Principles and types of

classifiers
The ores that are mined from deposits
contain the valuable minerals attached to
and enclosed in lumps of waste rock. The
processing like crushing will disintegrate
and unlock the values from the waste, so
that the methods of separation will be able
to part the valuable one from the other.
Separation is attempted through two
methods: i. Screening and ii. Classification.
SCREENING :
Screening is generally carried out on
relatively coarse material, as the efficiency
decreases rapidly with fineness. Screening is
generally limited to materials above about
250 microns in size, finer sizing normally
being undertaken by classification.
CLASSIFICATION:
Size control of particles finer than 1 mm, are
out of the practical range of conventional
screens. Separation of such particles is
carried out by a different process known as
classification. Classification is defined as a
method of separating mixtures of mineral
particles into two or more products
according to their settling velocities in
water, in air or in other fluids.
Since the velocity of particles in a fluid
medium is dependent not only on the size,
but also on the specific gravity and shape of
the particles, the principles of classification
are important in mineral separations
utilising gravity concentrators.
Classification implies the sorting of
particulate material into different size
ranges. It is a method of separation of fines
from coarse particles and also lighter
particles from heavier particles. Usually the
principle of the classification is based upon
the various densities, specific gravity,
terminal falling velocities of particles in
liquid and in air.
Principles of classification: When a solid
particle falls freely in a vacuum, it is subject
to constant acceleration and its velocity
increases indefinitely, being independent of
size and density. Thus a lump of lead and a
feather may fall at exactly the same rate.
In a viscous medium, such as air or water,
there is resistance to this movement and the
value increases with velocity. When
equilibrium is attained between the
gravitational and fluid resistances forces, the
body reaches its terminal velocity and
thereafter falls at a uniform rate. The nature
of the resistance depends on the velocity of
the descent. Effectively all resistance to
motion is due to the shear forces or
viscosity of the fluid. This is called as
viscous resistance. At high velocities the
main resistance is due to the displacement of
fluid by the body, and viscous resistance is
relatively small; this is known as turbulent
resistance.

Classifiers:
The equipment used for such classification
are called as classifiers. Classifiers consist
essentially of a sorting column in which a
fluid is rising at a uniform rate. Particles
introduced into the sorting column either
sink or rise according to whether their
terminal velocities are greater or lesser than
the upward velocity of the fluid. The sorting
column therefore separates the feed into two
products and overflow consisting of
particles with terminal velocities lesser than
the velocity of the fluid and an underflow or
spigot product of particles with terminal
velocities greater than the rising velocity.

Types of Classifiers:
Industrial classification may be carried out
in different types of classifiers and these
classifiers are; hydraulic classifiers,
mechanical classifiers and cyclones.
Basically they all work according to the
principle that the particles are suspended in
water which has a slight upward movement
relative to the particles. Particles below a
certain size and density are carried away
with the water-flow, whereas the coarser and
heavier particles will settle.
Static classifiers:
Static air classifiers achieve accurate
separations from 1.4 mm (12 mesh) to 20μm
(635 mesh). The static air classifiers are
designed to achieve extremely accurate
separations even though they contain no
moving elements in the airstream. This is
achieved through airflow design and use of
recirculating, secondary airflow on finer
separations to scrub the coarse product
before it is discharged. Static air classifiers
achieve accurate separations from 1.4 mm
(12 mesh) to 20μm (635 mesh). The static
air classifiers are designed to achieve
extremely accurate separations.
Dynamic classifiers
The dynamic air classifiers are built to suit a
range of applications and systems and have
been often installed on air swept mills
circuits. The gyrotor, a rotating vane air
classifier, separates dry, solid, homogenous
particles by size. Delta-sizers are designed
for accurate separation of dry feeds at high
efficiency and low power consumption on a
continuous basis. The dynamic air
classifiers are built to suit a range of
applications and systems and have been
often installed on air swept mills circuits.
The gyrotor, a rotating vane air classifier,
separates dry, solid, homogenous particles
by size.

