Flocculation and dispersion of dolomite by acrylate polymers

This paper reports a study of the flocculation and dispersion of suspensions of dolomite by acrylate polymers of various molecular weights.The mechanism by which dispersion of dolomite occurs is interpreted on the basis of experimental results of dispersion tests, zeta potential and polymer adsorption measurements. From these data, it is concluded that electrostatic effects must not be ignored in explaining the behaviour of mineral suspensions.In the specific case of dolomite, the electric charge interactions appear to play a fundamental role and to be mainly responsible for the dispersion effect observed with polymers of low molecular weight (± 10,000). At high pH values (between 9.5 and 11.2), dolomite slimes can be dispersed, although the coverage of the mineral surface by the polymer is limited to 25%. On the other hand, when a polymer of high molecular weight (about 1,000,000) is used, this factor reaches values above 50%.     

Parameter estimation and simulation of dependence of constant pressure batch dewatering on initial solids concentration

The problem of predicting dependence of constant pressure batch dewatering of particulate suspensions on feed solids concentration is considered. Scaling transformations which demonstrate that evolution in the cake consolidation stage of dewatering is governed by an underlying self-similar behavior are proposed. The self-similar master curve, which can be obtained using only one set of experimental dewatering data obtained with a feed suspension having solids concentration above the gel point, is employed for estimating dependence of key dewatering process parameters on feed solids concentration. Using the parameter estimates in a Darcy's law based dewatering model, it is shown that the complete evolution of dewatering for a desired feed solids concentration can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. The approach is simpler to implement in comparison to available pressure filtration models, which require several suspension characterization experiments.     

Field tests of an equation that describes the dewatering of clay suspensions on a sand bed

Previous laboratory work indicated that the dewatering of suspensions of kaolin and fine quartz on a sand bed could be described by a simple two-term equation with one term for the drainage component and one for the evaporation component.Field tests have been carried out at three sand-washing operations in Victoria to determine if the equation is applicable in practice.The thickened suspensions were dewatered to a solid when they were ponded in shallow depths onto a sand bed. The changes in solids content during the dewatering confirmed that the dewatering equation could be used in practice.The dewatering equation is potentially very useful since it can be used to calculate optimum ponding depths, and therefore the area required to dewater a given production of tailing.     

Reversible flocculation and deflocculation of ball clays

One of the main usages of ball clays is in the pottery industry. However, in order to transport the clay suspensions from the mine site, some distance away from the consumer, dewatering of the clay suspension must be performed. The main restriction is that any dewatering treatment must not interfere in obtaining deflocculated, free flowing suspensions required by the pottery manufacturer.Investigations in the flocculation/deflocculation of these clay suspensions, resulted in finding a technique capable of achieving both requirements. The technique employs flocculation by an anionic flocculant in the presence of 10 mM of magnesium sulfate, thus achieving the dewatering step. When the magnesium sulfate was removed from the flocculated suspensions by simply washing the filter cake, good deflocculation of the clay suspension was achieved at alkaline pH. The role of MgSO₄ in the flocculant adsorption/flocculation, and subsequently in the flocculant desorption/deflocculation, was discussed.     

Low-pressure dewatering kinetics of incompressible filter cakes,I. Variable total pressure loss or low-capacity systems

The process of dewatering incompressible filter cakes by vacuum pumps which cannot maintain vacuum (low-capacity suction systems) has been examined experimentally, and a theoretical model is proposed for interpretation of the results. Application of the model requires relative permeability and capillary pressure information which are obtained by applying empirical data combined with a mathematical model for permeability. The concepts of modified threshold pressure and pore size distribution index are utilised in the model, and their effects on dewatering dynamics are assessed.     

Low-pressure dewatering kinetics of incompressible filter cakes,II. Constant total pressure loss or high capacity systems

The dynamic dewatering model is extended to systems where the total pressure loss across the cake is constant (that is dewatering is effected by a pump which is able to maintain the vacuum). Using the model, prediction of dewatering characteristics is facilitated when a representative value is assigned to the pore size distribution index. The effects of altering process variables on the decreasing cake saturation and increasing air flow rate are quantified and discussed. The methods presented may be a useful tool for assessing changes in process variables or in the initial sizing of filters.     

