Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review

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Dewatering of Copper Flotation Tailings: Effect of

Feed Dilution on the Thickener Performance

Mohammad Reza Garmsiri & Ataollah Nosrati

To cite this article: Mohammad Reza Garmsiri & Ataollah Nosrati (2018): Dewatering of Copper
Flotation Tailings: Effect of Feed Dilution on the Thickener Performance, Mineral Processing and
Extractive Metallurgy Review, DOI: 10.1080/08827508.2018.1497626

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2018.1497626

Published online: 19 Jul 2018.

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MINERAL PROCESSING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY REVIEW
https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2018.1497626

Dewatering of Copper Flotation Tailings: Effect of Feed Dilution on the Thickener

Performance
Mohammad Reza Garmsiria and Ataollah Nosratib
a
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Sirjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sirjan, Iran; bSchool of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup,
WA, Australia

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Aqueous slurries’ dewatering using gravity-driven thickeners is an essential unit operation in mineral Thickener; slurry dilution;
processing. Thickener feed dilution is often used for enhanced flocculation and sediment compressi- eductor; copper flotation
bility. This work investigated the effect of feed dilution on thickener performance for copper flotation tailings; dewatering
tailings. Furthermore, the performance of the feed dilution system (eductor) was investigated from
theoretical and practical perspectives. The results indicated that reducing eductor discharge solid
loading increased thickener underflow solid loading. Higher thickener feed flow rate also affected
eductor performance, reducing its discharge solid loading by 4 wt.%. Finally, a smart thickener dilution
system was proposed to maintain optimum dilution.

Introduction industrial eductor could supply up to 3000 m3/h or more

water to the slurry while a relatively large pump would be
Feed dilution is an approach used to enhance the dewatering
required to supply a comparable water flow rate.
performance of the modern thickeners. For instance, feed
Eductor, also known with the commercial name of E-Duc,
slurry dilution can improve flocculation efficiency
is the most common self-diluting system used in thickeners
(Silverblatt and Easton 2002; Hogg 2005) by affecting both
which was introduced and patented by EIMCO (Wood et al.
floc size and density (Silverblatt and Easton 2002; Nguyen
1997). It is also used in other applications such as firefighting
et al. 2012; McCaslin et al. 2014). The advantages of thickener
(Corbett 2009) and oil and gas industry (Mohan and Samad
feed dilution include reduced flocculant consumption,
2015). As shown in Figure 1, a typical eductor used for
increased settling flux, and enhanced bed/sediment compres-
thickeners is a jet pump based device in which feed slurry
sibility (Green and Boger 1997; Gorain 2016), the latter being
passes through a primary nozzle (B) leading to its quick
essential in deep bed thickeners. Thus, feed dilution can sig-
velocity increase and pressure drop. The latter acts as the
nificantly reduce dewatering costs while increasing through-
driving force to create a suction in the secondary nozzle (C),
put and sediment consolidation. It is worth noting that
as a result, the supernatant is drawn into the thickener feed
although thickener feed dilution is crucial in cases where its
slurry and dilution occurs.
solid loading is too high (e.g., copper flotation tailings), it may
Although eductors are widely used in gravity thickeners
not always be needed (Schoenbrunn and Laros 2002). As an
throughout the minerals industry around the world, the
example, solids concentration of tailings of iron ore magnetic
mechanisms underpinning and affecting parameters has
separation or flotation of coal particles are relatively low and
received little attention and only a limited number of studies
further dilution is not required.
have been reported (e.g., Green and Boger 1997; Schoenbrunn
Two methods exist for thickener feed dilution compris-
and Laros 2002; Banisi and Yahyaei 2008; Zhou et al. 2014).
ing diluting pumps and self-dilution systems (Schoenbrunn
Banisi and Yahyaei (2008) introduced an approach for sizing
and Laros 2002). In the former, water is added to the
the thickeners based on feed dilution. It was found that clarity
thickener feed from an external source or supernatant
of the thickener recycled water was improved with feed dilu-
using pumps. The advantage of employing pumps is greater
tion and also stated that dilution rate in eductor was affected
flexibility and better control on feed properties (e.g., solid
by thickener feed rate. Zhou et al. (2014) reported that both
loading); however, it leads to higher capital, maintenance,
flocculation and settling rate of red mud were enhanced upon
and energy costs. On the other hand, self-dilution systems
thickener feed dilution under the optimal conditions.
with no moving parts and minimal maintenance require-
Schoenbrunn and Laros (2002) suggested that during the
ments utilize the kinetic energy of thickener feed to dilute
dilution, there is an optimum solid loading which can lead
the slurry using supernatant with no extra operating cost.
to maximum settling flux.
For instance, a typical self-dilution device such as an

