Title of Invention	" A PNEUMATIC FLOTATION COLUMN FOR TREATMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES"
Abstract	The invention relate to a pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral resources, comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a diameter d and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and a foam collecting container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing corresponds to the following equation: in which: D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m]; k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to h1=k2 h2 [m]; k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;

Title of Invention

" A PNEUMATIC FLOTATION COLUMN FOR TREATMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES"

Abstract

The invention relate to a pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral resources, comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a diameter d and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and a foam collecting container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing corresponds to the following equation: in which: D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m]; k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to h1=k2 h2 [m]; k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;

Full Text	FIELD OF INVENTION The invention relates to the treatment of mineral resources and may be used in the processing of mineral substances which contain nonferrous, black, rare and noble metals and also nonmetallic mineral resources. The invention relates to a pneumatic flotation column according to the preamble of patent claim 1 for treatment of mineral resources. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The pneumatic flotation machine protected by Russian Federation patent no. 2038865, B 03 D 1/24, is known. The machine contains a chamber with an aerator within the chamber, a foam overflow edge, a feed device as a tube with orifices and a circulation tube. The pneumatic flotation machine is known which contains a chamber with an aerator within the chamber, a feed and discharge device, and an airlift arranged in the middle of the chamber and having a mixer in the lower part (see Russian Federation patent no. 2054972, B 03 D1/24). The most similar to this in terms of its technical principle is the pneumatic flotation column which contains a cylindrical housing, consisting of the widened upper part and of the lower part, a feed device, designed as ejectors, a discharge device, aerators, a foam collecting container, a device, designed as an airlift, for the fine regulation of the pulp level in the machine, the annular baffle plate, which in cross section represents a triangle, the vertex of which is directed toward the machine axis, and a telescope-shaped chamber which is located in the widened housing part (see Russian Federation patent no. 2132749, B 03 D 1/24). A known pneumatic flotation column, protected by Russian Federation patent no. 2132749, B 03 D 1/24, was implemented in the machine KFM-1400 (development of the "Uralmachanobr" Institute) and has the dimensions listed in Table 1. The known machine has the disadvantage that, when the required performance in terms of the feed and foam product is increased, the housing dimensions increase unjustifiably and thereby contribute to an appreciable rise in material intensity. Furthermore, as compared with mechanical and pneumatic machines of the same volume, the known machine has a smaller area for foam formation and a smaller geometric length of the discharge weir (see Table 2). Design parameters of the known flotation column and of the pneumatic/mechanical flotation machine On account of this, the flotation process in the known flotation column has a series of disadvantages: the aeroflocks which form (structures consisting of air bubbles and of mineral particles) dwell for longer in the pulp than in mechanical and pneumatic machines from the moment of occurrence to the moment of supply to the foam product, and, because of a lack of free space on the pulpsurface, aeroflock collision and mutual annihilation processes take place in the foam layer. The disadvantages of the flotation process in the known flotation column cause the lowering of its performance downstream of the foam product and lead to the situation where it does not function with sufficient efficiency in flotation stages with a rich initial raw material, where a high yield of the foam product is required. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The technical object which the invention is aimed at achieving is an increase in machine productivity. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The set technical object is achieved in that the diameter of the widened housing part in the known machine, which contains a cylindrical housing consisting of a widened upper part and of the lower part, a feed, aeration and discharge device designed as ejectors, a discharge device and a foam collecting container, was determined by means of the following equation: D - the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing; k 1 - an empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, preferably selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h 1 - the height of the widened upper part of the housing, with the following relation h1=k2 h2; k2—an empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0; h 2 - the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing; d - the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing which is dependent on the required machine performance in terms of the feed material according to the equation d2 =k 3 -Q; Q - the required machine performance in terms of the feed material, preferably determined in the dimension unit of metric tons per hour (t/h); k 3 - an empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03. Thus, on the one hand, an increase in machine productivity in terms of the foam product by an enlargement in area of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing is brought about and, at the same time, a lowering of material intensity by the optimization of the dimensions is effected. The object is also achieved by means of a method for confiqurating a pneumatic flotation column, using the equation described above. Furthermore, the foam collecting container of the pneumatic flotation column may, in an advantageous development of the invention, be design as a gable- shaped channel and be equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharge of the foam product. Advantageously, the gable-shaped channel, that is to say the gable-shaped foam channel, is mounted in such a way that surfaces on the basic flotation chamber 1 remain free, that is to say are available, for mounting one or more ejectors and/or other attachments. The described design of the foam collecting container, implemented as a gable- shaped channel, allows almost a twofold reduction in its height, while a sufficient angle of inclination of the bottom is maintained. The optimal diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation column depends on the quantity of the pulp throughput, that is to say on the machine performance in terms of the feed material. As experimental investigations have shown, for the flotation machine with a diameter of the lower part of the housing of 1.4 m the optimal performance in terms of the feed material is 60 to 120 t/h (in terms of the pulp 160 to 320 m2/n). The throughout capacity of the machine in terms of the pulp was determined by means of the cross-sectional area of the lower part of the housing, the formula of which contains the diameter of the lower part of the housing, squared. Thus, the square of the optimal diameter of the lower part of the machine housing and its performance are linked by means of the equation d2 = k3 • Q, where the proportionality coefficient k3 may assume the values of 0.015 to 0.03. It was found in experimental investigations that, in the pneumatic flotation column, the optimal penetration depth of the feed and aeration device (ejector) into the pulp, which determines the height h1 of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, is 1 to 2 m, and the optimal penetration depth of the aeration device (disperser), which determines the overall machine height h1 + h2, is 4 to 6m. Overshooting said values of the penetration depth into the pulp by the ejector and disperser leads to an unjustifiable increase in the overall height and the material intensity of the flotation machine, without an increase in its performance in terms of the feed and foam product. Hence, the optimal values h1 and h2, are linked by the equation h1 = k2 h2, in which the proportionality coefficient k2 may assume the values of 0.2 to 1.0. In experimental investigations, the dependence of the performance of the flotation column in terms of the foam product, in the case of the basic flotation of the copper-containing raw material, on the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing and the overall height of the apparatus was determined (Table 3). Table 3 Dependence of the flotation characteristic numbers of the copper-containing raw material on the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing and the overall height of the column apparatus. It is clear from the data listed in Table 3 that the optimal flotation results were achieved in the flotation machine, of which the diameter of the widened upper part D is linked to the diameter of the lower part d and the overall height of the apparatus h 1 +h 2 by the following equation: means of the following equation: In order to increase the conveying capacity of the foam collecting container in terms of the foam product, while at the same time reducing its height, the foam collecting container was designed as a gable-shaped channel and equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharging the foam product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The present invention is explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the pneumatic flotation column according to the invention in an overall view illustrated in half section as a front view, Figure 2 shows a side view of the pneumatic flotation column according to the invention, Figure 3 shows a top view of the pneumatic flotation column according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The pneumatic flotation column, that is to say the flotation machine, contains the basic flotation chamber 1 with the gable-shaped foam channel 2, within which the postflotation chamber 3 is accommodated. The chamber 1 is equipped with feed and aeration devices—ejectors 4, and the chamber 3 is equipped with an aeration device 5 which is accommodated in the lower part of the postflotation chamber 3. The postflotation chamber 3 is equipped with the bottom discharge device 6 and the foam channel 2 is equipped with connection pieces for discharging the foam product 7. The postflotation chamber 3 is provided with an annular baffle plate 8. The flotation machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a diameter D of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing which is larger than the diameter D of the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation machine. The height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing is designated by h1. The height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation machine is designated by h2. The overall height of the flotation machine is accordingly obtained as h1 + h2. The flotation machine shown functions in the following way. The pulp, previously processed by means of reagents, passes via