Fengxin New Era Lithium Mine, under CATL, chooses sonar flow meters.
Release time:
2025-12-22
Fengxin Shidai Ore Dressing Plant is indirectly wholly owned by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL). As an integral part of CATL’s battery industry chain, the plant processes lithium-bearing porcelain clay ore through crushing, grinding, separation, and dewatering operations, with a raw ore processing capacity reaching 33 million tons per year.
· Installation of Sonar Flow Meters at the New Era Beneficiation Plant ·
For the first phase of the New Era project, sonar flow meters have been selected for use in the long-distance conveyance of tailings. The purpose is to calculate the metal balance and recovery rate during the ore-processing stage by combining real-time measurements of flow rate and concentration with the input quantity of raw materials and the output of metals. Since this calculation is closely linked to overall production, accuracy and stability are of paramount importance—this is one of the key reasons why the customer chose sonar flow meters.
Sediment impact
In pipelines used for long-distance transportation, which locations are prone to deposition, and where the flow velocity is not representative?
As shown by the blue curve in the figure above, multiple sonar flow meters are simultaneously measuring at several locations. When one of these measurement results exhibits a regular alternating pattern of high and low values, it often indicates the presence of sedimentation. However, once the pipeline is switched to flushing with water, the flow measurement at that location returns to normal.
If a stable sediment bed has already formed in the pipeline, the immobile sediment bed will reduce the cross-sectional area inside the pipeline. As a result, the slurry flow velocity above the sediment will increase. The linear relationship between the increased flow velocity and the sediment height is shown in the figure above. At this point, the sediment height can be estimated based on the increased flow velocity measured by the sonar flowmeter. Note that this data cannot be absolutely accurate; a more reasonable approach would be to increase the conveying speed to prevent sedimentation from occurring altogether.
For long-distance pipeline transportation applications, feel free to contact us anytime!

Industry Applications