higher than those of the feed but lower
than those of the concentrate particles. It is reasonable to assume
that these particles have been able to attach to the bubbles in
the collection zone and transported into the froth, and have subse-
150 quently detached and reported as froth dropback. However, even
though the coarse dropback particles have higher grade than the
feed in Figs. 5.10 and 5.11, it can be seen in Fig. 5.7 that the overall
dropback grade is lower than the feed grade for both Days 1 and 2.
This discrepancy may be ascribed to high proportion of the fine
material in the feed.
Table 5 shows mass fraction and grade by size for different
streams from the device. The table suggests that the net input de-
vice has a high percentage of particles, with more than 54% having
an average of particle size less or equal to 10 lm. Similarly the
dropback and concentrate contain 50% and 62% particles of
10 lm diameter and less, respectively. As a result, majority of these
finer particles which have low grade than the feed (see Figs. 10 and
11) suppress the effect of coarse particles which have relatively
higher grade than that of the feed particles.
Analysing the tailings grade, for Day 2, presented in Fig. 11, it
appears that it is lower than the feed grade at higher air flowrate
for coarse factions, however the tailing grades approaches to the
feed grade at lower air rate. Similarly in Fig. 10, for Day 1, for high-
est superficial gas velocity, Jg 1.8 cm/s the tailings grade is lower
than the feed grade, however, for lowest Jg 1.6 cm/s the grade is
close to the feed grade and is slightly higher than the feed grade
for particle size 128 and 150 lm. Clearly this is not possible and
it may refer to experimental error. With increase in superficial
gas velocity decrease in tailings grade is expected as only the bare
particles are left behind in the tailings.
200 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202

Table 5
Average mass fractions and Cu (%) by size of calculated net input device, dropback FDB and concentrate FDB streams at Jg 1.8 cm/s on Day 2.

Average particle size in band (lm) Mass fraction (%) Cu (%)

Calculated net input device Concentrate Dropback Calculated net input device Concentrate Dropback
FDB FDB FDB FDB
10 54.60 62.93 50.42 2.37 (0.24) 6.17 (1.73) 0.14 (0.01)
29 11.78 10.60 12.37 3.43 (0.32) 11.3 (3.31) 0.25 (0.03)
45 8.47 8.34 8.56 3.77 (0.39) 11.3 (3.2) 0.31 (0.03)
64 9.66 8.08 10.45 2.3 (0.25) 7.81 (2.6) 0.32 (0.02)
90 8.94 6.26 10.25 1.26 (0.04) 4.52 (1.4) 0.35 (0.02)
128 4.94 2.99 5.94 1.06 (0.25) 4.24 (1.33) 0.26 (0.12)
150 1.59 0.80 2.00 0.71 (0.01) 2.86 (0.65) 0.31 (0.01)

The numbers in parentheses indicate standard deviations.

40 0.4 of gangue particles in the FDB device. During the experiments it

35 0.35 was observed that the bubble size of the top froth layer in FDB de-
vice was smaller than the rougher cell, suggesting less bubble coa-
30 0.3 lescence. Bubble-particle aggregates when rising in the froth layer
in the real plant cell, experience both vertical and lateral move-
Cu grade (%)
Cu grade (%)

