A SEMINAR ON

ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY IN
DEWATERING

Name : Suchismita Senapati

Regd No. : 1401104137
Branch : Mineral engineering
Semester : 8th
 CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• CURRENT DEWATERING TECHNOLOGIES
• NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN DEWATERING
TECHNOLOGY.
• OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
• REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION
• Dewatering is the method which is used after
concentration process.
• It is the process of removing water absorbed by
the particle which increases the pulp density.
• In the minerals industry, dewatering is employed
in order to save on the energy required in
thermal drying, improve the handling properties
of the concentrates, and reduce transportation
costs if the concentrates are to be shipped.
CURRENT DEWATERING TECHNOLOGIES
• Gravity Dewatering-
Sedimentation thickness, Cyclones
• Centrifuges Dewatering-
Vibrating basket centrifuges, Scroll centrifuges
• Filtration Dewatering-
Horizontal belt, Drum filters, Disc filters
• Mechanical Dewatering-
Thermal Pressing
 GRAVITY DEWATERING
Sedimentation thickness-
• Employ principles of gravity settling and
applied in mineral concentrates and tailings.
• High capacity, low maintenance and operating
cost, large physical size.
Cyclones-
• Widely used in the mining industry.
• Design and operational simplicity, high
capacity, low maintenance and operating cost,
small physical size.
• Applied as classification or concentration.
 CENTRIFUGES DEWATERING
Vibrating basket centrifuges-
• The dilation and disturbance of the materials
bed facilitates removal of water. Feed rate: 100
tons=h. Product moisture: 5–10 wt%.
Centrifugal force: 60–75 g.
Scroll centrifuges-
• Dewatering spiral concentrates of0.5þ0.1 mm.
Feed rate: up to 60–70 tons=h. Product
moisture: 12–16 wt%. Feed solids: 40–55 wt%.
Centrifugal force:110 g.
 FILTRATION DEWATERING
Horizontal belt
• Handle a wider range of feed size and flexible in its
tolerance.
• Simple in design and low cost in flocculants and
maintenance.
Drum filters
• Handle coarser feeds.
• A relatively small footprint and a lower capital cost. Tolerant
to feed rate changes.
Disc filters
• Handle coarser feeds. Compact design and low capital cost.
• A higher maintenance demand. Careful level control
needed.
 MECHANICAL DEWATERING
Thermal pressing-
• Removal of 7% of moisture.
• Energy-efficient operation.
• Changes in physical and chemical structure of
minerals.
 NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN
DEWATERING TECHNOLOGY
• Electro dewatering
• Cross-Flow Microfiltration
• Enhanced Dewatering with Surfactants and
Flocculants
 ELECTRO DEWATERING
• The working principle of electro watering is that the
water in the sludge contains cations that, under the
effect of a continuous electrical current, are attracted
by the negative pole.
• Through viscous action, the movement of the cations
through the water in the sludge carries water
molecules toward the cathode, where the water is
finally drained out of the sludge.
• To compensate for the volume loss created by the
extracted water, the distance between the anode and
the cathode is adjusted by applying a mechanical
force to the electrodes and controlled pressure to the
sludge to be dewatered.
 CROSS- FLOW MICROWFILTRATION
• Used for processing very fine minerals that will not
settle or filter efficiently by conventional means.
• The suspension to be filtered is passed tangentially
over the surface of the filter. The formation of a filter
cake is restricted by the shear at the membrane
surface and the process is strongly influenced by the
rheology of the suspension undergoing treatment.
• Cross-flow microfilters are of modular design that
enables them to be employed for intermittent or
transient application, to be moved early between
locations.
• A shear drag model was developed for the mineral
cross-flow filtration systems.
Enhanced Dewatering with Surfactants
and Flocculants
• In recent years, the need for improved floc
conditioning is being increasingly recognized.
Operators are assessing options for improved and
controlled mixing of flocculants into filter feeds, and
also the use of mixed flocculant formulations to
produce smaller tighter flocs, which in turn can
produce enhanced cake permeability without large
increases in porosity.
• Two distinct types of proprietary chemical additives
are generally available for industrial use: flocculant
filter aids and surfactant dewatering aids.
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
• A recent development in the minerals industry is
the use of ceramic filter media in vacuum disc
filters. The pores of these filters are so fine that
air breakthrough is prevented, thus permitting
retention of higher vacuum levels and production
of drier cakes.
• Also, some plants have been testing hyperbaric
pressure filters as a means of reducing product
moisture.
• The dewatering driving force is applied as an
overpressure to the filter and is usually
approximately 3 bar.
 REFERENCES
1. Le Roux M. Campbell, Q.P.; Watermeyer, M.S.; de Oliveria, S. The
optimization of an improved method of fine coal dewatering.
Journal of Minerals Engineering2005.
2. Lee, D.J.; Lai, J.Y.; Mujumdar, A.S. Moisture distribution and
dewatering efficiency for wet materials. Drying Technology 2006.
3. Xu, P.; Wu, Z.H.; Mujumdar, A.S.; Yu, B.M. Innovative hydrocyclone
inlet designs to reduce erosion-induced wear in mineral
dewatering processes. Drying Technology2009.
4. Mujumdar, A.S. Innovation in drying. Drying Technology1996.
5. Mujumdar, A.S. An overview of innovation in industrial drying:
Current status and R&D needs. Transport in Porous Media2007
6. Mujumdar, A.S.; Wu, Z.H. Thermal drying technologies—Cost
effective innovation aided by mathematical modelling approach.
Drying Technology2008.
THANK YOU