the ejector 4 into the basic flotation chamber 1. At the same time, air is supplied to the ejector 4 and comes into contact with hydrophobic grains of the pulp, aeroflocks being obtained. The aeroflocks, when they float up, form the foam product. The foam product is discharged into the foam channel 2 and is delivered via the connection pieces 7 for thickening (not illustrated in the drawing). The grains having an insufficiently hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic grains are supplied to the postflotation chamber 3. In the postflotation chamber 3, the aeroflocks arise which form the foam product in the upper part of the postflotation chamber 3. The annular baffle plate 8 makes it possible to make contact between the mineral and the air bubbles not in countercurrent, but, instead, at an angle, that is to say to create optimal conditions for the flotation of the grains in the postflotation chamber 3 . The hydrophilic grains sink onto the bottom part of the postflotation chamber 3 and are discharged via the bottom discharge device 6. The foam product passes out of the postflotation chamber 3 over its top edge onto the foam layer of the basic flotation chamber and subsequently into the foam channel 2. The flotation machine according to an embodiment was tested, in the case of the basic flotation of copper-containing ore, in comparison with the known machine KFM-1400. The test results are illustrated in Table 4. The results in Table 4 show clearly that the design according to an embodiment of the pneumatic flotation column, by increasing the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing and by optimizing the dimensions, makes it possible to have an increase in performance in terms of the foam product, while at the same time lowering its volume and the material intensity. The invention is aimed at increasing the machine productivity in terms of the foam product by enlarging the area of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing and by lowering the material intensity by optimizing its dimensions. Said result is achieved in that, in the known machine which contains a cylindrical housing, consisting of a widened upper part and of the lower part, a feed, aeration and discharge device designed as ejectors, a discharge device and a foam collecting container, the diameter of the widened housing part was determined by means of an equation as a function of the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, of the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing and of the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing. Furthermore, the foam collecting container of the pneumatic flotation column is designed as a gable-shaped channel and is equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharging the foam product. WE CLAIM 1. A pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral resources, comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a diameter d and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and a foam collecting container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing corresponds to the following equation: in which: D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m]; k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h1 is the height of the widened upper part:of the housing, equal to h1=k2h2 [m]; k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0; h2 is the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing [m]; d is the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, which is dependent on the required machine performance in terms of the feed material according to the equation d2=k3Q [m]; Q is the required machine performance in terms of the feed material [t/h]; k3 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03 [m2h/t]. 2. The pneumatic flotation column as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foam collecting container (3) is configured as a gable-shaped foam channel and is equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharging the foam product (7). 3. The pneumatic flotation column as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gable- shaped foam channel (2) is mounted in such a way that surfaces on the basic flotation chamber (3) are available for mounting at least one ejector (4) and/or other attachments (5,6). 4. A method for dimensioning a pneumatic flotation column which comprises a cylindrical housing having a widened upper part having a diameter D and a height h1, and a lower part having a diameter d and a height h2, comprising the step of determining the diameter of the widened upper part of the pneumatic flotation column by adapting in which: D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m]; k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to h1=k2h2 [m]; k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0; h2 is the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing [m]; d is the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, which is dependent on the required machine performance in terms of the feed material according to the equation d2=k3Q [m]; Q is the required machine performance in terms of the feed material [t/h]; k3 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03 [m2h/t]. The invention relate to a pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral resources, comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a diameter d and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and a foam collecting container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing corresponds to the following equation: in which: D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m]; k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4; h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to h1=k2 h2 [m]; k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;