25 0.25
ments, while the froth column of the FDB device restricts lateral
20 0.2 movement which may reduce the drainage action inside the de-
vice. The velocity profile in a froth column will show that the liquid
15 0.15 in the center of the column will move at a higher speed than those
closer to the wall. As the diameter of the column gets smaller, the
10 0.1
column wall gives rise to a plug flow, that is the froth rises
5 0.05 smoothly to top of the column. Conversably when the diameter
of froth column gets bigger, deviations from plug flow can occur
0 0 and this leads to instability, such as mixing, lateral movement in
1.6 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.9 the froth column. This instability induces strong spatial pressure
Day 1 Day 2 fluctuations causing to films breakage, and bubble coalescence
Jg (cm/s)
which accelerate liquid drainage. In columns of low cross-sectional
concentrate FDB concentrate rougher cell dropback FDB area, wall effects may also become significant thus adversely affect
feed rougher cell tails rougher cell liquid drainage. So, further investigations are needed to find out
the effective froth column diameter of the FDB that represents
Fig. 7. Comparison of overall copper grade of froth dropback device samples with
rougher cell samples for Day 1 and Day 2.
the plant froth layer. From the experimental results, it is also found
that the dropback grade is higher than the tailing grade but not sig-
nificantly different from the feed grade. During the experiment, the
4. Limitations of current FDB device dropback particles were collected by using a pump at minimal flow
rate however, still there may be a chance of collecting pulp, at the
The design of the FDB device is such that it attempts to decouple same time collecting the real detached particles dropping off the
the froth from the pulp phase to allow the froth recovery to be cal- froth. In this regard, a cleaning or washing zone could be intro-
culated. However, a number of limitations came to light when the duced in the FDB to reduce the entrainment of the pulp with the
data were examined. From the plant experimental results, it can be rising bubbles, ensuring only the entrance of bubble attached par-
seen that the concentrate grade of the FDB device is much lower ticles. Also, instead of using the pumping method to collect the
than that of the rougher cell and even at higher air flowrates the dropback particles, the use of the larger water-filled dropback
dilution of concentrate grade is more significant. This suggests chamber that would allow the settling of froth dropback particles
insufficient froth drainage that leads to the higher entrainment could minimise this problem.

50
45
40 concentrate FDB
35 Jg 1.6 cm/s
Cu grade (%)

30 Jg 1.8 cm/s
25
concentrate rougher cell
20
Jg 1.6 cm/s
15
Jg 1.8 cm/s
10
5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
average particle size in band (micron)

Fig. 8. Comparison of copper grade between froth dropback device concentrate sample and rougher cell concentrate sample as a function of particle size for two different Jg
on Day 1.
 R.M. Rahman et al. / Minerals Engineering 53 (2013) 193–202 201

50
45
concentrate FDB
40
Jg 1.6 cm/s
35

Cu grade (%)
Jg 1.8 cm/s
30
Jg 1.9 cm/s
25
concentrate rougher cell
20
Jg 1.6 cm/s
15
Jg 1.8 cm/s
10
Jg 1.9 cm/s
5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
average particle size in band (micron)

Fig. 9. Comparison of copper grade between froth dropback device concentrate sample and rougher cell concentrate sample as a function of particle size for three different Jg
on Day 2.

0.6 zone. It is also found that the increase in air flowrate slightly in-
creases the froth recovery, which is in good agreement with the
0.5 flotation practice. The experimental results show that the coarse
Cu grade (%)

particles that report as froth dropback are basically middling par-

0.4 ticles which are much higher in grade than the feed particles but
lower than that of concentrate particles. This result indicates the
0.3
froth phase has a selective nature and discriminates between low
0.2 and high grade particles. From the mass balance approach it is also
found that the input flow that enters into the froth dropback device
0.1 has much higher grade than the feed of rougher cell. This result
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 also opens a question whether the general assumption of perfectly
average particle size in band (micron) mixed collection zone is fully justified for an industrial scale flota-
feed rougher cell dropback (Jg - 1.6 cm/s) dropback (Jg - 1.8 cm/s) tion cell.
The technique is still only at its infancy for industry operations
tails (Jg - 1.6 cm/s) tails (Jg - 1.8 cm/s)
and needs further improvement. Nevertheless this is the first
Fig. 10. Comparison of copper grade among feed, tailing samples from rougher cell attempt to measure industrial scale froth recovery, using the
and dropback sample from froth dropback device as a function of particle size for dropback collection technique. Further analysis of the dropback
two different Jg on Day 1. particles using Mineral Liberation Analysis (Gu, 2003) could
provide valuable information which can be utilised for further
improvement of the flotation process.
0.4

Acknowledgements
Cu grade (%)

0.3
Financial support from the sponsors of the AMIRA (Australian
Mineral Industry Research Association) Project P90 is greatly
0.2 acknowledged. The authors would also like to acknowledge the
support from the Northparkes concentrator personnel during the
testwork.
0.1
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