International Journal of Mineral Processing, 33 ( 1991 ) 343-354 343

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

Column flotation: A selected review. Part I

James A. Finch a and Glenn S. D o b b y b

aDept. Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Que. H3A 2A 7, Canada
bDept. Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. MSS 1A4, Canada
(Received March 13, 1990; accepted after revision March 6, 1991 )

ABSTRACT

Finch, J.A. and Dobby, G.S., 1991. Column flotation: a selected review. Part I. In: K.S.E. Forssberg
(Editor), Flotation of Sulphide Minerals 1990. Int. J. Miner. Process., 33:343-354

This review of recent work on column flotation focuses on three aspects: mixing in the collection
zone, maximum gas rates and carrying capacity. The plug flow dispersion model is shown to be ade-
quate for fitting the residence time distribution without resort to compartment models. Care is needed,
however, because different boundary conditions and fitting routines lead to different parameter esti-
mates. Maximum gas rates can be defined by three distinct phenomena:loss of bubbly flow, loss of
interface and loss of positive bias. All carry the potential for loss of performance, although in some
cases performance can be maintained into negative bias. An update to the carrying capacity equation
is presented and the use of lip length rather than area as the criterion is considered.

INTRODUCTION

Column flotation saw tremendous growth during the 1980s, both in terms
of basic understanding and applications (Table l ). The authors compiled
some of this experience in a book Column Flotation (Finch and Dobby, 1990).
New data and analysis are presented here for three topics: mixing in the col-
lection zone, maximum gas rates, and carrying capacity.

M I X I N G IN T H E C O L L E C T I O N Z O N E

Plugflow dispersion model

One approach to fitting the residence time distribution (RTD) in a flota-

tion column has been to use the plug flow axial dispersion model. Two fitting
parameters are required, the mean residence time and the vessel dispersion
number Nd. In particular, the analytical solution to this model with open-
open (oo) boundary conditions is often employed (Rice et al., 1981; Dobby
and Finch, 1985 ).

0301-7516/91/$03.50 © 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved.

~44 ~ ~. i:lN( It AND G S. DOBBY

I -\BLf5 I

tlistotT ordevelopments in column flotation

',ear Event

1962 -Invention
1963-67 -Testwork at Iron ()re Co. Canada & Opemiska
-18" Square column
1975 -36"" square column
1980 -First commercial installation, Les Mines Gasp~ (Mo cleaning)
1983 -Short course, McGill
1984 -"Homemade" colunm, 36" dia. (Cu cleaning), Gibraltar Mines
1086 -3-stage, 7ft. dia. column circuit, Gibraltar Mines, (Cu cleaning )
-Widespread use for Mo cleaning
-Use of scale-up model, Mount lsa Mines
-Development of USBM-type sparger
1987 -Symposium, Trail, BC, Canada
-3, 2.5m dia. unbaffled columns, Mount Isa Mines
1987-89 -Expansion of applications, South America, Australia, Europe
-Development of "'Jameson" column
-Development of"Microbubble" column
1988 -First all column flotation plant, Pocatello, ID, USA (phosphate)
-Symposium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
-Column Course, Camborne School of Mines, UK
1990 -Book, Column Hotation

Other boundary conditions can be applied. Closed-closed (cc) boundaries,

for example, often better reflect the experimental conditions of RTD deter-
mination (Ityokumbul et al., 1988; Finch and Dobby, 1990a). The analytical
solution for closed-closed boundaries is more complex than for the open-
open case and a variety of forms have been proposed (e.g. Shinji Nagata,
1975; Froment and Bischoff, 1979; Ityokumbul et al., 1988; Abouzeid, 1989).
The closed-closed case is readily solved numerically. To distinguish the two
cases, the subscripts oo and cc will be used.
Not only is there a choice of boundary conditions to solve the model, but
there is also a choice of routines to fit the model to the experimental RTD,
namely: least squares (L) or moments matching (m). The first is self-evi-
dent. Moments matching refers to matching the variance determined from
the experimental RTD with that from the model predicted RTD. To distin-
guish between fitting routines the superscripts L and m will be used. The least
squares technique is preferred as it is less sensitive than moments matching
to the tail of the RTD, which is often poorly defined.
There are differences between the various possible Nd values; Ityokumbul
et al. ( 1988 ), have given regression equations to predict Ndcc from Ndoo (e.g.
see Table 2).
A comparison of the Nd values derived from a set of experimental RTDs is
COLUMN FLOTATION: A SELECTED REVIEW 345

