Analysis of the Effect of Magnetic Separation Processing Parameters for the Treatment of Mining Waste

Abstract

The reprocessing of mining waste remains a challenge to achieve ecological sustainability. Magnetic separation is one of the most effective methods for physical separation of materials. In this research, a magnetic separator with permanent neodymium (Nd-Fe-B) magnets is developed to remove magnetic particles contained in mining waste powder. Experiments with different variables were carried out to determine the design parameters for the process, such as: the separation between magnets, the flow of the material and the concentration of solids in the slurry. In this investigation, a Taguchi L16 4k matrix was used, considering that the process has 3 controllable factors with 4 levels each, for which 64 samples were prepared to obtain the parameters that give us a process that works with greater consistency, considering 2 noise factors (% of magnetics in the sample and the accumulation of particles). The results of this research will be the basis for the manufacture of a magnetic separator for the treatment of mining waste.