Particle Suspension in Air-Agitated Pachuca Tanks:

Investigation of Hysteresis and a Novel Split Air Injection

Technique
S.P. MEHROTRA and R. SHEKHAR

Particle suspension is an important parameter in the design of an energy-efficient Pachuca tank. The
objectives of the present investigation are to (1) establish the phenomenon of hysteresis, (2) examine
the effect of a novel split air injection technique on the critical velocity for particle suspension, and
(3) determine the optimum state of suspension in full center column (FCC) Pachuca tanks. Extensive
investigations have been carried out in three laboratory-scale Pachuca tanks with a maximum slurry
density of 25 wt pct solids. Results that have a bearing on the design of energy-efficient Pachuca
tanks have emerged. The magnitude of hysteresis in FCC Pachuca tanks is of the order of 20 pct,
which is about 10 times less than in bubble columns. Split air injection, with 30 pct air injected into
the annulus from the top and 70 pct air injected into the draft tube from the bottom, lowers the critical
air velocity for particle suspension by 37 pct, with respect to bottom-blown Pachuca tanks.

I. INTRODUCTION content of the slurry is maintained in suspension. Also, in

PACHUCA tanks are cylindrical, air-agitated slurry
reactors with a conical bottom primarily used as leaching
vessels in the extraction of nonferrous metals such as ura-
nium, gold, zinc, and copper. Details about the classification,
design, and operation of Pachuca tanks are available in the
literature.[1,2] As these tanks are operated with slurries con-
taining 50 to 60 wt pct solids, the principal objective in
Pachuca leaching is to keep the solids in suspension.[1,2]
With the help of extensive experiments and mathematical
modeling. Roy et al.[1] have clarified the effect of the design
and operating parameters of Pachuca tanks on the minimum
superficial air velocity, defined as the volumetric air flow
rate divided by the tank cross-sectional area and referred to
as the critical air velocity required to keep the particles
in suspension. However, several important questions still
remain unanswered.
Critical air velocity can be defined separately for main-
taining and generating suspensions. For maintaining suspen-
sions, critical air velocity is defined as the superficial air
velocity below which particles start settling from a state of
complete off-bottom suspension. Superficial air velocity, in
turn, is defined as the volumetric air flow rate divided by
the tank cross-sectional area. On the other hand, the critical
air velocity for generating suspension is defined as the super-
ficial air velocity above which particles are suspended from
a completely settled state. There is a possibility of hysteresis,
because the two critical air velocities may be different. Parti-
cle suspension has been characterized with respect to both
maintaining[1] and generating[3,4] suspensions. Moreover,
both definitions of critical air velocity have practical rele-
vance. In practice, several Pachuca tanks are operated in
series and slurry is continuously fed through each tank.
Hence, the critical air velocity should be such that the solid
S.P. MEHROTRA, Professor, and R. SHEKHAR, Associate Professor,
are with the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India.
Manuscript submitted March 16, 2000.
the case of a power failure or maintenance-related work, air
injection into the Pachuca tank will be disrupted, leading to
a complete settling of particles from the slurry. Under these
conditions, the air compressor should have the capability to
resuspend the settled solids; its power rating, therefore,
should conform with the critical air velocity required to
generate suspension. However, hysteresis in particle suspen-
sion has not been adequately characterized.[5,6] Moreover,
studies on hysteresis have been limited to bubble columns
only, which substantially differ from Pachuca tanks both in
terms of dimensions and mode of operation.[1]
The mode of air injection is also an important aspect of
Pachuca design. In most conventional Pachucas, air is
injected from the bottom. There are a few exceptions, how-
ever. For instance, in the Pachucas of the Uranium Corpora-
tion of India Ltd. at Jaduguda in the state of Bihar, air is
injected downward from two tubes placed opposite each
other in the annulus. Lamont[7] had also reported that the
earlier Pachuca tanks at Eldorado’s Beaverlodge operation
had split air addition, with air being injected both from the
bottom and from inside the draft tube at various heights. A
comparison of different modes of air injection with respect
to the efficacy of particle suspension in Pachuca tanks was
not found in the literature.
Another important aspect is the optimum state of suspen-
sion or, in other words, the extent of suspension desirable
in Pachuca tanks. In most investigations on bubble columns,
as well as in that of Hallett et al.[3] on Pachuca tanks, particle
suspension has been characterized in terms of complete off-
bottom suspension. On the other hand, Roy et al.[1] have
used the term “onset of suspension” to characterize particle
suspension in Pachuca tanks. The critical velocity defined
with respect to the onset of suspension is the superficial air
velocity below which all particles settle at the bottom of the
tank. A question now arises: Should the operating superficial
air velocity be in consonance with the critical velocity
defined with respect to the complete off-bottom suspension
or the onset of suspension? No study of this kind was