Pétrographie et géochimie comparées des pellets phosphatés et de leur gangue dans le gisement phosphaté de Ras-Draâ (Tunisie). Implications sur la genèse des pellets phosphatés

Paléocène-Early Eocene phosphate outcrop in the Ras-Draâ deposit (Tunisia) comprises alternances of P-rich strata (P₂O₅ ≥ 18%) and P-poor ones (P₂O₅ ≤ 2%). In phosphate rich strata, P is concentrated in rounded grains—so-called pellets—(28% ≤ P₂O₅ ≤ 38%) embedded in a matrix—so-called exogangue—much poorer in P (P₂O₅ # 7%) than pellets. The study of pellets (whose size lies mainly between 100 and 500 μm), of their surrounding matrix and of poorly phosphatic sediments, interlayered between the phosphatic strata, has been performed by optical microscopy and various chemical analyses, ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy) and punctual chemical analyses by EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). Mineralogical and chemical studies of the Tunisian phosphatic pellets show that the basic mineralogical component of these grains is carbonate-fluor-apatite, or francolite. The structural formula of a representative specimen of francolite in the basin is as follows: (Ca_4.63Mg_0.13Na_0.22)(PO₄)_2.51(CO₃)_0.48(OH_0.77F_0.23). The mineralogy of the constituents of the sediment surrounding pellets comprises carbonates, clays, silica (opal, quartz). Microscopic observations of Ras-Draâ phosphorites, added to geochemical results, establish that pellets are small bodies, allochtonous to their matrix and whose composition is independent of that of this matrix. Fecal cylindrical bodies and subspherical pellets, the latest being supposed to proceed from the fecal bodies by fragmentation, are considered to have been formed by fishes, as P-rich and organic matter-rich faeces. These faeces turn out to be resistant to mechanical dispersion and to chemical diffusion of soluble elements from and in direction of sea water. This closeness is responsible for the strong reducing conditions having prevailed inside and during the pellets diagenesis.     

Sedimentology, geochemistry and origin of phosphatic chalks: the Upper Cretaceous deposits of NW Europe

Santonian-Lower Campanian and Lower Maastrichtian phosphatic chalks in northern France, southern England and Belgium are Europe's largest sedimentary phosphatc deposits. The stratigraphy, sediment-ology, petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry of the lithofacies are reviewed and new data presented. Depositional and diagenetic models for phosphatic chalk deposits are developed using published experimental work and from observations of modern high- and low-productivity phosphogenic systems. It is concluded that phosphatic chalks were deposited in well-oxygenated, current-swept environments. Phosphatization required a delicate balance to be maintained between moderate organic carbon and carbonate sedimentation rates, reduced bulk sediment accumulation rate and an enhanced rate of bioturbation. Precipitation of carbonate-fluorapatite (francolite) accompanied the bacterially mediated decomposition of organic matter, occurring within centimetres of the sediment-seawater interface, and taking place preferentially within microbial bodies and coatings. In addition to the organically derived component, pore water phosphate levels were enhanced by phosphate absorbed on ferric oxyhydroxides which was liberated during iron reduction. Mineralization was probably a dominantly post-oxic process, but occurred in a thick sediment mixed layer in which marine organic matter was undergoing intense mixed aerobic and anaerobic microbial degradation. Phosphogenesis occurred predominantly on the NE margins of the Anglo-Paris Basin where shallower sea floors and suitable palaeoceanographic conditions prevailed. Phosphogenic episodes were limited by sea level fluctuations'which controlled the effectiveness of the erosional currents that formed and maintained the phosphatic basins and may have stimulated local productivity.     

