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Innovative technologies and concepts for fine particle flotation: unlocking future fine-grained deposits and Critical Raw Materials resources for the EU

Project description

Improving fine particle recovery in froth flotation

Froth flotation is arguably the most important process for separating minerals from gangue. The technique takes advantage of the differences in the hydrophobicity of the materials. However, current flotation technologies are limited in their ability to recover fine particles smaller than 20 µm. The EU-funded FineFuture project aims to advance fundamental understanding of fine particle flotation phenomena, which will lead to the development of ground-breaking recovery solutions. This will help not only unlock new critical raw material deposits but also increase the resource and energy efficiency of current operations where the fines are lost to tailings.

Objective

Froth flotation is arguably the most important mineral separation technique. By making use of differences in surface properties between minerals, valuable particles are concentrated in large tanks by attaching to bubbles, which form a froth phase that overflows as a mineral-rich concentrate. However, current flotation technologies do not work adequately for fine particles, below 20 µm in size. This is a serious challenge at present limiting the exploitation of deposits and proper recycling of end of life products containing Critical Raw Materials (CRM). This FineFuture project will advance the fundamental understanding of fine particle flotation phenomena, which will lead to the development of ground-breaking technological solutions. This will not only help unlock new CRM deposits but also contribute to increase the resource and energy efficiency of current operations where the fines are lost to tailings. FineFuture will also enable proper reprocessing of old tailings deposits and be technology-transferred to other raw material particle-based processes within the circular economy, thus leading the way in the sustainable use of resources. For the EU industry the ability to float fine particles will be fundamental in securing access to raw materials in the future, yet to date there is no large scale collaborative effort to achieve this. The FineFuture consortium brings together an industry- and user-driven multidisciplinary team with the skills and experience required to tackle the challenging objectives set up for this project. Through a first of its kind research approach, the consortium’s combined expertise in science, engineering and industrial practice will allow a robust and knowledge-based development of innovative fine particle flotation technologies. This project will thus help boosting EU technologies for sustainable raw material processing in Europe and abroad, contributing to energy- and resource-efficient processing in benefit of the future generations.

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Keywords

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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RIA - Research and Innovation action

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-SC5-2018-2019-2020

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Coordinator

HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM DRESDEN-ROSSENDORF EV
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 035 000,00
Address
BAUTZNER LANDSTRASSE 400
01328 Dresden
Germany

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Region
Sachsen Dresden Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 035 000,00

Participants (16)

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