Slurry-transporting facility and slurry transportation control method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9651200-B2
Application number	US-201314760020-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2013
Priority date	Jan 10, 2013
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A slurry-transporting facility equipped with a plurality of pump-equipment circuits, whereby a stop of slurry supply to a transport destination at the time of switchover between the pump-equipment circuits for use is prevented to make an efficient operation possible. The slurry-transporting facility includes: pipe arrangements which branch out from a feed tank into the plurality of circuits; a transport pump provided in each of the pipe arrangement; a first valve provided upstream from the transport pump; a second valve provided downstream from the transport pump; and a uniting pipe arrangement formed by joining of the pipe arrangements at a predetermined position and connected to a LT heater. The uniting pipe arrangement is provided with a third valve configured to control the transportation of ore slurry to the LT heater and a pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure in the uniting pipe arrangement.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A slurry transportation control method which uses a slurry-transporting facility configured to transport slurry from a feed tank to a reservoir tank provided with a pressure gauge via one of two pump-equipment circuits, the slurry-transporting facility comprising:
pipe arrangements which branch out from the feed tank into the each of the two pump-equipment circuits;
the two pump-equipment circuits being a first pump-equipment circuit and a second pump-equipment circuit, each comprising:
a transport pump provided in one of the pipe arrangements;
a first valve provided upstream from the transport pump in the one pipe arrangement;
a second valve provided downstream from the transport pump in the one pipe arrangement; and
a first pressure gauge provided downstream from the transport pump and upstream from the second valve, the first pressure gauge being configured to measure a pressure in the one pipe arrangement;

a uniting pipe arrangement formed by joining of the pipe arrangements of the first and second pump-equipment circuits at a predetermined position downstream from each second valve and connected to the reservoir tank;
a third valve provided in the uniting pipe arrangement and configured to control slurry transportation to the reservoir tank; and
a second pressure gauge provided upstream from the third valve in the uniting pipe arrangement and configured to measure a pressure in the uniting pipe arrangement,
the two pump-equipment circuits being used for switchover between the pump-equipment circuits, and, at a time of switchover from the first pump-equipment circuit, which has its transport pump in an operating state, to the second pump-equipment circuit, to transport slurry via the second pump-equipment circuit, the following steps are executed in order:
opening the first valve of the second pump-equipment circuit;
switching the transport pump of the second pump-equipment circuit to an operating state to operate;
opening the second valve of the second pump-equipment circuit after a value detected by the first pressure gauge of the second pump-equipment circuit becomes larger than a value detected by the second pressure gauge provided in the uniting pipe arrangement;
closing the second valve of the first pump-equipment circuit;
stopping the transport pump of the first pump-equipment circuit to place it in a waiting state; and
closing the first valve of the first pump-equipment circuit.

2. The slurry transportation control method according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is an ore slurry obtained by wet-grinding and sieving a nickel oxide ore and adjusting a grain size as predetermined.

3. A slurry transportation control method which uses a slurry-transporting facility configured to transport slurry from a feed tank to a reservoir tank provided with a pressure gauge via one of two pump-equipment circuits, the slurry-transporting facility comprising:
pipe arrangements which branch out from the feed tank into the each of the two pump-equipment circuits;
the two pump-equipment circuits being a first pump-equipment circuit and a second pump-equipment circuit, each comprising:
a transport pump provided in one of the pipe arrangements;
a first valve provided upstream from the transport pump in the one pipe arrangement;
a second valve provided downstream from the transport pump in the one pipe arrangement; and
a first pressure gauge provided downstream from the transport pump and upstream from the second valve, the first pressure gauge being configured to measure a pressure in the one pipe arrangement;

a uniting pipe arrangement formed by joining of the pipe arrangements of the first and second pump-equipment circuits at a predetermined position downstream from each second valve and connected to the reservoir tank;
a third valve provided in the uniting pipe arrangement and configured to control slurry transportation to the reservoir tank; and
a second pressure gauge provided upstream from the third valve in the uniting pipe arrangement and configured to measure a pressure in the uniting pipe arrangement,
the two pump-equipment circuits being used for switchover between the pump-equipment circuits, and, at a time of switchover from the first pump-equipment circuit, which has its transport pump in an operating state, to the second pump-equipment circuit, to transport slurry via the second pump-equipment circuit, the following steps are executed in order:
opening the first valve of the second pump-equipment circuit;
switching the transport pump of the second pump-equipment circuit to an operating state to operate;
opening the second valve of the second pump-equipment circuit after a value detected by the first pressure gauge of the second pump-equipment circuit becomes larger than a value detected by the second pressure gauge provided in the uniting pipe arrangement and the value detected by the first pressure gauge of the second pump-equipment circuit becomes larger than a value detected by the first pressure gauge of the first pump-equipment circuit;
closing the second valve of the first pump-equipment circuit;
stopping the transport pump of the first pump-equipment circuit to place it in a waiting state; and
closing the first valve of the first pump-equipment circuit.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Metal Mining Co

Inventors

• Nakai Osamu
• Matsubara Satoshi
• Mitsui Hiroyuki
• Tachi Kenji
• Oku Masayuki

Classifications

• Y10T137/87314

  Electromagnetic or electric control [e.g., digital control, bistable electro control, etc.] · CPC title

• Y10T137/776

  Control by pressures across flow line valve · CPC title

• F04B15/02

  the fluids being viscous or non-homogeneous · CPC title

• F04B49/08

  Regulating by delivery pressure · CPC title

• F17D1/088

  for solids or suspensions of solids in liquids, e.g. slurries (F17D1/086 takes precedence) · CPC title