Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

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Minerals Engineering
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Research and application of a Knelson concentrator: A review T

a,b a,b,⁎ a,b a,b c
Qiao Chen , Hong-ying Yang , Lin-lin Tong , Hui-qun Niu , Fu-sheng Zhang ,
Gui-min Chenc
a
Key Laboratory for Ecological Utilization of Multimetallic Mineral, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
b
School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
c
Hainan Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd., Ledong 572531, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The Knelson concentrator (KC) is widely used in gold ore and other precious metal ore processing technology
Knelson Concentrator because of its excellent separation performance. The development history and types of KCs are reviewed in this
Separation mechanism paper. Research on the separation mechanism and characteristics of KCs was analyzed and discussed, including
GRG test the separation characteristics, influencing factors, modification equipment, gravity recoverable gold (GRG) tests,
Mathematical model
mathematical models, and computer simulations. Two different configurations of a KC for the gold recovery
Industrial application
process and the research and application status of KCs in the fields of fine coal, rare earth, platinum group
metals, and other minerals were summarized. Based on our review, research trends and development prospects
of KCs are proposed.

1. Introduction
Gravity separation is one of the oldest techniques used for separ-
ating minerals and relies on the differential settling of particles in a
fluid medium (Clifford, 2009). This method has some major ad-
vantages, such as low capital and operating costs and large processing
capacity, and because of the lack of chemicals and excessive heating
requirements, it is generally considered to be environmentally friendly.
However, with the advent of flotation and other processes, there was a
long period of time when the interest in gravity concentration declined.
Until the early 1980s, with the increasing awareness of environmental
protection and the development of new enhanced gravity separators,
the role of gravity separation in mineral processing became important
again (Burt, 1999; Das and Sarkar, 2018; Falconer, 2003). As a typical
centrifugal gravity separator, the Knelson concentrator (KC) has been
widely used to recover gold and platinum minerals because of its re-
markable ability (Koppalkar, 2009; Laplante and Gray, 2005; Xiao,
2008; Xiao and Laplante, 2004).
The KC was developed in 1978 and was commercialized in 1980 in
Canada by Byron Knelson. Inspired by a visit to the Yukon alluvial gold
fields in 1970, the authors decided to search for a better and more
scientific recovery system to replace existing methods, such as the
sluice box and longtom. The original concentrator is a single-walled
rotating concentrator, but the recovery capabilities begin to down-
grade in seconds because the voids are quickly filled by particles. On
solving this problem by injecting water into the bowl under pressure to
counteract the centrifugal force and create fluidization, the first KC was
manufactured (Knelson, 1992).
The KC is essentially a vertical axis bowl-type centrifugal con-
centrator that uses a fluidized bed to concentrate the dense material
over a wide size range (0.02–0.850 mm), which is composed of a feed
and discharge system, separation system, power system, and water
supply system (Koppalkar, 2009). The concentrate bowl is the core
component of a KC, and its structure has been iterated four times. The
first-generation bowl comprises an inner cone with an inclination of 30°
and an outer cylindrical cone, and the pressure water holes are drilled
through the vertical cone wall. There was a problem of unbalanced
water pressure in the bowl attributed to the different thicknesses of the
bedding in each ring. Both the inner and outer second bowls are cy-
lindrical in shape, and the depth of the ring gradually increases from
the top to the bottom, which makes the water pressure required to
fluidize the bottom rings much greater than that in the top rings. The
third unit was designed with a stepped inner cone bowl and a conical-
shaped outer bowl; moreover, tangential back pressure water injection
was introduced. A further important innovation was introduced in 1984
in the form of a “V” shaped ring. The fourth and latest unit was de-
signed with a wedge-shaped profile for the inner bowl rings, and the
inner bowl rings were molded in polyurethane to a conical stainless
steel casing (Knelson, 1992; Knelson and Edwards, 1990).
According to the discharge method for concentrates, KCs may be

⁎
Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory for Ecological Utilization of Multimetallic Mineral, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
E-mail address: yanghy@smm.neu.edu.cn (H.-y. Yang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2020.106339
Received 3 September 2019; Received in revised form 15 January 2020; Accepted 9 March 2020
Available online 31 March 2020
0892-6875/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Q. Chen, et al.
Fig. 1. Schematic of the Φ7.5-cm KC (Huang, 1996).
Fig. 2. Schematic of the continuous KC (www.knelson.com).
classified as a semi-continuous discharge concentrator or continuous
variable discharge concentrator (CVD). The semi-continuous series
consists of four categories, namely a manual discharge series (KC-MD),
extended duty series (KC-XD), center discharge series (KC-CD), and
quantum series (KC-QS). KC-MD is often used in laboratory studies,
such as the KC-MD3, as shown in Fig. 1. KC-XD is an extended model of
KC-MD, and the working cycle is generally 2–4 h. The CD can be totally
automated and integrated into any computerized circuit, and the con-
centrate can be removed in less than 2 min. The QS series are relatively
new with many improvements over XD and more automation. The CVD
(Fig. 2) was designed for the base metal and coal industries for yields of
a few percent rather than much less than 1%. The current industrial
application of CVD is mainly as a scavenger to recover valuable metals
in flotation tailings; meanwhile, it has considerable application poten-
tial for removing impurities and enriching fine coal (Fullam et al., 2001;
Ghaffari, 2004; Honaker and Das, 2004a; Honaker et al., 2005; Knelson
and Jones, 1994; McLeavy et al., 2001; Sakuhuni, 2014).
2. Separation mechanism of a KC
The separation system of a KC is quite complex. It is difficult to
accurately grasp the separation characteristics because mineral parti-
cles in the concentrate chamber are affected by various forces. In the
last few decades, much work has been done by different researchers to
2
Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339
Feed
Tails
Tails
Fluidizing water
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of a KC.
explore the separation mechanism of KCs, including investigations of
the separation characteristics, influencing factors, modification equip-
ment, gravity recoverable gold (GRG) tests, mathematical models, and
computer simulations.
2.1. Separation characteristics
The basic separation principle of a KC is based on the difference in
the settling velocity of mineral particles in the centrifugal field under
the action of fluidization water. Fig. 3 provides an illustration of how
concentration occurs within a KC. As soon as the feed material enters
the conical bowl and descends onto the base plate at the bottom of the
rotating conical bowl as slurry through the central feed pipe, the cen-
trifuged mineral particles move immediately toward the conical wall of
the concentrate bed at different rates depending on their sizes and
specific gravities. At the same time, fluidization water at high pressure
is tangentially injected into the fluidization holes opposite to the bowl
rotation direction, which can prevent compaction, creating a fluidized
concentrate bed. Under the effect of the centrifugal force and water
fluidization, dense particles settle in the rings as a concentrate, while
the lighter gangue particles are transported out of the bowl by the
upward flow slurry as tailings. According to a previous literature review
(Huang, 1996; Ling, 2001; Ungarish, 2013), the structure of the flowing
slurry inside the inner bowl consists of two zones in the radial direction.
As schematically illustrated in Fig. 4, near the central axis of the inner
bowl is the dilute zone, which generally comprises very fine light par-
ticles of gangue mineral only. The separation zone is present between
the dilute zone and the middle section of the concentrate bed, wherein
solid particles that were already centrifuged are highly concentrated
and partially fluidized owing to the action of the fluidization water
flow. The movement of a particle in the inner bowl of the KC can be
divided into two distinct stages based on the structure of the flowing
slurry: (1) a centrifugal accelerating motion through the dilute zone of
the inner bowl and (2) percolation or migration through the separation
zone toward the concentrate bed.
Most research on the separation mechanism of a KC has been con-
ducted with MD3 concentrators and synthetic ores. KC-MD3 with a 3-in.
(7.5 cm) concentrating cone is suitable for laboratory research because
it is portable and convenient, and the amount of raw material is ad-
justable (Banisi, 1992; Putz, 1994). Synthetic ores composed of metallic
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Separation zone separation mechanism that could be that can be defined as “surface
Dilute zone plating”.
Ancia (1997) suggested that the water flow affects how dense mi-
nerals concentrate and that the concentration of the dense mineral in a
KC can proceed under low flow by infiltration or by “surface plating” of
Concentrate bed the dense mineral, under intermediate flow by substitution between the
light and the dense minerals, and under high flow by elutriation of the
Slurry surface light minerals. However, the influence of other factors, such as the
rotational speed or the size distribution of the gangue, on the con-
centration mechanisms has not been considered, and no attempt has
been made to quantify these effects or calculate the critical value of
water flow actually required for each enrichment behavior (Majumder
Inner bowl and Barnwal, 2006). Houseley et al. (1997) believed that the gold re-
(half section)
covery of the KC is a function of particle mass and shape; however,
significantly more data is required to draw this conclusion.
Another phenomenon that cannot be ignored in the separation
process of KC is overload. Because the KC is a batch unit, it is likely to
overload if fed too many heavy minerals. As defined by Huang (1996),
overload is as an obvious progressive decrease in the KC performance
when too much of the heavy phase is recovered in its bowl, particularly
when the ratio of the incremental tail grade over the feed grade in-
Light particle Dense particle
creases above 10%. Huang (1996) and Laplante et al. (1996b) explored
Fig. 4. Schematic illustration of the structure of the slurry in the inner bowl the effects of different densities and size distributions of gangue on the
(Ling, 2001). overload phenomenon by feeding a high-grade feed composed of
tungsten mixed with quartz and magnetite. The extent of overload was
tungsten, magnetite, and quartz are often used to study the separation found to significantly depend on the size distribution and density of the
mechanism in laboratory research instead of natural gold ores. Com- gangue from severe and immediate with coarse magnetite to negligible
pared with gold ore, synthetic ore has the following advantages: with fine silica. Based on the analysis of the phenomenon, a relatively
achieving high concentrate grades with a fixed concentrate mass simple model was derived to represent it, as shown in Eq. (1),
(usually approximately 100–200 g) without a prohibitive cost, the risk Gf K (Wf Wo ) ]
Wc + [1 e
of contamination for parallel work with much lower head grades, and R= K