Full Text

FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to the treatment of mineral resources and may be used in
the processing of mineral substances which contain nonferrous, black, rare and
noble metals and also nonmetallic mineral resources. The invention relates to a
pneumatic flotation column according to the preamble of patent claim 1 for
treatment of mineral resources.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The pneumatic flotation machine protected by Russian Federation patent no.
2038865, B 03 D 1/24, is known. The machine contains a chamber with an
aerator within the chamber, a foam overflow edge, a feed device as a tube with
orifices and a circulation tube.
The pneumatic flotation machine is known which contains a chamber with an
aerator within the chamber, a feed and discharge device, and an airlift arranged
in the middle of the chamber and having a mixer in the lower part (see Russian
Federation patent no. 2054972, B 03 D1/24).
The most similar to this in terms of its technical principle is the pneumatic
flotation column which contains a cylindrical housing, consisting of the widened
upper part and of the lower part, a feed device, designed as ejectors, a
discharge device, aerators, a foam collecting container, a device, designed as an
airlift, for the fine regulation of the pulp level in the machine, the annular baffle
plate, which in cross section represents a triangle, the vertex of which is directed

toward the machine axis, and a telescope-shaped chamber which is located in
the widened housing part (see Russian Federation patent no. 2132749, B 03 D
1/24).
A known pneumatic flotation column, protected by Russian Federation patent no.
2132749, B 03 D 1/24, was implemented in the machine KFM-1400
(development of the "Uralmachanobr" Institute) and has the dimensions listed in
Table 1.

The known machine has the disadvantage that, when the required performance
in terms of the feed and foam product is increased, the housing dimensions
increase unjustifiably and thereby contribute to an appreciable rise in material
intensity.
Furthermore, as compared with mechanical and pneumatic machines of the
same volume, the known machine has a smaller area for foam formation and a
smaller geometric length of the discharge weir (see Table 2).
Design parameters of the known flotation column and of the
pneumatic/mechanical flotation machine

On account of this, the flotation process in the known flotation column has a
series of disadvantages: the aeroflocks which form (structures consisting of air
bubbles and of mineral particles) dwell for longer in the pulp than in mechanical

and pneumatic machines from the moment of occurrence to the moment of
supply to the foam product, and, because of a lack of free space on the
pulpsurface, aeroflock collision and mutual annihilation processes take place in
the foam layer. The disadvantages of the flotation process in the known flotation
column cause the lowering of its performance downstream of the foam product
and lead to the situation where it does not function with sufficient efficiency in
flotation stages with a rich initial raw material, where a high yield of the foam
product is required.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The technical object which the invention is aimed at achieving is an increase in
machine productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The set technical object is achieved in that the diameter of the widened housing
part in the known machine, which contains a cylindrical housing consisting of a
widened upper part and of the lower part, a feed, aeration and discharge device
designed as ejectors, a discharge device and a foam collecting container, was
determined by means of the following equation:

D - the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing;

k 1 - an empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper
part of the cylindrical housing, preferably selected from 1.0 to 1.4;
h 1 - the height of the widened upper part of the housing, with the following
relation h1=k2 h2;
k2—an empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part
of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;
h 2 - the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing;
d - the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing which is dependent
on the required machine performance in terms of the feed material according to
the equation d2 =k 3 -Q;
Q - the required machine performance in terms of the feed material, preferably
determined in the dimension unit of metric tons per hour (t/h);
k 3 - an empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part of the
cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03.
Thus, on the one hand, an increase in machine productivity in terms of the foam
product by an enlargement in area of the widened upper part of the cylindrical
housing is brought about and, at the same time, a lowering of material intensity
by the optimization of the dimensions is effected.
The object is also achieved by means of a method for confiqurating a pneumatic
flotation column, using the equation described above.

Furthermore, the foam collecting container of the pneumatic flotation column
may, in an advantageous development of the invention, be design as a gable-
shaped channel and be equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharge
of the foam product.
Advantageously, the gable-shaped channel, that is to say the gable-shaped foam
channel, is mounted in such a way that surfaces on the basic flotation chamber 1
remain free, that is to say are available, for mounting one or more ejectors
and/or other attachments.
The described design of the foam collecting container, implemented as a gable-
shaped channel, allows almost a twofold reduction in its height, while a sufficient
angle of inclination of the bottom is maintained.
The optimal diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation
column depends on the quantity of the pulp throughput, that is to say on the
machine performance in terms of the feed material. As experimental
investigations have shown, for the flotation machine with a diameter of the lower
part of the housing of 1.4 m the optimal performance in terms of the feed
material is 60 to 120 t/h (in terms of the pulp 160 to 320 m2/n). The throughout
capacity of the machine in terms of the pulp was determined by means of the
cross-sectional area of the lower part of the housing, the formula of which
contains the diameter of the lower part of the housing, squared. Thus, the
square of the optimal diameter of the lower part of the machine housing and its

