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Self Leveling Wet Drum Separators Ideal For Fluctuating Feed Rates And Volumes
One of the five self-leveling wet drum separators supplied to New Clydesdale Coal by Multotec Magnetics.
Five self leveling wet drum
separators have been commissioned at New Clydesdale
Coal by Multotec Magnetics, and are achieving 99.1 %
efficiency at this Exxaro mine which exports 95% of
its coal product.
Developed and introduced to the South African market
by Multotec Magnetics, these self leveling wet drum
separators are capable of handling fluctuating flow
rates and were considered suitable for the New
Clydesdale Coal plant as feed rates vary to the
plant. The mine was started in 1949 and the coal
washing plants are ten years old.
Mark Whitter, New Clydesdale Coal plant manager,
says that magnetite is used as a medium to separate
coal at the plant and the old separators were no
longer considered to be efficient. |
“After the separation process, the waste
and product pass over drain and rinse screens where it is
sprayed with rinse water and the effluent sent to the
magnetic separators to recover the magnetite for reuse,” he
explains. “The magnetite consumption was high as a result of
the age of the previous magnetic separators, and the magnets
were starting to decay.
The mine took a decision to install new separators instead
of repairing the old machines. Whittier says that a numbers
of factors including financial aspects were considered prior
to making the final decision.
“Although cost was an important consideration other factors
such as technical service and support were also critical
issues for us,” Whittier says. “Multotec Magnetics was able
to offer superior technical support, both during
installation and commissioning.”
The 550 tph plant, which operates 24 hours a day, six days a
week, is split into three different modules with the
magnetic separators installed in all three modules.
The five locally manufactured magnetic separators supplied
by Multotec Magnetics had different sizes. The machines have
been installed in the exact positions where the old units
were and were tied into the existing launders and tanks as a
continuous part of the process.
Dr Arno Steinmuller, general manager Multotec Magnetics says
that the self leveling magnetic drum separators were seen as
an important addition to the company’s product range and
gives customers the option of a magnetic separator to suit
individual applications.
“These separators are suitable for plants with inconsistent
feed rates due to plant blockages or water quality issues.
If the volumetric flow rate has the potential for
fluctuating then a self levelling magnetic drum separator is
a more forgiving device and will prevent the loss of pulp
level in the tank and the losses of magnetite,” he says.
“The new units were installed in July 2009 and are
performing to our expectations,” Whitter says. “In addition,
to the high efficiency being achieved the machines are easy
to maintain due to the direct drives which are far more user
friendly than the old system of chain drives,” he concludes.
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