Descripción del proyecto
Mejora de la recuperación de partículas finas en flotación
La flotación es posiblemente el proceso más importante para separar los minerales de la ganga. Esta técnica aprovecha las diferencias en la hidrofobicidad de los materiales. Con todo, las tecnologías de flotaciones actuales poseen una capacidad limitada para recuperar partículas finas con un tamaño inferior a 20 µm. El proyecto FineFuture, financiado con fondos europeos, se propone mejorar el conocimiento básico de los procesos de flotación de partículas finas, lo que conllevará el desarrollo de tecnologías de recuperación innovadoras. Esto no solo ayudará a desbloquear nuevos depósitos de materias primas críticas, sino que además aumentará la eficacia energética y de recursos de las operaciones actuales donde las partículas finas se pierden en los relaves.
Objetivo
Froth flotation is arguably the most important mineral separation technique. By making use of differences in surface properties between minerals, valuable particles are concentrated in large tanks by attaching to bubbles, which form a froth phase that overflows as a mineral-rich concentrate. However, current flotation technologies do not work adequately for fine particles, below 20 µm in size. This is a serious challenge at present limiting the exploitation of deposits and proper recycling of end of life products containing Critical Raw Materials (CRM). This FineFuture project will advance the fundamental understanding of fine particle flotation phenomena, which will lead to the development of ground-breaking technological solutions. This will not only help unlock new CRM deposits but also contribute to increase the resource and energy efficiency of current operations where the fines are lost to tailings. FineFuture will also enable proper reprocessing of old tailings deposits and be technology-transferred to other raw material particle-based processes within the circular economy, thus leading the way in the sustainable use of resources. For the EU industry the ability to float fine particles will be fundamental in securing access to raw materials in the future, yet to date there is no large scale collaborative effort to achieve this. The FineFuture consortium brings together an industry- and user-driven multidisciplinary team with the skills and experience required to tackle the challenging objectives set up for this project. Through a first of its kind research approach, the consortium’s combined expertise in science, engineering and industrial practice will allow a robust and knowledge-based development of innovative fine particle flotation technologies. This project will thus help boosting EU technologies for sustainable raw material processing in Europe and abroad, contributing to energy- and resource-efficient processing in benefit of the future generations.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-SC5-2018-2
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
01328 Dresden
Alemania