CONTACT Mohammad Reza Garmsiri m.r.garmsiri@gmail.com Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, University Blvd, Post box: 78185-187, Sirjan
8718813955, Iran.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/gmpr.
© 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 M. R. GARMSIRI AND A. NOSRATI
Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the cross-section of a typical eductor self-diluting system.
Feed slurry’s compressive yield stress and strength also play
essential role in the thickeners performance particularly deep
bed thickeners. Green and Boger (1997) claimed that suspen-
sion solid loading is a determining factor in its compressive
yield stress and strength. A number of tests were conducted
using flocculated Al2O3 and ZrO2 slurries with varying initial
solid loadings. It was found that compressibility of both floc-
culated slurries enhanced with decreasing their initial solid
loading. Thus, an increase in the performance of a thickener
is expected upon thickener feed dilution. Also in a recent study,
Gorain (2016) reported enhanced consolidation of thickener
underflow with feed dilution. However, the magnitude of
improvement was not quantified or reported in this study.
Overall, the review of limited literature suggests the depen-
dency of eductor performance on its geometry and feed prop-
erties (Schoenbrunn and Laros 2002; Mohan and Samad
2015). None of those studies, however, contain specific details
which can be used for industrial applications especially for
cost-effective dewatering of tailings in copper industry.
Hence, new studies are warranted to get a better understand-
ing and quantitative detail information about the role and
effectiveness of thickener feed dilution, using eductor, for
enhanced dewatering of mineral tailings.
A significant fraction of tailings in the mineral processing
industry is produced by copper flotation (Boger 2009).
Meanwhile, the presence of significant fine fraction and/or
clay minerals in the feed is a challenge during thickening
process while thickener feed dilution may be a potential
remedy to achieve sustainable and economically viable dewa-
tering process. In this study, the role of thickener feed dilution
on the thickener performance for dewatering of copper flota-
tion tailings was examined. Also, following a theoretical
assessment of eductor performance using mass and momen-
tum conservation, and Bernoulli principles, the effect of feed
flow rate and solid loading on the eductor performance was
investigated in a full-scale deep bed thickener of copper flota-
tion tailings. The results obtained using theoretical and prac-
tical methods were compared and a smart dilution system was
proposed to maintain optimum feed solid loading during
flocculation in gravity-driven thickeners.
Materials and methods
Slurry samples were collected from five full-scale deep bed
thickeners (16 m diameter and 18.5 m height) working in
parallel and fed with tailings of similar ore compositions at
Shahrebabak copper complex, Kerman province, Iran. The
sampling points were thickener feed, eductor discharge, and
thickener discharge. The collected samples were immediately
filtered and dried to determine their solid loading. From the
data obtained for solid loading of samples from different
thickeners and eductors, the average solid loading values
were calculated and considered in the analysis and generating
the graphs. Also, volumetric feed flow rate of the thickeners
was estimated using Eq. (1).
FF 100  X
TFR ¼ þ FF  (1)
Ds X
where TFR is the thickener volumetric feed flow rate (m3 =h),
FF is the thickener feed solid mass flow rate (t=h), Ds is the
solids density (t=m3 ), and X is the thickener feed solid loading
(wt.%). Taking into account that in a copper concentrator,
about 98% of the feed is reported to the tailings, the slurry
feed rates to both concentrator and tailings thickener were
considered to be equal.
Slurry solid loading after dilution (eductor discharge) was
considered as an indicator of dilution efficiency, where lower
eductor discharge solid loading shows a better or more efficient
thickener feed dilution. Furthermore, thickener discharge solid
loading was an index for evaluating the overall thickener perfor-
mance with higher thickener discharge solid loading corre-
sponding to a lower water loss and better thickener
performance. It is notable that the pH values of all slurry samples
used in this study were ~ 11.8–12 while their flocculant dosages
were in the range 20–25 g/t. Also, according to our recent study
on similar copper flotation tailings (Garmsiri and Haji Amin
Shirazi 2018), flocculant dosage in the range used in this study
has negligible effect on slurries’ shear yield stress. Hence, the
effect of variation in both pH and flocculant dosage for different
slurry samples used in this study could be neglected.
 MINERAL PROCESSING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY REVIEW 3

