High pressure dewatering rolls Mark-II: A novel dewatering technology for mineral tailings
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: High Pressure Dewatering Rolls (HPDR) is a continuous, high pressure, cloth-less filter designed to improve solid–liquid separation. The Mark-I prototype demonstrated cake solid concentrations comparable to those of conventional filter presses during trials with various industrial suspensions. A further development (HPDR Mk-II) is described here. It is designed for mineral tailings, features a larger filtration area, improved handling of fine particles using 30 µm wedge wires as the filter surface, and the potential for cost reductions in achieving low moisture content. This study overviews the design, proof of concept (phase 1) and safe and continuous steady state operation (phase 2) of the device. Phase 1 demonstrated operation using both flocculated and non-flocculated copper tailings (D[3,2] = 5.84 µm) and phase 2 showcases operation in runs up to one hour with nickel tailings (D[3,2] = 9.33 µm) under varying conditions. Thorough material characterisation of the tailings was conducted for benchmarking purposes. The HPDR achieved filter cake moisture contents of 83.1 wt% for copper and 87.9 wt% for nickel tailings, with a maximum specific solids throughput of 302 kg/m 2 .hr for nickel and 73 kg/m 2 .hr for copper. The cake moisture and specific throughput were comparable to or better than filter press performance, but with the advantages of continuous, cloth-less operation.
Source: Minerals Engineering
Authors: Sajid Hassan, Raul Cavalida, Nilanka I.K. Ekanayake, Peter J. Scales, Robin J. Batterham, Anthony D. Stickland
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,220
OpenAlex ID: W4411614303