Fine Size Dry Iron Ore Beneficiation Using Thin Bed Air Fluidized Dry Separator

Iron ore beneficiation is generally done through a wet processing route. The areas of water scarcity and owning to issues like slurry generation make wet processing route application a tougher one. At different stages of wet beneficiation, nearly 1 m3 of water is required for processing one tonne of iron ore. Processing the iron ore through a dry processing route may be considered an alternative method where the air is used as fluid media instead of water, which reduces the slurry generation. In the present study, iron ore feed with a size range of − 1 mm to + 0.1 mm with an assay of 58.28% Fe is subjected to dry processing on a thin/shallow bed air fluidized dry separator (TBAFDS). This unit is a gravity-based separator that utilizes the difference in minimum fluidization velocities of heavier and lighter particles. Airflow rate, frequency of deck vibration, and side tilt are three parameters that were considered for the experimentation. Iron ore processed in a single stage, nearly 4.5 to 5% enhancement of Fe content was achieved in heavy stream products of TBAFDS. The middling and light stream of the first stage is processed further in multistage on TBAFDS to increase the yield% of high Fe content product. At the end of the third stage, a product stream of 62.25% Fe content with a yield of 53.56% was achieved.