COM2017 | THE CONFERENCE OF METALLURGISTS hosting World Gold & Nickel Cobalt Proceedings ISBN: 978-1-926872-36-0

OXYGEN MASS TRANSFER IN THE ALBION PROCESSTM: FROM THE LABORATORY TO

THE PLANT

P. Voigt1 and D. Mallah2, and M. Hourn1

1
Glencore Technology
Level 10, 160 Ann Street
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4000
2
Glencore Zinc
Railway Avenue
Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia 4825

ABSTRACT

The successful commissioning and ramp up of the Albion Process TM at the GPM Gold Project
relied on the successful scaling up of the process from batch and continuous pilot plant campaigns (Voigt
et al., 2015). Critical information about reaction kinetics and residence time, grind size and pulp density
were determined at the laboratory scale and successfully applied to the commercial scale. A limitation of
small scale testwork, is that some parameters cannot be measured reliably and scaling up is a function of
the physical size of the equipment which isn’t possible to test with laboratory scale equipment. Oxygen
mass transfer rate is one such parameter since this is a complex interaction of many factors including slurry
temperature, solution and slurry chemistry, slurry viscosity, agitator type, dimensions and power, oxygen
bubble residence time, oxygen purity, tank geometry and oxygen injection technique. Oxygen generation
represents an important operating cost for the Albion ProcessTM. Pivotal to the Albion ProcessTM operating
economically at atmospheric pressure is the capability to efficiently transfer oxygen while utilising as much
oxygen injected to the process as possible. To respond to this Glencore Technology developed the
HyperSpargeTM supersonic gas injector. This paper compares the HyperSparge TM against other sparging
techniques to quantify the benefits of oxygen injection via a supersonic gas jet on scale up of the oxygen
mass transfer system. The paper then examines plant survey data from the GPM Gold Project to
demonstrate the very high oxygen utilisation that can be achieved with a correctly designed oxygen mass
transfer system.

KEYWORDS

Albion, Glencore, Hypersparge, Laval, Leaching, Mass Transfer, Oxygen, Sonic, Sparge, Water

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INTRODUCTION

One of the main challenges in chemical reactor design is the scale-up of processes from the
laboratory to industrial scale. Processes which cannot be faithfully simulated with an experiment at the
laboratory scale face challenges due to the physical dimensions and complexity of full scale operation. One
example of this is the design of oxygen mass transfer systems in atmospheric oxidative leaching circuits
such as the Albion ProcessTM. A number of constraints associated with the use of laboratory scale
equipment to design full scale circuits are involved in gas mass transfer processes in agitated slurries such
as the Albion Process. Chiefly, typical laboratory and pilot size equipment lacks the required volume to
provide useful design data without relying on empirical correlations: the specific agitator power input is
artificially high, the bubble residence time in the vessel is artificially low, the oxygen partial pressure at the
base of the vessel is artificially low and the oxygen delivery method may differ significantly to the
industrial process. Further, the dynamic nature of the process introduces additional impacts on gas mass
transfer, including the presence of solids, recycle streams and minor elements, plus the variances within the
reality of a process plant such as disruptions or variance of feed quality.

For such processes, it is critical that the fundamentals are understood so that key data can be
collected from appropriately designed experiments at the laboratory scale for input into a robust design
approach to render the industrial scale process effective and fit-for-purpose.

To maximise oxygen mass transfer efficiency, operational availability, simplicity and safety,
Glencore Technology (GT) developed the HyperSpargeTM supersonic gas injector. Originally designed for
injecting oxygen to the Albion ProcessTM, the HyperSpargeTM has found application in other processes
using air, oxygen, sulphur dioxide and gas mixtures. Over 400 HyperSparge TM units are installed globally
in duties from in-line slurry conditioning, fermentation, waste-water treatment, CIL/CIP processes and
oxidative leaching.