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001—223

 Table I. Different Design and Operating Parameters Used
in Laboratory and Industrial Tanks
Parameter Industry Laboratory
Ug ⫻ 10⫺2 (m/s) 0.1 to 0.75 —
Dd /Dt 0.1 0 to 0.3
Dt /Dn — 08
Ht /Dt 1 to 3 3
Cone angle 30 to 60 deg 45 deg
Wt pct solids 50 to 60 5 to 25

unearthed in the literature survey. The objectives of the

present investigation are threefold:
(1) experimentally establish the phenomenon of hysteresis,
(2) examine the effect of a novel split air injection technique
on the critical velocity for particle suspension, and
(3) determine the optimum state of suspension.
As it has already been established[1] that the full center
column (FCC) Pachucas are more efficient in suspending
particles than are the stub column (SC) or the free air lift
(FAL) Pachuca, the present investigation is primarily con-
fined to FCC Pachucas. Only one set of experimental data
for a FAL Pachuca tank is presented for comparison.

II. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND

MEASUREMENTS
The laboratory-scale Pachuca tanks were designed such
that important design and operating parameters, namely, Ht /
Dt , Dd /Dt , cone angle, and superficial air velocity Ug , were
in the same range as typically used in industry (Table I).
A. Experimental Setup
The experimental setup, schematically shown in Figure
1, consisted of a laboratory-scale Pachuca tank, a rotameter,
a manometer, and an air compressor. It was similar to the
setup employed in our earlier investigation,[1] although minor
modifications were made to incorporate split air injection.
Indigenously fabricated Pachucas were made of Perspex.
Initially, a cylindrical tank with a flat bottom was con-
structed. The conical base was then simulated by inserting
a cone, with a (half) cone angle of 45 deg at the bottom.
Three tanks with diameters of 0.15, 0.25, and 0.36 m and
heights of 0.45, 0.75, and 1.05 m, referred to as tanks 1, 2,
and 3, respectively, were used in our experiments. The draft
tube was clamped onto a vertical rod that was suspended
from the top through a superstructure above the tank. The
bottom end of the draft tube was always positioned at a
fixed distance of 0.1 Hc from the cone wall, while the top
end was at a distance of 0.15 Hd below the free surface of
water. A single nozzle, with Dt /Dn ⫽ 80, was placed 0.1 m
below the bottom end of the draft tube. To get a clear view
of particle motion near the tank bottom, the conical portion
of the tank was illuminated.
The structure shown by dashed lines in Figure 1 was
superimposed on the conventional Pachuca with bottom
injection only, and this entire assembly was used in the
experiments with split air injection, downward into the
annulus and upward into the draft tube. Air injection into
the annulus was made through two tubes, each 0.003 m in
Fig. 1—Schematic representation of the experimental setup.
diameter, symmetrically placed around the draft tube such
that the air injection points were at the same level as the
bottom end of the draft tube. The ratio of the horizontal
distance between the tubes and the tank diameter was 0.4.
A distributor valve was used in the compressor line to split
air in a specified ratio.
White river sand with a density of 2500 kg/m3 and a
particle size ranging between 150 and 250 ␮m was used as
the solid particulate.
B. Experimental Methodology
A large number of experiments were carried out to mea-
sure critical air velocities for particles suspended under dif-
ferent operating conditions, as shown in Table I. In each
experiment, four critical velocities were recorded:
Uc1: critical velocity for onset of settling, i.e., the mini-
mum velocity below which particles in a fully suspended
slurry just begin to settle down;
Uc2: critical velocity for complete settling, i.e., the mini-
mum air velocity below which all solid particles in slurry
settle down;
Uc3: critical velocity for onset of suspension, i.e., the air
velocity at which initially settled particles just begin to go
into suspension; and
Uc4: critical velocity for complete suspension, i.e., the
minimum air velocity at which all particles in the slurry are
brought from a fully settled state to a full suspension state.
Critical velocity data were recorded by observing the set-
tling behavior of particles on the cone wall. To ensure ade-
quate visibility of solid particulates in the slurry, experiments

