Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Mineral Industry –

Dessureault, Ganguli, Kecojevic & Dwyer (eds)

© 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1537 449 9

Effects of heterogeneous hydrocyclone feed in a magnetite grinding circuit

T.C. Eisele, C.H. Nurnberger & S.K. Kawatra

Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA

ABSTRACT: Hydrocyclones classify particles based on both density and size, with the d50 size becoming
finer as the particle density increases. As a result, when the hydrocyclone feed is a heterogenous mixture of
particles with different densities, each type of particle follows a different efficiency curve. This can lead to the
bulk efficiency curve deviating markedly from the ideal S-shaped efficiency curve that occurs when particles
have a uniform density. To evaluate the effect that this has on an operating mineral processing plant, samples
from a magnetite grinding circuit which exhibited a non-S-shaped hydrocyclone efficiency curve were analyzed
with respect to size distribution and magnetite assay, and individual magnetite and quartz efficiency curves
were calculated. The particle density effect was shown to cause significant retention of the fine magnetite in
the grinding circuit by the hydrocyclone, resulting in over-grinding of magnetite and a subsequent waste of
approximately 7% of the total grinding energy. Suggested sizing improvements either the addition of screens
to the grinding circuit to supplement the hydrocyclones, or the complete replacement of hydrocyclones with
screens.

1 INTRODUCTION of low-density and high-density particles is exempli-

Hydrocyclone classification is based on both the den-
sity and particle size distribution of the feed stream,
and classification performance is expressed in terms
of efficiency curves. When a hydrocyclone processes
material of a uniform density, a single bulk effi-
ciency curve adequately describes the performance of
a hydrocyclone. It is generally assumed that the d50 of
an efficiency curve is only dependent on the hydrocy-
clone dimensions and the feed flowrate, percent solids,
and density, and over a broad range of particle sizes it
is not a function of the size distribution of the feed par-
ticles. This relationship is shown in Equation 1 (Plitt,
fied in Figure 1, which includes the efficiency curves
for pyrite (specific gravity = 5.0) and non-sulfides
(specific gravity 2.7), as well as the combined bulk
efficiency curve for the mixture. Both of the pure com-
ponents clearly follow portions of classic S-shaped
efficiency curves, but the combined curve deviates
markedly from an S-shape.
Unlike efficiency curves for particles of homoge-
nous density, heterogeneous efficiency curves are not
100%
% Feed to Hydrocyclone

90%
1976): 80%
70%
Underflow

60%
50%
40%
30%
where d50c = corrected d50 (µm); φ = volumetric Pyrite Feed
20%
fraction of solids in feed; Dc = cyclone diameter (cm); Bulk Feed
10%
h = free vortex height (cm); Di = inlet diameter (cm); Non-sulphide Feed
0%
Q = volumetric flowrate of feed (L/min); Do = over-
10 100 1000
flow diameter (cm); ρs = solid density (g/cm3 ); Du =
Particle Size (µm)
underflow diameter (cm); ρ = liquid density (g/cm3 )
Equation 1 shows that the higher the density of Figure 1. Hydrocyclone efficiency curves from a pyrite
a material, the smaller the d50 (Plitt, 1976; Napier- ore concentrator (Plitt, 1976). The homogeneous pyrite and
Munn et al., 1996). With a heterogeneous feed contain- non-sulfide efficiency curves have a normal S-shape, while
ing particles that vary in density, each feed component the heterogeneous bulk feed efficiency curve has a peculiar,
follows the appropriate efficiency curve for particles non-S shape. The bulk feed curve has a plateau that extends
of its density. The effect of this on a synthetic mixture from ∼90 µm to 250 µm.

