Vortex ultrasonic fuel mixer, mill , reactor  - the  multipurpose tool

(Air Cyclons  and other units on photos for demo purpose ( not for sale) )

Application area:

Dry and wet grinding

Disintegration

Mixing, emulsification and homogenization.

Sonochemistry 

Here are some examples of applications:

- processing in the installation of water-oil mixtures allows to increase their calorific value by 5-7%, preparation of water-fuel emulsions and suspensions in the installation allows to increase the efficiency of the engine, improve its working conditions and ensures more complete combustion of fuel

- when grinding the same clinker in a ball mill and in an installation to the same fineness in the latter case, the strength of disintegrated cements is obtained, depending on the composition of the clinker, up to 40% higher

- activation of drilling fluids in the installation allows to increase the drilling speed by 20-25%, reduce the content of the solid phase in them by 2.0-2.5 times, and reduce the wear of the drill

- preparation of a glass mixture and a charge for the production of refractories in the installation makes it possible to lower the melting or firing temperature by more than 200C, increase the process speed by half and improve the quality of products

- processing in the installation of copper and iron ore concentrates together with a binder (CaO) allows to increase the strength of the pellets by 25-35%

- treatment in the SiO2 unit several times increases its adsorption capacity, which is used to extract radioactive cesium from wastewater

-activation in the installation of a nutrient medium for growing microorganisms by 15-25% increases their growth rate

Benefits of Flexicone Vortex mill compare to other technologies :

1. Increases the extraction of micron and finely disseminated gold in the chain of gravity extraction from concentrates and tails without leaching.

2. Ideal for the oxidation of sulfide ores and non-cyanide leaching of metals at normal pressure and temperature.

3. The lowest energy consumption for grinding materials per kg.

4. Works from air, steam or any source of gas. (Can work from the exhaust pipe of the car or boiling steam).

4. A portable mill, the best for field trials, prospectors, laboratory tests, small-scale mining developments on projects, processing black sand to restore encapsulated gold and precious metals.

5. We recommend using a Vortex mill with Flexicone centrifugal concentrators for the metal extraction site.

When minerals are passed through the mill, there is not only a decrease in the particle size, but also a multiple increase in the surface area of the mineral due to the appearance of micro-craters. This will make it possible to oxidize sulfides in a neutral environment at temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius. The working part of the mill is made of wear-resistant steel.

      The advantage of the proposed mill is that in the field of the centrifugal forces of the air vortex, under the action of which the dispersed material moves, local regions of increased and lower pressures are created, as a result of which the material particles are destroyed to sub-micron sizes.

      Local areas of high and low air pressures are created in the volume of the grinding chamber due to the emission of ultrasound waves into its cavity. As a result, the particle trajectory and their angular velocity change, leading to an increase in the collision frequency.

     In this case, the collision energy does not have time to dissipate, which leads to the accumulation of energy in the volume of the particles and their transition to an elastic-stressed state. Upon reaching the critical limit of this state, the particles are destroyed. In addition, due to the formation of the Ultrasound waves field in the cavity of the grinding chamber, resonance absorption of the Ultrasound waves energy by the particles takes place with the simultaneous action of a periodic alternating load as they pass the areas of relative discharge and increased pressures. This contributes to the multiplication and growth of microdefects of the internal structure of particles and their destruction.

     Generated ultrasonic oscillations of different frequencies, contribute to an increase in the uniformity of the dispersed composition of the target products. Absorption of acoustic energy by particles of different sizes occurs at different resonant frequencies. This is due to the fact that high-frequency radiation is better absorbed by small particles, and small frequencies are better absorbed by small particles. A wide frequency range of Ultrasound oscillations ensures the absorption of wave energy by all particles.

         Thus, the novelty of the device under consideration is not only the simultaneous action of a vortex flow, acoustic waves, sudden pressure drops, interaction of high speed individual fragments of material with each other, but also that all processes are aggregated into one device and do not require additional generation acoustic waves and dynamic accelerators. The grinding process takes place in a very short period of time with the formation of a fraction of the disintegrated material in sizes (mostly) in the range of less than 10 μm.

The plants under consideration are applicable both for the processing of bulk components and for processes with "liquid-solid", "air-solid" systems. This feature greatly expands the scope of the device. The results of testing the grinder during the processing of loose components and "liquid-solid" systems confirmed the possibility of using the apparatus for obtaining homogeneous fine-dispersed products. Use in liquid-liquid systems allows to obtain homogeneous emulsions of almost any substances

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIR MILL

FLEXICONE processing technology of refractory ores and concentrates

For the processing of refractory gold-bearing refractory and sulfide ores, Flexicone has developed a unique enrichment technology.

