On-line Sensing for Separation of Coarse Streams LIBS - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

On-line Sensing for Separation of Coarse Streams LIBS Instrumentations for Mining Applications: Facts, Challenges and Future M. SABSABI, S. Bedrossian, J. McKinnell National Research Council Canada Energy, Mining and Environment Portfolio High Efficiency Mining Program

IRAP Research Facilities About NRC  2015‐16 budget: $945M  Over 3600 employees  Wide variety of disciplines and broad array of services and support to industry 2

On-line Sensing for Separation of Coarse Streams LIBS Instrumentations for Mining Applications Outline  Overview on the LIBS technique development  LIBS activities at NRC for real time analysis  Slurries and mineral ores  Molten metals  Portable LIBS system  Soil and oil sands  New enabling tools for LIBS instrumentations for mining applications.  Fiber laser  Photon counting  Combination with other techniques  Some perspectives for CRC-ORE collaboration  Conclusions 3

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Laser Al 35 30 25 Normalized intensity Particules Zinc solution Al 20 Zn 15 Zn Zn 10 Plasma 5 Zn Fe 0 300 302 304 306 308 310 312 Wavelength (nm) Analysed Material Spectral signature of the sample 4

LIBS: features and application potentials slurry feed • stand off capabilities: 1 cm – 100 m • static or moving samples: 0 – 50 m/s stabilizing • states of aggregation: solid, liquid, gaseous funnel • sample preparation: none slurry • analytes: all elements jet • measuring frequency: 1 Hz – 100 kHz  LIBS is well suited for on-line applications  LIBS is applicable at all stages of the production cycle 5

Raw materials Oil sands Gold ore Soil Quality product Steel slabs Raw materials NRC LIBS activities 6

LIBS Applications at NRC  On-line analysis of effluents  On-line analysis of mineral ores  On-line analysis of molten metals  Portable LIBS system  Development of LIBS system for the analysis of soil.  Analysis of oil sands  Analysis of gold ore 7

Real-time monitoring of As and Cd in a weak acid effluent • LIBS system was installed at the Glencore Horne smelter located in Rouyn‐Noranda, Quebec, Canada. • It provides real time analysis for arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd) in weak acid solution at 80 C prior to neutralization/precipitation step. 8 8

Real-time and direct analysis of slurries with no sample preparation  Nickel, Aluminum, Gold, Copper and Iron: prospection, ore slurries, refining  Oil sands: processed water and bitumen content • LIBS measurements carried out in real time on a bypass from the slurry line.  LIBS system installed at nickel mine site for real time analysis of nickel ore slurry (Mg, Ni, Si, Fe, Al, Mn, etc.) prior to smelting (Thompson, Manitoba).  LIBS system installed at Liberty mines, Ontario, Canada for monitoring Mg and Ni in nickel ore slurry prior to smelting.  LIBS system installed at site to provide continuous composition analysis (C, Ca, Mg, Al, Si) of the slurry prior to filtration and pelletizing. Quebec, Canada). 9

Continuous On-Line Monitoring of Bayer liquor Monitoring elements in caustic solutions at 100 C for mineral processing by diverting a flow from the main stream at few l/min 10

Mineral processing/ smelting process  Molten metals: Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Lead molten electrolytes and Steel.  NRC team succeeded to implement the technology for the first time to monitor 24/7 the chemical composition of molten metal.  30 LIBS systems installed worldwide in automotive industry for monitoring molten zinc. 11

LIBS–NRC–Prototype for soil analysis . 12 12

LIBS–NRC–Prototype Instrumental derivation The relative standard of deviation is < 3 (%)  For the first time, NRC team and its licensee obtained the accreditation ISO 17025 for the LIBS method for soil analysis.  Analysis time is 1 minute per sample instead of 24h by conventional technique 13

Portable LIBS for Security and Nuclear Activity Inspections  Assessment of uranium oxides (yellow cake) origin  Materials identification  Real-time analysis 14

The portable LIBS for the analysis of liquid 15 15

NRC – Standoff LIBS probe for measuring at distance up to 10-50m 16

Unique Proposition for NRC LIBS for Mining Applications Feature So what? • Photon counting for detection Low cost of system and ownership • and fiber laser for generation Better sensitivity (LOD 10 ppb) • High sampling speed as 1000,000 samples/s. It takes 1 s to sample 1m 2 • Robustness for site conditions and harsh environments. • Lifetime of laser head 11.5 years 24/7 Advanced chemometrics tools Already adapted to mineral ores, soil and oil sands Application methods Enable industrial use No gas shielding required Quantitative analysis of major, minor and Able to detect extremely low concentrations trace elements Access to bulk through successive shots of Can penetrate contaminated surfaces that combination of 2 laser pulses may not be representative of the bulk 17

Mining applications • LIBS has features and capabilities to be applied at different stages of the mining value chain.  At line for fast analysis  On-line analysis  Standoff Analysis  Low cost of ownership  Robustness • Challenges for mining LIBS:  Representative Sampling  Surface analysis vs bulk 18

Conclusions • LIBS opens new ways for fast and direct determination of chemical quantities for mining applications. • LIBS can be applied and used for real time analysis at different stages of the mining cycle and oil sands processing from exploration to finished products. • The advent of new detectors, lasers and spectrometers open new opportunities for the LIBS in mining applications. • The sampling and surface vs bulk analysis are issues but it can be resolved through different approaches that are currently under study. 19

The LIBS team at NRC Mohamad Sabsabi Christian Padioleau Aissa Harhira Maxime Rivard André Hamel Francis Boismenu Paul Bouchard Josette El Haddad René Héon Alain Blouin André Moreau Kheireddine Rifai Francis Vanier Daniel Gagnon 20

Thank you Questions Mohamad Sabsabi Energy, Mining and Environment Tel: 450 641 5113 Email: mohamad.sabsabi@nrc‐cnrc.gc.ca www.nrc‐cnrc.gc.ca/eng/rd/eme 21

Technology Readiness Levels Collaboration Phases Completed Industrial Partnership NRC + CRC‐ NRC NRC + CRC‐ORE +Suppliers and Users ORE+Suppliers+Users 1 2 3 8 4 5 6 7 9 Basic Proof of Validation Idea Concept In Intended Demonstration Environment Concept Alpha site Development First of kind Validation Commercialization in Lab (simulating industrial cooditions) Commercialization Validation In Intended Environment Close to Expected Performance (beta site Piloting) 22

Business model and how we work? Miner / Producer: access to Miner / Producer: access to practical solutions practical solutions R&D Commercial Engineering systems OEM Manufacturers OEM Manufacturers NRC / CRC‐ORE NRC / CRC‐ORE Market pull Market pull R&D NRC provides sensor NRC provides sensor Co‐funded technology, Co‐funded technology, enabling tool, enabling tool, Access to beta sites Access to beta sites CRC‐ORE implementing new CRC‐ORE implementing new Technology Transfer technologies technologies 23

CRC ORE Annual Assembly 2016 Innovating the future SESSION 2 integrate. introduce.