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Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK

 independent of the feed size distribution – they are
affected by the feed distributions of their individual
components (Laplante and Finch, 1984). Each size
fraction of the bulk feed is comprised of both com-
ponents in varying percentages, and the value of the
bulk efficiency curve at a specific size fraction is
the weighted average of the component efficiency
curve values. The component efficiency curves are
weighted according to the respective weight percent-
ages of dense and light components contained in the
feed stream (Heiskanen, 1993). This is calculated as
shown in Equation 2 (Napier-Munn et al., 1996):
where S = bulk efficiency curve value for size fraction
x; SL = efficiency curve value of light feed compo-
nent for size fraction x; SH = efficiency curve value
of heavy (dense) feed component for size fraction x;
fL = weight fraction that is the light feed component
for size fraction x; x = particle size (µm).
When a given size fraction in the feed stream
primarily contains a single component, the bulk effi-
ciency curve value is proportionally closer to the
efficiency curve of that component. This trend is evi-
dent in Figure 1, where the coarser sizes are primarily
non-sulfide quartz while the finer sizes are enriched
in pyrite. Thus, the bulk efficiency curve in Figure 1
follows the non-sulfide efficiency curve at particle
sizes larger than 250 µm, and switches to following
the pyrite efficiency curve at particle sizes finer than
90 µm. The particle size fractions of the bulk feed
larger than 90 µm but smaller than 250 µm contain sig-
nificant portions of both pyrite and non-sulfides, so the
bulk efficiency curve values fall between the single-
component efficiency curve values for each particle
size fraction in this range. This causes a “bump” or
plateau in the bulk efficiency curve (Laplante and
Finch, 1984).
This type of non-S shaped bulk efficiency curve is
a characteristic of many heterogeneous hydrocyclone
feed streams (Mapier-Munn et al., 1996; Laplante and
Finch, 1984; Heiskanen, 1993; Flintoff et al., 1987;
Lynch, 1977). As explained above, for this to occur
the heterogeneous hydrocyclone feed streams must
consist of a fine dense component and a coarse light
component. The occurrence of this type of particle dis-
tribution in hydrocyclones used in grinding circuits is
not surprising when a typical layout of a classifying –
grinding circuit is considered. The d50 of the denser
hydrocyclone feed component is smaller than the d50
of the light component, so the dense component con-
tinues to report to the hydrocyclone underflow at a
finer particle size than the light component. There-
fore, the hydrocyclone underflow is enriched in fine
dense particles that are smaller than the d50 size for
the light particles. These particles are then returned
to the grinding mill and reground even though they
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Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
are already smaller than the nominal cut size for the
hydrocyclone.
The effect of the re-circulation of the ground under-
flow is minimal if there is only a small overall per-
centage of the dense component in the circuit new
feed. The weight percentage of the dense fines in the
re-circulating load is then negligible, and the high-
density particles do not accumulate to high levels.
However, when the percentage of the dense component
in the circuit new feed is high, the presence of excess
dense fines in the re-circulating load is significant.
This excess of the dense component at fine particle
sizes is the necessary condition for the bulk efficiency
curve to deviate from the S-shape. Therefore, the
resulting peculiar, non-S shaped bulk efficiency curve
can be considered a symptom of excessive amounts of
dense particles being trapped in the circuit.
The practical significance of this effect is that the
denser particles are ground to finer than the tar-
get grind size and therefore much energy can be
wasted grinding material that is already fine enough
to be passed from the circuit (Heiskanen, 1993). In
order to reduce the amount of wasted energy, clas-
sification must be improved so that the amount of
overground, high-density fines in the hydrocyclone
underflow is reduced. Bond’s energy equation (Bond,
1952), shown in Equation 3, is commonly used to
determine the amount of energy required to grind a
specific feed particle size to a specific product particle
size, and is therefore used to calculate energy savings
achieved from the reduction of overground fines in the
underflow.
where W = work input (kWh/MT); Wi = work index
(kWh/MT); P = 80% passing size of product (µm);
F = 80% passing size of feed (µm).
Peculiarly-shaped bulk efficiency curves have been
observed in the past for industrial magnetite-silica ore
systems (Lynch, 1977). However, direct measurements
of the quantities of the individual feed components in
each individual size fraction have not previously been
made using samples from full-scale plants so that indi-
vidual component efficiency curves could be calcu-
lated directly. It has therefore not been confirmed that
the shape of the curves has been due to density effects,
and has not been previously determined how much
energy is being expended in overgrinding of dense
particles trapped in the grinding circuit. The purpose
of this paper is to show that the industrially-observed
non-S shaped bulk efficiency curve for magnetite ore
is a result of hydrocyclone feed with heterogenous
densities, and then to calculate the energy lost in over-
grinding of the magnetite. Possible solutions to the
problem are also discussed.
 % of Feed to Hydrocyclone Underflow
Pebble Mill Discharge 108 MTPH Solids 100%
(Trommel Unders)
Overflow 90% 25µm
Flotation Circuit
Circuit New Feed 45 MTPH Solids
Primary Mill
(Cobber Conc.) (30% of total feed) 80%
Hydro-
43 MTPH Solids cyclone 70%
Chips 2 MTPH Solids 52µm
(Trommel Overs)
60%
Sample Points Underflow Pebble 8mm 50%
106 MTPH Solids Mill Trommel
(70% of total feed, 40%
78% Magnetite
Pebbles
22% Non-Magnetite) 4 MTPH Solids 30%
Magnetite Feed
20% Bulk Feed
Figure 2. Classification-grinding circuit of Plant A. Sam- 10% Quartz Feed
ples were taken from the indicated sample points and were
0%
used in size analyses and assay determinations.
10 100
Top Particle Size (µm)

