DRYFLOC

Flocculants
and Rheology
Modifiers for
Paste Thickening
and Tailings
Storage Facilities
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locculants and
DRYFLOC Flocculants
Mining companies are facing many new
challenges in our world today. One such
challenge is the pressure from society for
sustainable development leading to:
° The need to reduce water consumption.
° The need to increase the speed of water
recovery from tails areas. Our goal is to be a valuable partner for our customers. Our goal is
° The need for better distribution of fines achieved through proposing more than a product; SNF is there to help
and coarse materials in tails disposal areas you find the most viable technical & economical solution for effective
to allow faster rehabilitation. water use, processing conditions and tailings management in your
equipment without compromising on Environment, Health & Safety
° The need to reduce energy use for pumping requirements.
through improved mud rheology.
° The need for more effective and safer The only way to meet this goal is through people. We are dedicated
tailings disposal via stacking operations or to meeting our customers’ needs through our highly skilled workfor-
ce. Our chemists, process engineers and metallurgists are there to
mine backfilling. understand your needs for water management, slurry processing
° The need for more effective use of capital by requirements and ultimately tails disposal. Once these needs are
processing minerals at higher pulp densities. fully understood, they will propose the best chemical solutions
based around your equipment design and implement them in a
team effort with your staff.
Thanks to the Research and Development
carried out by SNF, important progress has SNF is committed to maintaining efficient, green and flexible
been made towards satisfying these needs in manufacturing capabilities. We offer the widest range of products
the mineral processing industry. SNF, the produced in modern resource efficient plants to cover all mining
flocculant and dispersant applications. Our product development
worlds leading manufacturer of water soluble is focused on meeting the ongoing and newly developing needs of
polymers is fully committed to this global the mining industry.
effort to improve efficiency of water and
energy use through effective use of floccu-
lants in the mining industry. Indeed, SNF The DRYFLOC range of products has been developed to meet the
began to develop tailings disposal know-how specific goals of water management, tails management and paste
in the late 70’s within the phosphate industry thickening technology. These new products are complementary to
in Florida and Tunisia. Fines distribution in our conventional range of copolymers.
impoundments fed with slurries containing ° DRYFLOC D is a liquid that can be used as an efficient
both slime and sand fractions was perfected rheology modifier in combination with a conventional flocculant for
at about the same time in land reclamation thickening applications. This product has been tested successfully in
operations for the port of Fos Su Mer. the alumina and phosphate industry to increase the pumpability of
high concentrated slurries. The use of these products provides a cost
effective solution to pumping high concentration slurries.

° DRYFLOC P is primarily for application in paste thickeners.

These products are used widely within the copper, gold and nickel
industry. The polymers are designed with multiple anionic charges,
multiple molecular weights and monomer combinations. They help
to produce high density mud with low yield stress.

° The DRYFLOC T range of product is specifically dedicated

to TSF (Tailings Storage Facilities) disposal applications.
Rheology Modifi
M ers 3

DRYFLOC D
Plant data is presented below for an alumina refinery. The results show
the evolution of the yield stress vs. underflow solids concentration
for the two deep thickeners operating in parallel.
° Deep thickener A is flocculated using a conventional high molecular
weight polymer.
° Deep thickener D is flocculated using a blend of DRYFLOC D and
an anionic polymer.

As can be seen from the graph, the mud pumped from D Deep
thickener exhibits a significantly lower yield stress than the
mud pumped from A Deep thickener.
Thus the application of DRYFLOC D in combination with our
trial thickener polymer has enabled the plant:
° To increase the underflow solids concentration pumped to the
stacking area and recirculate more wash water back to the washer
train.
° To reduce the yield stress of the mud, increasing its pumpability,
thus giving more flexibility to the operation of the PD pumps which
had been operating continuously at their maximum pressure.
Ravensthorpe????

Plant Data

Dryfloc DX
D DT
A DT
800

700
Deep Cone Thickener
600
Yield Stress (Pa)

500
Conventional
400

300

200

100

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Underflow solid concentration %
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DRYFLOC Flocculants and
DRYFLOC for Paste
The DRYFLOC P range of products is targeted at Preleach Their main characteristics are:
thickeners or Tails thickeners where there is an economic driver ° High free settling rates for lower dosages
for higher densities and low underflow yield stress. The product ° High compaction rate which allows the process
line consists of different anionic charges and molecular weights. to reach higher underflow densities
° Lower yield stress compare to conventional flocculants

The graphs above illustrate the advantage of DRYFLOC

° The left picture is showing that higher free settling rates are ° The right picture is showing the compaction rate obtained
obtained using DRYFLOC P, compared to the conventional during raking tests in two litre cylinders. For the same dosage,
polymer. This would contribute to reduced polymer usage for the use of DRYFLOC P allows to reach the final compaction
the same process outcome. faster than for a conventional flocculant.
DRYFLOC SU 13 E
DRYFLOC SU 10 E FLOPAM 910 SH
FLOPAM 910 SH DRYFLOC SU 10 E
50 350
Height of interphase mm
Settling rate m/h