224—VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B

were carried out with slurry densities much lower than those
generally employed in industrial Pachucas. At high slurry
densities, it was not possible to identify various stages of
suspension. Each experiment was repeated 2 to 4 times, and
the mean values have been reported in this article. Variation
in the critical velocity values in most cases was less than
5 pct.
For measuring Uc1 and Uc2 air was initially injected at a
high enough flow rate to ensure complete suspension. The
air flow rate was then gradually reduced, and the suspension
behavior of particulates continuously monitored. The air flow
rate at which solid particles just began to settle on the cone
wall was recorded as Uc1. On further reduction of the air
flow rate, a stage came, at Uc2, in which the recirculation of
slurry stopped completely and all the particles started settling.
At this stage, air injection was stopped. Once the particles
were fully settled, air injection was restarted and the flow
rate slowly increased. The air flow rate at which solid parti-
cles just started getting into suspension corresponded to the
air velocity Uc3. A further increase in the air velocity above
Uc4 led to the complete suspension of all particles, a state
characterized by the continuous motion of particles, or the
absence of a static particle layer, on the cone wall.
Tank 1, the 0.15 m Pachuca with Dd /Dt ⫽ 0.2 and Ht /Dt
⫽ 3 and 100 pct air injection from the bottom, was taken
as the reference configuration. An earlier study[1] had shown
that, for particle suspension, the optimum Dd /Dt ratio was
of the order of 0.1 for industrial-scale Pachucas, with the
ratio being close to 0.2 for the laboratory Pachucas. It was
also observed that Uc decreased with increasing Ht /Dt ratio.
And since industrial Pachuca tanks operate with a maximum
Ht /Dt of 3, the same value was used in our experiments. In
all the experiments, the liquid level was kept 0.025 m above
the draft tube top.[1]
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Mechanism for Generating Suspension
The mechanism of particle suspension was observed in
the FCC Pachuca tank with a diameter of 0.15 m, with Dd/
Dt of 0.1 and 10 wt pct slurry. The Pachuca was first filled
with water to a level 0.025 m above the draft tube top. The
requisite amount of sand was added to the tank and the
particles were allowed to settle overnight. It was observed
that in a completely settled state, the bed heights inside the
draft tube and the annulus were the same. At very low air
flow rates, air bubbles were seen to be coming out through
the draft tube top in clear water, a clear sign that recirculation
of slurry had still not started. A continuous flow of slurry
started coming out of the draft tube at a slightly higher air
velocity. Slurry flow was also observed in the annulus. At
this point, there was no perceptible decrease in the particle
level on the cone wall. A continuous flow of slurry emanating
from the draft tube implied that slurry was recirculating in
the tank, even though a static particle layer remained on the
cone wall. At higher air velocities, the static sand layer on
the cone wall disappeared and flow was characterized by
the continuous motion of particles on the cone wall. Based
on the aforesaid observations, a mechanism for particle sus-
pension is proposed.
At very low air flow rates, bubbles escaping through the
draft tube create a recirculating flow that has the effect of
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B
scouring particles from the sand bed inside the draft tube
(Figure 2(a)). As the air flow rate is increased, more particles
are suspended, which decreases the bed height inside the
draft tube until a cavity forms right down to the nozzle, as
shown in Figure 2(b). The presence of the cavity was verified
by inserting a wooden stick inside the draft tube. At small
draft tube–to–nozzle diameter ratios, the particle bed inside
may also be lifted to form the cavity. A further increase in
the air flow rate leads to the erosion of the side walls of the
cavity, which, in turn, leads to the collapse of the particle
bed in the annulus adjacent to the draft tube, creating a path
for slurry circulation (Figure 2(c)). The clearance between
the draft tube and the sand layer on the cone increases with
the increasing air flow rate (Figure 2(d)), in all probability,
according to the mechanism described in our earlier study
on maintaining particle suspension.[1] In that study, it was
observed that solid particles slid along the inclined cone
wall toward the apex of the cone and were then lifted into
the draft tube by a vortex extending from the air injection
point to the draft tube inlet. To ensure that the particles
are entrained in the circulating slurry, two conditions must
be satisfied:[1]
(1) slurry velocity over the cone wall should be such that
it prevents deposition on the cone wall; and
(2) once the particles manage to avoid deposition, the verti-
cal liquid velocity in the cone should lift the particles
inside the draft tube.
The slurry velocity required to fulfill condition 1 is expec-
ted to be significantly higher than that required to fulfill
condition 2. Consequently, preventing the deposition of par-
ticles on the cone wall was identified as the rate-controlling
mechanism for maintaining suspension. Hence, a suspension
can be maintained if the velocities in the cone are high
enough to prevent deposition of particles on the cone wall.
In a similar manner, for generating suspension, once a
clearance between the draft tube and cone wall is created,
particle suspension can be enhanced if the velocities in the
cone are high enough to suspend particles settled on the
cone wall. Once the clearance is created, as the air flow rate
is increased, there is a corresponding increase in the slurry
circulation velocity, which leads to increasing velocities in
the cone. Consequently, particles start getting suspended
from the sand layer on the cone wall, and the clearance
between the draft tube and the sand layer on the cone wall
is increased. Because of continuity, the increased clearance
leads to lower velocities in the cone. As soon as the liquid
velocity in the cone reduces to a level such that condition
1 is not satisfied, particle suspension from the sand layer
on the cone wall stops. This sequence is repeated as the air
flow rate is further increased to a higher value up to the
point of complete suspension.
B. Hysteresis
Figure 3(a) shows a typical hysteresis plot for the refer-
ence configuration. It is seen that the critical air velocity
for generating suspension is greater than that for maintaining
suspension. Hysteresis is defined for both complete suspen-
sion and onset of suspension (i.e., complete settling) as
follows:
⌬Ucs ⫽ Uc4 ⫺ Uc1
⌬Uos ⫽ Uc3 ⫺ Uc2
VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001—225
 (b)
(a)