the use of a tracer with a controlled shape to shed light on the behavior Gf Wf (1)
of gold particles with much flakier shapes (Laplante et al., 1995;
where R is the cumulative recovery (fractional), Wf is the mass fed to
Laplante and Nickoletopoulos, 1997; Laplante et al., 1996b).
the KC (g), Wc is the mass of tungsten collected in the bowl at which
By investigating the distribution characteristics of the concentrate
overload begins (g), Wo is the mass of feed corresponding to Wc (g), Gf is
in the five rings of a KC bowl using a synthetic feed, Huang (1996)
the feed grade (fractional), and K is the erosion rate constant (g−1).
presented a possible separation mechanism for a KC, wherein the rings
However, these studies were conducted under the condition of an op-
are gradually filled with solid dense and light particles from the outer to
timum fluidization water flow rate for each gangue type at a fixed bowl
the inner and completely fluidized at the beginning of the test. Further,
speed, which considered only the effects of the gangue density and size
as soon as the concentrate bed builds-up, the selective recovery begins
distribution on the overload while ignoring the rotational speed and
on the surface of concentrate bed; there is little or no mass transfer
water flow rate.
between the material subsequently recovered and solids that are al-
According to our research, four key factors (water flow rate, struc-
ready in the outer ring, even fine dense particles. Thus, the densest
tural parameters of the ring, bowl speed, and size distribution of
minerals are mainly recovered in the inner groove sections, and the
gangue) affect KC performance by influencing the concentration me-
outer rings retain their coarse size and low grade. Moreover, con-
chanism of the dense mineral. As the magnitude of a particular para-
solidation trickling was proposed by Huang to explain the selective
meter – a ratio of terminal settling velocity of a particle to the fluidi-
recovery of the fine high-density particles. Furthermore, Ling (2001)
zation water flow velocity – varies from large to small, the
expanded on the recovery mechanism of the KC by investigating the
concentration mechanism of the dense mineral is transformed from
percolation or migration of dense particles in a gangue bed using a
“surface plating” to substitution and then to elutriation, followed by
fluidized bed column in the gravitational field. This study showed that
overload. The relationships between particular parameters, the dense
percolation of dense particles was maximized at an intermediate flui-
mineral concentration mechanism, and KC separation efficiency should
dization flow in the gravitational field. Below this flow magnitude,
be quantitatively analyzed in future studies.
insufficient voidage would inhibit or limit the percolation of all but the
coarsest dense particles. Above this flow magnitude, the fine, dense
particles would be prevented from percolating because of the drag force 2.2. Influencing factors
of the ascending fluidization flow. Similarly, Settling tests in the grav-
itational field were conducted in coarse and fine gangue beds by The efficiency of a KC is affected by many factors, including mate-
Koppalkar (2009). The results showed that for the coarse gangue bed, rial properties (density, particle size) as well as operating condition
dense particles recovery is high for coarser fractions when the bed is parameters (fluidizing water flow rate, rotational speed, feed rate, pulp
partially fluidized. Whereas, for the fine bed, most of the dense mineral density and enrichment cycle time). Some of these parameters have
percolated through the fine gangue bed easily, indicating that the re- substantial effects, whereas some parameters' effects are more limited.
sistance of the gangue bed to the percolation of dense particles is a The nature of the raw material directly determines whether KC can be
function of bed voidage, particle size and density of the gangue bed. used to achieve separation and the results of separation. Generally, the
However, limited by the feed mass of each test and selection of other difference in the density between the target minerals and gangue mi-
experimental parameters, those studies explored only one type of nerals is beneficial for the separation effect, whereas the coarse gangue
mineral particles have adverse effects on the separation effect.

3
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Furthermore, heavy mineral particles that are approximately round are

Laplante et al. (1996a)

more likely to be collected than flaky particles.

Kökkılıç et al.(2015)

Marion et al.(2019)
Zhou et al. (2016)
Meza et al.(1994)

Koppalkar (2009)
For materials with fixed properties, the bowl speed determines the

Akar Sen (2016)

McLeavy (2005)

Ma et al (2018)
Qi et al. (2016)
terminal settling velocity of particles, whereas the fluidization water
flow rate determines the water flow velocity, and these in turn restrict

Reference
each other and affect the separation characteristics of particles to-
gether. The centrifugal acceleration of particles in the enrichment bowl
can be varied between 0 and 180 G by increasing or decreasing rota-

The CVD has four operating variables that affect the metallurgical performance and they all interact. For all operating variables, changing

The interaction between water flow rate and feeding flow had the most evident response on the concentrate, and the interaction between

For 5% and 10% magnetite feeds, the bowl speed impacts concentrate grade negatively and heavy mineral recovery positively, while the
tional speed, and most units are operated at 60 G (Koppalkar, 2009).

