Mineral processing: flotation, physical separations, environmental

社会一直需要矿产资源，无论是作为商品本身，如滑石，还是作为金属的来源，如镍。矿物的提取包括将开采的岩石（矿石）缩小尺寸和分离矿物，统称为“矿物加工”。鉴于加拿大丰富的自然资源，矿物加工规模巨大，每年数十亿吨矿石，因此工艺改进可以实现巨大的经济和环境效益。从1991年开始的一系列行业赞助的赠款中认识到对加拿大的重要性，这是最新的一次。有七家公司支持这项赠款，旨在改善矿物加工的各个方面：浮选、物理分离和环境。浮选是一种矿物分离过程，依靠产生大量（成群）小气泡（约1毫米）来收集（“漂浮”）悬浮在水中的选定矿物颗粒。蜂群的特性是由化学物质控制的，这些化学物质是在起泡的情况下故意添加的，或者是自然产生的，比如在加工油砂的过程中。这些化学物质的作用仍未被了解，这阻碍了它们的有效使用，这是这笔赠款的重点。我们对气泡群特性的持续重视已经实现了重要的效益，目前的研究具有更多的希望。物理分离是指利用矿物性质，如磁性和密度的过程。一种用于实时跟踪分离设备中的颗粒的新工具正在揭示能够提高性能的见解。该小组是加拿大唯一一个拥有这项技术的小组。尽量减少水的使用，强调干燥物理分离。最后，但并非最不重要的是，环境主题包括从稀释废水中回收金属，以及可以自发加热的硫化物矿物产品的安全运输。该小组拥有独特的设施，用于研究自发加热，这些设施是赞助商经常使用的。

Society has always needed mineral resources, both as commodities themselves, such as talc, and as sources of metals such as nickel. The extraction of minerals involves size reduction of mined rock (ore) and separation of minerals, together known as 'mineral processing'. Given Canada's abundant natural resources, mineral processing is practiced on a huge scale, billions of tons of ore annually, and thus process improvements can realize large benefits, economic and environmental. The importance to Canada is recognized in the series of industry-sponsored grants starting in 1991 of which this is the latest. There are seven companies supporting this grant directed at improvements in aspects of mineral processing: flotation, physical separations and environmental. Flotation is a mineral separation process that relies on creating large numbers (swarms) of small bubbles (ca. 1 mm) to collect ('float') selected mineral particles suspended in water. Swarm properties are controlled by chemicals, deliberately added in the case of frothers or naturally occurring, as in processing oil sands. The action of these chemicals, still not understood which hampers their effective use, is a focus of this grant. Our sustained emphasis on bubble swarm properties has realized important benefits and the current studies hold additional promise. Physical separations refer to processes that exploit mineral properties such as magnetism and density. A new tool to track particles in real time in separation devices is revealing insights that will lead to enhanced performance. The group is the only one in Canada with this technology. Trying to reduce water usage dry physical separations are emphasized.Last, but never least, the environment topics cover metal recovery from dilute effluents, and safe transport of sulphide mineral products which can spontaneously heat. The group has unique facilities for the study of spontaneous heating which are routinely accessed by the sponsors.