Measurement of Chalcopyrite Slurry Flow Rate
Release time:
2025-12-22
Metal processing plants are using flow monitoring systems to improve uptime and efficiency, while reducing costs.
1. Benefits
- The sonar flowmeter can provide accurate and verifiable flow measurements for mud with high solid content, while also enabling a more precise mass balance.
- Eliminate maintenance costs associated with cleaning/replacing electrodes and flow tubes due to scaling.
- Clip-on installation eliminates process downtime.
- Compared to existing electromagnetic flowmeters, clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters can achieve a rapid return on investment.
- The sonar flowmeter, fixed onto existing pipelines, offers superior performance at a lower cost compared to electromagnetic flowmeters used in highly solid-content slurries prone to scaling.
2. Process
Approximately 80% of the world’s primary copper production comes from sulfide ores, such as chalcopyrite (copper iron sulfide, CuFeS2), which has an average copper content of 1%. Typically, the ore is crushed into a fine powder and then separated using flotation processes.
Volume flow measurement is required to maintain process control and efficiency.
3. Challenge
Electromagnetic flowmeters are commonly used to measure volumetric flow in flotation circuits. However, existing electromagnetic flowmeters suffer from unacceptable performance degradation due to severe scaling on the electrodes and flow tubes.
To achieve an acceptable level of performance, we have established a maintenance plan that involves regularly cleaning the electrodes and flow tubes to prevent scaling from affecting the measurements. After several cleanings, it becomes necessary to replace both the electrodes and the flow tubes. Eventually, due to damage caused by frequent maintenance cycles, we had to replace the entire electromagnetic flowmeter. In addition to the high maintenance costs, the downtime associated with these repairs also incurs indirect costs. Moreover, given the current high prices of base metals, there is an urgent need to increase plant production; thus, any process downtime would cause significant disruption and inconvenience.
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