Selective flocculation of synthetic mineral mixtures using modified polymers

The role of the presence of active groups in polymers and operating variables such as conditioning time in producing flocculation in single and mixed mineral slimes made of hematite, quartz and chalcopyrite is examined at different conditions of pH. Selective flocculation was achieved on the basis of results obtained for single mineral systems as, for example, in the case of hematite—quartz mixtures using sulfonated polymer. Flocculation was found to go through a maximum as the mineral was conditioned with the polymer solution. Interestingly, the times of maximum flocculation for various minerals were sufficiently different from each other so that it could be considered as a potential factor for achieving selectivity. Also, cleaning of the selectively flocculated product by simple redispersion in water improved the separation. Electrokinetic studies conducted to study the mechanisms involved provided indication for the shift of shear plane.     

Pillow-beds: a new type of seismites? An example from an Oligocene turbidite fan complex,Alicante, Spain

A new type of soft sediment deformed beds, termed ‘pillow-beds’, originally a packet of calcarenitic turbidites, show sand-in-sand loading with plane lower and upper surfaces. The pillow-beds have some resemblance to ball and pillow structures and they are considered to have formed as a result of dewatering. The pillow-beds are Oligocene in age and are part of turbidite lobes in a submarine fan system, which was fed through a canyon along the southern border of the ancient Iberian continent. Three hypotheses may explain their occurrence: overloading, sliding or seismic shock. A seismic origin is preferrred on the basis of the flat, undeformed lower surface of the pillow-beds, excluding dewatering of—and loading into—the previously deposited beds. Furthermore, the pillow-bed structures are related to grain size and may show repetitions, thus excluding sliding. The scale and nature of the pillow-beds suggest they could be the result of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6–7 on the Richter scale.     

Comparative study by infrared spectroscopy of the organic matter of phosphate-rich (Oulad Abdoun basin) and black shale (Timahdit basin) series (Morocco)

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to get quantitative information on the oxidation state of the organic matter of stable residues extracted from strata of the phosphate-rich basin of Oulad Abdoun and from oil shales of the Timahdit basin, Morocco.Throughout the respective filling of both basins the redox conditions have been more oxidizing in the top part of the sediments in Oulad Abdoun basin than in the Timahdit basin. This is interpreted as the result of the sedictural evolution of the basin Oulad Abdoun basin having evolved in stable platform conditions while the Timahdit basin evolved in subsiding ones.The phosphate-rich beds contain the more oxidized organic stable residues. Sedimentological evidence shows that the oxidation was associated reworking processes. These processes are responsible for the progressive concentration of the phosphatic grains and prove to be necessary for the P₂O₅ content to become higher than 10% this value being the highest encountered in the sediment within which the phosphatic grains form.     

长江三角洲地区深基坑降水与地面沉降模拟预测耦合模型研究

长江三角洲地区深基坑降水复杂,且极易引起地面沉降地质灾害问题,传统的基于地下水动力学原理的解析解模型(Theis公式或Dupuit公式)已难以满足降水设计模拟计算的需要,尤其是无法预测降水引起的地面沉降问题,深基坑降水与地面沉降耦合模型将地下水渗流模型和土体应力-应变模型耦合起来,可根据基坑地下水位的控制要求,同时模拟计算出降水井的布局、各井的开采量和地面沉降量。据此确定出的基坑降水方案既能满足地下水位的控制要求,又能对降水引起的地面沉降进行最优化控制。     

黑龙江宝清露天煤矿首采区多层含水层地下水数值模拟

露天煤矿开采的矿坑排水量和水位降深是决定煤矿首采时间的关键问题。利用GMS软件建立了黑龙江省东部宝清露天煤矿首采区三层含水层和两层弱透水层组成的地下水渗流数值模拟模型,再利用实测资料对所建立的模型进行了参数识别和模型验证。在综合考虑经济效益和降水效果的条件下,再利用该模型对不同方案下地下水流场的变化进行了预测,据此提出了露天煤矿首采区最优的布井方案（86眼降水井）及相应的开采量（95 718.84 m^3/d）,预测了首采区地下水位的下降过程（平均下降速度为0.17 m/d）。     

The stratigraphic record and processes of turbidity current transformation across deep‐marine lobes

