A dissolved air floatation apparatus including an ultrafine bubble-containing liquid production device and a dissolved air floatation tank. The ultrafine bubble-containing liquid production device includes a gas-liquid mixing unit and a bubble-containing liquid separation device. The bubble-containing liquid separation device swirls a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles and larger bubbles in a storage tank to concentrate the liquid that contains the ultrafine bubbles and the liquid that contains the larger bubbles to a central part of the swirling flow followed by discharge. A pressurized ultrafine bubble-containing liquid is mixed in a raw liquid containing a subject to be cleansed and is poured into the dissolved air floatation tank to cause a suspended substance and a dissolved component in the raw liquid to be adsorbed on an interface of fine bubbles and be floated in the dissolved air floatation tank to be extracted.

A system for separating mineral particles of interest from an ore features mineral processing operations/stages/circuits configured to receive an ore, or mineral particles or concentrates formed by processing the ore, and provide processed mineral particles or concentrates, or a waste stream, for further enhanced mineral separation downstream processing; an enhanced mineral separation processor having a collection apparatus located therein, the collection apparatus having a collection surface configured with a functionalized polymer including molecules having a functional group configured to attract the mineral particles of interest to the collection surface, the enhanced mineral separation processor receive the processed mineral particles or concentrates, or the waste stream, and provide further enhanced downstream processed mineral particles or concentrates, or a further enhanced downstream processed waste stream; and a high intensity conditioning operation, stage or circuit configured to apply a high intensity form of energy to the processed mineral particles or concentrates, or the waste stream, prior to further enhanced mineral separation downstream processing by the enhanced mineral separation processor.

A method and apparatus are provided to control of a flotation separation process, including parameters of the flotation process and reagent addition to optimize mineral recovery. The apparatus includes a signal processor or processing module configured at least to receive signalling containing information about at least one acoustic characteristic of a froth layer in a flotation cell or tank of a flotation separation process; and determine a control characteristic related to the flotation separation process based at least partly on the signalling received. The signal processor or processing module may also be configured at least to: provide corresponding signalling containing information to control the flotation separation process based at least partly on the control characteristic determined.

A submersible system and method for measuring the gas volume fraction in an aerated fluid inside a reactor (1) wherein the aerated fluid comprises a gas dispersed in the form of bubbles in a fluid in the form of a solution, suspension, mixture of liquids or a combination thereof. The submersible system comprises: an open and pass-through gas exclusion device (20) of a variable cross section wherein the inlet opening whereby the fluid enters without gas bubbles towards the opened and through gas bubbles exclusion device (20) is greater than the outlet opening whereby the fluid exits without gas bubbles of the opened and through gas bubble exclusion device (20). The outlet opening abuts with an inlet pipe (23). A chamber (24) which can provide a sealed camera, can contain at least one flow meter to measure the gas-free fluid velocity when circulating between an inlet (27) and an outlet (28) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera The inlet (27) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera can be coupled to the inlet pipe (23). The outlet (28) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera can be coupled to an outlet pipe (26) of the liquid dispersion towards the reactor (1). A flow transmitter (29) connected to the flow meter, located inside or outside said chamber (24) or sealed camera, generates an outlet signal proportional to the bubbles-free fluid velocity through a gas bubble exclusion device and a calculation unit (30) which generates an output signal (31) proportional to the gas volume fraction in the aerated fluid.

A submersible system and method for measuring the gas volume fraction in an aerated fluid inside a reactor (1) wherein the aerated fluid comprises a gas dispersed in the form of bubbles in a fluid in the form of a solution, suspension, mixture of liquids or a combination thereof. The submersible system comprises: an open and pass-through gas exclusion device (20) of a variable cross section wherein the inlet opening whereby the fluid enters without gas bubbles towards the opened and through gas bubbles exclusion device (20) is greater than the outlet opening whereby the fluid exits without gas bubbles of the opened and through gas bubble exclusion device (20). The outlet opening abuts with an inlet pipe (23). A chamber (24) which can provide a sealed camera, can contain at least one flow meter to measure the gas-free fluid velocity when circulating between an inlet (27) and an outlet (28) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera The inlet (27) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera can be coupled to the inlet pipe (23). The outlet (28) of the chamber (24) or sealed camera can be coupled to an outlet pipe (26) of the liquid dispersion towards the reactor (1). A flow transmitter (29) connected to the flow meter, located inside or outside said chamber (24) or sealed camera, generates an outlet signal proportional to the bubbles-free fluid velocity through a gas bubble exclusion device and a calculation unit (30) which generates an output signal (31) proportional to the gas volume fraction in the aerated fluid.

A sparger device for sparging fluid into a slurry tank includes a hollow elongated body having a nozzle opening for sparging a sparging fluid flow to a slurry tank. The device further includes a needle for opening and closing the nozzle opening, and a control device being arranged to actuate the needle. The control device includes a control chamber partitioned into a first portion and second portion such that a pressure differential between the first portion and the second portion, closes or opens the nozzle opening and prevents slurry backflow from the slurry tank. The second portion may be provided with a control fluid pressure preventing slurry. A flotation apparatus and a flotation system in with such a sparger device are also discussed.

A family of amine mining collectors that uses alkoxylates allows for the easy adjustment of solubility and molecular weight useful because anionic and cationic mineral collectors require such varying degrees of solubility and molecular weight. The family of the present invention allows for the optimization of both parameters and an increase in collector efficiency.

A family of amine mining collectors that uses alkoxylates allows for the easy adjustment of solubility and molecular weight useful because anionic and cationic mineral collectors require such varying degrees of solubility and molecular weight. The family of the present invention allows for the optimization of both parameters and an increase in collector efficiency.

A copper/molybdenum separation system uses sea water in the roughing circuit and desalinated water in cleaning circuit. In both roughing circuit and cleaning circuit, hydrophobic engineered media are used to recover the mineral particles of interest. The cleaning circuit includes a molybdenum loading stage configured to contact the conditioned pulp with the engineered media in an agitated reaction chamber, and load the hydrophobic molybdenite on the engineered media.

Measurement of in-situ petroleum reservoir wettability at the current salinity and at different salinities and water compositions. That data may be used to derive the crude oil acid and base equilibrium constants for the oil-surface adhesion reaction that control wettability. These constants may be used in quantitative models of the reservoir wettability. This procedure produces an accurate description of reservoir wettability and identifies the specific water chemistry that will optimize in-situ wettability and, in turn, oil production.