The efficiency of the KC is affected primarily by feed density and feed rate. Fluidizing water pressure has a limited effect on the KC

Recoveries were affected by feed rate and top feed particle size. Rotation speed and fluidization flow had no detectable impact on
The water pressure showed to be the most important variable to obtain high gold recovery while the pulp dilution did not have a
The fluidization water is introduced into the bowl through the water
holes in order to keep the bed fluidized to achieve continuous separa-
tion and recovery of minerals. In general, the fluidization flow is op-
timized to give the best balance between metallurgical recovery and
water balance in the rest of the circuit (Fullam et al., 2001).
Furthermore, since the KC is a batch unit, another factor that cannot
be ignored is the enrichment cycle time which determines the mass
yield. The batch machines are limited to all practical purposes to a mass

the motor power had the greatest impact when comparing to air fluidizing pressure and solid feed rate
yield of about 0.1%, while the CVD mass yield can be varied from about
0.1% to 50%, which is affected by the pinch valve open and close times

the centrifugal force and fluidization water pressure are found to be the most significant factors
(Fullam et al., 2001). As we know, for a particular application, a high
mass yield means a high recovery of target mineral but lower con-

bowl speed and air fluidizing pressure were significant for both the grade and recovery
centrate grade. Additionally, too long enrichment cycle time may lead

feeding flow and feeding concentration had the most obvious response on recovery
to overload in some cases. Therefore, as with any piece of recovery
equipment, the decision as to the best compromise is usually de-
termined by metallurgical or economic considerations.

the levels to increase grade causes a reduction in recovery and vice versa.
The feed rate also affect the efficiency of the KC, high feed rate has a

The fluidization water rate was found as the most effective parameter
negative effect on the recovery of fines and particles between 0.075 and
0.3 mm (Laplante et al., 1996a). Another factor, pulp density, is gen-
erally considered to have limited impact on the separation effect.

fluidizing water rate has an opposite effect on separation.

However, according to the specific production needs, it is necessary to
choose the appropriate pulp density for the stability and water balance
of the entire production process.
Numerous studies have explored the effects of various factors on KC
metallurgical performance and the interactions of these factors. A
summary of the correlational studies are shown in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, the effects of these factors on the performance
of the KC in each study were significantly dependent on the feed ma-
terial characteristics (mineral types, particle size and density distribu-
metallurgical performance.

tion, particle shape, etc.) and the design of the particular experiments.
Therefore, an optimal grinding fineness and operating parameters
significant effect.

should be selected according to the specific situation of the production

process.
recovery.
Results

2.3. Modified equipment

Summary of literature focused on factors that influence KC efficiency.

By studying the mechanism and influencing factors, researchers

Test method

have suggested two schemes to improve the performance of KCs. One

a

approach is to modify the bowl structure or add a pre-fed bed in the

OFAT

OFAT

OFAT

OFAT

RSM
RSM

RSM
RSM
RSM
RSM

rings. Huang (1996) conducted experiments with three modified bowls

to determine the effect of various design parameters on the perfor-
Medium

Water

Water

Water

Water

Water

Water
Water
Water

mance. The first bowl was filled with a porous nylon filter in each riffle,
Air

Air

the second bowl was shaven 2 mm from the top to bottom, and the third
bowl changed the distribution of fluidization water flow by varying the
KC-XD12
KC-CD12
KC-MD3

KC-MD3

KC-MD3

KC-MD3
KC-MD3
KC-MD3
KC-MD3
KC unit

Response surface methodology (RSM).

number of holes in each ring. The results showed that using a porous
CVD6

nylon filter and changing the distribution of fluidization of the water

flow leads to an increase in both grade and recovery. However, shaving
Magnetite/quartz Sphalerite/quartz

One factor at a time (OFAT).

off the riffles will improve the grade of concentrate but leads to a lower
recovery. The effect of setting up an artificial bed in the concentrate
ring of the MD3 bowl was initially investigated by Rand (2001).
High grade gold sample

Moreover, corresponding studies have also been conducted using a

CVD. Wang et al. (2008) investigated the effect of a new fluidization
Iron powder/sand

−1 mm fine coal
Magnetite/quartz
Tungsten/quartz

Tungsten/quartz

distributor, “the ragging ring,” and pulsed fluidization water on ultra-

Raw material

fine particle segregation in a centrifugal fluidized bed separator. The

Placer mine

Chromite
Gold ore

results indicated that the ragging ring could not significantly improve
Table 1

the performance of the KC and different size glass beads were similar in
b
a

terms of separation performance, and the ragging ring with 5-mm glass

4
Q. Chen, et al.
beads generated the best results with a pulsed water flow rate of 18 L/
min and 1 Hz of pulsation. However, AbdulKareem (2010) proposed
that the separation performance of a CVD could be significantly im-
proved by adding artificial porous beds of glass powder.
The other method is to change the properties of the separating
medium, including using pulsed water, injecting air bubbles into the
feed stream and using air as the fluidizing medium instead of water.
Both pulsed fluidization water and air injection have a significant im-
pact on the operating characteristics and separation performance of a
KC (AbdulKareem, 2010; Honaker et al., 2005). Several studies at
McGill University supervised by K. E. Waters were related to dry se-
paration of KC, and they confirmed that it is feasible to separate mi-
nerals using a KC operating under dry conditions (Greenwood et al.,
2013; Kökkılıç et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2016). However, although these
methods have been confirmed to be useful, they have not yet been
implemented in industrial applications.
2.4. GRG test
The prediction of gold recovery has important guiding significance
for the design of the gold ore dressing process and engineering eva-
luations. Scientific and reasonable test methods and representative test
samples are the basis of metallurgical tests (Guresin et al., 2012).
The standardized test to determine the amount of GRG in an ore
sample was presented by McGill University, which uses a representative
feed amount from 30 kg (high grade) to 150 kg (low grade) and in-
cluding a three-stage sequential liberation and recovery with a 7.5-cm
KC (Laplante et al., 2000; Laplante, 2000a; Woodcock, 1994; Woodcock
and Laplante, 1993), as shown in Fig. 5. The standard GRG test is not
only used to assess the pertinence of using gravity recovery and guiding
in circuit designs but is also used to evaluate the performance of ex-
isting gravity circuits (Laplante, 2000a; Laplante, 2000b). The test has
become an industry standard to assess the potential of a gold ore to
gravity concentration. More than 200 samples with GRG contents
varying from 3% to 97% from all over the world have been processed
using this GRG protocol (Huang and Koppalkar, 2010).
The high cost, labor, and sample requirements of the standard GRG
test preclude its use at mill sites or for routine testing. To make the test
more convenient, two simplified GRG tests dubbed the two-stage and
the one-stage tests have been proposed, respectively. In contrast, the
results of the one-step GRG test are more similar to the standard GRG
test (Laplante and Staunton, 2005). Generally, the standard GRG can
Samples
40-100 kg
Crushing
Screen
100% -850
conc.
conc. tailing
LKC
Stage 1
Screen
Screen
425 to -20
850 to -20 size-by-size assay
size-by-size assay
Fig. 5. Procedure for measuring GRG content using a Laboratory Knelson concentrator (Xiao, 2001).
Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339
provide more accurate information when a new processing circuit needs
to be designed or when a single sample is available. However, using the
simplified GRG test is advantageous for routine or scoping tests or when
flotation bench-scale data on separate GRG and non-GRG fractions are
required (Clarke, 2005).
Generally, the recovery of gold from a GRG test in the laboratory is
always higher than its actual recovery in plants. Koppalkar et al. (2011)
found that the difference in morphology transformation of gold during
the grinding process is the main reason for this phenomenon, which was
determined by comparing the gold particle shapes and their behavior
from a sample collected from a grinding gravity circuit in a gold plant
and a concentrate sample from a laboratory KC. Additionally, samples
are also important factors that affect GRG test results. Dominy (2015)
and Dominy et al. (2011) discussed the importance of sample quality
and representativeness for the GRG test and believed that sample
quality has a greater impact on the results of the one-step GRG test than
on the standard GRG test and that the larger the sample, the more ac-
curate the test results will be.
Subasinghe (2007) argued that the GRG test is useful in the design
stages, whereas its use in evaluating the performance of an existing unit
is questionable; this study pointed out two drawbacks of the GRG test:
one is the inappropriate definition, and the other is that there is some
amount of subjectivity associated with the test itself (Subasinghe,
2012). GRG is closely related to the machine characteristics, feed size,
and test parameters; therefore, the results of MD3 differ greatly from
industrial units. The validity of the GRG test for performance evaluation
was examined and an alternative method was advocated based on a
performance curve of a device that can be used to evaluate the optimum
fluidizing water (Subasinghe, 2008).
Sakuhuni et al. (2016) further developed the GRG test and proposed
a novel procedure called gravity release analysis (GRA) for performance
prediction of CVD by determining the maximum release of gold-bearing
sulfides using a representative small sample, which provides a basis for
bench-making operating CVDs. The procedure was tested for optimi-
zation of pilot and full-scale CVD concentrators at Myra Falls
(Sakuhuni, 2014). The gravity release index was also introduced based
on the GRA procedure to quantitatively measure the gravity amen-
ability and gravity concentration kinetics, which can be used to identify
the mineral species recoverable by gravity and quantify their amen-
ability to gravity recovery. Additionally, to provide a tool for com-
missioning and auditing CVD operations, Sakuhuni (2014) developed a
hybrid optimization approach called NNREGA that integrates artificial
Splitting Stage 1 tail
Grinding
45-55% -75
tailing
LKC
Grinding
Stage 2 80% -75
conc. tailing
LKC Main tail
Stage 3
Screen Screen
212 to -20
size-by-size assay
5
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

neural networks, regression modeling, and a genetic algorithm to particle.