Results and discussion Evaluation of eductor performance using mass

conservation principle
The effect of feed dilution on the thickener performance
According to mass conservation (continuity), which is the
To understand the effect of feed dilution on thickener perfor-
first principle in fluid mechanics, the input and output mass
mance under industrially relevant conditions, the perfor-
flow rates (m)_ are equal in a steady-state flow (White 2016)
mance of a full-scale thickener at Shahrebabak copper
which is defined as:
complex was studied under different feed solid loadings
(Figure 2). It is worth noting that apart from feed solid m _ out
_ in ¼ m (2)
loadings, a large number of other variables including (i) the
Considering the inputs and output of an eductor shown in
tailing’s other characteristics (e.g., particle size, particles sur-
Figure 1, Eq. (2) can be rewritten as:
face charge, solution chemical composition, solids density,
and flow rate), (ii) flocculant solution properties (e.g., mole- _1þm
m _3¼m
_2 (3)
cular weight, charge density, solution concentration, aging,
The mass flow rate of fluid streams could be calculated using
and dosage), (iii) aggregate formation, growth, deformation,
their density (ρ) and velocity (v) as well as cross-section area
and rupture, (iv) bed depth, (v) sediment compressibility and
of flows (A) as expressed below:
shear sensitivity, and (vi) porosity of material across the bed
all affect the thickener performance and contribute to dewa- _ i ¼ ρ i vi A i
m (4)
tering rate. However, one can look at the effect of one para-
meter (e.g., feed solid loading) on thickener performance Combining Eqs. (3) and (4), the mass conservation equation
while most of the other variables are kept constant as was for a thickener eductor under steady-state condition can be
the case in this study. rewritten as:
The data in Figure 2 show a clear trend/relationship ρ1 v1 A1 þ ρ3 v3 A3 ¼ ρ2 v2 A2 (5)
between thickener feed dilution and thickener underflow 3
solid loading. The solid loading of thickener underflow slurry Assuming the density of dilution water (ρ3 ) is 1 g/cm , the
increased by ~ 3%–7% with reducing feed’s solid loading by ~ velocity of diluting stream is obtained by rearrangement of
5%–6% during flocculation via dilution. This is mainly attrib- Eq. (5) as:
uted to open network with the weak structure of aggregated


A2 A1
particle network generated during flocculation in more v3 ¼ ρ2 v2  ρ1 v1 (6)
A3 A3
diluted suspension (Green and Boger 1997). It is notable
that thickener feed dilution becomes more important with Equation (6) implies that the velocity of diluting water intro-
increasing the bed depth due to the vital role of compres- duced to the eductor depends on the eductor dimension ratios
sion/consolidation of their underflows. Thus, it is expected ( AA23 and AA13 ) and feed flow characteristics (ρ1 v1 ). Thus, it
that feed dilution can be used as a remedy to noticeably could be concluded that by manipulating the eductor dimen-
enhance the performance of deep bed thickeners. However, sions or variation of the feed properties, the amount of dilut-
it must also be noted that there is an optimum feed solid ing water added by eductor to the thickener feed could be
loading where maximum settling flux can be achieved. Hence, altered. Note that ρ2 v2 is the eductor discharge property
care must be taken to find the optimum dilution and avoid which affects the dilution efficiency, however, the values of
excessive dilution of the thickener feed. As excessive dilution both ρ2 and v2 are functions of thickener feed properties.
was avoided in all of the dewatering tests reported in this
study, the data in Figure 2 only show the relationship between
feed dilution and thickener performance and cannot be used
Evaluation of eductor performance using momentum
to find the optimum dilution.
conservation principle

