The ability of impellers to produce bulk fluid flow may be expressed by the impeller flow rate (Qb) or the pumping number (N Q). Both parameters are very useful to characterize the hydrodynamics of mechanical flotation cells. In this work, an apparatus composed of a micromolen attached to an optic sensor was used to determine the impeller's water flow velocity (v b), Qb and N Q of a Denver laboratory flotation cell from the Laboratory of Mineral Processing, University of São Paulo. Under usual working conditions (1,100-1,300 rpm), in the presence and absence of air, the equipment operates at v b=20-30 cm/s, Qb=298-454 cm³/s e N Q~0,05. The value of N Q related to a laboratory cell was similar to an industrial one (N Q~0.05). Since Denver cells are sub-aerated, the presence of air in the system decreased the magnitude of v b and Qb when the impeller operated under higher rotational speed.
Flotation cell; hydrodynamics; pumping