This paper compares the HyperSpargeTM to other gas injection techniques such as ring spargers
and converging nozzles. The key data are identified for scale-up from the laboratory to industrial scale.
Survey data are examined from the GPM Gold plant in Armenia where the oxygen mass transfer system
was successfully designed and comments are made about the operational advantages of the HyperSpargeTM
compared to other systems such as sintered spargers.

OXYGEN MASS TRANSFER

The Albion ProcessTM is an atmospheric oxidative leaching process developed by GT in 1994 and
is described extensively in the literature (Hourn & Turner, 2010, 2012; Hourn et al., 2014; Voigt et al.,
2015; Senchenko et al., 2016). Oxidation of pyrite is one of the key reactions in the Albion Process TM
chemistry as shown in Equation 1.

( ) (1)

The first step of the oxidation mechanism is the dissolution of oxygen in the liquid phase since
electron transfer occurs partly through the action of the ferric/ferrous ion couple and the action of dissolved
oxygen reacting directly with pyrite. Hence the rate at which oxygen is transferred is critical to process
efficiency and can be simplified for a reactor as shown in Equation 2 (Middleton & Smith, 2004).

( ) (2)

Where kL is the liquid film transfer co-efficient (m/s), a is the specific gas surface area (/m), V is reactor
volume (m3), Csat is the oxygen solubility at saturation (g/m3) and C is the steady state oxygen level (g/m3).
The terms kL and a are normally combined to represent the oxygen mass transfer co-efficient, which is the
parameter to be maximised.

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For practical purposes the kLa term needs to be maximised by determination of a relationship with
power input through the sparger and the agitator and then selection of equipment that satisfies the system’s
oxygen transfer rate requirements. A simplified equation (Middleton, 1992) relating kLa to power input is
shown in Equation 3.

( ) ( ) (3)

Where K is a coalescence constant, Us is superficial gas velocity (m/s) and Pg is absorbed power (W). A
correction is also applied for temperature since increasing temperature will reduce slurry viscosity and
surface tension increasing the mass transfer interfacial area. The coefficients a and b are empirical
constants that are system specific and are determined through testwork.

There are several correlations between kLa and energy input reported in literature sources. The
majority of these correlations are based on biochemical reactor data, limiting their applicability to describe
oxidative leaching systems: The agitation intensity (kW/m3), system chemistry, operating temperature and
oxygen injection methods are very different in leaching reactors (Van’t Reit, 1979; Moo-Young & Blanch,
1981; Oguz et al., 1987; Vasconcelos et al., 1998). Most of these correlations are also derived from
laboratory vessels of limited volume, typically 10 L or less.

The preferred way to achieve an accurate industrial scale up of mass transfer phenomena is to
experimentally determine a given system’s empirical constants a and b in Equation 3 in conditions
reflecting the industrial scale process. Once the specific system’s constants are defined, Equation 3 is then
used along with reactor design knowledge to calculate the tank geometry, power input required from the
agitator and gas requirements to achieve the target kLa value. GT has developed an experimental procedure
to determine the empirical coefficients a and b for a given mass transfer system. This expertise results in an
accurate scale up with minimal error. An example of using this method to compare the experimental and
calculated kLa for a copper leach system is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Experimental and calculated kLa for a system using GT’s experimental methodology

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INJECTION OF OXYGEN INTO SLURRY

Importance of Oxygen Injection Method in Mass Transfer

The method in which oxygen is injected has a large bearing on the efficiency of the oxygen mass
transfer. Referring to Equation 2, the liquid film co-efficient (kL) is proportional to the oxygen diffusion
coefficient and inversely proportional to the liquid film thickness. The consequence for oxygen injector
selection is that high pressure gas injection maximises shear and significantly erodes the liquid film
thickness resulting in increasing kL. Referring to Equation 3, the surface area (a) is proportional to power
absorbed into the system relative to system volume and superficial gas velocity. Surface area is also
inversely proportional to bubble size. The consequence for oxygen injector selection is to maximise shear
and minimise bubble size but also to select an agitator that provides sufficient complimentary power input.