(c) (d )
Fig. 2—Steps showing the suspension of sand particles as the air velocity increases from (a) to (d ).

Fig. 3—Typical hysteresis plot showing experimentally measured critical air velocity as a function of weight percent solids for various top to botto m air
injection ratios for a Pachuca tank of 0.15-m diameter: (a) 0%, (b) 25%, (c) 30%, (d) 40%, (e) 60% and (f) 75%.

226—VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B

 Table II. Comparison of Hysteresis in Bubble Column[5] and Pachuca Tanks
Heck and Onken[5] Dt ⫽ 0.15 m Dt ⫽ 0.25 m Dt ⫽ 0.36 m
Wt Pct ⌬Ucs ⌬Ucs /U1 ⌬Ucs ⌬Ucs /U1 ⌬Ucs ⌬Ucs /U1 ⌬Ucs ⌬Ucs /U1
5 0.01 0.58 0.001 0.15 0.0010 0.22 0.00075 0.16
10 0.028 2.8 0.001 0.19 0.0018 0.23 0.001 0.14
15 0.048 2.7 0.002 0.17 0.0020 0.20 0.002 0.20
20 0.072 3.6 0.004 0.25 — — — —
25 0.084 3.8 0.004 0.29 — — — —

Fig. 4—Experimental plots of critical air velocity as a function of weight Fig. 5—Experimental plots of critical air velocity as a function of weight
percent solids for various top to bottom air injection ratios for a Pachuca percent solids for various top to bottom air injection ratios for a Pachuca
tank of 0.25-m diameter: (a) 0%, (b) 25%, (c) 30% and (d) 40%. tank of 0.36-m diameter: (a) 0%, (b) 25%, (c) 30% and (d) 40%.

