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Improved Mixing in a Magnetite Iron Ore Tank via Swirl Flow: Lab‐Scale and Full‐Scale Studies
Author(s) -
Wu Jie,
Wang Steven,
Nguyen Bon,
Marjavaara Daniel,
Eriksson Ola
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201500442
Subject(s) - impeller , baffle , mixing (physics) , slurry , magnetite , suspension (topology) , full scale , scale (ratio) , flow (mathematics) , scale up , scaling , agitator , engineering , materials science , environmental science , mechanics , mechanical engineering , metallurgy , environmental engineering , structural engineering , mathematics , physics , geometry , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , homotopy , pure mathematics
Small‐scale studies were conducted in laboratories with the aim to solve a difficult mixing problem in a life magnetite iron ore slurry tank. The existing 4‐bladed axial flow impeller located close to the bottom can be made to provide improved off‐bottom suspension and dramatically better mixing at approximately same power input when the tank baffles are removed. To maintain the same power input after removal of baffles, extending the impeller diameter or increasing speed was used. This result was implemented at LKAB's full‐scale slurry tank in Sweden, achieving a successful outcome of more consistent blending, which allowed ∼ 50 % increase in the tank surge capacity. The large full‐scale tank provided an opportunity to assess scaling up from the laboratory measurements. This scale‐up confirms that laboratory measurements are in approximate agreement with full‐scale observation based on using the Zwietering correlation.