The technology includes the processes of ultrafine grinding and oxidation of sulphides, extraction of released gold and platinum group metals by centrifugal concentrators and leaching of gold, silver and palladium.

Flexicone Oxidation Process

The Flexicone Oxidation technology is a combination of ultrafine grinding and the oxidation of sulphides with air. The process of atmospheric oxidation of sulphides occurs without the use of high temperatures (up to 100 ° C), at normal atmospheric pressure (open apparatus) and at an acidity of the medium close to neutral. Unlike other existing technologies for processing sulphide concentrates, the Flexicone Oxidation technology has several advantages:

1. no need for pure oxygen, the oxidation process is air

2. the process of ultrafine grinding and oxidation combined

3. the possibility of using only gravity extraction and complete or partial abandonment of the leaching process.

 The grinding and oxidation of sulfides is carried out in a Vortex ultrasonic reactor to a particle size of the order of -10 microns. Due to the use of the combined ultrafine grinding and oxidation process, the amount of released free gold particles for gravitational extraction significantly increases, the surface area of ​​minerals is increased and the mechanochemical activation of sulfides occurs, which ensures a high rate of oxidation. The physical process of grinding minerals in an ultrasonic reactor is of a resonant-explosive nature, the effect of friction of gold particles decreases and in comparison with other methods, it requires several times less energy expended on grinding. Due to the active course of chemical reactions, spontaneous heating of the pulp to a temperature of more than 80 ° C occurs, but below the boiling point of water, i.e. the process is autothermal. The oxidation process of sulfide minerals can be described by the following reaction equations: 2FeS2 7.5О2 H2O = Fe2 (SO4) 3 H2SO4 (1)

2FeAsS 5.5O2 H2O = 2HAsO2 2FeSO4 (2)

2FeSO4 0.5O2 H2SO4 = Fe2 (SO4) 3 H2O (3)

HAsO2 Fe2 (SO4) 3 2H2O = H3AsO4 2FeSO4 H2SO4 (4).

If further leaching of gold by cyanidation or the chloride-hypochlorite method is assumed, then the process is carried out in a relatively neutral medium: at a pulp pH above 4.0. For the neutralization resulting from the oxidation of the reactions (1) and (4) of sulfuric acid, the cheapest reagent is used — limestone and / or soda. Thus, in general, the oxidation of sulfides in the process can be described by the following reaction equations:

2FeS2 7.5O2 9H2O 4CaCO3 = 2FeOHON 4CaSO4 2H2O 4CO2 (5)

FeAsS 3.5O2 2H2O CaCO3 = FeAsO4 CaSO4 2H2O CO2 (6)

Flexicone Leaching Technology

Technology leaching of gold and silver by cyanidation.

The advantage of the process over a number of other traditional decomposition processes of sulfide minerals is the relative inertness of oxidation products in relation to cyanide and their environmental safety. Due to the fact that the process is carried out in a relatively neutral environment, almost all of the sulfur that passes into the solution during the oxidation of sulphides is precipitated in the form of gypsum. As a result, there is no accumulation of sulfur in the solution (the concentration of sulfur in the solution during oxidation is maintained at less than 2 g / l). Under these conditions, the oxidation of sulfides proceeds with the formation of sulfates, and not elemental sulfur, as in the processes proceeding at a lower pH level (bacterial oxidation, acid-oxygen oxidation, etc.). During the subsequent cyanidation of the oxidation product, elemental sulfur (if present in the material) actively interacts with cyanide ion to form thiocyanates, leading to an increased consumption of sodium cyanide. Thus, the application of the technology allows not only to reveal finely disseminated gold for gravitational extraction, but also to ensure a relatively low consumption of reagents if the cyanidation process of the oxidized material is used. Due to the fact that the application of technology occurs at elevated temperatures (more than 80 ° C), the precipitation of iron and arsenic from solutions proceeds with the formation of goethite and scorodite, which have a crystalline structure. These forms of compounds are the most inert with respect to sodium cyanide. In addition, crystalline skorodite is the most stable and environmentally safe form of storage of arsenic waste. In the oxidation processes occurring at lower temperatures compared with the Flexicone process, iron and arsenic can precipitate in the form of iron hydroxides and skorodite of an amorphous structure, as well as jarosite, complex sulfates. The presence of these compounds in the oxidized material leads to an increased consumption of sodium cyanide when leaching gold. The presence of amorphous skorodite leads to partial dissolution of arsenic during storage of tailings leaching, which has a negative impact on the environment.

