Characterization and modeling of bubbles size distribution in mechanical flotation cells

Abstract

In tbis work, bubble size distribution is determined for tests in a batch flotation cell, for different impeller speed and air flowrate. Bubbles are sampled and their sizes are measured using image analysis. Size distributions by surface are expressed as cumulative percent passing as well as percent retained. The distributions show a common shape for all tests and are represented with a unique model, selected due to its goodness of fit. This model corresponds to an equation used in heavy media separation and considers two parameters: X₅₀, the 50 % passing size, and 1, an adjustable parameter. The correlation coefficient for all tests averages 0.999 for the cumulative distributions and 0.912 for the retained distributions.