Deep cone thickener with underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10864463-B2
Application number	US-201816464297-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2018
Priority date	Mar 29, 2018
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

A deep cone thickener with an underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment pertains to the technical field of mining tailing disposal. The thickener includes a shell body, a dilution flocculation system, a shearing dewatering system, an underflow circulatory system, and an auto-control system. The shell body includes a thickener pool wall, a cone body, and a collection cylinder. The dilution flocculation system includes a feed pipe, a flocculant charging pipe, and a central feed well. The shearing dewatering system includes a drive motor, a drive shaft, and a rake. The underflow circulatory system includes discharging valves, underflow pumps, circulatory pipes, and a concentration meter. The auto-control system includes a PLC control system. During the underground paste filling, the dilution flocculation system and shearing dewatering system can form a paste slurry. When there is no need for underground backfill, the underflow circulatory system is used to lower the underflow concentration rapidly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A deep cone thickener with an underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment comprising a shell body, a dilution flocculation system, a shearing dewatering system, an underflow circulatory system, and an auto-control system,
wherein the shell body comprises a thickener pool wall, a cone body, and an collection cylinder; the thickener pool wall is located at an exterior of the thickener, the cone body is located below the thickener pool wall, and the collection cylinder is located below the cone body;
wherein the dilution flocculation system comprises a feed pipe, a flocculant charging pipe, and a central feed well; the central feed well is located at an inner upper part the thickener pool wall, the feed pipe is located at an upper part of one side of the central feed well, an end of the feed pipe penetrates through the thickener pool wall and extends to an interior of the central feed well, and the flocculant charging pipe is vertically connected to the feed pipe from an upper side of the feed pipe;
wherein the shearing dewatering system comprises a drive motor, a drive shaft, and a rake; the drive motor is located at an outer upper part of the thickener pool wall, the drive shaft and the rake are located inside the thickener pool wall, and the drive motor is connected to the rake through the drive shaft;
wherein the underflow circulatory system comprises three circulatory subsystems; each of the three circulatory subsystem comprises a discharging valve, an underflow pump, and a circulatory pipe; inlets of the underflow pumps are connected to discharging outlets of the collection cylinder, and outlets of the underflow pumps are connected to a high circulatory feedback port and a middle circulatory feedback port of the thickener pool wall and a low circulatory feedback port of the cone body through a high circulatory pipeline, a middle circulatory pipeline, and a low circulatory pipeline, respectively; the high circulatory feedback port, the middle circulatory feedback port, and the low circulatory feedback port are provided with discharging valves on the high circulatory pipeline, the middle circulatory pipeline; and the low circulatory pipeline, respectively; and
wherein the auto-control system comprises a PLC control system; the PLC control system is connected to the underflow pumps, a concentration meter, and the discharging valves;
two of the three circulatory subsystems of the underflow circulatory system have a same structure, a first circulatory subsystem comprises a sixth valve, a second underflow pump, a seventh valve, an eighth valve, a ninth valve, and a tenth valve, wherein the tenth valve, the ninth valve, and the eighth valve are respectively connected to the high circulatory feedback port, the middle circulatory feedback port, and the low circulatory feedback port, inlets of the tenth valve, the ninth valve, and the eighth valve are successively connected to the seventh valve, the second underflow pump; and the sixth valve and then to a discharging outlet of the collection cylinder;
wherein a second circulatory subsystem has a same structure as the first circulatory subsystem;
wherein a third circulatory subsystem comprises a first valve, a first underflow pump, the concentration meter, a second valve, a third valve, a fourth valve, a fifth valve, and an eleventh valve, wherein the fifth valve, the fourth valve, and the third valve are respectively connected to the high circulatory feedback port, the middle circulatory feedback port, and the low circulatory feedback port, inlets of the fifth valve, the fourth valve, and the third valve are connected to an outlet of the concentration meter and an inlet of the eleventh valve; and the concentration meter, the first underflow pump, and the first valve are successively connected to each other, then to another discharging outlet of the collection cylinder; and
a mass percent concentration of the underflow in the thickener is greater than or equal to 75 wt % during a paste filling, and the mass percent concentration of the underflow in the thickener is 65 wt % in a long-distance discharge of the tailing with a high concentration.

