Study on Combined Vacuum–Mechanical Defoaming Technology for Flotation Froth and Its Mechanism

Foam is essential in the flotation process. However, the gas–liquid–solid three-phase froth produced in the flotation process has very strong stability and is difficult to burst spontaneously. The existence of these froths will reduce the transport capacity of the pulp and affect the working efficiency of subsequent processes, such as filtration of the flotation concentrate. In this study, a new defoaming device is designed by combining mechanical impact with depressurized defoaming and its defoaming mechanism is analyzed theoretically. In addition, the liquid level height and pulp overflow method are applied to characterize the defoaming efficiency of the new defoaming device. The effects of impeller structure, pressure drop, impeller rotation frequency, and aeration rate on defoaming efficiency were studied. The results show that when increasing the pressure drop, the defoaming increases, but it will also enhance the generation of bubbles. The efficiency of combined mechanical–vacuum defoaming technology is superior under low-pressure drop using an SC impeller. Under −1 kpa vacuum condition, it only takes 168 s to eliminate 20 cm flotation froth height with combined mechanical impact, while it takes 453 s under ambient pressure, indicating that under vacuum conditions, the mechanical-defoaming method can significantly improve the defoaming efficiency, and the two have a certain synergistic effect.