TABLE 2

Comparison OfNd values

J~ (cm s - ' ) NLoo N~¢¢ Na'~¢ N~c¢

0.00 0.0273 0.0276 0.0802 0.0300

0.50 0.2532 0.2726 0.3866 0.3272
1.00 0.2932 0.3628 0.4574 0.3830
1.55 0.3412 0.4363 0.5025 0.4506
2.28 0.3651 0.4716 0.5812 0.4846
*Note: NL~c derived from Pete/Peon=0.70 Pe°~°73 where ?Ca= l/Pe (Ityokumbul et al., 1988).

TABLE 3

Summary of observations on Na values

Nd<0.25 Ndoo
L ~ Ndcc
L

0.25 <Nd<0.5 g
Ndoo < Ndc¢
L

AIINa N'Xc¢ > NL¢c

All N a L* ~ N dec
N doo r

*See Table 2.

1.0
c
~!P I Ji 0.gcm/s I
r.
®
o
c
i. ox,..--n,. I
o
(J

= o.s k! 1 °' I
o

0.0
0 2 3 4
DlmenslonlessTlme

Fig. 1. Illustration of fit to experimental RTD for industrial flotation column (2.5 × 13 m) at
Mount Isa Mines using dispersion model, closed-closed boundary, numerical solution, least
squares fit. (Data from Espinosa-Gomez et al., 1989 ). Note, fit with Nd = oo is the perfect mixed
case.

given in Table 2 with a summary of observations in Table 3. The relative

magnitude of NLoo and N~cc is not given for Nd > 0.5 as the analytical solution
ceases to be a satisfactory fit although the numerical closed-closed solution
continues to fit well (e.g. Fig. 1 ). This successful fitting using the closed-
~,4(~ I ,,, F I N C H ,AND G.S D O B B Y

closed solution does not consider whether the dispersion model is physically
realistic with such large deviations from plug flow (Goodall and O'Connor,
1990; Levenspiel, 1979 ).
An important point emerging from Table 3 is that to compare N d from dif-
ferent sources, the method of estimation should be considered.

Compartment models

Arguments can be advanced that the flow resulting from the complex inter-
actions in the collection zone cannot be fitted by the single Nd parameter in
the dispersion model (Mavros et al., 1989; Goodall and O'Connor, 1990).
Compartment, or tanks-in-series, models are more flexible, since each com-
partment can be assigned individualised parameters.
This flexibility of the compartment models does not seem necessary (La-
plante et al., 1988). As an illustration of the robustness of the dispersion
model, Fig. 2 illustrates a successful fit to age distributions (i.e. tracer concen-
tration with time at a location inside the column) using NdLcc derived from
the RTD (i.e. age distribution at the exit).
Modelling mixing in the collection zone has clearly attracted attention re-
cently. To put in some perspective, most of the detailed work has been at the
laboratory scale; at the industrial scale, however, Nd values tend to be large
( > 0 . 2 5 ) and thus metallurgical performance is less dependent on exact
knowledge of Nd. For scale-up, for example, Luttrell et al. (1988), suggest
?v~= 0.25 for all situations and Newall et al. ( 1989 ) assumed perfect mixing
in their case. Espinosa-Gomez et al. ( 1989 ) observed that perfect mixing was