From Figure 3(a),* it is apparent that both ⌬Ucs and ⌬Uos
increase with weight percent solids in the slurry. ⌬Ucs
increases from 0.001 m/s at 5 wt pct solids to 0.004 m/s at
25 wt pct solids, which represents an increase in ⌬Ucs from
15 to 29 pct with respect to Uc1 (Table II). That is, the critical
velocity for complete suspension is 15 to 29 pct higher for
generating suspension with respect to maintaining suspen-
sion for 5 to 25 wt pct solids. The corresponding increase
in ⌬Uos was from 0.0005 to 0.0035 m/s, which represents
an increase in ⌬Ucs from 25 to 32 pct, with respect to Uc2.
A comparison of Figure 3(a) with Figures 4(a) and 5(a)
shows that an increase in tank diameter from 0.15 to 0.36
m does not have any significant effect on hysteresis in up
to 15 wt pct slurry. Hysteresis behavior of FAL tanks is
shown in Figure 6 for slurries containing up to 9 wt pct
solids. As expected, the critical velocities for suspension are
higher than those for the corresponding FCC tank (Figure
*All Uc vs weight percent solid plots (Figs. 3 through 7) are experimental
plots. In one of the plots in Figure 3, actual experimental points as well
as smoothened curves are shown. In all other plots, however, only the
smoothened curves are shown; experimental points are not shown to avoid
unnecessary cluttering.
3). However, in up to 9 wt pct solids, hysteresis effects seem
to be similar in both FCC and FAL configurations.
Another interesting feature that emerges from Figures 3
through 5 is that the critical velocity curves for generating
suspension closely follow those for maintaining suspensions.
For example, earlier studies[1] had shown that the critical
velocity for maintaining suspension (1) increases with
weight percent solid and (2) decreases with increasing tank
diameter. A similar pattern is followed by both critical air
velocity curves for generating suspension. As suggested in
Section A, this phenomenon indicates that the mechanisms
for generating and maintaining suspensions are similar in
Pachuca tanks. Consequently, hysteresis can be attributed to
the fact that the solid particles settled at the bottom of the
tank are densely packed and interact with each other to
produce additional forces, the so-called Coulomb forces.
These forces are expected to increase with increasing weight
percent solids. Hence, bringing such settled particulates into
suspension requires additional energy and, therefore, higher
critical velocities for generating suspension.
For complete suspension, Heck and Onken[5] observed
significant hysteresis in a bubble column (Dt ⫽ 0.2 m, Ht
⫽ 1.8 m) equipped with a draft tube (Dd ⫽ 0.12 m, Hd ⫽

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001—227

Fig. 6—Typical hysteresis plot for a FAL Pachuca tank of 0.15-m diameter.

Table III. Design and Operating Parameters Used in a

Bubble Column[5] and the Present Study
Parameter Heck and Onken[5] Present Study
Dt 0.2 0.15 to 0.36
Ht /Dt 9.0 3
Dd /Dt 0.4 0.2
Cone angle 60 deg 45 deg
Sparger perforated plate single nozzle
Solid particles glass spheres sand (150 to 250 ␮m)
(dp ⫽ 308 ␮m)

1.5 m). A perforated plate with a diameter of 80 mm, and

with holes 0.8 mm in diameter covering 54 pct of the plate’s
cross-sectional area, was used as the air distributor. Glass
spheres ( p ⫽ 2440 kg/m3, dp ⫽ 308 ␮m) were used as solid
particles and weight percent solids were varied from 4.7 to
37 pct. Table II compares the magnitude of hysteresis
observed by Heck and Onken[5] and in our study. Hysteresis
seems to be more dominant in bubble columns than in
Pachuca tanks. This difference may be attributed to the
difference in the design parameters, as shown in Table III.
That the suspension behavior is different in Pachuca tanks Fig. 7—Effect of split air injection on the critical air velocity for complete
and bubble columns has been shown in our earlier study.[1] suspension, Uc4.

