From Inefficient Grinding to Efficient Grinding with Turbo

The grinding process consumes a great deal
of energy and is the biggest single cost in the
minerals processing industry. Outotec has
made thorough research to reduce the energy
consumption of the grinding process and
developed an excellent solution to this problem
– the Turbo Pulp Lifter™, a solution that ensures
mills to operate at their highest grinding
efficiency and thus achieve maximum possible
capacity at much lower energy consumption.
Outotec In Actio
From Inefficient Grinding to
Efficient Grinding with Turbo Pulp Lifter™
Sanjeeva explains that if you can eliminate
this internal circulation, then a great deal
of energy could be saved, and that’s just
what the Turbo Pulp Lifter™ (TPL) does.
"When the particles are broken and have
passed through the mill grate, the new
technology extracts them out of the mill,
totally cutting the process of internal
circulation", he continues. "The TPL
ensures the best grinding conditions by
allowing the product-size particles to pass
more quickly
"In a grinding mill, we apply
energy, the particles break,
and then we have to take the
product size particles out
at the same rate at which
they
are
breaking-very
similar to what happens
in
Dr
crushers",
Sanjeeva
explains
Latchireddi,
Global Technology Manager
of the product. "If we use
energy to break the new
“Turbo Pulp Lifter™ has
significantly surpassed our
expectations in terms of
throughput enhancements,
general operation and
electrical cost savings“
Julius Stieger
Cortez Gold Mines, Process Superintendent
and coarser particles, we
through
the
discharge
grate.
By
doing
this,
the contents
in
the
grinding mill
are reduced,
at the same
time reducing
the
drawn
power
by
could say the energy is used effectively. But with the
the mill. There is therefore a lower
conventional types of pulp lifters, be they radial or
proportional power requirement and a
curved, where the product size particles and slurry, flow
substantial amount of energy is saved in
back into the mill (due to the internal circulation caused
comparison to the same amount of work
by flow-back and carry-over) and are subjected for over-
being done by a conventional mill".
grinding which results in inefficient energy utilization".
"The solution we came up with was not the only possible
• Increases mill capacity
• Reduces energy consumption
• Effective grinding action
• Efficient operation at all
mill speeds
• Minimizes excessive fines
generation
solution to the problem, but it was the only total solution.
Mills are enormous devices built up to 12 metres in
diameter and several meters long, and massive amounts
of energy is being wasted due to inefficient performance
of the mills. In the industry, we have rule of thumb that
says that, in conventional circumstances, just 5-10 %
of the energy is actually used to break the particles.
It’s therefore very important that you don’t over-grind
the material, but just grind. The TPL technology helps
to keep everything is in balance by creating efficient
material transfer inside and out of the mill, so that
a correct size product (transfer size) is produced to
automatically increase the energy efficiency of the ball
mill circuit".
Because
of
Gold Mines in Nevada, USA. Julius Stieger, Process
Superintendent at the mines bears testimony to the
excellent results achieved by TPL. "I can confidently say
the
optimal
design
and
discharge
arrangement embodied by the Turbo Pulp Lifter™,
retrofitting any AG/SAG/Ball mills with TPL technology
can make a big difference to plant efficiency and, of
course the profits. The industrial applications have
proven that the mill capacity can be increased by up to
20% and energy consumption per tonne can be reduced
that Turbo Pulp Lifter has significantly surpassed our
expectations in terms of throughput enhancements,
general operation and electrical cost savings". Another
operator commented, "We could never run steady and
with confidence like this before with the old design
for fear of the SAG mill getting quickly out of control".
Cortez estimates that it is saving about US$ 700,000
by about the same amount.
every year in power costs.
One of the plants where the new technology has been
Besides improved profitability, the achieved energy
successfully introduced is in the SAG mill at the Cortez
savings naturally make a positive impact on our
environment. A carbon dioxide emission analysis
carried out along Outotec’s participation in the Carbon
Disclosure Project 2010 illustrated that the annual CO2
emissions avoided through use of Outotec Turbo Pulp
Lifter amounts to 4,353.8 metric tonnes of CO2 (Outotec
CDP report 2010).
In
summary,
significantly
besides
lower
increased
energy
production
consumption,
and
higher
availability and lower operating costs are all notable
results from the adoption of TPL technology. The Turbo
Pulp Lifter™ is truly an all-round solution to enhance
the performance of the grinding circuits of Outotec
customers. The best thing is that work is constantly
being done to achieve an even better result!
Outotec innovates, develops and delivers sustainable technology and service solutions
to minerals, metals, chemical and energy industries. Outotec collaborates lifelong
with its customers in order to optimize the utilization of raw materials and energy
efficiency as well as to minimize the environmental impact and operating costs.
Contact us at
[email protected]
www.outotec.com