Abstract:Enlightened by the separation characteristics in the air-sparged hydrocyclone (ASH) that both classification and flotation exist simultaneously, a modified air-sparged hydrocyclone (MASH) was introduced to control the overgrinding of valuable materials with higher density in the fine grinding circuit. Investigations were made on the optimization of the geometric and operation parameters of the MASH, and on the effects of the physicochemical characters of feed slurry on the MASH separation performance. A new classification system, which could be effectively used to control the overgrinding of valuable materials with higher density in the fine grinding circuit was developed, including a MASH and a conventional hydrocyclone.

Key words: modified air-sparged hydrocyclone　grinding-classification　overgrinding　flotation