performance are linked by means of the equation d2 = k3 • Q, where the
proportionality coefficient k3 may assume the values of 0.015 to 0.03.
It was found in experimental investigations that, in the pneumatic flotation
column, the optimal penetration depth of the feed and aeration device (ejector)
into the pulp, which determines the height h1 of the widened upper part of the
cylindrical housing, is 1 to 2 m, and the optimal penetration depth of the aeration
device (disperser), which determines the overall machine height h1 + h2, is 4 to
6m. Overshooting said values of the penetration depth into the pulp by the
ejector and disperser leads to an unjustifiable increase in the overall height and
the material intensity of the flotation machine, without an increase in its
performance in terms of the feed and foam product. Hence, the optimal values
h1 and h2, are linked by the equation h1 = k2 h2, in which the proportionality
coefficient k2 may assume the values of 0.2 to 1.0.
In experimental investigations, the dependence of the performance of the
flotation column in terms of the foam product, in the case of the basic flotation
of the copper-containing raw material, on the diameter of the widened upper
part of the cylindrical housing and the overall height of the apparatus was
determined (Table 3).
Table 3
Dependence of the flotation characteristic numbers of the copper-containing raw
material on the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing
and the overall height of the column apparatus.

It is clear from the data listed in Table 3 that the optimal flotation results were
achieved in the flotation machine, of which the diameter of the widened upper
part D is linked to the diameter of the lower part d and the overall height of the
apparatus h 1 +h 2 by the following equation:
means of the following equation:

In order to increase the conveying capacity of the foam collecting container in
terms of the foam product, while at the same time reducing its height, the foam
collecting container was designed as a gable-shaped channel and equipped with
opposite connection pieces for discharging the foam product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The present invention is explained by way of example with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows the pneumatic flotation column according to the invention in an
overall view illustrated in half section as a front view,
Figure 2 shows a side view of the pneumatic flotation column according to the
invention,
Figure 3 shows a top view of the pneumatic flotation column according to the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The pneumatic flotation column, that is to say the flotation machine, contains the
basic flotation chamber 1 with the gable-shaped foam channel 2, within which
the postflotation chamber 3 is accommodated. The chamber 1 is equipped with
feed and aeration devices—ejectors 4, and the chamber 3 is equipped with an
aeration device 5 which is accommodated in the lower part of the postflotation
chamber 3. The postflotation chamber 3 is equipped with the bottom discharge
device 6 and the foam channel 2 is equipped with connection pieces for
discharging the foam product 7. The postflotation chamber 3 is provided with an
annular baffle plate 8.
The flotation machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a diameter D of the widened

upper part of the cylindrical housing which is larger than the diameter D of the
lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation machine. The height of the
widened upper part of the cylindrical housing is designated by h1. The height of
the lower part of the cylindrical housing of the flotation machine is designated by
h2. The overall height of the flotation machine is accordingly obtained as h1 + h2.
The flotation machine shown functions in the following way.
The pulp, previously processed by means of reagents, passes via the ejector 4
into the basic flotation chamber 1. At the same time, air is supplied to the ejector
4 and comes into contact with hydrophobic grains of the pulp, aeroflocks being
obtained. The aeroflocks, when they float up, form the foam product. The foam
product is discharged into the foam channel 2 and is delivered via the connection
pieces 7 for thickening (not illustrated in the drawing). The grains having an
insufficiently hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic grains are supplied to the
postflotation chamber 3. In the postflotation chamber 3, the aeroflocks arise
which form the foam product in the upper part of the postflotation chamber 3.
The annular baffle plate 8 makes it possible to make contact between the
mineral and the air bubbles not in countercurrent, but, instead, at an angle, that
is to say to create optimal conditions for the flotation of the grains in the
postflotation chamber 3 . The hydrophilic grains sink onto the bottom part of the
postflotation chamber 3 and are discharged via the bottom discharge device 6.
The foam product passes out of the postflotation chamber 3 over its top edge
onto the foam layer of the basic flotation chamber and subsequently into the
foam channel 2.