2.0

, [:: : 'o::::;: 1
i,.l
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

" 2,°oo ,

| 0,5 -
I
oo
0 1 2
Dimensionless T i m e

Fig. 2. Fit to RTD and age distribution using a single N d (NLcc) value. (Laboratory scale col-
u m n ( 10.1 X 300 cm), conductivity tracer technique). Tracer detected at: a, inlet; b, mid-point;
c, exit (i.e. RTD).
COLUMN FLOTATION: A SELECTED REVIEW 347

a reasonable approximation for a 2.5-m diameter column, as confirmed in

Fig. 1.
Factors other than mixing impose the practical limits to scale-up, in partic-
ular accuracy of rate constants and froth carrying capacity. One aspect of mix-
ing in large columns which is ignored is radial dispersion, which is a factor in
promoting liquid circulation. Another area of possible advance is to consider
fundamental models of the actual mixing process, namely the transport of
water and solids in the bubble wake and boundary layer.

Effect of solids

The previous discussion considered liquid dispersion. Two questions arise

upon the addition of solids: is the liquid dispersion changed and, what is the
relationship between dispersion of solids and liquid.
The former is easier to address. Laplante et al. (1988), from plant data,
deduced that solids reduced the dispersion of water, suggesting viscous effects
as the cause. Figure 3 shows a test of this: the liquid phase Nd decreased by
much less than predicted. The work of Schubert (1988 ), showing fine solids
reduce turbulent diffusion, also supports a moderating effect on mixing of
solids.
The relationship between solids and liquid dispersion is harder to test be-
cause of the requirements for a solids tracer. A hydrophilic (non-floating)
solid tracer of similar size and density to the feed solids is required. The use
of hydrophobic solids by Goodall and O'Connor (1990), for example, com-
plicates the interpretation of that data. Radioactive tracers are a good option
(Yianatos et al., 1990). Kho and Sohn (1989) and Yianatos et al. (1990)

;
o. i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
o.s .~i ......................................
i i JJ,.o.soo.,.l i
i " " "°~°~"i ........! !
Z
c
.9.o

i 0.4

i 0.3
>

0.2 ~
0 5 10 15 20 25
Feed Sollds Percentage, (%)

Fig. 3. Demonstrationof decrease in water phase Na(NL¢c) as percentageof solids in feed in-
creases. (Same set-up as Fig. 3: solids were 50%-15/lm silica). Line is predicted effect using
correlation of Laplante et al. (1988).
 ~4~ ! ~ FIN( HANI)(LS. DOBBk

show data consistent with the conclusion that, tor particles less than about
150 ~tin, the solids and liquid dispersion coe(ficients are equal,

MAXIMUM GAS RATES

If the gas rate is increased sufficiently the flow regime in the collection zone
moves from bubbly to churn-turbulent (Shah et al., 1982). This is one defi-
nition of m a x i m u m gas rate for flotation column operation because the in-
creased mixing associated with churn-turbulent flow decreases recovery
( Finch and Dobby, 1990b). Operating variables affect this maximum gas rate:
for example, it is decreased by decreasing bubble size or increasingly the rail-
ings rate. Several theoretical attempts to predict this m a x i m u m gas rate
(Jgma~l) are compared in Table 4. They all agree qualitatively, but diverge
numerically in the case of db > 1 mm.
Two phenomena associated more with the froth zone which may also de-
fine a m a x i m u m gas rate are: loss of interface and loss of positive bias (Finch
and Dobby, 1990c). Both result from the transfer of the water carried by bub-
bles from the collection to the froth zone. In the first p h e n o m e n o n sufficient
water becomes transferred to equalize the water content on either side of the
interface. In the second, this upward flux of water becomes equal to the down-
ward flux coming from the wash water.
Both have been examined by Xu et al. ( 1991 ), and the second by Pal and
Masliyah (1990). Xu et al. referred to the associated m a x i m u m gas rates as
J g m a x 2 , and Jgmax3 (to distinguish from J g m a x l , Table 4). Their experimental

TABLE 4

C o m p a r i s o n of theoretical m a x i m u m gas rates for transition from bubbly to c h u r n - t u r b u l e n t flow

Jgmax I (Crll S i )

Source*: I ~ 3 4 5
Bubble d i a m e t e r
db ( r a m )

