Technical Information TankCell®

Minerals Processing / Sami Grönstrand Jan 04, 2010 1 (4)

Outotec Flotation Cells Dimensions and Metallurgical Variables

1. Description

1.1. The TankCell®

Fig. 2. Example of an Outotec TankCell® equipped with an Internal Peripheral Concentrate Launder, a Belt Drive
and Internal Dart Valve.

1.2. Number, Volume and Shape of the Cell

The selection of size, number and shape / launder configuration of cells is usually a task best done by the
Technology Supplier. Below is a simplified flowsheet showing typical criteria for a sulphide application. Shown
numbers are all case dependent, for instance the Carry Rate limitation depends on the Enrichment Ratio. The
higher the E.R., the lower should C.R. be; this relationship is based on a vast database of applications. There are
also other factors affecting cell design, like the Air Efficiency – the mass of floatable material to be lifted by the air
– and particle size, affecting the Transport Distance. Performing these design tests will yield the size and number
 Technical Information TankCell®

Minerals Processing / Sami Grönstrand Jan 04, 2010 2 (4)

of cells, as well as the desirable launder configuration; options are Internal Peripheral, External Peripheral, Center
(Donut), as well as addition of radial launders to these.

And indeed even the minimum amount of cells can be something else than the usual five or six per row in an open
circuit. The longer the residence time per cell is, the larger is the perfectly mixed portion, and hence the fewer
cells are needed. For closed circuits, typically in cleaning stages, where the tails of the duty are circulated back to
other stages, the number of cells in a row can be even one, as the tailings will have a chance to be recovered
elsewhere. The cell(s) will naturally have to be properly designed for the upgrading duty.

Solids flow rate

Slurry Solids Concentration YES
Open Circuit Select minimum of
[mass-%]
Compute necessary Flotation (Aim to 5 (five) standard volume cells
Slurry Gas Hold-Up [vol-%]
Total Flotation Volume maximize recovery) PER ROW to match necessary
Laboratory or Pilot solids
? total volume
residence time
Scale-up factor

NO
(Closed circuit, eg. Cleaner is in
question. Tails are returned to main Select minimum of
circuit or scavenger to enable further 1 (one) standard volume cell
recovery. PER ROW to match
necessary total volume

Check the Carry Rate for the

YES chosen cell size and froth YES Select smaller cells or query
Mass Pull Carry Rate
surface area for all cells in for cell / launder configuration
> 10% of feed ? > 1,5 t/m2?
the row. for larger surface area.
(t / m2 of surface area)

NO NO

YES
Enrichment Ratio c/f
> 10?

NO
Cell size and launder
configuration probably
OK.

One of the great simplifications in the above sequence is the Carry Rate. It is considering that mass pull is evenly
distributed to every cell in a row produces. Flotation kinetics (recovery-by-time) usually lead to the fact that the
first cells in the row will handle more floatable material and hence overflow tonnage. Cells towards the end of the
row will see only very little floatable material, and tend to exhibit very lean froth beds. For this purpose, it has
become increasingly important to tailor each cell in a row to a specific mass pull / enrichment ratio duty. First cells
need more surface area and launder capacity, and cells at the back need crowding in order to provide controllable,
selective froth depth forming from a small amount of floatable material.
 Technical Information TankCell®

Minerals Processing / Sami Grönstrand Jan 04, 2010 3 (4)

1.3. Launder options

1. Internal
Peripheral
Launder

2. External
Peripheral
Launder

3. Center or
“Donut”
Launder

4. Radial Launders,
added to 1. or 2.

Figure . Launder Types

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Minerals Processing / Sami Grönstrand Jan 04, 2010 4 (4)

1.4 Dimensions

Some explanations on variables:

Nominal Volume = Minimum Active Volume = Volume available for slurry and air.
Air Feed Rate = Air Feed, when superficial gas velocity Jg in tank is 1,5 cm/s. (Jg in froth depends on
launder and crowding setup)
Installed Mechanism Motor = Nominal power of electric motor for typical slurry (sp. gravity < 1,4 kg / dm3)
Specific Operating Power = Mechanism Motor Power PLUS Blower Power, when operating with typical
slurry and typical air feed rate. Higher air feed rate reduces motor power and increases blower power, and
lower air feed rate does the opposite. Hence the Sp. Op. Power stays similar regardless of operating point.

The TankCell® e-Series

MODEL NOMINAL TANK LIP HEIGHT LIP LENGTH , LIP LENGTH , FROTH AREA, FROTH AREA, AIR FEED INSTALLED SPECIFIC
VOLUME DIAMETER [m] typical maximum typical maximum RATE, MECHANISM OPERATING
[m3] [m] [m] [m] [m2 ] [m2] maximum MOTOR , POWER,
[m3/min] typical [kW] typical
[kW/m3]
TankCell® e5 5 2,00 2,00 4,7 9,5 1,6 3,0 2,8 11 1,97
TankCell® e10 10 2,50 2,50 6,3 14,3 2,0 4,7 4,3 18,5 1,88
TankCell® e20 20 3,10 3,10 7,9 17,5 4,4 7,1 6,7 37 1,65
TankCell® e30 30 3,60 3,60 9,4 23,0 6,6 9,7 9,0 45 1,37
TankCell® e40 40 3,80 4,00 10,0 23,7 7,3 10,6 10,0 55 1,18
TankCell® e50 50 4,27 4,27 10,9 28,3 8,9 13,8 13,0 75 1,32
TankCell® e70 70 5,30 3,70 14,1 38,0 15,1 21,3 19,0 90 0,87
TankCell® e100 100 6,00 4,20 16,3 46,0 20,5 27,5 25,0 110 0,84
TankCell® e130 130 6,40 4,70 17,6 48,8 23,5 31,0 28,0 132 0,90
TankCell® e160 160 6,80 5,00 19,0 53,0 27,1 35,2 32,0 160 0,83
TankCell® e200 200 7,20 5,40 20,1 58,0 31,0 40,0 36,0 185 0,80
TankCell® e300 300 8,00 6,60 22,0 64,0 37,4 49,0 45,0 250 0,69
TankCell® e500 500 10,00 7,00 28,3 87,0 62,5 77,4 70,0 400 0,66

The OK-R and OK-U Series

OK-R stands for “Rectangular”.

OK-U stands for “U-shaped”. Froth surface area is rectangular, but longitudinal cross section of the tank is
in shape of the letter U.

MODEL NOMINAL TANK TANK LIP HEIGHT LIP LENGTH , FROTH AREA, AIR FEED INSTALLED
VOLUME LENGTH [m] WIDTH [m] [m] typical typical RATE PER MECHANISM
[m3] [m] [m2] SHAFT, MOTOR ,
maximum typical [kW]
[m3/min]
OK-0.5-2R 0,5 1,9 * 1,1 0,8 1,9 * 0,8 1,0 ** 3,75 *
OK-1.5-2R 1,5 2,8 * 1,6 1,1 2,8 * 2,0 2,0 ** 7,5 *
OK-3-2R 2 3,4 * 2,0 1,6 3,4 * 3,0 3,0 ** 15 *

OK-8-U 8 2,3 2,3 1,9 4,5 5,1 4,5 22

OK-16-U 16 2,8 2,8 2,4 5,6 7,8 7,0 37
OK-38-U 38 3,8 3,7 3,3 12,7 12,3 12,0 75

Notes for OK-R series:

* Values for two connected cells, one motor operating two shafts.
** Values for one cell, individual air control in every shaft