expanding applications in dry triboelectric separation of

Separation Technologies LLC

Expanding Applications in Dry Triboelectric Separationof Minerals

James D. Bittner, Sc.D.April 2014

Who are we? What do we do?

ST Patented Triboelectrostatic Belt Separator

ST Experience with Industrial Minerals

Economic Comparison: Flotation vs ST Electrostatic

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Conventional Electrostatic Separation

Dry Triboelectric Separation of Minerals

Startup founded by MIT engineer to develop Triboelectric Belt Separator

Titan America acquires ST. First international project in Scotland

Fly ash installations at 14 power plants. 20 separators in 5 countries: US, UK,Canada, Poland, South Korea

ST begins commercial fly ash processing.

1989 1995 2002 2011

+ Mineral Activity

Who are we? What do we do? History of Separation Technologies

Group Overview Founded in Greece in 1902 More than €1 billion sales in 2012

14 cement plants in Europe, East Med and US Concrete, aggregates, mortars and fly ash

Global Presence

Titan Cement Group A vertically-integrated, multiregional building materials company

A developer and manufacturer of triboelectric separators

Licensing our technology and sale of equipment to minerals and fly ash industries

Building, Owning, Operating processing plants and Marketing Fly Ash from coal-fired power plants to process high LOI fly ash

Who we are

Our business models

Separation Technologies LLC A Titan America Business





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Separates conductors from non-conductors

All particles must contact drum surface

Lower particle size limit: ~75μm

Source: Elder and Yan, 2003

Example: Corona Charging

Existing Drum Electrostatic Separators Have Limitations

Physical footprint

Single stage separation

Must maintain laminar flow

Avoid particle-to-particle contact in separation zone

• Large electrode gap

• High applied voltage

• Low particle loading

• Low throughput / capacity

Source: Elder and Yan, 2003

LimitationsParticles develop charge by

contact with charger

Particle Size Effects Too large – No separation

Too small – Collects on Electrodes

Motion influenced by aerodynamics

Lower particle size limit of ~75μm

Existing Free Fall Triboelectric Separators are limited in Particle Size and Capacity





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Charged by particle-to-particle contact (Transfer of electrons based on different surface chemistry – “work function”)

Does not depend on electrical conductivity of particles (Separates dielectric materials “corona” separators cannot)

Effective on particles from <1μm to 300μm

ST unique patented technology offers many advantages

YOUR LOGO

The ST Triboelectric Belt Separator

Fundamentals of ST ProcessSchematic of the Separator and Electrode Gap

(‐ve) Mineral A

(+ve) Mineral B

Belt Direction

Belt Direction

Belt

Bottom Positive Electrode

Top Negative Electrode

(+ve) Mineral B End (-ve) Mineral A End

Dynamic Action of Belt is Key

Small gap and vigorous agitationHigh electric field strength with moderate applied voltage (typ. 8 - 16 kV)High efficiency multi-stage separation through charging/recharging & internal recycle

Very low residence times ~1 sec

Large particle size range <1 μm to ~300 μm

High capacity 40 -50 TPH

Multi-stage separation occurs in a single pass

Opt

imiz

atio

n

Feed Conditioning Operational Variables

• Feed Point• Belt Speed • Electrode Gap• Electrode Voltage• Feed Rate

Enables consistent product from highly variable feed material

Fundamentals of ST ProcessMultiple parameters available for optimization

The consistent quality of product is independent from feed variability

More than 15 m tonnes of ProAsh produced in 15 different plants

Plant Location Country Separators

Start Year

New England Power Salem, MA 1 1995/2006

Duke Energy Roxboro, NC 2 1997/1998

CPSG Brandon Shores, MD 2 1999/2005

Scottish Power Longannet, Scotland 1 2002

Jacksonville Electric SJRPP Jacksonville, FL 2 2003/2004

SMEPA Morrow, MS 1 2004

NB Power Belledune, NB 1 2005

RWE Didcot, England 1 2005/2013

PP&L Brunner Island, PA 2 2007/2008

TECO Big Bend, FL 3 2008

RWE Aberthaw, Wales 1 2008

EDF Energy W. Burton, England 1 2008

ZGP (Lafarge / Ciech) Janikowo, Poland 1 2011

KOSEP YONG HEUNG 5 & 6 1+1 2014

Duke Energy North Carolina 2 2014

Siekerki (Lafarge/Vatenfall) Warsaw, Poland 1 2015

To be announced Poland 1 2015





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ST Separator applicable to any dry mixture of discrete particles Differential charging between particles of different surface chemistry Performance depends on

