DELKOR Thickeners

It pays to talk to a specialist

History

Delkor - supplies
thickeners since 1980.

More than 650 thickener

installations in 46
countries.

Tenova Delkor has

specialized solid-liquid
offices and
representatives in the
following locations:
Equipment Range

 Tenova Delkor can supply the following

thickener equipment
• Conventional Thickeners
• Clarifiers
• High Rate Thickeners
• High Compaction/Density Thickeners
• Paste Thickeners

 Diameters supplied have ranged from 1m 100m Delkor Thickener for Copper Tailings in Chile
pilot units up to 100m diameter thickeners for
tailings applications.

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Thickener Components

 Thickeners can be broken down into two

major components:
• Thickener Mechanism
• Thickener Tank

 The mechanism will consist of the bridge,

drive, feedpipe, feedwell, torque tube and
rakearm/blades.

60m Thickener Mechanism for Fluorite in Vietnam

 The thickener tank can be an elevated or in-
ground design made of steel or concrete.

Elevated Steel Thickener Tanks for a Silver/Gold CCD

in Mexico
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Thickener Tanks

 Elevated steel tanks can be supplied as:

• Welded Tank
• Bolted Tank

 Welded tanks are supplied in smaller and

easier to transport pieces but require
extensive site welding and installation.

 Bolted tanks are supplied in larger, flanged

60m Welded Tank for Fluorite in Vietnam
sections which can require oversized
transport but significantly cut down site
installation time and labour.

 Delkor has supplied elevated steel tanks up

to:
• 60m Diameter for Welded Tanks
• 44m Diameter for Bolted Tanks

44m Bolted Tank for Gold Tailings in Australia

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Feedwell System

 One of the most critical items on the

thickener is the feedwell. It is where the
incoming feed is mixed with the flocculant,
diluted and released into the thickener tank.

 Part of Delkors R&D revolves around the

continuous improvement of the feedwell
design.

CFD Feedwell Modelling

 The use of CFD (computational fluid
dynamic) modelling is a powerful tool to
design each feedwell to its optimum and
predicting performance under changing
operation conditions.

 This result is a thickener with lower operating

costs and better performance.

Optimized Forced Dilution Feedwell

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Thickener Drive

 Tenova Delkor can supply thickeners where

the rakes are rotated using either:
• A Hydraulic System
• Directly Coupled Electric Motors

 Single planetary gearbox drives up to

230kNm.

 Multi-pinion planetary gearbox drives from

300 to 10800kNm Single Planetary Gearbox Drive GB50 (50kNm)

 All drives can be supplied with rakelift that

uses rams to lift the raking system 300 to
600mm vertically to reduce the risk of the
rakes stalling in the thickened slurry.

Multi Pinion & Gearbox Drive SR310-6 (6000kNm)

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Instrumentation & Control

 Standard instrumentation that is supplied on

most thickeners includes:
• Bed Level Device
• Bed Mass Transducer
• Torque Measurement
• Rakelift Height Ultrasonic

 Thickener control can be done via a stand

alone relay logic or PLC panel on the
RAP Process Screen
thickener or by the plant SCADA/DCS
system using the thickener control
philosophy.

 Delkors’ state of the art control logic RAP

(Remote Access Panel) provides for remote
monitoring and calibration of the thickener
instrumentation. This allows faster support of
the operations by Delkor specialists to
ensure the thickener is working to its
optimum level.
RAP Operation Screen

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Paste Thickeners

 Delkor designs Paste thickeners to maximize

water recovery or underflow density. In
conjunction we supply high compaction
thickeners to produce a paste product.

 Paste thickeners will typically have a very

steep floor slope (30 degrees) and higher
18.3m Diameter Paste Thickener for Gold in
the Dominican Republic side walls (6m to 10m).

 Installed drives up to 10.8MNm allow for

Paste/High Compaction thickeners up to 60m
in diameter.

 Patented shear thinning system reduces

pumping costs.

 Can be used in conjunction with Delkor

Horizontal Belt Filters or Delkor FAST Filter
Press to produce dry stack tailings.

High Rate to Paste Underflow Samples

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Testwork

 Delkor laboratories perform static or dynamic

testwork on a representative sample to
determine:
• Underflow density.
• Overflow clarity.
• Rheology

 Process guarantees are offered for the

overflow clarity or underflow density as per
0.9 m Pilot Unit Drawing 0.9 m Pilot Unit at Site
the applications requirement.

 Given a solids throughput (t/hr) the diameter

of the thickener can be determined.

 For site pilot testing a 0.9m pilot unit can be

provided that can be operated as either a
high rate or paste thickener.

Dynamic Lab Paste Unit

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Innovations - Thickener

 Forced Dilution System – this proprietary system

reduces operating costs & improves thickener
performance by optimizing flocculant consumption.

 Shear Thinning System – this proprietary design is

used on high yield stress/paste applications. It
reduces the yield stress of the slurry to improve
pumpability. Thus lowering the energy consumption
& wear on the slurry pumps.

 Feedwell Design – CFD modelling provides the

ideal feedwell size and geometry. This is often Shear Thinning System

designed in conjunction with the forced dilution

system.

 Large Thickener Tank Design – Delkor is at the

forefront of steel tank design. Our 60m tank was the
largest thickener tank ever built and we have
designs up to 80m diameter using the latest FEA
software.
80m Elevated Thickener Tank FEA Design

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Delkor Supply Packages

 We offer the following for new thickener

installations:
• Tank & Mechanism Supply
• Transport & Logistics of Equipment to
Site
• Site Installation & Supervision
• Ancillary Equipment including Access
Stairways, Feed Tanks, Pumps and
Flocculant Plants
15m Thickener Installation for Spodgumene in Australia

 We offer the following services on existing

thickener installations:
• Thickener Performance Audits
• Replacement Drives
• Retrofitted Feedwells & Dilution Systems
• New Mechanisms

12m CCD Thickener Installation for Gold in the Philippines

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Why Delkor Thickeners?
80m Thickener Mechanism for Nickel Laterite in Madagascar
 30+ Years of Solid Liquid Separation
Experience.
 Over 650 Thickener Installations
 Worldwide Support Network
 Thickeners Up To 100m Diameter
 On-Going Product Development
 Patented Thickener Solutions
• Forced Dilution System
• Shear Thinning System
 Installed Thickener Tanks Up To 60m
Diameter
 Drive Units to 10.8MN and 20+ Years Actual
Site Reliability
 Remote Access Panel for Operational
Support
 Process Guarantees Backed by Proven
Testwork Methodology
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Thank you