Wet classification: When the crushed fine

particles are put into a water body, the
following mechanisms happen: 1. Coarse
particles move faster than fine particles at
equal density. 2. High density particles
move faster than low density particles at
equal size. If a particle has no interference
from other particles it moves faster than a
particle surrounded by other particles due to
increased density and viscosity of the slurry.
This is called free and hindered movement
and is valid both for gravity and centrifugal
classification.
Wet classifiers
Wet classifiers are based on the principle
that separation of coarse particles from fine
particles by liquid fluidization. The
fundamental principle of wet classification
is that coarse particles move faster than fine
particles at equal density and high density
particles move faster than low density
particles at equal size. Further movement of
the particle in the fluid can be either free
movement or hindered movement. If a
particle has no interference from other
particles it moves faster than a particle
surrounded by other particles due to
increased density and viscosity of the slurry.
This is called free and hindered movement
and is valid both for gravity and centrifugal
classification.
Basically all methods work according to the
principle that the particles are suspended in
water which has a slight upward movement
relative to the particles. Particles below a
certain size and density are carried away
with the water-flow, whereas the coarser and
heavier particles settle. Basically the
different wet classifiers are gravity settling
tank, cone classifier, double cone classifier,
hydrocyclone classifier, spiral classifier, and
rake classifier.
Gravity settling tank Gravity settling tank
is the simplest type of classifier. Here the
separation is based on the influence of
gravity and terminal falling velocity. Slurry
with wide range of particles is given as feed.
Heavier/coarse particles settle faster at the
bottom near the inlet while fine particles are
carried away in the outlet.

Dry classification: The Static and

dynamic air classifiers offer solutions in
combination with ancillary equipment to
meet the demands of almost any dry
separation requirement. This equipment
offers solutions to the mining, construction,
industrial mineral and chemical industries.
The aerodynamic characteristic of a
particular material is primarily a function of
the size, geometry, and density of the
particles. The process consists of the
interaction of a moving stream of air,
material particles, and the gravitational force
within a confined volume. In the interaction,
the drag force and the gravitational force are
exerted in different directions upon the
material particles. The result is that material
particles that have a large drag-to weight
ratio are suspended in the air stream,
whereas components that have a small ratio
tend to settle out of the air stream.

Classifiers used in Mineral

processing:

The following are the widely used classifiers

used in mineral processing industries. 1)
Spiral Classifier 2) Screw/Spiral Classifier
Capacity Table 3) Cone or Pyramid
Classifier 4) Cross-Flow Classifier- Spiral-
Screw Classifier Capacity Table 5)
Hydraulic Classifier 6) Hydro-classifier-
Hydroclassifier Capacity Table 7) Rake
Classifier 8) Rotary High Weir Classifier.

