New process for mineral flotation

浮选是支撑澳大利亚经济繁荣的矿产行业的一个重要过程。矿石首先被磨细并悬浮在水中。更细的研磨需要更多的能量。在澳大利亚，用于研磨的能源占全国电力消耗的14%。该项目将带来一种浮选技术，可以成功处理比现有设备更粗的颗粒，同时大大节省研磨能源、温室气体排放和水的消耗。一个大型矿山的案例研究表明，通过将初始磨矿粒度从100µm增加到500µm，新技术可以减少45%的磨矿能量，减少同样数量的二氧化碳排放，减少五倍的水消耗。

Flotation is an important process in the minerals industry, which underpins Australia's prosperity. Ore is first finely ground and suspended in water. Finer grinds need more energy. The energy used in grinding in Australia is 14 percent of the national electricity consumption. This project will lead to a flotation technology that can successfully process much coarser particles than current devices, with large savings in grinding energy, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. A case study of a large mine shows that, by increasing the initial grinding size from 100 µm to 500 µm, the new technology could cut grinding energy by 45 percent, the carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount, and the water consumption by a factor of five.