63 According to the second principle of fluid mechanics, the

Thickener Underflow solid loading (wt.%)

62
momentum of introducing and leaving flows are identical
under steady-state flow through a system (White 2016) as
61
the following expression:
60 X X
59 ðm_ i vi Þin ¼ _ i vi Þout
ðm (7)
58
Therefore, in the case of eductor, the momentum conserva-
57 tion can be written as:
56
_ 1 v1 þ m
m _ 3 v3 ¼ m
_ 2 v2 (8)
55
54 Substituting Eq. (3) in Eq. (8) and rearrangement of Eq. (8)
lead to Eq. (9). Afterward, replacing Eq. (4) into Eq. (9) lead
53
6 8 10 12 14 to Eq. (10).
Thickener Feed solid loading after dilution (wt.%)
v 1  v2
m _1
_3¼m (9)
Figure 2. The effect of feed dilution on the thickener underflow solid loading. v 2  v3
4 M. R. GARMSIRI AND A. NOSRATI
v1  v2
_ 3 ¼ ρ1 v1 A1
m (10)
v2  v3
Equations (9) and (10) show that the mass flow rate of dilut-
ing water (m _ 3 ) depends upon the mass flow rate of feed slurry
introduced to the eductor (m _ 1 ) which is affected by the
density (ρ1 ) and velocity (v1 ) of introducing feed. In other
words, the mass flow rate of diluting water through eductor
increases with thickener feed mass flow rate. Furthermore,
since the velocity of suspension is dependent on the cross-
section area of the flow, the terms (v1 - v2) and (v2 - v3) prove
the dependency of eductor performance on its geometry.
Equation (10) reveals that increasing the thickener feed
density and velocity leads to an increase in dilution water
flow rate in eductor. As the volumetric flow rate and therefore
velocity in slurries increases with reducing their density, the
question of interest is that how an increase in the density of
thickener feed slurry affects the dilution efficiency of eductor
and overall thickener performance. In other words, to achieve
a better thickening performance for flotation tailing, whether
a relatively high-density or low-density environment during
flotation is preferred. Taking into account that in a concen-
trator plant the mass throughput is almost constant, a slight
decrease in the thickener feed density results in a remarkable
increase in the volumetric flow rate and consequently velocity
of streams during thickening process. Hence, it could be said
from (Eq. (10)) that the dilution water flow rate in an eductor
increases with decreasing the density of suspensions during
flotation (i.e., thickener feed).
Evaluation of eductor performance using bernoulli
principle
Bernoulli principle, which is widely used in fluid mechanics,
reveals the relationship between pressure, velocity, and eleva-
tion of a flowing fluid. Using Bernoulli equation (White 2016)
to assess the performance of an eductor by considering points
(A) and (B) in its pipe and nozzle (Figure 1), Eq. (11) is
obtained:
pA  pB 1  2  whereas Figure 4 reveals that eductor efficiency was reduced
þ vA  v2B þ g ðzA  zB Þ ¼ 0 (11)
ρ 2
where p is the slurry pressure (Pa), v is the velocity of slurry
(m/s), z is the elevation (m), ρ is the slurry density (kg/m3),
and g is the gravitational acceleration (m/s2). In an eductor,
the difference between elevations of points A and B is negli-
gible because eductors are often mounted almost horizontally.
Thus, the term of difference between elevations could be
deleted. The pressure drop which is the driving force of an
eductor can be calculated by reducing Eqs. (11) to (12):
1  
pA  pB ¼ ρ v2B  v2A (12)
2
As can be noticed from Eq. (12), the driving force for suction
of dilution water in an eductor is proportional to the density
of thickener feed slurry as well as the difference between
square of stream velocities at points A and B. However, the
velocity of feed slurry has a stronger effect on eductor perfor-
mance than its density due to being raised to power 2.
Furthermore, Eq. (12) proves that an increase in the magni-