2 EXPERIMENTAL Figure 3. Hydrocyclone efficiency curves from magnetite

Samples of circuit new feed, hydrocyclone underflow,
hydrocyclone overflow, and pebble mill discharge were
collected from an operating plant (PlantA) at the points
in the grinding circuit shown in Figure 2. Size analyses
were carried out by three methods: 1. Wet-sieving at
25 µm using a woven-wire test sieve, followed by dry
sieving of the +25 µm particles using woven-wire test
sieves in a Ro-Tap sieve shaker; 2. Micro-sieving of
dry powders using electroformed nickel-foil sieves in a
Sonic Sifter apparatus, which allowed sieving down to
10 µm particle size; and 3. A Microtrac® laser diffrac-
concentrator Plant A. The d50 sizes were 20 µm for the
homogeneous magnetite efficiency curve and 39 µm for the
homogeneous quartz curve. The homogeneous magnetite and
quartz curves follow the standard S-shape.The heterogeneous
bulk efficiency curve has a deviates from the ideal S shape
because it was influenced by the amount of each compo-
nent per size fraction. It was located evenly between the two
component curves at particles sizes coarser than 52 µm, but
was located closer to the magnetite curve at particles sizes
smaller than 52 µm. This was particularly noticeable at the
25 µm size fraction.
% of Hydrocyclone Underflow

40%
tion particle size analyzer was used to measure particle
35% Magnetite
sizes down to 1 µm. For the sieved samples, each indi- Quartz
30%
vidual size fraction was assayed using a dichromate 20µm 39µm
25%
titration method by Plant A personnel to determine the
20%
iron assay of each sieved size fraction for each stream
15%
mentioned above. The size distribution and assay data
10%
was then mass balanced, and the magnetite concentra-
5%
tion in each size fraction was calculated from the iron
0%
assays. 1 10 100 1000 10000
Top Particle Size (µm)

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure 4. Size distribution of the hydrocyclone underflow