2. The deep cone thickener with an underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment according to claim 1 , wherein the discharging valves comprise the first valve, the second valve, the third valve, the fourth valve, the fifth valve, the sixth valve, the seventh valve, the eighth valve, the ninth valve, the tenth valve, the eleventh valve, a twelfth valve, and the underflow pumps comprise the first underflow pump, the second underflow pump, and a third underflow pump.

3. The deep cone thickener with an underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment according to claim 1 , wherein numbers of the high circulatory feedback ports, the middle circulatory feedback ports, the low circulatory feedback ports, and the discharging outlets are all three; the three high circulatory feedback ports are all located at a same cross-section of the thickener pool wall with an angle of 120° to each other; the three middle circulatory feedback ports, the three low circulatory feedback ports, and the three discharging outlets are vertically aligned with the three high circulatory feedback ports; centers of the high circulatory feedback ports are located at positions with about one third height distance of the thickener pool wall lower than a top of the thickener pool wall in a vertical direction; centers of the middle circulatory feedback ports are located at positions with about one fifth height distance of the thickener pool wall higher than a bottom of the thickener pool wall in the vertical direction; centers of the low circulatory feedback ports are located at positions with about one fifth height distance of the cone body lower than a top of the cone body in the vertical direction; and centers of the discharging outlets are located at positions with about one fourth height distance of the collection cylinder higher than a bottom of the collection cylinder in the vertical direction.

4. A method of using the deep cone thickener with an underflow concentration rapid auto-adjustment of claim 1 comprising:
underground paste filling: feeding a tailing slurry with a mass percent concentration of 20-30 wt % from a mineral processing plant into the deep cone thickener through the feed pipe, adding the flocculant through the flocculant charging pipe, turning on the drive motor to make the rake start stirring to realize a deep thickening of the tailing slurry, when the mass percent concentration of the underflow in the deep cone thickener is greater than or equal to 75 wt %, opening the eleventh valve to perform the underground paste filling;
long-distance discharge over the ground: closing the eleventh valve, automatically turning on all the underflow circulatory subsystems by the PLC control system to perform circulations of the three underflow circulatory subsystems at a high position and quickly adjust the mass percent concentration of the underflow in the deep cone thickener to 63 wt %-67 wt %, at this time, turning off a first underflow circulatory subsystem, and opening the eleventh valve to perform the long-distance discharge over the ground, when a height of a mud layer goes down to a middle position of the thickener pool wall, automatically switching the circulation at the high position to a circulation at a middle position or a low position, and when the mass percent concentration of the underflow is maintained at 65 wt %, automatically turning off all the underflow circulatory subsystems;
performing the underground paste filling again: closing the eleventh valve, turning on all the underflow circulatory subsystems by the PLC control system to perform circulations of the three underflow circulatory subsystems at the low position and quickly adjust the mass percent

Assignees

• Univ Beijing Science & Technology

Inventors

• Wu Aixiang
• Wang Shaoyong
• Ruan Zhuen
• Yin Shenghua
• Wang Hongjiang
• Wang Yiming
• Wang Jiandong

Classifications

• B01D21/01 Primary

  using flocculating agents (for purifying water C02F1/52; for liquid radioactive waste G21F9/10) · CPC title

• B01D21/2444

  Discharge mechanisms for the classified liquid · CPC title

• B01D21/2427 Primary

  The feed or discharge opening located at a distant position from the side walls · CPC title

• B01D21/32 Primary

  Density control of clear liquid or sediment, e.g. optical control {; Control of physical properties} · CPC title

• B01D2221/04

  Separation devices for treating liquids from earth drilling, mining · CPC title