Chloride-hypochlorite technology of leaching of gold from ores and concentrates.

We have developed a chloride-hypochlorite technology for leaching gold in an alkaline medium with a pH of 8-8.5. This technology makes it possible to operate the system under less corrosive conditions with a lower chloride concentration and can be used as an alternative to cyanide. To activate the process of dissolving gold and reduce the consumption of reagents in our technology, ultrasonic reactors are used. Unlike existing chloride-hypochlorite technologies, in our technology the leaching system contains an additive of an activator and a stabilizer and consists of 2-5% NaCl (or another source of chloride), 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. The stabilizer is a compound with which chlorine is still active, but is in a more stable form. At high pH, ​​sodium hypochlorite is itself a very weak oxidizing agent in order to cause any significant dissolution of gold. However, in the presence of an activator, this weak oxidizer becomes very effective. For the complete extraction of gold from solution and cake, we developed the FE150 two-chamber electrolyzers with a capacity of 150 kg per load and FE 2500 with a capacity of 2500 kg per load.

Advantages of Flexicone Leaching chloride-hypochlorite technology:

possibility of leaching gold from refractory ores

speeding up the leaching process by 2-4 times

leaching of gold in an alkaline medium with a pH of 8-8.5

perfect compatibility with the Flexicone Oxidation process

environmental friendliness

low cost of equipment and reagents

Iodine-iodide technology leaching of gold, silver and palladium from ores and concentrates.

We have developed iodine-iodide gold leaching technology in an environment with a pH of 4-9. This technology is universal and makes it possible to operate the system under less corrosive conditions with a lower concentration of iodine. To activate the process of dissolving gold and reduce the consumption of reagents in our technology, ultrasonic reactors and additives are used to activate the process. For the complete extraction of gold from solution and cake, as well as the regeneration of iodine-iodide, we developed the four-cell electrolysers FEI150 and FEI 2500.

Advantages of Flexicone Leaching iodine-iodide technology:

universality of use for most types of ores

possibility of leaching with gold silver and palladium

speeding up the leaching process

leaching in an environment with a pH from 4 to 9

perfect compatibility with the Flexicone Oxidation process

environmental friendliness

low cost of equipment

solution recirculation

low consumption of reagents (from 0.1 kg iodine per ton of ore)

More applications for Ultrasonic Vortex Mill

When passing through the mill, there is not only a decrease in the size of particles, but also a multiple increase in the surface area of ​​the mineral due to the appearance of micro-craters, and also leads to the mechanical activation of substances. Here are some examples of applications: -Plants assimilate phosphorite flour processed in Vortex Mill much better than flour crushed to the maximum possible fineness in a ball mill, and the efficiency of phosphate rock as fertilizer increases by tens of percent. Investigations by the method of tagged atoms showed that the absorption of phosphorus by plants increased several times; - when grinding the same clinker cement in a ball mill and in a Vortex Mill to the same fineness, in the latter case, a better quality Portland cement is obtained, the strength of products from which after 16 days is almost equal to that which is achieved only on 28 days by cement ground in a ball mill. The final strength of disintegrated portland cements, depending on the composition of the clinker, is up to 40% higher;

-the technology with Vortex Mill for preparing special grouting mixtures for securing the walls of deep boreholes during oil and gas production allows to increase the tensile strength of cement up to 5 times compared to previously used mixtures and reduce the cost of each well by at least 100 thousand rubles;

- activation of drilling fluids in the Vortex Mill allows to increase the drilling speed by 20-25%, reduce the content of the solid phase in them by 2.0-2.5 times, and reduce the wear of the drill; - the technology with Vortex Mill for the production of silicalcite (which in the West is known as "laprex") makes it possible to produce an industrial artificial stone of a higher quality than until now, about 2 times cheaper, and the energy consumption is reduced by about 50%. The resistance of silicalcite to various corrosive effects is several times higher than that of silicalcite obtained using a ball mill;

- preparation of a glass mixture and a charge for the production of refractories in the Vortex Mill makes it possible to lower the melting or firing temperature by more than 200C, to double the process speed and improve the quality of products; - Experiments carried out at the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute have shown that the pretreatment of iron ore in the technology with Vortex Mill allows to reduce the recovery temperature by more than 100 ° C