C. Split Air Injection

Figure 7 illustrates the effect of split air injection on Uc4.
Solid lines are for a tank 0.15 m in diameter; dashed lines
are for the tank 0.36 m in diameter. The most fascinating
aspect of this figure is that, in both the tanks, minimum Uc4
occurs when 70 pct of the air is injected from the bottom
and 30 pct in the annulus. Moreover, as shown in Table IV,
the minimums in Figure 7 represent, uniformly, 37 pct lower
values of Uc4 with respect to 100 pct bottom-blown Pachuca
tanks. Air injection in the annulus will be subsequently
referred to as top injection.
A similar trend was also observed for the other critical
velocities, namely, Uc1, Uc2 and Uc3. Experiments also show
that there is a minimum in hysteresis, especially ⌬Ucs , at
the 30:70 top-bottom air injection ratio (Figures 3 through
5). Figure 8 shows that an increase in tank diameter from
0.15 to 0.36 m has only a marginal effect on Uc4 for a 30:70
top-bottom split air injection. This figure also shows that

228—VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B

 Table IV. A Comparison of the Values of Uc4 for Bottom Blown and 30:70 Top-Bottom Split Air Injection on Uc4
Dt ⫽ 0.15 m Dt ⫽ 0.36 m
Wt Pct Solids Uc4 (0 Pct) Uc4 (30 Pct) ⌬Uc4 (Pct) Uc4 (0 Pct) Uc4 (30 Pct) ⌬Uc4 (Pct)
5 0.70 0.30 57 0.55 0.34 38
10 0.96 0.56 42 0.80 0.50 37
15 1.40 0.90 36 1.20 0.74 38
20 2.04 1.30 34 — — —
Uc4 (0 pct) and Uc4 (30 pct) refer to the values of Uc4 for 100 pct bottom and 30–70 top-bottom air injection conditions, respectively.
⌬Uc4(pct) refers to the percent decrease in Uc4 from 100 pct bottom air injection to 30:70 top-bottom air injection. ⌬Uc4(pct) ⫽ 100 [Uc4
(0 pct) ⫺ Uc4 (30 pct)]/Uc4 (0 pct).

(2) preventing the deposition of particles on the cone wall.

