Characterization and processing of silica sand using spiral concentrator
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Date
2016-06
Authors
Pugalyenthiran Sinaiyah
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Abstract
In present study, the characterisation and processing of silica sand was done using spiral concentrator. The main aim of this investigation is to upgrade the silica content of the tailing sand for glassmaking process. Hence, particle size distribution analysis and XRF analysis were carried out on the raw sample at the initial stage of the investigation. The raw sample was sieved to prepare the feed sample in the size range of -600+75μm, which was the suitable particle size range for glassmaking process. For this purpose, the three significant operational parameters of spiral concentrator, namely feed rate (t/h), percent solid by weight of the feed (%) and splitter position (cm) were manipulated to observe their effects on the silica concentration. From XRF analysis results, it was observed that, maximum silica content of 94.9883% was achieved at feed percent solid by weight of 25%, feed rate of 0.627 t/h, and splitter position of 5.5cm. Similarly, maximum recovery of 89.74% can be achieved at the feed percent solid by weight of 15%, feed rate of 0.447 t/h and splitter position of 5.0cm. Although the maximum silica content achieved is suitable for glassmaking, the ferric oxide content crossed the limit permitted by the British Standard Specification for glassmaking. Hence, the raw sample used are not suitable for glassmaking after processed using spiral concentrator without further purifying process. Then, statistical analysis was done to determine the effects of the three variables on the two responses of this study. From the analysis, it was found that the feed rate and percent solid by weight of the feed had significant effect on the separation. While, the splitter position in the investigated range which was 4.5cm to 5.5cm showed insignificant effect on the percentage and recovery of SiO2 in the middling fraction.