Enhancing an industrial feedwell design and operation using computational fluid dynamics

Thickeners are important units for water recovery in various industries. In this study, a vane feedwell has been investigated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The population balance model is used to describe particle aggregation and breakup. The Eulerian–Eulerian approach with RNG k–ɛ turbulence model is applied to describe two phases of slurry flow in the feedwell under steady-state condition. The simulation results are compared with the operating data of a mineral plant and a reasonable agreement is achieved. Different design variations are evaluated to improve performance of vane feedwell. In addition, the effect of important parameters such as outlet velocity, turbulence dissipation rate, feed flow rate, solid percentage in the feed, and average diameter of the output particles on the feedwell performance is studied, and the optimum feedwell feed flow rate, geometry of feed channel and solid particles in slurry are obtained using the developed CFD model. The results of this study are in general helpful for improving the performance of thickeners, particularly in the copper industry.