Validation of Floc Size Measurements Made with Flow Particle Image Analyzer (FPIA)
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Abstract
Clay flocs exist in different streams of the oil sands extraction process and in tailings treatment. The clay fraction in these streams has a significant effect on design and operation of slurry pipelines, flotation efficiency, sludging in the separation vessel, froth treatment and tailings behavior. The size of clay flocs plays an important role in determining the behavior of colloidal suspensions. The Flow Particle Image Analyzer (FPIA) is an image analysis based instrument used for particle size measurement. In this study, floc size measurements are made for suspensions of kaolinite in water. Size analysis results are additionally obtained using the Malvern Mastersizer and microscopy. The results of this study indicate that the Mastersizer is not an appropriate option for floc size measurement. However, the microscopy results were in good agreement with the FPIA measurements.