Fig. 8—Effect of tank diameter on Uc4 for the case of 30:70 top-bottom
split air injection.
split air injection with a 30:70 top-bottom ratio is more
energy-efficient than 100 pct bottom injection. In the follow-
ing paragraph, the behavior of suspensions during split air
injection is discussed.
When air is injected only from the bottom, it results in
two effects: (1) it creates an upward thrust (vortex) near the
air injection point that lifts the solid particles from the cone
into the draft tube. The ability of the vortex to lift particles
inside the draft is expected to be proportional to the flow
rate of air injected from the bottom; (2) it generates slurry
recirculation, and the velocity component parallel to the
cone wall facilitates the rolling of solid particles, which
otherwise tend to settle on the cone wall.
Air injection in the annulus, as shown in Figure 1, pro-
motes agitation inside the cone and the cylindrical section
just above the cone. Increased agitation, in turn, helps in
(1) overcoming the interparticle forces, thereby suspending
particles; and
Agitation levels in the conical region are expected to increase
with increasing air flow rates from the top. Another possible
effect of air injection into the annulus was the release of
some air bubbles into the annulus leading to a net decrease
in the overall recirculation rate, which would have the effect
of increasing the critical velocities for suspension. However,
this phenomenon was discounted because experiments with
clear water showed that the release of free air bubbles into
the annulus was negligible.
With the same air flow rate as in bottom injection, air
injection in the annulus (top injection) will be more effective
in suspending particles from the sand layer (or preventing
their deposition on the cone wall) and in transporting them
toward the apex of the cone. However, the vortex created
by 100 pct top injection is much weaker than the vortex
generated by bottom injection. It may be recalled that this
upward thrust is responsible for lifting the sand particles
from the cone into the draft tube. As a result, with 100 pct
top injection, even if the particles reach the cone apex, they
can only be lifted into the draft tube, and hence suspended
in the recirculating flow, at high air flow rates. Hence, top
injection promotes the suspension of particles in the cone,
while bottom injection aids in lifting the particles into the
draft tube. Clearly, the minimum critical air velocity can be
attained by having a judicious combination of top and bottom
injection. The expected slurry circulation for split air injec-
tion is shown in Figure 9.
Starting from 100 pct bottom air injection, as the propor-
tion of air injected from the top increases, there is a simulta-
neous increase in the agitation levels in the cone and a
decrease in the vortex strength. In the initial stages, the
increase in the agitation levels in the cone may be higher
than the decrease in the vortex strength, thereby reducing
the critical velocity for particle suspension. At higher air
flow rates from the top, the first effect may start dominating
the second effect. The two effects balance out at a 30:70
top-bottom air injection ratio, resulting in a critical veloc-
ity minimum.
Our investigations clearly indicate that split air injection
is essential for operating energy-efficient Pachuca tanks.
However, it should be pointed out that the critical velocity
minimum will depend on the location of the down-facing
nozzles in the annulus. For example, raising the air injection
point inside the annulus compared to that shown in Figure
1 should increase the value of the minimum critical velocity.
At a given air flow rate, a higher air injection point would
lower the extent of agitation in the cone and may also lead
to a decrease in the net recirculation rate.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001—229

 (a)
(c)
Fig. 9.—Slurry flow characteristics for (a) split air injection with low air flow rate, (b) split air injection with total air flow rate greater than that in a, (c)
split air injection with higher air flow rate than b, and (d ) 100 pct top injection with total air flow greater than that in c.
D. Optimum State of Suspension
At what air flow rate should the Pachuca tank be operated?
Should the air flow rate correspond to the onset of suspension
or to complete off-bottom suspension? The answer to this
question can be provided by comparing the specific leaching
rate per unit power consumed between the two critical veloc-
ity states. Here, the specific leaching rate is defined as the
leaching rate per unit tank volume. The maximum value of
the specific leaching rate per unit power consumed corres-
ponds to the optimum state of suspension. The discussion
that follows is qualitative, primarily because of the absence
of specific leaching rate data.
Investigations such as those of Harriot[8] have shown that,
once particles are in suspension, increased turbulence does
not lead to a significant increase in the solid-liquid mass
transfer coefficient and, thus by inference, the leaching rate.
Consequently, the leaching rate would depend on the propor-
tion of total suspended solids. Settled solids also represent
an effective reduction in tank volume. At the onset of suspen-
sion, only a small fraction of solids is suspended. Therefore,
higher specific leaching rates should be expected for tanks
operated in a state of complete suspension.
For a given tank operating condition, power consumption
is directly proportional to the air flow rate, or the critical
230—VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001
(b)
(d )
air velocity. Table V shows that, for both bottom and split
air injection, there is a substantial reduction in critical air
Uc1 ⫺ Uc2
velocity ⌬U21 ⫽ 100 冢
Uc1 冣
, when a Pachuca tank is
operated at an air flow rate corresponding to the onset of
suspension with respect to complete off-bottom suspension.
At higher tank diameters, the percentage reduction in critical
air velocity seems to be between 25 and 50 pct.
The preceding discussion indicates that both the specific
leaching rate and the power consumption would be lower
at the onset of suspension vis-à-vis complete suspension.
Based on the available data, however, the specific leaching
rate per unit power consumed cannot be objectively com-
pared between the two states of suspension. The air flow
rate for the optimum state of suspension should correspond
to a state between the onset of suspension and complete
suspension.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Experiments have been carried out in laboratory Pachuca
tanks to examine the (1) effect of a new split air injection
technique on the critical air velocity for particle suspension,
(2) phenomenon of hysteresis, and (3) the optimum state of
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B
 Table V. Difference in Critical Air Velocity between Complete Off-Bottom Suspension and Onset of Suspension for 100
Percent bottom and 30:70 Top-Bottom Split Air Injection
Dt ⫽ 0.15 m Dl ⫽ 0.25 m Dt ⫽ 0.36 m
Wt Pct ⌬U21 (0 Pct) ⌬U21 (30 Pct) ⌬U21 (0 Pct) ⌬U21 (30 Pct) ⌬U21 (0 Pct) ⌬U21 (30 Pct)
5 63 100 23 33 25 31
10 54 43 40 23 27 42
15 71 50 50 35 39 37
20 83 67 — — — —
⌬U21 (0 pct) ⫽ 100 (Uc2 ⫺ Uc1)/Uc1 for bottom air injection.
⌬U21 (30 pct) ⫽ 100 (Uc2 ⫺ Uc1)/Uc1 for 30:70 top-bottom split air injection.

