METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE SEPARATION OF A MIXTURE OF MINERAL GRAINS IN WATER

摘要

A method and an apparatus for separating a mixture of mineral grains with different specific gravities by differential sedimentation are disclosed. The method is carried out in a cylindrical device. The mixture of the mineral with water is supplied tangentially to a trough formed around the upper edge of the wall of the water box of the device. The mineral circulating in the trough is desludged and partially separated according to the weight of the grains, and then, due to a pulsating action of the water, is displaced in an annular working trough on spiral paths towards a conduit for discharging the light fraction and towards a conduit with a diaphragm for discharging the heavy fraction. The pulsating motion of the water is produced by compressed air being cyclically fed to an annular air chamber through pulsation valves from an annular tank arranged around the water box. From the air chamber additional air chambers extend radially beneath the sieve deck.