Jt=0.4cms ~
1.0 1.9 >2 1.5 2.9 2.5
0.6 1.1 1.5 1.0 1.3 1.4
0.2 <0.1 <0.2 0.17

JL = 1.0 cm s -
1.0 1.5 >2 1.4 2.5 2
0.6 0.8 1.2 0.7 1.0 1
0.2 0.05 <0.1 0.04

* 1 - K a s i r e d d y a n d A1 Taweel ( 1989 ); 2 - M a n k o s a et al. ( 1 9 9 0 ) ; 3 - D o b b y a n d Finch ( 1986 ); 4 -

Finch a n d D o b b y ( 1990g); 5 - X u et al. ( 1991 ).
COLUMNFLOTATION:A SELECTEDREVIEW 349

0o..4!ii!i!!! !!iii!!!!
0 5 10 15 20 25
Frother Concentration (ppm)
Fig. 4. Gas rate at which loss of bubbly flow (Jgmaxl), loss of interface (Jgmax2) and loss of
positive bias (Jgmax3) occurred as a function of frother (Dowfroth 250C) concentration (Data
from Xu et al., 1991 ).

results for all three Jgmax suggested (Fig. 4), Jgmax 1 "~ Jgmax2> Jgmax3. Figure 4
also shows that all three decrease with decreasing bubble size (or increasing
frother concentration). Theoretical analysis, based on drift flux, supported
the equivalence of Jgmaxl and Jgmax2,but the model for Jgmax3(Pal and Masli-
yah, 1990 ) was only qualitative, in part because froth depth was not included
explicitly.
Xu et al. (1990) also considered the bubble surface area rate, Sb (Sb = 6 Jg/
db), and showed that Sbmax (i.e. Sb at Jgmax) was independent of db over the
range db ~ 0.6 to 1.2 mm. This contrasts with earlier theoretical work suggest-
ing Sbmaxpasses through a maximum as a function of db (Finch and Dobby,
1990b); Sbmaxbeing independent of db relaxes an objection to using finer
bubbles.
The loss of interface and loss of positive bias are both readily observed
phenomena in the laboratory. Their detection industrially is not necessarily
so straightforward, however. For example, a single pressure sensor, is easily
misled into detecting an interface which is not there, and flow measurements
are not sufficiently accurate to detect a water flow difference approaching
zero with any confidence.
Both phenomena carry the potential for loss of performance. Loss of inter-
face, will almost certainly mean loss of the cleaning action associated with the
froth and possibly loss of stabilized control. Loss of positive bias is expected
to result in loss of grade. Respecting this and the loss in capacity resulting
from excess bias, bias rates between 0 and 0.1 cm s-~ have been recom-
mended (Finch and Dobby, 1990d). Recent work has questioned both limits.
)SI t : \ iIN(II,kNI)(i.~,.DOBBY

300 . . . . . . . ~r-.......... . . . . c. . . . . . . .

250 ~
negative bias

200 - • l

100 ~positlle
150 ii

bias
t
50--

0 1 I ~ 1
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 12 1.4
Bias Ratio

Fig. 5. G r a d e o f gold versus bias ratio, s h o w i n g grade is m a i n t a i n e d d o w n to ratio ~ 0.9 ( d a t a

f r o m Furey, 1990, c o n v e r t i n g bias originally q u o t e d as % o f feed; bias was b a s e d o n water).

For example, Luttrell et al. (1990) report a bias rate 0.2 cm s-t to reject ash
from coal and Araya et al. (1990) report in one case a bias ratio (ratio of
tailings to feed flow) of 1.2 was necessary to reach target Cu-grade. In con-
trast, Furey (1990) found grade was maintained into the negative bias region
(Fig. 5 ).
There may be good reason to expect performance to be maintained into
negative bias conditions. The water content (or holdup) of a water-washed
froth is still higher under negative bias than a non-washed froth implying a
more open structure. Such a structure favours the gravity drainage of en-
trained particles even under negative bias. The success in rejecting entrained
solids by washing mechanical cell froths, generally with negative bias (Kaya
and Laplante, 1990), supports the conclusion that the need for a positive bias
may sometimes be relaxed.
The emphasis here has been on defining m a x i m u m gas rates but there can
be a drastic decline in performance below a certain gas rate, usually well be-
low 1 cm s - ~. It seems that solids accumulate at the base of the froth, but are
not transported effectively to the overflow lip. The consequence is a buildup
of solids in the column leading to loss of operation (R. Amelunxen, pers.
commun., 1990).

