Study of the law governing the distribution of heterogeneous coal slime in flotation machine

In order to explore the pattern of loss of concentrate in flotation process, the flotation feed of Linhuan Coal Preparation Plant is taken as the object to analyze the ash and size distribution of flotation products based on flotation theory as well as the influence of heterogeneous coal slime on flotation performance, and the contamination of concentrate incurred by the presence of heterogeneous slime during flotation process. As indicated by study results, due to entry of fine slime into flotation machine to undergo in-depth flotation, the dominant size in each cell tends to gradually lower in content, leading to the continuous rise of its ash content; the cumulative yield rate of concentrate is seen to increase with the diminution of size of slime particles, and the phenomenon of intermingling of coarser slime is not eliminated with the ongoing flotation process; the ash values of the concentrate products from the first to the fourth cells tend to gradually go up; the high ash of tailings is attributed to the covering effect produced by fine mud; the fine coal in tailings has a highest share in proportion; and the presence of coarser slime adds to the workload and reduces the efficiency of flotation process. It is suggested that Linhuan Plant make timely adjustment of working conditions of process equipment and optimize the reagent regime to reduce contamination of concentrate caused by heterogeneous slime. The test results obtained provide a valuable reference for optimization of flotation process parameters at Linhuan Plant.