In the recent past the problem of removing the deleterious
iron particles from a process stream had a few alternatives.
Magnetic separation was typically limited and moderately effective. Magnetic separators that used permanent magnets could generate fields of low intensity only. These worked well in removing ferrous tramp but not fine paramagnetic particles. Thus high-
intensity
Intensity may refer to:
In colloquial use
*Strength (disambiguation)
*Amplitude
* Level (disambiguation)
* Magnitude (disambiguation)
In physical sciences
Physics
*Intensity (physics), power per unit area (W/m2)
*Field strength of electric, ma ...
magnetic separators that were effective in collecting paramagnetic particles came into existence. These focus on the separation of very fine particles that are paramagnetic.
The
current is passed through the coil, which creates a magnetic field, which magnetizes the expanded steel matrix ring. The
paramagnetic matrix material behaves like a magnet in the magnetic field and thereby attracts the fines. The ring is rinsed when it is in the
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
and all the non-magnetic particles are carried with the rinse water. Next as the ring leaves the magnetic zone the ring is flushed and a
vacuum of about – 0.3 bars is applied to remove the magnetic particles attached to the matrix ring.
Standard operating procedure
High-gradient magnetic separator is to separate magnetic and non-magnetic particles (
concentrate and
tails) from the feed
slurry
A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pu ...
. This feed comes from intermediate
thickener underflow pump through Linear Screen & Passive Matrix. Tailings go to tailing thickener & product goes to throw
launder through vacuum tanks.
Ion separation
Ion separation is another application of magnetic separation. The separation is driven by the magnetic field that induces a separating force. The force differentiate then between heavy and lighter ions causing the separation. This phenomenon has been demonstrated on test bench and pilot scale.
[Maxwell Application Technologies]
References
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Industrial processes
Separation processes
Magnetic devices