tude of vB2  v2A could be a practical remedy to enhance the
dilution in an eductor. Therefore, it can be said that the
performance of an eductor could be improved by reducing
the primary nozzle size.
Effect of feed properties on the eductor performance
Taking into account that thickener feed properties are key
factors influencing the eductor performance, the effect of
feed’s volumetric flow rate and density on the eductor perfor-
mance were investigated. Figure 3 illustrates that eductor
discharge solid loading decreased with increasing feed flow
rate. This is attributed to a higher pressure drop in the nozzle
caused by a higher feed flow rate. The results clearly confirm
that thickener feed dilution by eductor was enhanced at
higher volumetric flow rate of thickener feed. To further
investigate the importance of feed flow rate on eductor per-
formance, one test was conducted by taking a sample from
eductor discharge under normal operating conditions where
the solid loadings of eductor feed and discharge were 30 and
12.5 wt.%, respectively. Then, the feed flow rate was reduced
by 50% and another sample was collected from eductor dis-
charge this time showing 22 wt.% solid loading. This observa-
tion also confirmed the essential role of thickener feed flow
rate on eductor performance.
Figure 4 shows the effect of thickener feed density on the
eductor performance where the solid loading of eductor dis-
charge increased with increasing the density of thickener feed.
This observation is unexpected because according to Eqs. (10)
and (12), the driving force of an eductor, i.e., dilution effi-
ciency, should increase with increasing the feed density.
However, this is attributed to different perspectives of increas-
ing the feed density on the thickener performance: (1) the
direct effect of increasing the pressure drop and (2) the
indirect effect of reducing volumetric feed flow rate and
hence stream velocities.
Figure 3 confirms that thickener feed dilution by eductor
was enhanced with increasing volumetric feed flow rate
with increasing the feed density. Thus, it could be deduced
that volumetric flow rate of thickener feed has a stronger
14
Eductor Discharge solid loading (wt.%)
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
1700 1900 2100 2300 2500 2700 2900
Thickener feed flow rate (m3/h)
Figure 3. The effect of thickener feed flow rate on the eductor performance.
 MINERAL PROCESSING AND EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY REVIEW 5

14 61

Thickeners Discharge solid loading (wt.%)

Eductor discharge solid loading (wt.%)

A
13

12
59
11

10
57
9

8
55
7

6
1180 1200 1220 1240 1260 1280 1300
53
Thickener feed density (kg/m3)
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Figure 4. The effect of thickener feed density on the eductor performance. Thickener Feed solid loading (wt.%)

63

Thickeners Discharge solid loading (wt.%)

B
effect than its density on the eductor performance. This is also 62
consistent with the results obtained from theoretical consid- 61
eration using Bernoulli principle in section “Evaluation of
eductor performance using bernoulli principle.” The slightly 60
scattered data points shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, are attrib- 59
uted to the fact that the data were collected from a full-scale
industrial thickener, hence the impact of disturbance factors 58
was unavoidable. It is worth noting that if these tests were 57
conducted in small laboratory or pilot scales, the effect of
disturbance variables could be reduced significantly, resulting 56

in less scattered data points. However, taking into account 55

that each data point shown in Figures 2–4 is the average of 22 24 26 28 30
data obtained using samplings from five thickeners, the Thickener Feed solid loading (wt.%)
observed scatteredness of the data points is reasonably
Figure 5. Thickener discharge solid loading versus feed solid loading based on
acceptable. the real plant data collected at different times. Dashed rectangles represent
different data series which correspond to different ore compositions.