CARRYING CAPACITY

The froth imposes a limit on the m a x i m u m removal rate of floated solids,

or carrying capacity. There are three possible ways of normalizing this carry-
ing capacity: per unit area, Ca; per unit lip length, CL; and per unit volume of
gas, Cg.
COLUMN FLOTATION: A SELECTED REVIEW 351

Espinosa-Gomez et al. (1988a) related Ca (g solids min -~ cm -2) to the

product of the 80% passing size (dso,/tm ) and solids density (pp, g c m - 3) of
the floated solids. The original data is included in Fig. 6 along with new min-
eral and coal data. The data extends the suspected previous limit on dso (Finch
and Dobby, 1990e) to about 100 lzm. An approximate relationship is:
Ca ~--0.05 dsoPp (1)
with an uncertainty of about + 30%. (The previously published slope (0.068)
is closer to the upper boundary). This same level of uncertainty exists in mea-
surement of Ca for a particular system (e.g. see Espinosa-Gomez et al., 1988b).
The uncertainty reflects measurement limitations, for example control over
bubble size. Ca does decrease if gas rate is reduced much below about 1.5 cm
s-~ (Castillo et al., 1988). A source of undertainty in measurement is the
observation that the concentrate rate passes through a maximum, apparently
associated with preferential retention of fines by the froth (Finch and Dobby,
1990e).
Amelunxen (1990) has found for de> 1 m that Ca decreases. Figure 7, ex-
tracted from his data, illustrates the trend (and compares with Ca estimated
from eq. 1. A horizontal transport constraint is presumably now a factor.
Amelunxen suggests using CL and considering the mass of slurry (rather than
just solids) the relationship given for the case of Zn is:
CL= 900 d°3(dc> 0.3 m) (2)

18 I I I I I I

9.6
16
8.4
14
0 7.2
e
6.0 ~

8 4.8 m
u
M
0
6 3.6

4 ::::" 2.4

2 1.2

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
d8oX ,Op
Fig. 6. Carrying capacity (Ca, g solids min-z cm-2) versus product of dso (/~m) and pp (g cm-3).
Conditions: 6<dso< 100 pro; 1.3<pp< 5.8 g cm-3; 0.025<dc< 1.0 m; 1.0<Jg<3 cm s -1 (ap-
prox. ). [New data: mineral, from Finch and Dobby, (1990f) and Del Villar and Finch ( 1988 );
coal, Luttrell et al. (1990). ]
3 5 -~ I k I:[N( H A N I ) ( I ~ D()BBY

20 I
;I (e 30.4) -q
~ App. . . . . . . geo, !
predicted Ca

lo v -i

0 -" 0.5 1i 0 ....

1.5 2.0 2i 5 3 i0 3.5
Column Diameter, de (m)

Fig. 7. Carrying capacity Ca versus column diameter. [ Data is for Zn, from Amelunxen (1990),
converted from slurry to solids base taking 42% solids in the concentrate, as assumed by Ame-
lunxen; predicted Ca assumed: slope 0.035-0.065 (to give range shown), dso = 55 #m (average
of range quoted by Amelunxen ), pp=4 g cm -~. ]

with CL in g slurry m i n - 1c m - 1and dc in m.

Carrying capacity (however defined) is clearly a critical design parameter.
Since measurement at full-scale for design purposes is unrealistic, its predic-
tion is necessary. However, experimental values, at the laboratory scale at
least, to test the predictions are essential. For example, with reference to Fig.
6, it is important to know if the data corresponds more with the lower bound-
ary which would demand a conservative carrying capacity estimate. Redfearn
( 1989 ) suggests taking 85% of Ca, again to make the estimate conservative.

