SME Annual Meeting March 1-3, 1999, Denver, Colorado

Preprint 99-28
FILTRATION OF MINERAL CONCENTRATES WITH OUTOKUMPU CERAMEC PC FILTERS B. Ekberg Outokumpu Mintec Oy Espoo, Finland
ABSTRACT The CERAMEC pressure filter is used for the filtration of fine materials whose cake moisture cannot be achieved with vacuum. Development work has been carried out to achieve a wellcontrolled cake forming and cleaning of the filter media as well as an efficient solids discharge system. Operating costs are low due to low energy input and neglible consumption of pressurized air. achieved by means of back washing. The filter plates are cleaned by pumping filtrate through them in a reverse direction with a sufficiently high pressure. In addition to the backwashing carried out after each filtration cycle, the filter plates are regenerated typically twice a day with a combined acid and ultrasonic treatment. The regeneration of the filter plates takes approximately 60 minutes. CERAMEC pressure filters are available with a 15 or 45 m2 effective filtering area.

INTRODUCTION The first pressurized ceramic capillary filter was installed in 1992 for the filtration of lead concentrate at Tara Mines in Ireland. The filter unit is a 15 m2 unit. Later, additional pressurized units have been installed and more experience with the filtration process and different applications has been obtained. The size of the unit was increased to a 45 m2 effective filtering area. An additional degree of freedom in terms of controlling the filtration cycle has been implemented for optimal filter performance.

CERAMEC PRESSURE FILTER The CERAMEC pressure filter consists of a rotary disc ceramic filter mounted inside a pressurized vessel. Dry cake is discharged from the vessel through an air lock system. As there is neglible air flow through the filter media, compressed air consumption is very low. The dry solids capacity of the filter is adjusted with the slurry level in the slurry tank. The filter can be run with a set value for the slurry level or with a set value for the capacity. In the latter case, the slurry level is adjusted automatically for a certain capacity to compensate for changes in the solid concentration of the slurry. A relationship always exists between the capacity and cake moisture. The higher the capacity, the higher the cake moisture. The cake moisture is usually determined by the cake thickness. Therefore, it is of great importance to choose the right cake thickness. The capacity, and to some extent even the cake moisture, can be adjusted with the cycle time and the overpressure in the pressure vessel. Typical cycle times are between 30 and 40 s/r. Optimal operating pressure is between 2.5 and 3.0 bar overpressure. To maintain a constant capacity and cake moisture, it is important to maintain a high hydraulic capacity in the filter media. This is Fig. 1. An installation of four CERAMEC PC-45 filter units.

FILTER MEDIA The filter media is a very essential part of the pressure filter. The filter media is made of alumina sintered in high temperature to achieve a mechanically strong and abrasion resistant material. In order to avoid essential amounts of air penetrating the filter, the pore size of the filter material has to be small enough. The medium pore size is 0.2
m, which leads to a bubble point pressure of more than 3 bar. The filter material has the shape of sector plates with a ceramic membrane on a coarse substrate (see Fig. 2). The plate construction is mechanically strong to withstand the forces involved in the filtration cycle. The cantilever strength of the filter plate is as high as 3500 N. Some important features of the filter plate are listed in Table 1 below.

Copyright 1999 by SME

Table 1. Important properties of the filter media for the CERAMEC pressure filter. Property Pore size Thickness Bubble point pressure Hydraulic capacity Cantilever strength Burst pressure Hardness Effective filtering area Unit S3 membrane plate 0.25 30 3.2 6000 (P = 3 bar) 3,500 15 120-150 0.25 Fig. 3. Construction of a 700 mm butterfly valve in the PC filter solids discharge system.

m
mm bar l/m2h N bar kg/mm2 m2

APPLICATIONS If the particle size of the material to be filtered is very fine, the capillary forces of the cake are so strong that the 0.9 bar pressure difference achieved in a CERAMEC vacuum filter is not enough to reduce the cake moisture to the desired level. In those cases, the CERAMEC pressure filter is used.

EXPERIENCE Fig. 2. The S3 membrane filter plate consisting of a coarse substrate with a thin membrane of pure alumina. Performance Some examples of filter performance with a CERAMEC vacuum and pressure filter are given below. Typically, the cake moisture can be reduced 3-4% by using overpressure instead of vacuum. This is usually enough to meet the TML for concentrates. The specific capacity increases with the operating pressure.

SOLIDS DISCHARGE SYSTEM The solids dicharge from a pressure vessel is one of the most challenging parts of pressure filtration. A good discharge system must be able to handle very different types of materials at different moisture contents. Some materials are sticky and tend to cause blockage in the discharge chute and the discharge valves. The solids discharge system of the CERAMEC pressure filter consists of a scraper conveyor and an airlock system of two butterfly valves. The scraper conveyor takes the filter cake to the end of the pressure vessel. The filtered material falls down through a hole in the bottom of the pressure vessel into the discharge chute and on through the upper discharde valve to the lower valve. When discharging, the upper valve closes and the lower valve opens after a release of pressure in the chamber between the two valves. When releasing the pressure, water condensates on the walls of the discharge system. To avoid material from sticking, all surfaces are heated. In the closed position, the valve plates are sealed with a pressurized rubber seal. The construction of the discharge valve is shown in Fig. 3.

Example 1 Material Particle size Lead concentrate 96% - 74
m 62% - 24
m 21% - 7
m 65% PC Cake moisture, % Capacity, kg/m2h Pressure difference, bar 6-7% 1000 3 CC 11-13% 400 0.9

Solid concentration

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Example 2 Material Particle size Zinc concentrate 98% - 74
m 64% - 24
m 24% - 10
m 65% PC Cake moisture, % Capacity, kg/m2h Pressure difference, bar Example 3 1000,0 Material Particle size Copper concentrate 800,0 93% - 74
m 80% - 53
m 75% - 44
m 67% PC Cake moisture, % Capacity, kg/m2h Pressure difference, bar 8-8.5% 1400 2 CC 10-11% 700 0.9 600,0 400,0 200,0 0,0 0 5 10 15
tc= 0.5 h tc= 1.0 h

Solid concentration

CC 12-1% 400 0.9

8-9% 800 3

Solid concentration

tc= 2.0 h

Regeneration interval, h

Filter operation The consumption of pressurized air for a 45 m2 filter unit is less than 100 nm3 per hour. Most of the air is released through the solids discharge system. For each opening sequence, a certain volume of air is released. Some air is dissolved in the slurry due to the overpressure. The air passes with the filtrate through the filter media and out of the system. Sticky materials may cause blockage in the solids discharge system, but not if the cake moisture is well controlled. One of the most important factors affecting cake moisture is the control of the cake formation. A constant cake thickness is required regardless of variations in the process and material properties. A well-operating backwash and sufficienly frequent regeneration with acid and ultrasonic secure a high average filtration capacity. Some filter operators may hesitate to regenerate the filter media often enough because the filter is not producing filter cake during the one-hour regeneration period. As seen from Fig. 4, the regeneration interval has an essential influence on the overall average filtration capacity.

Fig. 4. The effect of the regeneration interval (the time ellapsed between two regenerations) on the cumulative filtration capacity of a CERAMEC pressure filter. The value for tc is the downtime for one regeneration.

Copyright 1999 by SME