The efficiency curves in Figure 3 were constructed
from the mass balanced data from Plant A. As can
be seen by comparing Figure 3 with Figure 1, the
magnetite ore hydrocyclone efficiency curves for the
feed stream components and the bulk feed were sim-
ilar in shape to those for the pyrite ore system. The
homogeneous component magnetite and quartz effi-
ciency curves followed the typical S-shape. The bulk
efficiency curve was midway between the two single-
component efficiency curves at particle sizes larger
than ∼52 µm. Between 52 and 25 µm, the bulk effi-
ciency curve became progressively closer to the pure
magnetite curve, and at less than 25 µm it was nearly
identical to the magnetite curve.
The specific gravity of magnetite is 5.2 and the
specific gravity of quartz is 2.7 (Barthelmy, 2004),
in terms of its components. The particles larger than 20 µm
and smaller than 39 µm were primarily magnetite. This was
a result of the d50s of the magnetite and quartz efficiency
curves.
so as predicted by Equation 1 and seen in Figure 3,
the d50 of the denser magnetite was smaller (20 µm)
than the d50 of the less dense quartz (39 µm). Thus,
the particles in the hydrocyclone underflow that were
coarser than 20 µm and finer than 39 µm were almost
entirely magnetite, as seen in Figure 4. As a result, a
large percentage (78 percent) of the total hydrocyclone
underflow was magnetite, most of which had already
been ground to finer than the target product size.
Once the hydrocyclone underflow was recombined
with fresh feed, the size distributions of each com-
ponent in the resulting hydrocyclone feed were as

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Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK

