A mine conveyor gallery and headframe on site
Once the agitation in the extraction tank is stepped up, foam on the surface of the liquor churns up together with the organic phase; the phase interface is hidden behind the foam layer, entrainment losses rise with it, and the extractant consumption and the downstream de-oiling load both grow heavier together.
Chemi Tech offers the KM-068 series defoamer for hydrometallurgical systems such as nickel-cobalt extraction, copper extraction and phosphoric acid purification, with the dosage adjusted flexibly according to the acidity of the liquor and the mixing intensity. The series is acid-resistant, alkali-resistant and heat-resistant, so the defoaming components do not lose activity in a highly corrosive extraction system; within the series, KM-03 and KM-061 stay stable over the long term in the severe acid systems of tungsten and molybdenum smelting. Setting the measured phase-interface height alongside the organic-phase entrainment gives the precise KM-068 dosage.
Advantages of Chemi Tech Defoamers
Chemi Tech KM-068 series defoamer is configured for hydrometallurgical extraction systems. It resists strong acids and strong alkalis, holding its defoaming performance stable across a wide swing in liquor pH; its heat resistance is outstanding, so foam suppression lasts under rising extraction temperatures; it is highly compatible with organic extractants, neither emulsifying nor breaking the emulsion, so the phase-separation rate is not disturbed; it breaks foam quickly, so tank-surface foam falls back within a single mixing cycle; and the dosage is economical, adjusted flexibly to the liquor acidity and the mixing intensity, giving long-term control over the extraction-tank level.
Industry Pain Points and Solutions
Foam in hydrometallurgical extraction stems mostly from the combined effect of surface-active components in the liquor and air entrained by agitation, and it shows up in two places: an unclear phase interface and organic-phase entrainment.
With the phase interface covered by a foam layer, operators have to fall back on sampling, and the timeliness of interface control drops with it. The KM-068 dosage is set by the mixing intensity, and the tank-surface foam layer can be pressed down below the sight glass.
Organic phase carrying foam into the stripping stage raises the unit consumption of extractant directly. KM-068 is highly compatible with the extractant and can effectively reduce foam entrainment.
In the reagent cost accounting of an extraction system, defoamer and extractant are both bulk expenses. Factoring in the shifts in liquor acidity and mixing intensity, the dosage can be pinned to a narrow range, and cost stays controllable.
Typical Operating Conditions and Verification
Customer: a copper smelting enterprise in Jiangxi, for the extraction and stripping stages of its copper solvent-extraction workshop.
After the mixer-settler was run at higher agitation intensity, foam piled up in sheets on the settler surface, the interface instrument reading went false, and organic-phase entrainment had the electrowinning workshop de-oiling again and again. Following comparison testing of the phase-interface height and the entrainment, the smelter switched to KM-03 as the dedicated defoamer for the extraction system, with the dosage set by the liquor acidity. Once in use, the foam band in the settler narrowed noticeably; the interface instrument reading steadied; organic-phase unit consumption returned to its normal level, and the reagent spend in the de-oiling stage narrowed noticeably.
Frequently Asked Questions
In a strong-acid system, will the defoamer react with the extractant?
Whether it interferes comes down to whether the defoaming components sit inside the compatibility range of the extraction system. The KM-068 series has completed compatibility and entrainment comparison testing in copper and nickel-cobalt extraction systems, and within the recommended range it neither emulsifies nor breaks the emulsion. The actual dosage takes the liquor acidity as its baseline, with extraction temperature and mixing intensity set as corrections; Chemi Tech pins down the suitable range through a parallel comparison of the phase-interface height and the organic-phase entrainment.