Energy efficient slurry holding and transport

Slurry suspension in holding tanks and transport through pipelines are essential elements in the modern mining and mineral processing industry. This paper presents methods to improve the energy efficiency of solids suspension in tanks and slurry transport through pipelines for low viscosity Newtonian slurries. Research has been conducted using laboratory experiments and analysis using established equations. It is shown that there are many similarities between these two traditionally separated research areas. It is concluded that energy per unit solids mass generally varies with solids concentration for both systems. The specific energy can be minimised by operating at a suitable solids concentration, for example in the range of 20–30% (v/v) for the slurry properties considered in this paper. It is also concluded that the specific energy generally decreases with the size of equipment, i.e. tank diameter or pipe diameter, although this effect tends to plateau at large sizes. It was found that when a slurry pipeline is used as a reactor, it generally requires more power to suspend solids per unit solids mass than a mixing tank. Great energy saving can be achieved by operating a slurry tank with baffles removed, if off-bottom solids suspension is the limiting factor. Basic equations for specific energy consumption (SEC) are included.