Energy induced rheology reduction of flocculated thickened tailings — pipeline system design methodology

Authors: Treinen, JM; Cooke, R; Salinas, C

Presented at: Paste 2010

Paper Abstract

Salinas et al. (2009) demonstrated the relationship between energy input and rheology reduction for flocculated thickened copper tailings. This phenomenon has important implications for the design of thickened and paste tailings pipeline and open channel systems.

This paper presents the development of a bench top test to determine the energy input versus rheology reduction characteristic curve. The results of the bench top test are used to establish a design methodology for incorporating the rheology reduction into the design of paste and thickened tailings systems.