Design and Scale-Up Criteria for Column Flotation

A reliable scale-up procedure for column flotation must address three important areas of column design, ie column geometry, sparging system and wash water distribution network. The column geometry is dictated by the maximum froth carrying capacity (which determines column diameter) and the bubble-particle attachment rate and particle retention time (which determines column length). The most important factor in the scale-up of an air sparging system is the ability to produce small bubbles in both laboratory and full-scale columns. Other factors, such as energy consumption and maintenance requirements, should also be considered in the scale-up of bubble generators. It is also important to design a wash water distribution system that can properly control the froth stability and maximise the column throughput. Based on these criteria, a successful scale-up example is given.