Sedimentary facies in the distal parts of deep‐marine lobes can diverge significantly from those predicted by classical turbidite models, and sedimentological processes in these environments are poorly understood. This gap may be bridged using outcrop studies and theoretical models. In the Skoorsteenberg Formation (South Africa), a downstream transition from thickly bedded turbidite sandstones to argillaceous, internally layered hybrid beds, is observed. The hybrid beds have a characteristic stratigraphic and spatial distribution, being associated with bed successions which generally coarsen and thicken‐upward reflecting deposition on the fringes of lobes in a dominantly progradational system. Using a detailed characterization of bed types, including grain size, grain‐fabric and mineralogical analyses, a process‐model for flow evolution is developed. This is explored using a numerical suspension capacity model for radially spreading and decelerating turbidity currents. The new model shows how decelerating sediment suspensions can reach a critical suspension capacity threshold beyond which grains are not supported by fluid turbulence. Sand and silt particles, settling together with flocculated clay, may form low yield strength cohesive flows; development of these higher concentration lower boundary layer flows inhibits transfer of turbulent kinetic energy into the upper parts of the flow ultimately resulting in catastrophic loss of turbulence and collapse of the upper part of the flow. Advection distances of the now transitional to laminar flow are relatively long (several kilometres) suggesting relatively slow dewatering (several hours) of the low yield strength flows. The catastrophic loss of turbulence accounts for the presence of such beds in other fine‐grained systems without invoking external controls or large‐scale flow partitioning and also explains the abrupt pinch‐out of all divisions of these sandstones. Estimation of the point of flow transformation is a useful tool in the prediction of heterogeneity distribution in subsurface systems.     

洗砂泥浆压滤脱水性能及快速检测方法

工程渣土在水洗砂过程中产生的洗砂泥浆存在脱水效果差、不稳定的问题,这与泥浆的脱水性能密切相关。通过模拟现场洗砂工艺获得不同脱水性能的洗砂泥浆,开展了改进滤失试验及模拟压滤试验,研究了洗砂泥浆脱水性能受洗砂工艺的影响规律,获得了一种能够快速表征泥浆脱水性能的指标,用以指导优化渣土洗砂工艺。结果表明：洗砂泥浆脱水性能受洗砂粒径和加水量影响明显,滤失量及渗透系数与脱水性能有较好的相关关系;而30 min滤失量与最终滤失量、最终泥饼含水率呈现较好的相关性,能够较准确地反映泥浆脱水性能;经模拟压滤试验进一步验证,30 min滤失量可以作为洗砂泥浆脱水性能的快速表征指标。基于此提出了一套洗砂泥浆脱水性能的快速检测及工程渣土洗砂工艺优化方法,能够及时为洗砂工艺参数调整提供指导,以获得脱水性能较优的洗砂泥浆,最终使脱水效果得以改善和稳定。     

Depositional and palaeoenvironmental variation of lower Turonian nearshore facies in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin,Czech Republic

Dark grey strata belonging to the basal horizons of the Bílá Hora Formation (lower Turonian) were exposed during quarrying at the locality of Plaňany (Bohemian Cretaceous Basin). Based mainly on quarry maps, the early Turonian rocky bottom was reconstructed in the area of about 14,800 m². Two sedimentologic and palaeoecological settings were recognized in the area. Dark grey deposits form part of the first setting, representing a fill of large and deep depressions on the northern foot of the Plaňany elevation. The second setting with a phosphatic lag is located on the elevated part of the area. Dark grey sedimentation belongs to the UC6a and particularly to the UC6b nannoplankton zones. During the latter zone the dark sedimentation passed upwards into light siltstones. The enrichment of C_org and S, clay minerals with an important kaolinite peak, formation of framboidal pyrite and the enrichment of macrofauna and phosphatic particles are characteristic of the basal portions of the dark deposits. The sulphate reduction zone is suggested for this sedimentary environment. In the associations of phosphatic particles, shark coprolites, faecal pellets and sponge fragments prevail. No phosphatic lag is developed. On the other hand, the phosphatic lag directly overlying the Cenomanian relics is most characteristic of the second setting. This lag is a product of sedimentary condensation, characterized by a long-lasting concentration of phosphatic particles and phosphogenesis, accompanied by encrustation of closely adjacent free rock surfaces by a faunal community with Terebella. Additional biostratigraphic data presently contributed to a proposed correlation of both settings. Micropalaeontological data (foraminifera, palynomorphs, nannoplankton) indicate that the phosphatic lag and basal dark grey deposits may be approximately coeval. The stagnant depositional conditions with only very slow sea-level rise are thought to have lasted for a relatively long period that includes a significant part of the Whiteinella archaeocretacea Zone (lowermost Turonian). In elevated parts, condensation could proceed under conditions of prevailingly weak currents and strong oxidation of organic matter, while decomposition of organic matter was probably very slow and incomplete in depressions below the elevation. The sedimentary condensation in both settings is highlighted by the remarkable formation of abundant glauconite in local deposits.     

