The vacuum filtration of iron ore ultrafines

The dewatering of fine particles (- 0.5 + 0 mm) derived from iron ore processing is a topic of increasing importance to Australian producers. With little previous published work in this area, it is difficult to predict how these materials are going to dewater, in particular during vacuum filtration. The work described in this paper was therefore undertaken in order to help overcome this paucity of background information. The sample of iron ore that was tested responded well to vacuum filtration provided that anionic flocculants were used as a filter aid. In the presence of these polymers, cake formation times were very short (mainly below 10 seconds) and the moisture levels of 18 mm thick filter cakes were reduced to 10-11 wt% after dewatering times of only 40 seconds. By comparison, the cationic and nonionic flocculants tested were much less effective. The mathematical model devised by Wakeman shows considerable promise as a tool for predicting the kinetics of desaturation.