ON THE ROLE OF CAVITATION IN PARTICLE COLLECTION DURING FLOTATION - ACRITICAL-REVIEW

This paper reviews the fundamentals of recently developed flotation de vices, and a new mechanism of particle collection by cavitation/gas nu cleation is proposed. It is shown by both theoretical analysis and pra ctical applications that cavitation/gas nucleation accelerates particl e-bubble attachment and flotation rates, and offers a means of improvi ng flotation cell designs. A two-stage attachment model is emphasized and used as a possible explanation of the fast flotation rates achieve d by some recently developed flotation cells. While the first stage, i .e., the generation of gas nuclei/cavities and their attachment to par ticle surfaces can be intensified by stirring, high dissolved gas cont ent in the slurry and hydrodynamic cavitation, the second stage, i.e., the capture of the gas nuclei-activated particles by conventional flo tation-sized bubbles can be enhanced by high gas holdups and quiescent flow conditions.