CanMicro: microwave-assisted comminution and sorting

CanMicro：微波辅助粉碎和分选

• 批准号: 544166-2019
• 负责人: Bobicki, Erin
• 金额: $ 18.27万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=694682
• 关键词: CanMicro; microwave; assisted; comminution; sorting

Mineral processing is the practice of separating minerals contained in ores prior to further processing. Comminution, or particle size reduction, is the first stage of mineral processing and is necessary to liberate minerals from one another before they can be separated. Conventional comminution, which is as little as 1% efficient and consumes 30-70% of the energy used in mining, is accomplished by subjecting ore to external forces and significant energy is lost to heat, vibration and noise. The CanMicro process uses microwaves to transmit energy directly to the desired location of breakage and to sort ore to remove barren material prior to grinding, reducing comminution energy by up to 70%. Additional benefits include a reduction in tailings (waste) production of 30% or more, and the increased productivity and the efficiency of downstream separation processes. Utlimately, CanMicro has the potential to make unviable projects economical and extend the life of current mines, resulting in more jobs for Canadians. Although the potential for microwaves to be used in mineral processing has been recognized for many years, scale-up has remained a key challenge. Barriers to scale-up include a lack of fundamental understanding of how microwaves interact with ores, and the fact that high power and high throughputs are required to achieve energy savings. The research objectives are to perform a fundamental study on the microwave amenability of ores, identify ore types that are most amenable to microwave treatment, determine the range of operational overlap for microwave-assisted comminution and sorting, construct a prototype (150 kW, 50 tph) that is scalable to >1000 tph, and demonstrate the energy savings in comminution and benefits for downstream processing through pilot plant testing. The long-term objective is to commercialize CanMicro technology, which will firmly place Canada as a leader in the development of green microwave technology for the mining industry.

选矿是在进一步加工之前分离矿石中所含矿物的实践。粉碎，或粒度减小，是选矿的第一阶段，在分离之前，必须将矿物从彼此中解放出来。传统的粉碎效率只有1%，消耗的能源是采矿所用能源的30%-70%，它是通过使矿石受到外力来完成的，大量能量损失在热、振动和噪音上。CanMicro工艺使用微波将能量直接传输到所需的破碎位置，并在研磨前对矿石进行分选以去除贫瘠材料，从而将粉碎能量降低高达70%。其他好处包括减少30%或更多的尾矿(废物)生产，以及提高下游分离过程的生产率和效率。显然，CanMicro有可能使不可行的项目变得经济可行，并延长现有矿山的寿命，从而为加拿大人创造更多就业机会。尽管多年来人们已经认识到微波在矿物加工中的潜力，但扩大规模仍然是一个关键挑战。扩大规模的障碍包括缺乏对微波如何与矿石相互作用的基本了解，以及需要高功率和高吞吐量来实现能源节约。研究目标是对矿石的微波易变性进行基础研究，确定最适合微波处理的矿石类型，确定微波辅助粉碎和分选的操作重叠范围，构建可扩展到1000吨/小时的原型(150千瓦，50吨/小时)，并通过中试厂试验证明粉碎过程中节省的能源和对下游加工的好处。长期目标是将CanMicro技术商业化，这将坚定地使加拿大成为矿业绿色微波技术开发的领先者。