NANOBUBBLE SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
Mining
A number of Mining processes are highly dependent of the use of various gases. In wastewater, tailing ponds or recycling water from acid mine drainage often require simple aeration to maintain proper dissolved oxygen (DO) to allow Mines to reuse water or meet discharge requirements. In separation processes, such as froth flotation or heap leaching, Mines rely on air or oxygen to float matter or enable the chemical separation of metals such as copper or gold from ore. Regardless of the application, the nanobubble generator brings a new form of gas-to-liquid injection to the mining industry that is more efficient than previous methods. Learn how our nanobubble technology is maximizing efficiency in heap leaching and froth flotation.
Heap leaching
Heap leaching is an industrial mining process used to extract precious metals, copper, uranium, and other compounds from ore via a series of chemical reactions that absorb specific minerals and then re-separate them after their division from other earth materials. Oxygen plays a critical role in enabling these reactions; however, efficiently delivering oxygen into the leaching process is challenging. Our proprietary gas-injection technology overcomes this challenge by plugging directly into the leaching irrigation system. In many cases, the generators can be added without the need for an additional pump. This simple plug-and-play solution combined with the ability of nanobubbles to significantly increase and maintain elevated dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in leaching solutions provides miners with the opportunity to increase metal recovery or lower their leaching costs.
Froth Flotation
The froth flotation process separates solid particles based on the differences in physical and surface chemistry properties. It is the most efficient and cost-effective method for treating particles within a narrow size range, nominally from 10 to 100 μm. However, froth flotation of fine and ultrafine mineral particles poses a major technical challenge in the field of mineral processing due to the low bubble-particle collision efficiencies of conventionally sized bubbles. Several flotation technologies have been developed that aim to increase the bubble-particle collision efficiency, either by decreasing the bubble size or by increasing the apparent particle size. A side-by-side comparison of conventional-sized bubbles and nanobubbles showed that nanobubbles on the surface of particles facilitated the attachment of conventional-sized bubbles and subsequently increased the flotation rate of particles.