Spiral Classifiers:
Mechanical classifiers such as the spiral
and rake classifiers work in a similar fashion
in that both drag sediment and sand along
the bottom of an inclined surface to a higher
discharge point on one end of the settling
chamber. The primary difference in the two
systems is the mechanism by which the
settled material is moved up the inclined
surface. Spiral classifiers are generally
preferred as material does not slide
backwards which occurs in rake classifiers
when the rakes are lifted between strokes.
This also allows spiral classifiers to operate
at steeper inclines producing a drier product.
The spiral classifier also produces less
turbulence in the settling pool allowing for
separation of finer material.
Cone or Pyramid Classifier:
Cone Classifiers are built in two types, one
operating on the density of the pulp in the
cone, and the other on the hydraulic or
mechanical movement of the pulp. Cone
classifiers have application in ore-dressing,
chemical and industrial processes for
classification, dewatering, de-sliming,
leaching and washing. The body of the
separator can be conical or pyramidal in
shape, to suit best the physical requirements
of the location.
Hydraulic classifiers :
 Hydraulic Classifier is designed for use in
gravity concentration mills for preparing a
classified feed for table concentration. The
classifier compartments are provided with
glass sides so that the conditions existing in
each chamber can readily be observed. Only
enough water is necessary to keep the solids
in full teeter.
There are two types of settling conditions as
free settling and hindered settling. b) Free
settling classifiers In free settling particles
move down freely without any disturbance
of the other particles, when an upward
current of fluid flow is carried out. Free
settling classifiers are essentially large
pools, ponds or conical bottomed tanks with
a free settling zone. The coarser particles
sink first and are removed from the bottom
of the settling zone. These units are simple
in design but often inefficient in sorting and
sizing. c) In hindered settling: In hindered
settling, particles are mixed in sizes, shapes,
gravities, in a crowded mass. A hydraulic,
hindered bed settler exploits differences in
the settling rates of particles. The particles
settle against a rising current of water in a
series of sorting chambers or conical
pockets. The relative rate of settling against
the varying up-flow currents in each of the
conical pockets provides recovery of the
different sized particles in each of the
chambers.
Hydrocyclones (Cyclones):
Hydrocyclones have become one of the
most important and widely used classifiers
in the mineral processing industry. They are
also used for de-sliming, de-watering, de-
gritting and thickening processes. They are
most commonly employed in closed circuit
within grinding circuits and are used to
return coarse material back to the ball or rod
mill for further grinding. The main
advantages of cyclones is that they have
large capacities relative to their size and can
separate at finer sizes than most other
screening and classification equipment. A
hydrocyclone will normally have a
cylindrical section at the top where liquid is
being fed tangentially, and a conical base.
The angle, and hence length of the conical
section, plays a role in determining
operating characteristics. A hydrocyclone
is a classifier that has two exits on the axis:
one on the bottom (underflow or reject) and
one at the top (overflow or accept).
The separation mechanism in
hydrocyclones relies on centrifugal force to
accelerate the settling of particles. The
slurry enters the cylindrical section
tangentially above a conical section. The
velocity of the slurry increases as it follows
a downward helical path from the inlet area
to the smaller diameter underflow end. As
the slurry flows along this path, centrifugal
forces cause the larger and denser particles
to migrate to the fluid layer nearest the wall
of the cone. Meanwhile, the finer or lower
specific gravity particles remain in, migrate
to, or are displaced toward the center axis of
the cone. As the swirling slurry approaches
the underflow tip, smaller and lighter
material closer to the center reverses its
axial direction and follows a smaller
diameter rotating path back toward the top
overflow discharge pipe. Hydrocyclones
also find application in the separation of
liquids of different densities. The geometry
of the cyclone involves-inlet shape and area,
cyclone dimensions (cone angle, length of
cylindrical section and total length of the
cyclone) and inlet, vortex and apex
diameters. A hydrocyclone is most often
used to separate "heavies" from a liquid
mixture originating at a centrifugal pump or
some other continuous source of pressurized
liquid. A hydrocyclone is most likely to be
the right choice for processes where "lights"
are the greater part of the mixture and where
the "heavies" settle fairly easily.
Vanning Method:
Vanning is a type of ore dressing by
which ores are washed on a shovel.
Typically, a powdered sample of ore stuff is
swirled with water on the blade of a shovel
and then given a series of upward flicking
motions. The heavier ore is tossed up
through the water and appears as a crescent
shaped patch at the top of the charge with
the lighter gangue below. The underflow is
generally the denser or coarser fraction,
while the overflow is the lighter or finer
fraction. It has no moving parts and its
operation depends two major parameters: 1.
the characteristics of the feed stream. 2.the
geometry of the cyclone.
Cyclonic separation :
Cyclonic separation is a method of
removing particulates from an air, gas or
liquid stream, without the use of filters,
through vortex separation. When removing
particulate matter from liquids, a
hydrocyclone is used; while from gas, a gas
cyclone is used. Rotational effects and
gravity are used to separate mixtures of
solids and fluids. The method can also be
used to separate fine droplets of liquid from
a gaseous stream. A high speed rotating
(air)flow is established within a cylindrical
or conical container called a cyclone. Air
flows in a helical pattern, beginning at the
top (wide end) of the cyclone and ending at
the bottom (narrow) end before exiting the
cyclone in a straight stream through the
center of the cyclone and out the top.
Larger (denser) particles in the rotating
stream have too much inertia to follow the
tight curve of the stream, and strike the
outside wall, then fall to the bottom of the
cyclone where they can be removed.
In a conical system, as the rotating flow
moves towards the narrow end of the
cyclone, the rotational radius of the stream is
reduced, thus separating smaller and smaller
particles. The cyclone geometry, together
with flow rate, defines the cut point of the
cyclone. This is the size of particle that will
be removed from the stream with a 50%
efficiency. Particles larger than the cut point
will be removed with a greater efficiency,
and smaller particles with a lower
efficiency.
Rake Classifiers:
These are machines used for separating
coarse and fine particles of granular material
temporarily suspended in water. The coarse
particles settle to the bottom of a vessel and
are scraped up an incline by a set of blades.
The fine particles remain in suspension to be
carried over the edge of the classifier. This
is a type of mechanical classifier utilizing
reciprocal rakes on an inclined plane to
separate coarse from fine material contained
in a water pulp, overflowing the fine
material and discharging the coarse material
by means of an inclined raking system.