Flotation in a novel oscillatory baffled column

This paper presents an evaluation of an oscillatory baffled column (OBC) as a novel flotation device. The cell is based on a standard column design but employs a novel agitation mechanism where a series of baffle plates are oscillated sinusoidally through the fluid. This type of agitation has been shown to produce a more evenly distributed shear rate in the cell and allows the effect of agitation on particle–bubble contacting to be decoupled from gas dispersion effects. The column was first characterised in terms of mixing and gas dispersion, before being flotation tested using a quartz-amine system. Results indicated that the OBC was able to improve the flotation rate constant by up to 60% for fine particles (<30 μm) and by between 30% and 40% for coarser particles, relative to a standard flotation column. Interestingly, optimal flotation performance was obtained at power intensities orders of magnitude lower than those found in similar studies in stirred systems. This is believed to arise from the even distribution of shear in the OBC together with the oscillatory motion of the fluid in the cell. This oscillatory motion does not contribute to the average power intensity in the fluid and therefore results in more fluid motion per unit energy than would be obtained in a conventional stirred system. The OBC was therefore able to significantly improve flotation rates at power intensities orders of magnitude lower than those found in conventional cells.