The flotation machine according to an embodiment was tested, in the case of the
basic flotation of copper-containing ore, in comparison with the known machine
KFM-1400. The test results are illustrated in Table 4.

The results in Table 4 show clearly that the design according to an embodiment
of the pneumatic flotation column, by increasing the diameter of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing and by optimizing the dimensions, makes it

possible to have an increase in performance in terms of the foam product, while
at the same time lowering its volume and the material intensity.
The invention is aimed at increasing the machine productivity in terms of the
foam product by enlarging the area of the widened upper part of the cylindrical
housing and by lowering the material intensity by optimizing its dimensions. Said
result is achieved in that, in the known machine which contains a cylindrical
housing, consisting of a widened upper part and of the lower part, a feed,
aeration and discharge device designed as ejectors, a discharge device and a
foam collecting container, the diameter of the widened housing part was
determined by means of an equation as a function of the diameter of the lower
part of the cylindrical housing, of the height of the widened upper part of the
cylindrical housing and of the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing.
Furthermore, the foam collecting container of the pneumatic flotation column is
designed as a gable-shaped channel and is equipped with opposite connection
pieces for discharging the foam product.

WE CLAIM
1. A pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral resources,
comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part
having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a
diameter d and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and
a foam collecting container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing corresponds to the following
equation:

in which:
D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing
[m];
k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4;
h1 is the height of the widened upper part:of the housing, equal to
h1=k2h2 [m];
k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;
h2 is the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing [m];
d is the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, which is
dependent on the required machine performance in terms of the feed

material according to the equation d2=k3Q [m];
Q is the required machine performance in terms of the feed material [t/h];
k3 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part
of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03 [m2h/t].
2. The pneumatic flotation column as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foam
collecting container (3) is configured as a gable-shaped foam channel and
is equipped with opposite connection pieces for discharging the foam
product (7).
3. The pneumatic flotation column as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gable-
shaped foam channel (2) is mounted in such a way that surfaces on the
basic flotation chamber (3) are available for mounting at least one ejector
(4) and/or other attachments (5,6).
4. A method for dimensioning a pneumatic flotation column which comprises
a cylindrical housing having a widened upper part having a diameter D
and a height h1, and a lower part having a diameter d and a height h2,
comprising the step of determining the diameter of the widened upper
part of the pneumatic flotation column by adapting

in which:

D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing
[m];
k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4;
h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to
h1=k2h2 [m];
k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened
upper part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;
h2 is the height of the lower part of the cylindrical housing [m];
d is the diameter of the lower part of the cylindrical housing, which is
dependent on the required machine performance in terms of the feed
material according to the equation d2=k3Q [m];
Q is the required machine performance in terms of the feed material [t/h];
k3 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the lower part
of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.015 to 0.03 [m2h/t].

The invention relate to a pneumatic flotation column for treatment of mineral
resources, comprising a cylindrical housing consisting of the widened upper part
having a diameter D and a height h1 and of the lower part having a diameter d
and a height h2, a feed, aeration and discharge device (6) and a foam collecting
container (3), wherein the diameter D of the widened upper part of the
cylindrical housing corresponds to the following equation:

in which:
D is the diameter of the widened upper part of the cylindrical housing [m];
k1 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the diameter of the widened upper
part of the cylindrical housing, selected from 1.0 to 1.4;
h1 is the height of the widened upper part of the housing, equal to h1=k2 h2 [m];
k2 is the empirical coefficient for calculating the height of the widened upper part
of the cylindrical housing, selected from 0.2 to 1.0;

" A PNEUMATIC FLOTATION COLUMN FOR TREATMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES"

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