The effect of feed slurry solid loading on the thickener

performance 61
Thickeners discharge solids loading (wt.%)

Figure 5 shows the effect of thickener feed solid loading, 60

which is directly related to its density, on thickener discharge
59
solid loading, reflecting its overall performance and efficiency.
It is worth noting that the results are based on the real plant 58
data collected at different times in 2015 (Figure 5A) and 2011
(Figure 5B) from thickeners processing copper flotation tail- 57
ings. Dashed rectangles in Figure 5A and 5B indicate different 56
G1

data series which correspond to slightly different ore G2

compositions. 55 G3
The results in both Figure 5A and 5B indicate that in all
54
cases the thickener discharge solid loading increases with
increasing the feed solid loading. The data also clearly show 53
25 27 29 31 33 35 37
that under similar feed solid loadings, different thickener
Thickener feed solids loading (wt.%)
discharge solid loadings were achieved for different ore com-
positions. For better understanding of the results depicted in Figure 6. Thickener discharge solid loading versus feed solid loading for three
Figure 5, firstly these results are grouped based on different different ore types used in real plant dewatering tests. G1 (), G2 (), and G3 ()
ore types (Figure 6) in terms of their overall dewatering refer to the ore types with best, moderate, and worse dewatering behavior,
respectively.
behavior in thickener with G1, G2, and G3 referring to the
ore types with best, moderate, and worse dewatering behavior,
respectively. Secondly, the mineralogical composition of the significant except for Illite and Albite, reflecting ~ 20% and
three different groups of ores used in this study are presented ~ 5% variation between Illite and Albite content, respectively,
in Figure 7. The mineralogical data show that the variation in for G1, G2, and G3. The data in Figures 6 and 7 suggest that
percentage of major components for different ores is not mineralogical composition of thickener feed has a remarkable
6 M. R. GARMSIRI AND A. NOSRATI
60
Thickener discharge solids loading (wt.%)
50
40.9
40 36.0
34.1
30
16.2
20
13.0
10.8
10
0
Albite Muscovite
Figure 7. Mineralogical composition of three different ore types used in real
plant dewatering tests.
effect on dewatering performance. For instance, it appears
that a strong link exist between thickener feed’s Illite and/or
Albite content and dewatering performance, the lower the
Illite/Albite content, the better the thickener performance.
To overcome this issue and achieve enhanced operation and
better control of thickeners, the flocculant dosage was
increased by 5–10 g/t upon reduction in material dewater-
ability. It must be noted that investigating the full effect of ore
composition on thickener performance was beyond the scope
of this study; however, this is subject of our further
investigations.
The observed trends in real plant operation may seem to
contradict the previous findings in this study that the eductor
performance enhances at higher feed flow rate (corresponding
to lower solid loading) leading to better thickener perfor-
mance upon greater feed dilution. In other words, one may
argue that the data in Figure 5 indicate increased water loss in
the thickener discharge upon thickener feed dilution.
However, in reality there is no contradiction between the
experimental results and theoretical understanding of the
process. This is because of the fact that a thickener perfor-
mance is influenced by both feed water content and thickener
water recovery (i.e., the percentage of thickener feed water
content that is recovered) which is affected by eductor dis-
charge solid loading. In other words, it is the combination of
these two factors, which determines the water recovery or loss
in the thickener discharge. Overall, a higher water recovery in
the thickener and lower feed water content both reduce water
loss in the thickener discharge that is a desirable outcome.
Taking into account that there is a certain fraction of water in
thickener feed which could be recovered and recycled in a
thickener, a lower feed water content or higher feed solid
loading would always mean that a lower amount of water
will be at the risk of reporting to the thickener discharge.
To clarify the roles of water recovery and feed solid loading
on the thickener performance, a numerical example is pre-
sented. Let’s assume thickener A with water flow rate of 1000
m3/h in the feed and water recovery of 70% and thickener B
with water flow rate of 900 m3/h in its feed and water recovery
of 69%. Consequently, the amount of water losses in thick-
eners A and B would be 300 and 279 m3/h, respectively. This
