MACH How-to Guide
Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactor Technology
The MACH Reactor is a cavitation reactor, loosely falling into the category of shear reactors, that generates pico-bubbles through the process of hydrodynamic cavitation through specifically designed venturis. The MACH Reactor contains multiple venturis arranged in series to obtain the desired effect for the specific unit operation requiring improvement. It stands head and shoulders above the competition owing to its ability to self-aspirate i.e. to create a vacuum to suck in the selected gas to be dissolved, dispersed or attached to specific particles of the ore.
Particles give birth to bubbles within the venturis of the MACH improving the probability of attachment and valuable fines recovery
For MACH enhanced flotation, this is cleverly effected in the MACH Reactor, which is able to render micron size particles amenable to flotation. These micron-sized particles would otherwise be lost to flotation tails. As slurry velocities in the high-speed venturis of the MACH soar above a certain critical velocity, the instantaneous pressure in the venturi falls to below water vapour pressure, causing the nucleation of tiny cavities on the surfaces of the micron-sized hydrophobic particles. These cavities may then be ventilated with the selected gas, usually air for flotation but may also be nitrogen or CO2, coating the hydrophobic surfaces with tiny bubbles in the size order of pico-, nano-, and micro-bubbles. An aggregation effect of the micron-sized bubbles is catalysed by the intense mixing in the MACH, as particles move to lower energy states. These aggregates, which present as larger more floatable particles to flotation, can now be successfully floated with the MACH. The MACH is able to be retrofitted onto any flotation cell giving it great versatility with application and installation. The MACH is an easy add-on to conventional flotation cells.
Cleaning of particle surfaces and improved oxygen dispersion via pico-bubbles reduces cyanide consumption, accelerates kinetics and improves gold recovery.
For leaching operations, the pico-bubbles formed in the MACH may be ventilated with oxygen gas and evenly dispersed throughout the pulp through the intense mixing in the venturis of the MACH. Apart from improving dissolved oxygen levels, which are critical for many leach operations, including the cyanidation process in gold leach operations, the extreme energy released during cavitation may cause particle breakage to improve liberation, surface cleaning to remove passivation layers and coatings and boundary layer reduction to improve mass transfer. Hence the MACH can reduce reagent consumption including cyanide consumption as well as improve leach kinetics and recoveries to provide for a step-change improvement in project economics.
Mass transfer enhancement for SMBS/Air cyanide destruction processes.
For cyanide destruction processes such as the SMBS/Air process, the MACH Reactor performs an important role of accelerating mass transfer, facilitating free radical chain reaction and leading to chemical reaction that would not otherwise be possible.
The self-aspirating MACH Reactor requires zero maintenance.
No matter the application, the MACH Reactor’s reputation for being as tough as nails, requiring zero maintenance, and with a reactor life to match that of project life, bestows it with an ease of operation hitherto unseen in this sector. The self-aspiration ability of the MACH Reactor also remains unmatched and is ideally suited to remote operations where gas is generated on site and gas pressures are low.
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That concludes the overview of the revolutionary MACH and how it operates to ensure success in your metallurgical processes. Be a CEO/manager of leadership in implementing this innovation to keep up with the trends of the future. Connect with us today to get your hands on one of these game-changing machines.