 35%
% of Hydrocyclone Feed
25µm
30% Magnetite
25%
Quartz
52µm
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1 10 100 1000
Top Particle Size (µm)
Figure 5. Size distribution of the hydrocyclone feed stream
in terms of its components. There were nearly equal amounts
of the two components at particle sizes coarser than 52 µm.
There was significantly more magnetite than quartz at parti-
cles sizes smaller than 52 µm, particularly at the 25 µm size
fraction.
shown in Figure 5. There were nearly equal amounts
of magnetite and quartz at particle sizes coarser than
52 µm, which resulted in the bulk efficiency curve
shown in Figure 3 falling evenly between the mag-
netite and quartz efficiency curves at particle sizes
larger than 52 µm. At particle sizes finer than 52 µm,
it is seen in Figure 5 that the magnetite weight percent
of the bulk hydrocyclone feed per size fraction was
significantly higher than the corresponding weight
fractions of quartz. As a result, the bulk efficiency
curve shifted to closely following the efficiency curve
for pure magnetite. This occurrence is the main con-
tributor to the non-S shape of the bulk hydrocyclone
efficiency curve.
A practical effect of the heterogeneity of the hydro-
cyclone feed on the Plant A grinding circuit was that
energy was being wasted by re-grinding magnetite that
was already finer than the target grind size and should
have been removed from the grinding circuit. Since the
target grind size for the classification-grinding circuit
was 25 µm, it can be seen from Figure 4 that 47 per-
cent of the magnetite in the hydrocyclone underflow
was smaller than the target grind size, but was nev-
ertheless being returned to the mill for regrinding. It
was calculated that 37% (39 metric tons per hour) of
the hydrocyclone underflow was magnetite that ideally
should have been removed from the circuit through the
hydrocyclone overflow. At the same time, the amount
of quartz smaller than the target grind size in the under-
flow was negligible (1%). Since the underflow was the
feed for a pebble mill, as shown in Figure 2, the fine
magnetite was over-ground and re-circulated back to
the hydrocyclone feed. This cycle of classification, re-
grinding, and re-circulation continued for a particle of
magnetite until it was smaller than the 20 µm d50 of
the magnetite efficiency curve and could be removed
by the hydrocyclone.
Examination of the size distribution of the mag-
netite contained in the cyclone overflow showed that
Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
the magnetite fraction was 80% passing 20 µm, and
this magnetite made up 67% of the cyclone overflow
solids. Assuming a target grind size of 80% passing
25 µm, Bond’s energy equation (Equation 3) (Laplante
and Finch, 1984) was used to estimate the amount of
energy expended in overgrinding this material. While
the work index of the magnetite alone was unavailable,
the average work index of the ore was 11.6 kw-hr/ton.
When this value is used in the energy calculation, the
10000 energy consumed in overgrinding is:
equal to 2.74 kw-hr per ton of magnetite overground.
Since the magnetite is 67% of the cyclone overflow,
this corresponds to (0.67)(2.74) = 1.84 kw-hr per ton
of grinding circuit feed. Since the grinding circuit was
consuming a total of 25.61 kw-hr per ton of grind-
ing circuit feed, a total of 7.16% of the total energy
used was wasted in overgrinding of the magnetite.
This clearly indicates that energy savings are avail-
able through the reduction of fines in the hydrocyclone
underflow.
The performance of classification in a grinding
circuit can be altered in a number of ways, includ-
ing (1) adding a second hydrocyclone in series with
the original hydrocyclone, (2) adding screens to the
grinding circuit to supplement the hydrocyclones,
or (3) completely replacing the hydrocyclones with
screens. Adding a second hydrocyclone, such that the
underflow of the original hydrocyclone feeds the sec-
ond hydrocyclone, is primarily useful for reducing
the bypass fraction for increased classification and
increasing circuit capacity (Heiskanen, 1993). Derrick
corporation has also had considerable success by com-
pletely replacing hydrocyclones with polyurethane
multi-deck screens. This caused the effects of hetero-
geneous feed to be non-existent, as screen classifi-
cation is solely based on size and is not affected by
particle density (Valine, 2004). National Steel Pellet
Co., in conjunction with Derrick Corporation, has
had success reducing energy costs and increasing the
circuit capacity by adding ∼150 µm opening multi-
deck screens to their grinding circuit, where the target
grind size is 45 µm. The grinding mill discharge was
introduced to the screen and the screen oversize was re-
circulated back to the grinding mill feed stream, while
the screen undersize was the grinding circuit product
(Valine, 2004; Derrick, 1999/2000).
This suggests several possible approaches to
improving particle sizing in the plant under study.
A second stage of hydrocyclones could be installed
in order to reduce the bypass fraction, but since the
bypass fraction is already under 5% this is unlikely
to be of much benefit. Another possibility is to add
screens to the grinding circuit in order to remove
524
 a majority of the minus 25 µm material from the
re-circulating load. The screen oversize would be re-
circulated to the grinding circuit, directly to the pebble
mill feed, and the screen undersize would be removed
from the grinding circuit. The hydrocyclones would
then only be processing the new feed to the grind-
ing circuit, not the combined new feed/pebble mill
discharge. Another potential method to improve classi-
fication is to remove the hydrocyclone completely and
replace it with screens, as screening efficiency is not
determined by density and is therefore unaffected by
a heterogeneous feed. It has yet to be determined what
size screen openings would be necessary to ensure sig-
nificant energy savings, or if screens with the required
opening size would be viable in terms of capacity
and screen life. The primary concern in the screening
approach is that screening at 25 µm is difficult and
requires a large screen area. It is therefore important
to design the circuit to minimize the fraction of the
slurry that must be screened.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The values of the non-S shaped hydrocyclone effi-
ciency curve for magnetite concentrator Plant A were
demonstrated to be the assay-weighted averages of the
individual efficiency curve values of the components
(magnetite and quartz) contained in the hydrocyclone
feed. The shape and d50 of the homogeneous mag-
netite and quartz efficiency curves were dependent on
material specific gravity and size distribution, so the
bulk efficiency curve was also a function of these vari-
ables. This was of practical interest as the magnetite
efficiency curve d50 was finer than the target grind
size of the circuit, which caused a significant amount
of fine magnetite to be un-necessarily re-ground by the
grinding mill associated with the hydrocyclones. The
subsequent waste in grinding energy was calculated to
be approximately 7% of the total. This waste of energy
could be avoided by improved sizing/classification to
prevent high-density particles from being retained in
525
Copyright © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
the circuit. With existing technology, the most effective
approach will be a combined screen/hydrdocyclone
configuration where the hydrocyclone is used to mini-
mize the load on the screens while the screens provide
final, positive control of particle size.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project was partially supported by the U.S.
Department of Energy under Grant No. DE-FC26-
01NT41062. The support of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron
Co. is also gratefully acknowledged.
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