CLASSIFICATION
I. CHIHAKA
CLASSIFICATION
Classification: is an operation in which a mass of grain of mixed sizes
and specific gravity is allowed or caused to settle through a fluid
medium which may be either in motion or stationary state.
• In Short, classification is sepration of particles according to their
settling rate in a fluid.
• Used t classify particles of 2-3 mm sizes to 0.02-0.03 mm. Normally
used to size finer than 35 mesh screens.
APPLICATIONS
1. Separation into relatively carse and relatively fine size fraction,
typically for separation too fines to be economically screened.
2. To effect concentration of smaller heavier particles from larger
lighter particles
3. To split a long range size distribution into fractions
4. To restrict the property distribution od particles entering in
concentration process
5. To control close circuit grinding
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION
• When a solid particle falls freely in a vacuum, it is subject to constant
acceleration and its velocity increases indefinitely, being independent of size
and density, Thus a lump or lead and a feather fall exactly at same time.
• In viscous medium, such a air or water, there is resistance to this movement
and the value increases with velocity. When equilibrium is attained between
the gravitational and fluid resistances forces, the body reaches its terminal
velocity and thereafter falls at a uniform rate.
• Effectively all resistance to motion is due to the shear forces or viscosity of
the fluid and is hence called viscous resistance.
• At high velocity the main resistance is due to the displacement of fluid by the
body, and viscous resistance I relatively small: this is known as turbulent
resistance.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION
• Classifiers consist essentially of a sorting column I which a fluid is rising at a
uniform rate. Particles are introduced into the sorting column either sink or
rise according to whether their terminal velocities are greater or lesser than
the upward velocity of fluid.
• The sorting column therefore separates the feed into two products, an
overflow: consists of particels with terminal velocities lesser than the
velocity of the fluid, and an Underflow or spigot: product of particles with
termical velocities greater than the rising velocity of the fluid.
Free settling refers to the sinking of particles in a
volume of fluid which is large with respect to the
total volume of particles, hence particle-particle
contact is negligible.
The Terminal velocity is governed by Stoke’s Law and
Newton’s Law
• Hindered Settling is a condition in which the number of solids in a
fluid is more than 15% and the fluid becomes heavy liquid or media,
hence the particle-particle contact increases and the falling rate of the
particles decreases.
• A modified form of Newton’s law can be used to determine the
terminal velocity
METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION
• Classifiers are grouped into two classes on bases of the direction of
flow of the carrying current
1. Mechnical or Horizontal current classifiers:
Use some mechanism for removing the sand from the device generally
this mechanism operate against gravity and are essertioally of free-
settling type and accentuate the sizing function.
2. Hydraulic or Vertical current classifiers:
Rey for sands on flow properties of the stream aided bby ravitational
and centrifugal forces and are usually hindered-settling types and so
increases the effect of density on the separation.
METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION
• The principal horizontal –current classifier have mechanical devices to
agitate the pulp and to transport the settle grains away from the
separating zone: the others, called sand tanks, sand cones… desliming
cones and the like, are characterized by a tank converging
downwardly to a spigot discharge for the settled grains.
• Hydraulic classifiers are characterized by the utilization of a rising
current of extraneous-water(hydraulic water) to effect sorting. The
principal type, because it does the best work is the hindered-settling
classifier, having a constriction in the sorting column: the free settling
type, without constriction, is rarely used except for the roughest type
of work.
• The hydraulic classifiers are used primarily to separate long-range
feeds 10m or less in th limiting size, into a number of grades, usually
for subsequent concentration
METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION
• On the basis of media
1. Dry classification
2. Wet classification
HYDRAULIC CLASSIFIER(hydrocyclone)
• These are characterized by the use of water additional to that of the
feed pulp, introduced so that its direction of the flow opposes that f
the settling particles.
• They normally consist of a series of sorting column through each of
which a vertical current of water is rising and particles are settling
out.
• The rising currents are graded from a relatively high velocity in the
first sorting column, to a relatively low velocity in the last, so that a
series of spigot products can be obtained, with the coarser denser
particles in the first spigot and fines in the latter spigots.
HYDRAULIC CLASSIFIER
• Very fine slimes overflow the final sorting column of the classifier. The
size of the each successive vessel is increased, partly because the
amount of liquid to be handled includes all the water used for
classifying in the previous vessels and partly because it is desired to
reduce, in stages, the surface velocity of the fluid flowing from one
vessel to the next.
• Hydraulic classifier may be free-settling types. The former are rarely
used. They are simply and have capacities, but are inefficient in sizing
and sorting. They are characterized by the fact that each sorting
column is of the same cross-section area throughout its length. The
greatest use for hydraulic classifier in the mineral industry is for
sorting the feed to certain gravity concentration processes so that the
size effect can be suppressed and the density effect.
HYDRO CYCLONE APPLICATIONS
1. Coal fine recovery
2. Chemical beneficiation
3. Gypsum recovery
4. Sand desliming and sizing
MECHANICAL CLASSIFIERS
• Amechanical classifier is essertially a settling tank with parallel sides, a
vertical or nearly a wall at ne end, a sloping bottom which extnds to a
height above the top of the end wall. And a mechanism in the tank
which seves both to agitate the pulp therein and to remove the
settled solid
• The conveying-agitating mechanism may be a reciprocating rake, a
spiral, or a flight conveyor
• The principal use of the mechanical classifier is in closed-circuit wet
grinding. Other uses are for desliming, dewatering granular material,
and washing when scrubbing is unnecessary.
Designing the Pool Area of Mechanical
Classifiers
• For Spiral and rake classifier the effective area of the bowl apppers
small than the actual bowl size. The ratio of the effective area to the
actual area is called areal efficiency.
• Fitch and Roberts developed a method of determining the area of the
pool using several factors.
1. Settling rate, Vs
2. Hinderance factor
3. Shape factor