A flotation tank has an input to receive a slurry from a pipeline section. The slurry contains finer mineral particles and coarser mineral particles. The pipeline section has one or more loops or coiled sections arranged to perform partial centrifugal separation on the finer and coarser mineral particles. As the mineral particles are moved tangentially into the lower part of the flotation tank, the coarser mineral particles tend to be near the tank wall while the finer mineral particles tend to move into the central part of the tank. Air bubbles or lightweight synthetic bubbles are used to collect and lift the finer mineral particles to the upper part of the tank. The coarser mineral particles are recovered by using collection surfaces coated with a hydrophobic material.

An apparatus, such as a compact flotation unit, may include a tank having a fluid inlet. A cylinder may be disposed within the tank and have an open end. A first guide vane may be disposed about the cylinder, with the first guide vane having a portion axially aligned with the fluid inlet. A second guide vane may be disposed about the cylinder adjacent the open end thereof and may include a first end and a second end, with the first end of the second guide vane being axially offset from the second end of the second guide vane.

A separation tank for separating a contaminant from a multiple-phase fluid stream has a vessel formed by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall. The vessel has a plurality of nested and fluidly connected chambers therein. A fluid inlet is in fluid communication with the outermost chamber of the vessel for introducing the multiple-phase fluid stream thereinto. A fluid outlet is in fluid communication with the innermost chamber of the vessel for discharging a contaminant-removed fluid stream out of the vessel. At least one chamber of the vessel has one or more gas inlets at a lower portion thereof for injecting gas bubbles into the chamber for facilitating contaminant removal. In operation, the fluid stream travels from the fluid inlet through the plurality of chambers to the fluid outlet along an elongated helical spiral flow path.

An ultrafine bubble cleaning apparatus uses a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles having a size of less than 30 nm to rinse fine particles adhered to soil, sand, etc. to separate and collect the fine particles. The ultrafine bubble cleaning apparatus includes a water tank-shaped reservoir, a stirring device, a supernatant discharge device including a pump for discharging a supernatant of the liquid in the reservoir, and a sedimentation extraction device. Substances are loaded into the ultrafine bubble-containing liquid stored in the reservoir, and the ultrafine bubble-containing liquid is repeatedly brought into contact with the surface of the substance using the stirring device. When ultrafine bubbles get into a space between fine metal particles adhered to the surfaces, cracks, and pits of the substances to be cleaned (including metal ions) and fine particles of organic substances including a solvent, a chemical, and oil, the fine particles are separated and floated.

A wide-size-fraction flotation system and process includes feeding coal slime to be floated into a stirrer, adding water to the floating coal slime in the stirrer, stirring, then feeding same into a grading cyclone through a first feeding pump for pre-grading; after grading of the coal slime in the grading cyclone, feeding overflow in the grading cyclone into a flotation column through a second feeding pump for flotation, discharging flotation tailings through an underflow port of the flotation column, collecting flotation concentrates through an overflow port of the flotation column and feeding same into a bubble generator through a fourth feeding pump, and the flotation concentrates passing through the bubble generator and being fed from the bottom of a hydraulic flotation machine; and feeding underflow in the grading cyclone into the hydraulic flotation machine through a third feeding pump, for flotation and recovery.

The present invention provides a method of purifying a contaminated liquid flow (A) comprising the steps of: introducing a first type of gas bubbles (8) in the contaminated liquid flow (A), the first type of gas bubbles obtained by at least partly saturating a liquid with a first gas (B), at a first pressure, followed by a lowering of the first pressure to a second pressure; introducing a second type of gas bubbles (9) to the contaminated liquid flow (A) downstream of the introduction of the first type of gas bubbles, the second type of gas bubbles formed by sparging, entrainment or attrition of a second gas (B); extracting a reject stream (C) comprising aggregates formed by the interaction of contaminants from the contaminated liquid flow (A) with both the first and the second type of gas bubbles; and obtaining a purified liquid flow (D) downstream of the introduction of the second type of gas bubbles; as well as a system and a vessel for use in such a method.

An apparatus for separating hydrocarbons from water, comprising a tank segment with a fluid inlet subsequent a housing with a liquid-gas mixer. The fluid inlet through a cylindrical tank wall, and further through the wall of a conical wall segment, a pipe spread, combining radial and axial flow over ring mounted guide vanes at the upper part of the conical wall segment. A hydro carbon outlet is located at a top end and a water outlet at a bottom end of tank-segment. A pipe for scale and debris removal is connected to the lower part of the bowl. The inner conical wall segment extends to the top end of the tank segment and at this location comprises a ring of vertically mounted guide vanes.

An ultrafine bubble cleaning apparatus uses a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles having a size of less than 30 nm to rinse fine particles adhered to soil, sand, etc. to separate and collect the fine particles. The ultrafine bubble cleaning apparatus includes a water tank-shaped reservoir, a stirring device, a supernatant discharge device including a pump for discharging a supernatant of the liquid in the reservoir, and a sedimentation extraction device. Substances are loaded into the ultrafine bubble-containing liquid stored in the reservoir, and the ultrafine bubble-containing liquid is repeatedly brought into contact with the surface of the substance using the stirring device. When ultrafine bubbles get into a space between fine metal particles adhered to the surfaces, cracks, and pits of the substances to be cleaned (including metal ions) and fine particles of organic substances including a solvent, a chemical, and oil, the fine particles are separated and floated.

Provided are a device for vortex flotation mineralization based on confined space and a method for mineralization. The device includes a mineralizer body. An interior of the mineralizer body includes a mineralization cylinder for mineralizing minerals. A mineral inlet is provided on a sidewall at a bottom of the mineralization cylinder and a mineral outlet is provided on the sidewall at a top of the mineralization cylinder. The mineral inlet includes at least two inlet pipes arranged opposite to each other such that a mineral slurry enters the mineralization cylinder in a form of a collision flow. The device includes an air pipeline and a stirring device. The air pipeline is connected to the mineral inlet and configured to inject air into the mineral slurry. The stirring device is arranged inside the mineralization cylinder and provided with a mineralization impeller for stirring.

Adaptive Control Systems and methods are provided for an electronic visual aid, which may be wearable, hand held or fixed mount, including autonomous hands free control integrated with artificial intelligence tunable to user preferences and environmental conditions.