maximize recovery and grade simultaneously. Part of the novelty of the The terms in Eq. (2) can be expressed in a centrifugal field as fol-
NNREGA optimization approach is a reduction in the number of ex- lows:
perimental tests required to explore a design region by using a cir-
cumscribed central composite experimental design. The NNREGA ap- Fc = D3 s r 2
6 (3)
proach provides a tool for plant operators to tune the CVD machine
variables to maximize metallurgical performance for any application. Fb = D3 wr
2
6 (4)
Research has showed that gravity circuits will perform best at re-
covering particles of free gold that are larger than 0.106 mm but are dr
Fd = 3 µD ( )
incapable of consistently recovering gold particles that are smaller than dt (5)
0.037 mm; additionally, the flash flotation circuit will best recover free
where r is the radial position of a particle of size D, ω is the angular
gold and unliberated sulfide particles smaller than 0.037 mm (Lamberg
velocity, w and s are the density of water and the particle, respec-
and Bernal, 2009). The use of KC gravity and flash flotation processes in
tively, μ is the viscosity of water, and( dt ) is the instantaneous radial
dr
a closed milling circuit may facilitate the early collection of gold from
complex ores containing both free gold and gold-bearing sulfides. The velocity of the particle.
interaction of flash flotation and gravity recovery has been discussed by By substituting Eqs. (3)–(5) into Eq. (1), the equation of motion of a
Laplante and Dunne (2002). McGrath et al. (2013) provided an in- spherical particle settling radially in a KC can be obtained, as shown in
tegrated gravity recovery–flash float model to predict the recovery of Eq. (6).
GRG in a closed milling circuit using both batch centrifugal con- dr d 2r
centration and flash flotation. D3 ( w )r
2 3 µD = D3 s ( )
6 s
dt 6 dt 2 (6)
When the particle acceleration approaches zero, the right-handed
2.5. Mathematical models side of Eq. (6) can be neglected, and the instantaneous velocity is close
to the terminal settling velocity. Therefore, the terminal settling velo-
All the above studies are macro studies, which took the entire KC as city can be expressed by Eq. (7),
the research object. Although these studies can qualitatively explain the
working characteristics and separation effect of a KC, they cannot D2 ( 2 D2 (
w )r w )g
dr r 2 r 2
s s
= = = vg
quantitatively express the movement law of ore particles in the KC dt 18µ 18µ g g (7)
bowl. Therefore, based on the force analysis of a single particle, re-
wherevg is the terminal settling velocity of the same particle in the
searchers explore the movement law of material particles and develop
gravitational field. Therefore, the relation between the centrifugal set-
mathematical models to predict the KC performance using a large
tling and the gravitational settling can be expressed as
amount of experimental data.
Centrifugal separation of minerals in a KC is a complex process v = Gvg (8)
during which mineral particles are subjected to a number of forces,
in which G is the relative centrifugal force, which is defined as the
including centrifugal, drag (or thrust), buoyancy, and shock, resulting
ratio of the centrifugal force to the gravitational force. Of note, the
from inter-particle collisions. Fig. 6 illustrates the major forces acting
above analysis is only valid in the Stokes region (Coulter and
on a particle. In the axial direction, particles are carried out by the
Subasinghe, 2005; Ghaffari and Farzanegan, 2017a; Koppalkar, 2009;
upward water flow under the combined action of gravity (fg), the
Ling, 2001).
buoyancy force in the gravitational field (fb) and the drag force (Fdz). In
Through a detailed analysis, Hsu (1981) proposed the following
the radial direction under the action of the centrifugal force (Fc), the
correlation for the terminal velocity under centrifugal force and grav-
drag force (Fdx), and the buoyancy force (Fb), particles either settle in
itational force:
the ring or leave the ring. In this paper, the motion of particles in the
radial direction is discussed emphatically. Based on Newton’s second v = G1/3vg 0.4 < Re < 500 (9)
law, the movement of a spherical particle in a fluid under the action of a
centrifugal field and the forces acting on settling can be incorporated in v = G1/2vg 500 < Re < 2 × 105 (10)
Eq. (2),
where G is the relative centrifugal force, as in Eq. (8). Upon comparing
d Eqs. (8), (9) and (10), clearly, the centrifugal effect becomes dominant
Fc Fb Fd = m ( v )
dt (2) over the particle settling velocity as the particle size becomes smaller
(Koppalkar, 2009).
where Fc is the centrifugal force, Fb is the buoyancy force, Fd is the drag Based on the postulate that the removal of particles is dependent on
force, m is the particle mass, and ( dv ) is the resulting acceleration of the
d
t the dynamic equilibrium between the centripetal force (Fc ) fluid drag
force (Fb ) and Bagnold’s force (Fd ), a preliminary mathematical model
z was developed to predict KC’s performance by Coulter and Subasinghe
x (2005). In their study, a net force, Fc , was used to represent the com-
bined effect of Fc andFb , and a criterion, X, was proposed as a ratio of Fd
uf toFc . A Weibull distribution was fitted to the data using the least
Fd z squares approach, as shown in Eq. (11),

fb X n
Fb Fc V = V0 exp
X (11)
Fd x Fluidisation in which V is the volume collected (cm ), V0 is the maximum vo- 3

fg water lume of material collected in the KC bowl under given operating con-
ditions (cm3), X∗ stands for the critical value of X at the transition be-
Concentrate bed tween the two regions, and n is the exponent.
Although this study investigated the performance of KC with only
Fig. 6. Forces on a particle in the dilute zone. two materials of different densities (magnetite and quartz), research on