suspension. Results that have a bearing on the design of Dn air inlet nozzle diameter (m)
energy-efficient Pachuca tanks have emerged from this Ht tank height (m)
investigation. Uc critical superficial air velocity for particle
suspension (m/s)
1. Split air injection, with 30 pct air injected into the annulus
Ug superficial air velocity (m/s)
and 70 pct air injected from the bottom into the draft tube,
⌬Ucs hysteresis for complete suspension (m/s)
lowers the critical air velocity for particle suspension by
⌬Uos hysteresis for complete onset of suspension
37 pct with respect to bottom-blown Pachuca tanks. In
(i.e., complete settling) (m/s)
fact, the 30:70 air injection ratio corresponds to a mini-
Uc4(0 pct) Uc4 for 100 pct bottom air injection (m/s)
mum in the critical air velocity vs air injected into the
Uc4(30 pct) Uc4 for 30 pct top–70 pct bottom split air
annulus curve
injection (m/s)
2. The present investigation shows that hysteresis does
occur in FCC Pachuca tanks and that its magnitude is of Subscript
the order of 20 pct, which is about 10 times less than in cs complete suspension
bubble columns. os onset of suspension
1 onset of settling with respect to main-
Experiments in our study were carried out with a maxi- taining suspension
mum slurry density of 25 wt pct solids. Industrial Pachucas 2 complete settling with respect to main-
operate with slurry densities greater than 50 wt pct solids. taining suspension
Hence more experiments need to be carried out (a) at slurry 3 onset of suspension with respect to generat-
densities greater than 50 wt pct solids and (b) with larger ing suspension
size Pachucas before the preceding conclusions can be firmly 4 complete suspension with respect to generat-
established. Simultaneous determination of leaching rates is ing suspension
also essential for determining the optimum state of sus-
pension.
REFERENCES
1. G.G. Roy, R. Shekhar, and S.P. Mehrotra: Metall. Mater. Trans. B,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1998, vol. 29B, pp. 339-49.
The authors are grateful to Mr. G.P. Bajpai for carrying 2. R. Shekhar and J.W. Evans: Metall. Trans. B, 1989, vol. 20B, pp.
781-91.
out all the experiments. 3. C.J. Hallett: Ph.D. Thesis. Imperial College of London, London, 1981.
4. K. Koide, K. Horibe, H. Kawabata, and S. Ito: J. Chem. Eng. Jpn.,
1984, vol. 17 (4), pp. 368-74.
NOMENCLATURE 5. J. Heck and U. Onken: Chem. Eng. Sci., 1987, vol. 42, pp. 1211-12.
6. M. Abraham, A.S. Khare, S.B. Sawant, and J.B. Joshi: Ind. Eng. Chem.
dp particle diameter (m) Res., 1992, vol. 31, pp. 1136-47.
Dt tank diameter (m) 7. A.G.W. Lamont: Can. J. Chem. Eng., 1958, Aug., pp. 153-60.
Dd draft tube diameter (m) 8. P. Harriot: AIChE J., 1962, vol. 8, pp. 93-102.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 32B, APRIL 2001—231