CONCLUSIONS

( 1 ) Using the plug flow axial dispersion model different boundary condi-
tions and fitting routines give different vessel dispersion number estimates
for the same residence time distribution data: closed boundaries and least
squares fitting is recommended.
(2) Respecting conclusion l, the plug flow axial dispersion model is ade-
quate for RTD studies in a flotation column.
(3) A maximum in gas rate can be imposed by: loss of bubbly flow ( J g max
), loss of interface (Jg max2), or loss of positive bias (Jg max 3), where, in one
study, Jg m a x l "~ J g m a x 2 > J g m a x 3 .
(4) A new correlation for carrying capacity is introduced: lip length rather
than area may be the important factor for columns larger than ~ 1 m in
diameter.
COLUMN FLOTATION: A SELECTED REVIEW 353

REFERENCES

Abouzeid, A.Z.M., 1989. Transport of particulates in mineral processing systems - tumbling

units. Powder Handling Process., l (3): 255-262.
Amelunxen, R., 1990. Column flotation: new carrying capacity considerations for scale-up. EX-
POMINERA '90, Santiago, Chile, May 14-18.
Araya, F.V. and Bosshardt, H.J., 1990. Column flotation development at Los Bronces concen-
trator of Compania Disputada de Las Condes-Chile. SME Annu. Meet. Salt Lake City. Pre-
print 90-133.
Castillo, D.I., Dobby, G.S. and Finch, J.A., 1988. Fine particle separation performance in a
flotation column under conditions of heavy froth loading. In: A. Plumpton (Editor), Pro-
duction and Processing of Fine Particles. CIM/Pergamon, New York, NY, pp. 169-180.
Del Villar, R. and Finch, J.A., 1988. Report to Falconbridge Ltd.
Dobby, G.S. and Finch, J.A., 1985. Mixing characteristics of industrial flotation columns. Chem.
Eng. Sci., 40(7): 1061-1068.
Dobby, G.S. and Finch, J.A., 1986. Particle collection in columns - gas rate and bubble size
effects. Can. Metall. R., 25(I ): 9-13.
Espinosa-Gomez, R., Finch, J.A., Yianatos, J.B. and Dobby, G.S., 1988a. Column carrying ca-
pacity: particle size and density effects. Miner. Eng., l ( 1 ): 77-79.
Espinosa-Gomez, R., Yianatos, J.B., Finch, J.A. and Johnson, N.W., 1988b. Carrying capacity
limitations in flotation columns. In: K.V.S. Sastry (Editor), Column Flotation'88. SME, pp.
143-148.
Espinosa-Gomez, R., Johnson, N.W., Pease, J.D. and Munro, P.D., 1989; The commissioning
of the first flotation columns at Mount Isa Mines Limited. In: G.S. Dohby and S.R. Rao
(Editors), Processing of Complex Ores. No. 1. pp. 293-302.
Finch, J.A. and Dobby, G.S., 1990a, b, c, d, e, f, g. Column Flotation. Pergamon, Oxford, pp.
61-63 (a), pp. 9-25 (b), pp. 79-81 (c), pp. 148-151 (d), pp. 92-97 (e), p. 122 (f), p. 22
(g).
Froment, G.E. and Bischoff, K.B., 1979. Chemical reactor analysis and design. Wiley, New
York, NY, chap. 12, pp. 592-659.
Furey, J.T., 1990. Rougher column flotation of gold teUurides. Proceedings Canadian Mineral
Processors Annu. Meet., Ottawa, Ont., pp. 242-257.
Goodall, C.M. and O'Connor, C.T., 1990. Residence time distriution of the solid and liquid
phases in a laboratory column flotation cell. SME Annu. Meet., Salt Lake City, preprint 90-
609.
Ityokumbul, M.T., Kosaric, N. And Bulani, W., 1988. Parameter estimation with simplified
boundary conditions. Chem. Eng. Sci., 43 (9): 2457-2462.
Kasireddy, V.K. and Al Taweel, 1989. Column flotation of ultra fine coal. In: Advances in Min-
eral and Coal Processing using Flotation. Eng. Found. Conf. Series, SME, Palm Coast, 1989,
pp. 356-366.
Kaya, M. and Laplante, A.R., 1990. Froth washing in mechanical cells. SME Annu. Meet., Salt
Lake City.
Kho, C-J. And Sohn, H-J., 1989. Column flotation of talc. Int. J. Miner. Process., 27:157-167.
Laplante, A.R., Yianatos, J.B. and Finch, J.A., 1988. On the mixing characteristics of the col-
lection zone in flotation columns. In: K.V.S. Sastry (Editor), Column Flotation'88. SME,
pp. 69-79.
Levenspiel, O., 1979. The chemical reactor Omnibook. OSU Book Stores, Corvallis, OR, pp.
61-64.
Luttrell, G.H., Weber, A.T., Adel, G.T. and Yoon, R.H., 1988. Microbubble flotation of fine
coal. In: K.V.S. Sastry (Editor), Column Flotation'88. SME, pp. 205-211.
Luttrell, G.H., Yan, S., Adel., G.T. and Yoon, R.H., 1990. A compter-aided design package for
column flotation. SME Annu. Meet., Salt Lake City, Preprint 90-178.
354 I , \ ~IN~THANDGS. I)OBBY