6
Q. Chen, et al.
establishing a separation model for KCs is of great significance to be-
cause a new method is provided to unify the variables corresponding to
each operation parameter by defining a criterion, X.
Based on Coulter’s research, Ali Ghaffari and Akbar Farzanegan
(2017a) further developed the mathematical model and proposed an
empirical model for the recovery of materials of different densities and
particle sizes in the KC under different operating conditions. In their
study, five different materials, such as quartz, magnetite, zinc, copper,
and lead powders were used, and the fluid drag force (Fd) experienced
by a particle was estimated by the fluidization water pressure (Pw)
multiplied by the projected area of a spherical particle (Ap), as in Eq.
(12).
Fd = Pw × Ap
Based on the developed experimental database consisting of 284
tests, a Weibull model (Eq. (13)) was proposed to predict the retained
mass inside a laboratory KC bowl,
3Pw
R= Rvmax bexp c
s
2( w ) Dr
2 dividual behavior of each grain. Wang (2014) established a three-di-
s (13)
where R is the mass of retained material with a particle of size D, si is
the particle density, Rvmax is the maximum volume of the materials re-
tained in the bowl, b, c, and d are constants, w is the water density, r is
the radial position of the particle, and ω is the angular velocity.
Moreover, mathematical models have been proposed to describe the
mass of the valuable components and quartz recovered in a KC bowl
based on experiments conducted on two-component synthetic feeds
(Ghaffari and Farzanegan, 2017b). Eqs. (14) and (15) are the functions
of mass of the valuable components (Rv . c .) and quartz (gangue) (Rv . c .)
recovered in the bowl of different densities and particle sizes under
various operating conditions.
3Pw
Rv . c . = Rv . c . max bexp c
V .c.
2(
Q
RQ = RQmax bexp c
3Pw
Q
2( w ) Dr
Q
Furthermore, a series of experiments were performed on multi-
component synthetic feeds, which were a mixture of five valuable
components (i.e., magnetite, zinc, copper, lead, and tungsten) and
quartz to obtain general recovery models (Ghaffari and Farzanegan,
2018). The models are similar to the two-component separation system
except that the corresponding values ofRv . c . max , RQmax , b, c, and d are
different. In this study, separation models were derived based on ex-
periments on multi-component feeds consisting of valuable components
having various densities in a laboratory KC bowl, which could be used
for separation of free gold grains and particles, including gold grains
and heavy minerals from the ore.
According to the above review, both Coutler and Subasinghe (2005)
and Ghaffari and Farzanegan (2017a, b, 2018) considered the entire KC
bowl and assumed the maximum bowl radius (2.5 cm) in their calcu-
lations. At the same time, their determination of whether particles can
be collected is based on the stress balance of particles. However, the
geometric dimensions differ among the rings of the enrichment bowl,
leading to different behaviors of the particles in each ring (Huang,
1996). Considering that the difference between the pressure on the
particles in the enrichment bowl and the value read from the oil pres-
sure gauge may degrade the results, to improve the predictive accuracy
of the model, a new method by defining a separation criterion – a ratio
of terminal settling velocity to the fluidization water flow velocity, in
which the flow velocity was approximately calculated by dividing the
water flow rate by the lateral area of the ring – to investigate the be-
havior characteristics of the mineral particles in each ring was
Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339
proposed, and a retained mass of quartz model has been established
ring-by-ringin our research (Chen et al., 2020). Two-component and
multi-component feed separation models in each ring of a KC bowl are
proposed for future work. Moreover, along the same lines, Lin (2019)
explored the critical recyclable particle size in the KC and verified it
using a mixture of magnetite and quartz. However, more work is
needed to improve the accuracy of the predictions and the applicability
to natural ore separation.
2.6. Computer simulations
Due to the complex separation system of a KC, analyzing the se-
paration mechanism via experimental phenomena is difficult, and there
(12)
are many hypotheses and approximations in the research. However,
computer simulations have become common tools in the design and
optimization of industrial processes. The continuous improvement of
computing power provides the possibility for researchers to implement
numerical methods that do not focus on the granular assembly as an
d
entity but rather deduce its global characteristics by observing the in-
mensional model for a KC that simulated the slurry flow field obtained
by the distribution laws of velocity and pressure field using computa-
tional fluid dynamics analysis software and discussed the influence of a
single variable on the separation performance. Fatahi and Farzanegan
(2017) used an open-source discrete element method (DEM) solver,
“LIGGGHTS,” to investigate the effects of feed properties, including the
feed mass, feed type, feed grade, feed particle size, feed particle po-
pulation, and operating parameters, such as the centrifugal force in-
tensity, feeding rate, and concentration cycle time, on the concentrate
grade and total recovery as separation performance criteria for a la-
boratory KC. Several experiments were conducted to validate the DEM
simulations on synthetic samples of pure quartz and magnetite mixtures
under the same conditions used in the simulation.
d
Fatahi and Farzanegan (2019) also reported computational fluid
w ) Dr
2 dynamics (CFD) simulations of a single-phase water flow inside a la-
(14)
boratory KC bowl. The effects of the relative centrifugal force (RCF)
d
intensity and bed fluidization water flow rate on the water velocity and
pressure distributions were studied. According to reported simulation
2
results, the even and linear distribution of both the water velocity and
(15)
pressure within the inner bowl rings under specified operating condi-
tions and both the fluidization water flow rate and RCF intensity di-
rectly affected the water velocity and pressure fields; however, the
impact of the RCF intensity was more significant.
Furthermore, the separation process for a multiphase flow in a la-
boratory KC was numerically simulated using a 4-way coupled CFD-
DEM approach by Fatahi and Farzanegan (2018), and the simulations
were performed using a hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian model, dense dis-
crete phase model, and DEM collision model to include solid inter-
particle collisions and to compute individual particles trajectories. The
separation process for a synthetic mixture of light quartz and heavy
magnetite particles inside the laboratory KC bowl was simulated for a
real process time of 20 s under specific conditions, and valuable in-
formation about both the particle and fluid flow patterns, such as the
residence time distribution and velocity magnitudes of the particles
inside the rings, which are difficult or even impossible to measure ex-
perimentally with sufficient accuracy, was obtained.
3. Application of the Knelson concentrator
3.1. Gold recovery
The density of gold is much higher than that of most gangue mi-
nerals; therefore, it is particularly suitable for gravity dressing. In recent
years, the KC has become the predominant gravity device used for gold
recovery because of its excellent performance over a large size range
(Grayson, 2007; Guerney et al., 2003; Laplante and Gray, 2005; Chen
7
Q. Chen, et al.
Placer deposits
Large KC
Conc.
Smaller KC
Conc.
Refining
Fig. 7. Procedure for a single gravity circuit.
et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2016). Initially, the KC units were developed
for processing alluvial gold. After years of development, these machines
have been proved to be effective for the treatment of hard rocks and
associated gold deposits. According to the installation of a KC in the
process, it can be divided into a primary recovery circuit and secondary
recovery circuit.
3.1.1. Primary recovery circuit
For the primary recovery circuit, the KC units are installed in the
grinding circuit to recover free gold before flotation, cyanidation, or
other processes. Alluvial gold ores are usually treated using a single
gravity circuit because most of the gold is free gold. Bateman
Engineering Inc. was one of the first mining companies that used a KC
for recovery of fine gold from placer deposits in the early commercial
stage of the KC (Ling, 2001). The first separation stage of the gravity
circuit was conducted by six large KCs working in parallel, and then, a
smaller unit was used for the second stage to clean the rough con-
centrate of the first stage to produce a final concentrate for refining; the
process flow chart is shown in Fig. 7.
Parts of the placer gold deposits and most rock gold deposits are
treated by a gravity–cyanidation process which has been confirmed to
increase the gold recovery and reduce the cost of cyanidation. The
behavior characteristic of gold in the circuit is the basis of the design of
the gold recovery circuit. Studies have shown that most of the GRG fed
to the cyclone is distributed in its underflow (Laplante, 2000a).
Therefore, KC units are typically installed on a bleed stream from the
cyclone underflow in most gravity circuits. Fig. 8 shows a typical hybrid
gravity beneficiation–cyanidation process flow chart. Installation of an
automated KC followed by a single stage of tabling in the grinding
circuit prior to cyanidation at the Golden Giant mine in Ontario, op-
erated by Hemlo Gold Mines Inc., was able to account for approxi-
mately 25% of the gold production, producing a total cost savings that
was estimated at $250,000 annually in reduced stripping costs (Banisi
et al., 1991; Hendriks and Chevalier, 1994).
A gravity–flotation process circuit is usually used to separate gold
from a complex sulfide ore. The implementation of a KC gravity circuit
before the flotation process can effectively separate and recover the free
gold inevitably lost with the tailings and reduce the pumping require-
ments and reagent consumption (Patchejieff and Lazarov, 1994). De-
pending on the nature of the gold ore, KCs are installed at different
locations in the gravity circuit. There are two main types: one type is a
KC installed following the ball mill to recover as much gold as possible
of a wide size range from the discharge of the ball mill, after re-
concentrating by a shaking table, the concentrate of KC can be smelted
directly. As a typical example, two KC-XD40s were installed in the
gravity circuit of the Jinyuan gold mine in Henan Province, China. As
shown in Fig. 9, after classification by cyclones, the tailings from the KC
were pumped into the flotation process to further recover gold. The
total gold recovery was 92%, and the gold recovery of the gravity cir-
cuit was 57–62% (Chen et al., 2017). The second type involves KCs
8
Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339
raw ore
Crushing
Grinding
Over flow
Hydrocyclone Thicking
Under flow
Tails Knelson concentator Leaching
Conc.
Tails
Shaking table Final tailings
Conc.
Smelting
Fig. 8. Flowsheet of the hybrid gravity concentration–cyanidation circuit.
installed following the cyclone to recover free gold from the underflow,
and the overflow of the cyclone was treated by flotation to recover
copper, lead, zinc, and other metals one by one. As shown in Fig. 10,
most of this process deals with complex polymetallic sulfide ores that
contain gold.
Additionally, KCs can be used for a gravity–flotation–cyanidation
process. The Rio Narcea gold–copper mine in Spain originally used a
jig–flotation–cyanidation circuit to treat copper–gold ore. In 1998, a
KC-CD30 was used to replace the jig in the grinding circuit, and a KC-
CD12 was used to treat the concentrate from the KC-CD30. This im-
proved the gold recovery of the gravity circuit from 2% to 20–25% with
a monthly net gain of $150,000. Table 2 lists some of the industrial
applications of KCs for gold recovery around the world.
3.1.2. Second recovery circuit
In this paper, the second recovery circuit is defined when the KC
unit is installed after flotation, cyanidation, or another process, which
plays the role of reconcentrating or scavenging. For a second recovery
circuit, the feed of the KC is mainly the concentrate from gravity or
flotation, flotation tailings, cyanide tailings, or roasting or biological
oxidizing slag.
(1) Reconcentrating
A secondary concentration to further upgrade the concentrate is
required because the primary gold concentrate is too low of a grade for
direct smelting. One of the most important advantages of the KC is its
high enrichment ratio; thus, the gold concentrate from gravity or flo-
tation is often further re-enriched using KCs before smelting or
leaching. The gravity concentrate is generally upgraded in a gold room,
and the common equipment is a shaking table or a smaller KC. Research
has shown that there are significant amounts of GRG in the table tails,
most of which is finer than 0.15 mm, and more than 90% can be re-
covered using a MD3. Huang (1996) presented an effective means to
recover fine gold by removing the lower grade +0.212 mm fraction by
screening and feeding the −0.212 mm fraction to a small KC. Ac-
cording to many experimental studies, Laplante et al. (1999) proposed
an optimal gold room flowsheet that includes magnetic separation,
shaking table processing, and scavenging of table tails with a small
centrifuge, as shown in Fig. 11.
Flash flotation is one of the common methods to recover gold from
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Gold ore

