Comparison of Jameson cell and jet diffuser flotation column

A Jet Diffuser Flotation Column (JDFC) is a newly designed flotation device which resembles the Jameson cell (JFC) in terms of operational principles, but it has an important difference regarding to the structural characteristics in the downcomer. The main difference of JDFC is the diffuser type of downcomer which has been designed using the hydrodynamic consideration and fluid mechanics principles. The aim of the design was to increase the device efficiency for coarse particle flotation. Therefore, the turbulence occurring at the end of the downcomer was reduced, and the detachment probability of the coarse particle decreased. In addition, a homogenous and stable foam zone in the cell was obtained. According to the experimental results carried out in a pilot scale showed that not only higher flotation performance in comparison to the Jameson cell was obtained specifically for the coarse particles but also the quiescent froth layer was acquired under the given conditions. In these experiments, a vertical pipe of JDFC having an inlet diameter of 60 mm and outlet diameters of 115, 125 and 135 mm was used with the separation tank with the diameter of 390 mm. By using the data, the pilot scale JDFC with the 4100 mm vertical pipe integrated with the separation tank was produced, and the flotation tests were carried out by using a talc ore. Finally, the talc recovery of 90% was obtained using the JDFC for the particle size of 350 mu m.