Mankosa, M.J. Adel, G.T. Luttrell, (i.H. and Yoon, R.H., 1990. Modeling of column flotation
with a view toward scale-up and control. In: J.A. Herbst and K. Rajamani (Editors), Control
"90. Proc. 119th Annu. SME Meet., Salt Lake City, Utah, February 26-March 1, 19~)0. SME,
pp. 35-42.
Mavros, P., Lazaridis, N.K. and Marls, K.A., 1989. A study and modeling of liquid-phase mix-
ing in a flotation column. Int. J. Miner. Process., 26: 1-16.
Newall, A., Gray, D. and Alford, R., 1989. The application of flotation columns to gold recovery
at Paddington Gold Mine, W.A. In: B. Harris (Editor), Precious Metals 1989. Proc. 13th
Int. Precious Metals Institute (IMP1) Conference, Montreal, Que., pp. 287-289.
Pal, R. and Masliyah, J.H., 1990. Flow characteristics of a flotation column. Can. Metall. Q.,
29(2): 97-103.
Redfearn, M.A., 1989. An overview of column flotation in Canada. Australian Column Flota-
tion Workshop, Adelaide/Broken Hill, July 27-28.
Rice, R.G., Tupperainen, M.T. and Hedge, R.M., 1981. Dispersion and holdup in bubble col-
umns, comparison of rigid and flexible spargers. Can. J. Chem. Eng., 59: 677-678.
Shah, Y.'I'., Kelkar, B.G., Godpole, S.P. and Deckwer, W.-D,, 1982. Design parameter estima-
tion for bubble column reactors. AIChE J., 28(3 ): 353-379.
Shinji Nagata, 1975. Mixing: Principles and Applications. Wiley, New York, NY, Chap. 5, pp.
215-247.
Schubert, H., 1988. Role of turbulence in mineral processing unit operations. In: K.V.S. Sastry
and M.C. Fuerstenau (Editors), Challenges in Mineral Processing. SME, Littleton, CO, pp.
272-289.
Xu, M., Finch, J.A. and Uribe-Salas, A., 1991. Maximum gas and bubble surface rates in flota-
tion columns. Int. J. Miner. Process., 32: 233-250.
Yianatos, J.B., Borgh, L.D., Nunez, P.M., Heresi, N.M. and Duran, M.A,, 1990, Diagnostico
del comportamiento de columnas de flotacion industriales. Expo Mineria 1990, Universidad
de Santiago de Chile, 14-17 de Mayo de 1990, pp. 303-313.