Compactionrate

0 0
Dosage g/t Time (h)

DRYFLOC SU 13 E
Conventional low
anionic flocculant
300

Nickel Operation - Saprolite circuit

250
Direct Yield Stress (Pa)

The plant operates at 40 to 44 % underflow concentration

200
from paste thickener. Using DRYFLOC P, the yield stress is
reduced to values that are compatible with the pump capacity
and normal torque operating range of the rake mechanism. As 150

a result less water is sent to the plant and the ore throughput
of the leaching area is maximized. 100

50

0
30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
% solids
Rheology Modifiers 5

Copper Operation - South America For this copper mine, saving water is
a day to day challenge as it operates
FLOPAM 920 VHM in a desert environment. The use of
DRYFLOC SU 13 E DRYFLOC P leads to the production of
250 a higher underflow solid concentration
which remains pumpable. This returns
more water to the process immediately,
reduces the evaporative losses at
200 the tails dam and reduces freshwater
requirements for the plant.

150
Yield Stress (Pa)

100

50

0
50% 60% 70%

Solid concentration %

The DRYFLOC P flocculant selection is made

on the basis of understanding the process
specific application requirements by the
SNF representative in consultation with the
customers technical and operations staff.

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DRYFLOC Flocculants and
DRYFLOC for Tailings
These products are used to help the tailings disposal either on ground
surface and underground disposal.

Mud disposal is greatly influenced using DRYFLOC T products. The

application of these products in the field leads to tailings that drain more
freely, have better distribution of fines and coarse material in the disposal
area and increased beach angles. As with the DRYFLOC P range, the product
selection and application is done by the SNF representative in consultation
with the customer staff. The different pictures shown below illustrate the
effect of DRYFLOC T on the slump and spread out on a mineral paste.

Depending on the product selection of application, the DRYFLOC T

products would help the TSF operator in:
° Increasing the water recovery and the drying ability,
° Increase the homogeneity of the tails slurry in
the disposal area and thus improve the mechanical
properties of the slurry as it dewaters
° Help to reduce dust emissions from TSF

Without application of DRYFLOC T

With application of DRYFLOC T

Coal tailings New South Wales

Rheology Modifiers 7

Product Line
The DRYFLOC standard line of products consists of low and medium anionic charged
polymers.

Recommended Dissolution time

Bulk Viscosity Viscosity Viscosity operating in DI water
DRYFLOC Density @ 5.0 g/l @ 2.5 g/l @1.0 g/l concentration @ 5g/l @25°C
DRYFLOC DX
DRYFLOC 20 E 0.75 100 25 10 5 180
DRYFLOC 05 E 0.80 500 250 70 5 90
DRYFLOC 10 E 0.80 950 450 150 5 60
In our modern challenging world,
DRYFLOC 13 E 0.80 1300 500 150 5 60
being a world class manufacturer
DRYFLOC 23 E 0.80 1600 600 200 3 60
creates a number of obligations
DRYFLOC 26 E 0.80 1700 650 250 3 60 from us to our customers. SNF
DRYFLOC 34 E 0.80 1800 700 300 3 60 commitment has always been and
DRYFLOC 45 E 0.80 1820 700 280 3 60 continues to be:
DRYFLOC SU13 E 0,80 1300 500 150 5 60 ° Manufacture our own products
DRYFLOC SU18 E 0,80 1500 550 170 5 60 at the lowest possible cost;
DRYFLOC SU25 E 0,80 1700 650 250 3 60 - without compromise on
DRYFLOC SU32 E 0,80 1800 700 300 3 60
Environmental, Health and
Safety standards,
- with continuous quality
NOTE: The letter at the end indicates the MW, it increases from A to F. improvement and
- security of supply through
vertical integration and
geographical diversity.
Technical Assistance
° Being a partner not just a supplier,
thus ensuring our customers that
SNF’S field specialists are there to help you select the optimum they get the right product for the
product for your plant conditions and to provide you with technical
assistance during all the steps of your project development.
right application. This ensures
the lowest total cost of ownership
of flocculants for the mineral
processing industries
Rheology and Settling Test The DRYFLOC product line has
been created as a result of adhering
SNF standard procedures include: to these fundamental commitments
° Vane stress rheology measurements of the SNF organisation.
° Static and Dynamic testing (dynamic rigs)
° Standardised procedures used by the cement and concrete
industry to characterise the workability of pastes.
 All rights reserved - September 2008 - Production: Altavia Connexion - RCS 343 410 999 - Photography Credits: SNF Australia

SNF sas
ZAC de Milieux
42163 Andrézieux Cedex
FRANCE
Tel : + 33 (0)477 36 86 00
Fax : + 33 (0)477 36 86 96
[email protected]
www.snf-group.com

The information in this document is provided in good faith. To our knowledge it reflects the truth.