• Particle surface chemistry• Size distribution• Shape• Surface Moisture• Aging • Contaminants

New applications must be empirically investigated in ST pilot plant

ST Experience with Industrial Minerals Mineral Applications

Electrostatic Mineral Separation Experience

Potash – Halite

Talc – Magnesite

Limestone – Quartz

Brucite – Quartz

Iron Oxide – Silica

Phosphate – Calcite – Silica

Mica – Feldspar – Quartz

Wollastonite – Quartz

Magnesite - Quartz

Barite – Silicates

Zircon – Rutile

Zircon-Kyanite

Carbon – Aluminosilicates

Beryl – Quartz

Fluorite – Silica

Fluorite – Barite – Calcite

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Electrostatic Mineral Separations

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Limestone Talc

Other sources of CaCO3 also successfully processed

Res

ults

Reduce quartz / silicate content

Feed: SiO2 content 9.5%

Recover max quantity of CaCO3

Reduce magnesite content

Feed: 58% talc / 42% magnesite

Goa

ls

Recovered product• SiO2 content <1%

• 82% mass recovery of feed

• 89% CaCO3 recovery

Improved Brightness

Two grades produced• 95% talc – 77% talc recovery

• 88% talc - 82% talc recovery

Other sources of talc also successfully processed

ST Experience with Industrial Minerals Limestone and Talc

Charge conditioning agents expand applications

Small amounts of organic chemicals create/enhance differential charging NaCl from KCl by addition of 50g/ton salicylic acid (US Patent 4,767,506)

Sillimanite from Quartz by addition of benzoic acid (US Patent 2,593,431)

ST work in progress - Zircon from Kyanite (mineral sands tailings)

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Oleic Acid Dosage (g/tonne)Product ZrO2 Feed ZrO2 ZrO2 recovery





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ST Electrostatic CAPEX and OPEX are less than Flotation

Comparative study by Soutex Inc of Quebec City, Canada Flow sheet development, mass balances, equipment sized and quoted Capital costs and operating costs

Removal of Silica from Low Grade Barite Basis: 200,000 Tpy feed ~82%BaSO4 3.78 Specific Gravity (SG)

Concentrate product ~92%BaSO4 4.21 SG Concentrate mass yield 74%

Flotation based on Indian National Metallurgucal Laboratory pilot plant study Electrostatic based on ST pilot plant studies with similar ores Battery Limits – Wet or dry grinding through tailings wet conditioned for

storageDid not include cost of process water or water treatment

Barite Flotation flow sheet is complex

Barite ST Electrostatic flow sheet is simpler

Barite ST Electrostatic flow sheet is simpler

Sector Flotation ST Dry

Grinding Circuit Wet pulp ball mill with cyclone classifier

Dry vertical roller mill with dynamic classifier

Beneficiation Circuit Three stage flotation Single stage triboelectricseparator

Dewatering Circuit Thickeners, press filters and kiln dryer

No equipment required

ST Electrostatic CAPEX and OPEX are less than Flotation

Capex and Opex of crushing are the same for both processes and are not included

Total Cost of Ownership over 10 year period; Discount Rate = 8%

Overall Costs Wet Beneficiation(Flotation)

Dry Beneficiation (ST Triboelectrostatic)

CAPEX Equipment 100% 94.5%Total CAPEX 100% 63.2%Annual OPEX 100% 75.8%Unitary OPEX ($/ton conc.) 100% 75.8%Total Cost of Ownership 100% 70.0%

Cost Comparison

Small physical footprint

Sustainability Benefits Further Benefits

Dry process

Low energy consumption 1-2 kWh/ton

Environmentally friendly

No water / no wastewater treatment little to no chemicals Easy to permit – single dust collector

High rate: up to 40-50 TPH

Separates fine to moderately coarse particles: <1μm to ~300μm (liberation size does matter)

Ease of operation

p

Rapid start-up and shut-down Rapid response to feed variability Amenable to feed forward / back

automation Limited qualification of operators

required Easy to produce several grades of

products

ST Separator BenefitsA sustainable separation process

Resource Optimization

use of lower quality ore

Dr. James Bittner, ScDVice President Technology

(+1) [email protected]

Mr. Herve GuicherdDirector, Business Development – Minerals


Mr. Frank HrachDirector, Process Engineering


Contact InformationSeparation Technologies LLC

expanding applications in dry triboelectric separation of

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