Crushing

Grinding

Screening

Conc.
Knelson concentator
Shaking table Tails
Over flow
Conc. Hydrocyclone
Smelting Under flow
Rougher flotation

Reconcentrate Scavenging

Concentrate
Final tailings
Fig. 9. Flowsheet of the hybrid gravity concentration–flotation circuit (gold ore).

Gold-containing sulphide ore silver value in Kemess. To reduce the free gold loss, a KC-XD30 was
installed in the regrind circuit to recover the free gold from the rougher
flotation concentrate (Fig. 12). Results showed that approximately 10%
Crushing of the total gold in the regrind circuit was recovered and the overall
gold recovery increased by 3% when high pyrite ores were processed
using a KC (Froehling and Eng, 2007).
Grinding (2) Scavenging
Another important use of a KC is to scavenge and recover valuable
Over flow
metals, such as gold, copper, and nickel from flotation tailings. The CVD
Hydrocyclone Cu Flotation Conc. is usually installed in a hybrid flotation–gravity concentration circuit as
a scavenger for misplaced liberated gold entities and for gold-bearing
Under flow middling from flotation tailings. As shown in Fig. 13, a hybrid flota-
tion–gravity circuit in which CVD scavenging is followed by a the re-
Knelson concentator Pb Flotation Conc. grinding–flotation process to increase overall plant metal recoveries
Conc. and product grades, potentially leading to lower grinding costs. The
relevant studies are summarized in Table 3.

Shaking table Zn Flotation Conc.

Conc. 3.2. Enrichment of fine coal

Froth flotation is the most commonly used cleaning technique for

Smelting Final tailings
fine coal in coal preparation plants. However, its performance is low
Fig. 10. Flowsheet of the hybrid gravity concentration–flotation circuit (gold- regarding the cleaning of fine coals (1–0.3 mm) (Honaker et al., 1995;
containing sulfide ore). Honaker and Reed, 1995). With the development and application of
enhanced centrifugal gravity separators (EGS), the ability of gravity
separating equipment to treat fine coal has considerably improved be-
gold-bearing sulfide ore. Flash floating concentrate contains consider-
cause of the tens to several hundred times Earth’s gravitational accel-
able amounts of free gold and gold-bearing sulfide. After further im-
eration created in an enhanced gravity field, which significantly in-
proving the concentrate grade with a KC, it can directly be extracted by
creases the sedimentation velocity differential between sulfide particles
cyanide leaching or pyrometallurgy. The Morro DE Ouro gold mine is a
and coal (Batalović, 2011; Honaker, 1998; Luttrell et al., 1995;
typical low-grade gold mine with a raw grade of 0.65 g/t, and its flo-
Majumder and Barnwal, 2008; Tao et al., 2006). Honaker et al. per-
tation concentrate involves the use of the KC-XD30 to further re-
formed many studies on fine coal beneficiation using EGS, including
concentrate and then extract gold by cyanidation (Suttill, 1990).
using a Falcon concentrator, Kelsey jig, KC, and Mozley multi-gravity
Conventional crushing, grinding, and flotation techniques have
separator, and they found that the EGS could separate fine coal with
been used to produce gold–copper concentrates with minor by-product
the −300-µm particle size fraction (Honaker, 1998; Honaker and Das,

9
 Q. Chen, et al.

Table 2
Primary KC application examples.
Mineral processing technology Country Application example Capacity KC unit Number of Gold recovery or increase in gold recovery Reference
units

Gravity process Australia Metana Minerals N.L. plants 240–300 m3/h KC-CD30 9 Gold recovery increased by approximately 35%. Knelson and Edwards (1990)
Russia Zapadnoye 2500 t/d KC-XD48 4 The overall recovery of gold was 80%. Zhu et al. (2010)
China Shiyan Jinhaitong Mining 2000 m3/d KC-XD40 1 The total gold recovery was 85%. Zhu et al. (2010)
Development Co., LTD

Gravity-cyanidation process Canada Dome Mine 11500 t/d KC-CD30 5 Gravity recovery increased from 35% to 50%. –
Australia W.M.C.’s St Ives Gold Mine 105 t/h KC-CD30 3 The KC’s gravity circuit recovered 37.1% of the gold. Cloutt (1995)
Australia Boddington Gold Mine 12 t/h KC-CD20 1 Approximately 30% of the gold could be recovered by gravity Hart and Hill March (1995)
concentration.
Australia Paddington Gold Mine 1200000 t/a KC-CD30 2 The gold recovery from gravity increased to 32.8%, and the overall Zhang et al. (2003)
plant recovery increased by 2%.
America Fort Knox Gold Mine 40000 t/d KC-XD70 1 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 20%. Zhao et al. (2016)
South Africa President Steyn Gold Mine 2700 t/d KC-CD30 3 The gold recovery of the gravity circuit was 51–53%.The overall Liu and Shi (2008)
recovery of gold increased by more than 2%.