Assessment of Some Hydraulic Properties of Slime Slurries from Sand Mining Pits Using a Modified Triaxial Cell

The generation of massive volume of slimes from sand mining industry ascertains the need for effective waste treatment. The application of slimes in landfill barrier construction works has been identified as one of the processes that can be used to reduce their volume, enabling in this way the rehabilitation of dangerous sites. This article presents a modified triaxial cell specially built to investigate high water content soils and discusses the results obtained from the investigation of the hydraulic properties of two slimes. The results of laboratory filter cake tests show that the slimes have reasonably good sealing capacities due to the formation of a cake layer on other porous materials upon draining. A relatively low hydraulic conductivity (1.5–3 × 10⁻⁹ m/s) was achieved, once the cake layer was formed. This is close to the prescribed 1 × 10⁻⁹ m/s required by the local environmental governmental authority for a landfill hydraulic barrier material, indicating their potential suitability as landfill barrier.     

Parameterization,sensitivity analysis,and inversion: an investigation using groundwater modeling of the surface-mined Tivoli-Guidonia basin (Metropolitan City of Rome,Italy)

With respect to model parameterization and sensitivity analysis, this work uses a practical example to suggest that methods that start with simple models and use computationally frugal model analysis methods remain valuable in any toolbox of model development methods. In this work, groundwater model calibration starts with a simple parameterization that evolves into a moderately complex model. The model is developed for a water management study of the Tivoli-Guidonia basin (Rome, Italy) where surface mining has been conducted in conjunction with substantial dewatering. The approach to model development used in this work employs repeated analysis using sensitivity and inverse methods, including use of a new observation-stacked parameter importance graph. The methods are highly parallelizable and require few model runs, which make the repeated analyses and attendant insights possible. The success of a model development design can be measured by insights attained and demonstrated model accuracy relevant to predictions. Example insights were obtained: (1) A long-held belief that, except for a few distinct fractures, the travertine is homogeneous was found to be inadequate, and (2) The dewatering pumping rate is more critical to model accuracy than expected. The latter insight motivated additional data collection and improved pumpage estimates. Validation tests using three other recharge and pumpage conditions suggest good accuracy for the predictions considered. The model was used to evaluate management scenarios and showed that similar dewatering results could be achieved using 20 % less pumped water, but would require installing newly positioned wells and cooperation between mine owners.     

滇东寒武系磷矿成因新见解——风暴成矿模式初探

近年来,随着风暴流和风暴岩的新理论、新概念的不断引入,在分析沉积环境、沉积成矿作用时,不断提出了许多新思路,也不断地冲击和修正以往的传统认识,作者于1986年随同成都地矿所寒武系磷矿专题组对滇东一带包括昆阳梅树村、海口、鸣矣河、晋宁王家湾、二街、八街、安宁白登、江川清水沟、宜良大滴水、寻甸先锋等矿区的磷矿进行了详细的研究,在下寒武统中谊村段及其相当的地层中发现了多层磷质风暴沉积物。本文拟概略介绍磷质风暴沉积物的标志、特征、剖面结构并初步探讨磷矿富集与风暴事件关系的沉积演化模式。