A new experimental method for determining particle capture efficiency in flotation

A single bubble experiment has been developed for the determination of the capture efficiency of particles by bubbles in flotation under well-controlled hydrodynamics and physico-chemical conditions. In a glass column, small single bubbles (d_b=0.22−1.16 mm) are produced in pure water and then rise at their terminal velocity through a suspension consisting of spherical glass particles where bubble–particle capture takes place. The capture efficiency E_capt is calculated as the ratio of the number of particles captured by one bubble to the number of particles present in the volume swept out by this bubble. Images recorded at high optical magnification show that particles slip on the interface, then adhere to air bubbles individually or as aggregates and cover the rear part of bubble surface. The bubble's effective density and interface contamination level are increased by captured particles. As a result, bubble's rising velocity U_b is reduced along the experimental device. By establishing the relationship between capture efficiency E_capt, bubble rise velocity U_b and bubble clean angle θ_clean, a new approach to measure particle–bubble capture efficiency is proposed. This new experimental technique is applied to provide a new set of data for capture efficiency in the case of bubbles with a clean interface. E_capt is found to grow as d_b decreases and d_p increases, within the range between 0.02 and 0.20, which is in the order of magnitude of experimental results of Ralston and Dukhin (1999) as well as of numerical results of Sarrot et al. (2005). These data are favorably compared to numerical modeling of collision efficiency.