10
Malaysia Penjom Gold Mine 1500 t/d KC-XD48 1 The overall gold recovery increased by 10%. Zhao et al. (2016)
China Xin Yi Gold Mine 500 t/d KC-CD20 1 Concentrate with a gold grade of 617.2 g/t was produced with a Liu and Shi (2008)
recovery of 34.85%.
China Xin Yuan Gold Mining 800 t/d KC-XD30 1 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 30%. Liu et al. (2015)

Gravity-flotation process Australia Pasminco Mining 550000 t/a KC-CD30 1 Exceeded 30% recovery of gold in the feed Poulter et al. (1994)
Canada Westmin copper–zinc deposit 3500 t/d KC-CD30 2 The overall gold recovery increased by 4%. Zhang et al. (2003)
Peru Tintaya copper–gold flotation plant 1.750000 t/d KC-XD48 1 The overall gold recovery increased by 5%. Cui and Li (2003), Zhang et al.
(2003)
China Shandong Yingezhuang Gold Mining 2000 t/d KC-XD20 1 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 15–17%. Chen et al. (2017)
China Hainan Shandong Gold Mining Co., 450 t/d KC-QS30 2 The gold recovery of gravity circuit is 65% –
Ltd.
China Hunchun Zijin Mining Co., LTD 15000 t/d KC-XD40 4 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 20–25%. Zhao et al. (2016)

Gravity-flotation- cyanidation
process
Canada Les Mines Camchib – KC-CD30 2 The overall gold recovery increased by 1–3%. Laplante et al. (1990), Liu
(1989)
China Henan Jinqu Gold Co., LTD 700 t/d K—CD20 1+1 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 16–20%. Dong and Hu (2014)
K—CD12
China Chongli Zijin MiningCo., LTD 3000 t/d KC-XD40 1 The gold recovery from the gravity circuit was 15%. Zhu et al. (2010)
Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Raw ore Laplante, 2004; Xiao et al., 2009). GRPGM adds a fourth Knelson stage
operated at a higher rotating speed without further grinding based on
the GRG test stage. Meanwhile, the two-stage GRPGM protocol for
stream samples can be used to characterize the already liberated gravity
Flotation recoverable PGMs. The method was applied to four ores samples and
Tails was confirmed to be effective for quantitative determination of gravity
Gravity circuit or
Cyanidation recoverable PGMs in the samples.
Jena et al. (2017) studied the mineralogy characteristics of low-
Conc. grade PGM ore in the Boula–Nuasahi area and investigated the pre-
concentrate effect of PGM values using different gravity separation
equipment. The results showed that the KC performed better compared
Magnetic separation to the others separation methods and was more effective at a lower G-
force with a higher fluidization pressure.
The KC has been successfully applied for the practical production of
Tails PGM recovery. Norilsk Nickel in Russia used XD48 to enhance the re-
Shaking table
covery of platinum and palladium, which increased the recovery by
Conc.
6–8% and achieved obvious economic benefits. The Jinchuan Company
Sceening Gold room
is the largest nickel–copper production company in China. Ni–Cu ore is
(-212 ) rich in platinum, palladium, gold, and other precious metal elements.
The Jinchuan Company introduced three KC-QS48s into its newly built
Smaller KC 11000 t-/d large semi-self-grinding Ni–Cu concentrating mill, and a
Conc. precious metal concentrate with a platinum grade of 218 g/t with a
Smelting recovery of 61.96% was obtained (Yao and Zhang, 2018).

Fig. 11. An alternative flowchart for improving the grade of the primary con-
centrate in a gold room.
2004a; Honaker et al., 2000; Honaker et al., 1996). Operational sim-
plicity and lower costs are significant benefits of EGS processes com-
pared to alternative technologies, such as froth flotation systems. As an
EGS, although the KC has not been applied yet on an industrial scale for
fine coal cleaning, many laboratory and pilot-scale tests have already
been performed to upgrade fine coal using KCs. A research overview is
shown in Table 4.
3.3. Platinum group metals
Platinum group metals and gold and silver are collectively called
precious metals, which are high-density ores and amenable to KC
gravity separation. The content of platinum group metals (PGMs) is
considerable in the raw ore of the INCO Clarabelle Mill. Investigation of
grinding circuit products showed that, like gold, PGM is selectively
enriched in ball mill discharge and cyclone underflow. Huang and
Mejiab (2005) characterized the gravity recoverable PGMs and Au with
a combination of regular Knelson (60 Gs) and variable speed Knelson
(115 Gs) technology.
A laboratory method to predict the gravity recovery of platinum
group minerals (GRPGM) with four incremental liberation and recovery
stages was adapted from the protocol for GRG (Xiao, 2008; Xiao and
3.4. Other applications
KC can also be used to recover rare earth elements, tantalum, nio-
bium, tin, chromite, and other minerals, and related studies and ap-
plications are shown in Table 5.
4. Conclusion
Based on the above analysis, after nearly 40 years of development,
KCs have improved from the initial crude structure to sophisticated
automation equipment. According to prior literature, most of the stu-
dies on the separation mechanism in a KC focus on a qualitative de-
scription of the separation characteristics with the aid of laboratory and
pilot-scale experiments. In recent years, some researchers have begun to
conduct quantitative analysis by building separation models and using
software simulations. However, there are still many approximations in
the process of modeling and simulating because of the extremely
complex motion of particles in the centrifugal fluidized bed, which af-
fect the accuracy of the models. Moreover, existing mathematical
models and computer simulation studies have been limited to labora-
tory studies and have only been predictive for the relatively simple
separation of synthetic ores. Therefore, the research focus regarding
KCs in the future should be on more accurate modeling method and
establishing laboratory, semi-industrial, and industrial scale models to
effectively predict the separation effect of actual ore. Additionally, with

Rougher flotation Final tailings

Conc.

Cleaner flotation
Over flow
Hydrocyclone
Under flow

Regrind Tails
KC
mill
Final Concentrate

Fig. 12. Simplified flotation circuit at Kemess.

11
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Feed Over flow

Ball mill Hydrocyclone Flotation Concentrate

Under flow Tails

Batch Knelson Knelson

Conc. CVD

Gemini table Scavenging

Conc.
Final tailings
Smelter

Fig. 13. Simplified flowsheet of a hybrid flotation–gravity circuit (Ghaffari, 2004).

Table 3
Scavenging flotation tailings produced using a KC.
Source of feed KC Conclusions Reference

Copper flotation tailings (Elatzite copper KC-MD3 The KC can recover free gold from copper mine flotation tailings. Patchejieff and Lazarov.
mill) (1994)
Flotation tailings (Eskay Creek Gold Mine) CVD6 The gold and gold-bearing sulfide in the flotation tailings can be recovered using CVD, and Ghaffari (2004), Klein
the flotation–gravity circuit can reduce the grinding costs and increase gold recovery. et al. (2010)
Copper rougher tailings and cleaner KC-XD48 It was possible to concentrate gold particles from the cleaner tailings by gravity separation Brook et al. (2003)
tailings KC-MD3 using a two-stage KC process.
Cu rougher tailings and Cu cleaner tailings CVD6 CVD implementation was useful for reducing the loss of Au and for providing flexibility to Sakuhuni et al. (2014)
(Nyrstar’s Myra Falls) select between grade-targeted or recovery-targeted options for additional Au recovery.