indicates that a higher water recovery with higher feed water
content resulted in a larger amount of water loss in the
49.0
thickener discharge. Thus, it could be concluded that although
45.7
increasing thickener feed solid loading had a harmful impact
on the eductor performance and dilution efficiency, it
G1
enhanced the overall thickener efficiency. From the practical
30.4
G2
point of view, a thickener feed slurry (e.g., flotation tailings
G3
here) with higher solid loading is preferred to reduce the
amount of water loss in thickener discharge. Hence, the asso-
16.6
16.0
14.4
ciated eductor must be able to dilute a relatively concentrated
thickener feed slurry in order to achieve optimum thickening
4.9
4.3
efficiency.
4.1
3.4
3.2
3.1
2.8
2.2
2.1
Quartz Pyrite Illite Kaolinite Alunite
Controllable eductor
One of the most important features of an eductor with fixed
geometry is that its dilution efficiency depends mainly on the
thickener feed properties (Figures 3 and 4). This means that the
eductor performance is not controllable during operation and,
hence, more flexibility is required to deal with the fluctuations in
the thickener feed properties. To address this critical limitation, a
smart dilution system is proposed in this study using a modified
eductor to provide the flexibility based on the feed properties. In
this system, two additional component are employed to adjust the
amount of water drawn into the eductor. The first component is a
modified primary nozzle with an adjustable diameter to control
the pressure drop and the dilution efficiency of the eductor. The
second feature of the proposed system is a movable plate to
increase/decrease the effective cross section area of the secondary
nozzle (C in Figure 1) to manipulate the mass flow rate of diluting
water. Both of the proposed additional/modified parts are in
closed circuit with flow, density and settling transmitters
(Figure 8). This will allow the controller to adjust the amount of
diluting water according to the properties of thickener feed and
desired properties of diluted feed. As a result, with the feedback
and feedforward control strategies applied in the smart dilution
system, the modified eductor could maintain optimum dilution
for the thickener feed slurry with variable properties. Taking into
account that in this study, except feed dilution, the rest of para-
meters have not been investigated in detail, it is not possible to
find the optimum feed dilution from the presented data. However,
based on the data, better thickener performance is expected when
the solids loading of its feed is reduced to 7 wt.% via dilution.
Conclusion
In this study, thickener feed dilution using eductor is shown
as an efficient and cost-effective method to enhance the per-
formance of thickening process of copper flotation tailings.
The theoretical analysis of eductor performance using mass
conservation, momentum conservation, and Bernoulli princi-
ples indicated that volumetric flow rate and density of thick-
ener feed slurry as well as eductor dimensions are the key
variables affecting the dilution efficiency. Results implied that
the velocity of thickener feed in the eductor nozzle has stron-
ger effect than feed density on the dilution efficiency.
Furthermore, thickener feed with relatively higher solid load-
ing are preferred to reduce the water losses in the discharge.
Tailings’ mineralogical composition also had a noticeable

Figure 8. The schematic diagram of proposed smart dilution system using modified eductor.
effect on the thickener performance reflecting a remarkable
reduction in the thickener performance with a surge in Illite
and Albite fractions by 15% and 3% in the ore. Finally, based
on the theoretical and practical results of this study, a smart
dilution system via modification of existing eductors was
proposed to maintain optimum dilution in thickeners by
automatically adjusting the eductor geometry depending on
variable properties of thickener feed. The optimum feed dilu-
tion, however, depends on large number of variables includ-
ing ore characteristics. The relative contributions of thickener
feed’s physicochemical properties (e.g., mineralogical compo-
sition, particle size distribution, clay content, etc.) on dewa-
tering performance are subject of further investigation.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank National Iranian Copper Industries Co.
(N.I.C.I.Co.) for supporting this research.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are
responsible for the content and writing of the article.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Iranian Copper Industries Co.
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