A Paradigm Shift in the Hydrodynamics of Ion Flotation

离子浮选具有高选择性、高回收率、高富集等特点。然而，这项技术还没有提供经济上可行的解决方案。然而，这个新项目旨在提供浮选流体动力学所需的范式转变，最终允许离子浮选应用于广泛的工业问题。具体来说，目标是通过显著提高气泡-液体分离率和气泡-表面通量，将萃取率提高一个数量级以上。反过来，预期该项目将发展一系列解决湿法冶金工业问题的新办法，以回收贵金属和解决有毒的环境问题。

Ion flotation has delivered remarkable separations via high selectivity, recovery and concentration upgrade. Yet, the technology has not provided solutions that are economically viable. This new project, however, aims to deliver the paradigm shift required in the flotation hydrodynamics to finally permit ion flotation to be applied to a broad range of industrial problems. Specifically, the aim is to increase extraction rates by more than an order of magnitude by dramatically increasing bubble-liquid segregation rates, and bubble-surface fluxes. In turn the project is expected to develop a new line of solutions to industrial problems in hydrometallurgy for recovering precious metals and for solving toxic environmental problems.