Table 4
Summary of literature focused on the use of KCs to enrich fine coal.
KC Experimental method Results of the study Reference

CVD6 Box–Behnken statistical test The ash content was reduced from nearly 22% to approximately 8% while recovering approximately 70% Honaker and Das (2004b)
design of the combustibles, and the bowl speed was the most critical parameter for reducing both the product ash
content and recovery.
CVD6 Box–Behnken statistical test Micron-sized air bubbles injected into the feed stream had a significant impact on the operating Honaker et al. (2005)
design characteristics and separation performance of the KC when treating ultrafine hydrophobic coal.
MD3 One factor at a time Their results showed that their KC can produce a clean coal ash content of 17% with a 40% yield generated Majumder et al. (2007)
from a feed coal ash content of approximately 36%.
MD3 Central composite design (CCD) Application of CCD for modeling and optimization of four operating variables, including the rotational Öney and Tanriverdi
speed, fluidization water, solid ratio, and collecting time, on the KC for fine coal cleaning was discussed. (2012)
The results showed that CCD could be used for effectively modeling a KC.
MD3 One factor at a time Pyritic sulfur and ash were substantially rejected from oxidized coal by using the KC, and the KC was more Uslu et al. (2012)
efficient at separating coarse-sized fractions of coal.
MD3 Taguchi experimental design Lignite coal tailings with a 59.08% ash content from the Soma tailings ponds in Turkey were treated using Sabah and Koltka (2014)
method a two-stage concentration scheme for the recovery of fine clean coal, and under optimal conditions, the
process yielded a coal product with 30.51% ash and a 4259 kcal/kg base calorific value with a separation
efficiency of 19.50% using the KC.
MD3 Central composite design (CCD) Response surface design experiments (RSM) were used to investigate the influence of various parameters, Ma et al. (2018)
such as feed rate, solid content, centrifugal force, and the fluidization water pressure on the yield and ash
content of clean coal for −1-mm fine coal cleaning in a laboratory KC. Results show that the centrifugal
force and fluidization water pressure are the most significant factors, producing a high yield with a low ash
content of clean coal at a feed rate of 1.5 L/min, solid content of 35%, centrifugal force of 60 G, and
fluidized water pressure of 10 psi.

the continuous improvement of computational power and simulation
software, exploring the hydrodynamic characteristics of the complex
flow field in the KC using computer simulations and deducing the se-
paration characteristics by simulating the individual behavior of each
particle will be another hot topic of future research.
In industrial applications, KCs have been successfully used for the
recovery of gold and PGMs. The distinguished applicability of KC is in
the separation of minerals with relatively small density differences
compared to conventional gravity concentrators; therefore, KCs have a
wide application space and potential for the beneficiation of fine coal
because of their excellent performance. In the future, the application
and development trend of KCs mainly involves two aspects. First, they
could be used to improve the recovery of a target metal and reduce the
production costs by combining them with other processes. Second, their
application field can be expanded to the recovery and utilization of less
dense ores or other secondary resources.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.

12
Q. Chen, et al. Minerals Engineering 152 (2020) 106339

Table 5
Other applications and research on KCs.
Ore type Reference Research results and applications

Rare earth metals Jordens et al. (2014, 2016a,2016b); A laboratory-scale process, including two different gravity separation steps (Knelson and Falcon
Laplante (2000a) centrifugal concentrators) followed by a series of varying intensity wet drum magnetic separation
steps and dry-induced roll magnetic separation and wet high intensity magnetic separation steps, to
beneficiate a rare earth ore was investigated. The combination of a KC with low-intensity wet drum
magnetic separation was found to efficiently concentrate the REM while also rejecting the high
specific gravity iron oxide minerals, resulting in a total rare earth oxide (TREO) recovery of 11.75%
and TREO grade of 7.50%.
Marion et al. (2018) This work investigated the pre-concentration of a Nechalacho deposit using a spiral concentrator and
a KC on a relatively coarse (d80 = 0.097 mm) feed. The results suggested that valuable minerals can
be effectively concentrated by gravity separation even when they are poorly liberated.
Abaka-Wood et al. (2019) In this study, the feasibility of exploiting the differences in specific gravity to concentrate REE
minerals from a typical iron–oxidesilicate rich tailings sample was studied using two gravity
separation units, a KC and Wilfley shaking table. The results indicated that the performance of both
the KC and shaking table are significantly dependent on the mineralogical and particle size
characteristics of the feed; however, the table was found to be the preferred choice over the KC
owing to its greater selectivity.
Colemanite Savas (2016) This study investigated the possibility of recovering colemanite from tailings using a KC. A
concentrate with a B2O3 content of 34.2% was produced with a recovery of 78.3% from tailings with
a B2O3 content of 24.8%. Increasing the bowl speed improved the B2O3 recovery. Increasing the
fluidization velocity or reducing the particle size adversely affected the recovery percentage.
Uslu et al. (2015) This study investigated the enrichment of a low-grade colemanite concentrate (−3 mm) using a
Knelson centrifugal gravity concentrator. The B2O3 content of the concentrate increased from
33.96% to a maximum of 45.52%. The B2O3 recovery increased with increasing bowl speed and
particle size and decreased with increasing fluidizing water velocity.
Tantalum & Niobium Yu (2011) The feasibility of using CVD to enrich the thickener underflow of Yichun tantalum and niobium ore
was investigated. The results showed that the concentrate grade was too low to have commercial
value and further enrichment was needed.
Ghorbani et al. (2017) This study was on waste material from a deposit. This paper describes the characterization of the
tantalum mineralogy of the KC concentrate and the investigation of the potential for extraction using
gravity separation techniques. The results showed that the KC is most efficient for recovery
of − 0.125 mm particles.
Copper and cobalt Katwika et al. (2019) The beneficiation of high talc-containing copper–cobalt flotation tailings by using a KC was
investigated. The results indicated that the KCs significantly improved copper and cobalt recoveries
from 65.00% to 86.09% and 67.00% to 86.96%, respectively.
Cassiterite Yang et al. (2014) The feasibility of applying KC for the recovery of cassiterite in a gravity separation circuit of bearing-
tin tailings was discussed and examined. The results indicated that the KC is more efficient than a
table concentrator for the recovery of fine-particle cassiterite. The grade and recovery of tin in the
concentrate were 13.6% and 58.3%, respectively.
Angadi et al. (2017) In this study, a cassiterite sample collected from the Uljin deposit in South Korea was subjected to
different gravity separators to evaluate the separation efficiency. Evaluation of the performance of
gravity separation units was performed by using different methods, such as the grade/recovery
curve, Tromp curve, and evaluation of separation efficiencies. The gravity separation index
developed in this study can be used as a qualitative tool to compare the performance of different
types of gravity separators.
Application: For the Chanturiya Tin Mining Company in Russia, a CVD was installed in the recovery
circuit, and the recovery of Sn was found to be 36%.
Chromite Akar Sen (2016) Response surface methodology was used to study the influence of different operational variables,
such as the feed rate, centrifugal force, and fluidization water flow rate, on the efficiency of a KC for
chromite ore beneficiation. The results suggested that the fluidization water rate is the most effective
parameter.
Application: In the Eastern Chrome Mine in South Africa, one KC-CVD32 was used to recover
chromium.
Kimberlitic indicator minerals Chernet et al. (1999) A modified 3″ KC was used to concentrate kimberlitic indicator minerals from quaternary surficial
deposits, and an effective pre-concentration method that yields a high recovery of kimberlitic
indicator minerals and other slightly heavy minerals was developed.
Base metals (reject Mg-bearing Klein et al. (2016) In this study, the possibility of using KC to reject tale and improve the recovery of Ni-bearing sulfide
minerals) was evaluated via bench-scale (MD3) and pilot-scale (CVD6) experiments. The results revealed that
Mg-bearing minerals were effectively separated, and a concentrate with a low mass yield, low Mg
content, and high Ni upgrade ratio was achieved using KCs.
Tungsten ore Yang et al. (2018) A concentrate with a W2O3 content of 60.31% was obtained with a recovery of 73.60% by using the
combined magnetic separation–Knelsen gravity separation–flotation process.
Application: Beralt Tungsten Mine in Portugal (wolframite) and Cantung Tungsten Mine in Canada
(scheelite)
Gold Delfini et al. (2000) A KC-MD3 was used to explore the potential of gold concentration from “handwashing waste” from
jewellery workshops. The experimental results showed that it is possible to obtain a theoretical
recovery of up to 90% for coarser gold particles.

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