Oxygen Injection Methods

There are many gas delivery methods available on the market. The open pipe (i.e. ring spargers)
and converging type nozzles are common in the minerals industry. Further, sintered tip spargers find
application in flotation machines and chemical reaction systems. These devices can be somewhat suitable
for laboratory experiments but are plagued with operational issues at the industrial scale, particularly in
chemical reaction processes due to the fast accumulation of products and the continual need to clean the
tips.

In 2009, GT performed a number of experiments comparing the performance of an open pipe

sparger, a converging nozzle type sparger and GT’s newly developed supersonic nozzle, later built into the
HyperSpargeTM.

Aside from delivering gas required to sustain a chemical reaction, open pipes do not transfer a
significant amount of energy into the leach vessel, with all the energy required for oxygen mass transfer
provided by impeller shear. For these spargers, the gas is typically compressed to a value slightly superior
to the slurry level’s hydrostatic head pressure in the tank. The resulting pressure drop across the injection
point tip is low, resulting in low exit gas velocity. Open pipes produce, large, unstable bubbles.

Convergent type nozzles, such as the SlamJet and MinnovEX gas spargers, were developed for
flotation column aeration duties, and have found some use in slurry oxidation systems. These nozzles
converge to a narrow opening, and the gas is compressed to several atmospheres above the hydrostatic
head level in the slurry tank. The pressure drop across the tip of the injection point is 3–5 atmospheres,
resulting in higher exit gas velocity. Thus, more energy is stored into the gas from the sparging system, and
released at the injection point, so less energy is required at the impeller relative to an open pipe system.

Testwork carried out by GT has found that for oxygen mass transfer purposes, energy input to the
system via the gas sparging system is more efficient than energy input via the impeller, as long as the
majority of the energy released from the gas pressure drop across the sparger is converted to kinetic energy,
rather than lost as heat. As such GT developed a supersonic gas injector, the HyperSparge TM, to further
improve the efficiency of the gas injection system. The HyperSpargeTM uses a converging-diverging nozzle
to maximise energy recovery from the gas pressure drop by accelerating the gas to supersonic velocities.

Efficiency of Oxygen Injection Methods

Energy is stored in the gas sparging system by pressurising the gas prior to its release via the
sparger. The theoretical energy input to compress the gas is defined by Bernoulli’s equation for
incompressible flow shown in Equation 4.

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( ) (( ) ) (4)

Where n is isothermal efficiency, W is work (J), P 1 is outlet pressure (N/m2) and P2 is inlet pressure (N/m2),
T is temperature (K), R is the ideal gas constant (8.314472 J/Kmol) and m is moles.

The pressure energy is then recovered as work into the system, and ideally the conversion
efficiency is maximised. High speed gas injection maximises turbulence and shear at the injection point,
which reduces the liquid film boundary layer around the gas bubble and increases the liquid film diffusion
rate, thus increasing the kL value. The higher kinetic energy of the gas will translate to a higher interfacial
area (“a”), which further assists with mass transfer.

In a conventional pipe or ring sparger, the nozzle diameter is relatively large, resulting in a low
velocity gas flow, which remains constant along the length of the nozzle. In this configuration, higher gas
flows can lead to large, unstable bubble sizes and consequently smaller interfacial areas (a) due to rapid
bubble coalescence. As a general rule, the size of the bubble generated from a conventional sparger will be
close to the size of the orifice.

The formation of fine bubbles requires a specific type of nozzle. Nozzles can normally be
described as convergent (narrowing down from a wide diameter to a smaller diameter in the direction of
the flow) or divergent (expanding from a smaller diameter to a larger one in the direction of the flow).

Convergent nozzles accelerate subsonic gases, with the dynamic pressure decreasing from the
nozzle opening to the narrowest point as the gas is accelerated. Once the ratio of the gas pressure at the
nozzle throat to the feed pressure reaches a critical value, the flow will reach sonic velocity. This forms a
shock wave in the nozzle throat. The nozzle is then said to be choked, and the gas flow is at Mach 1. Gas
flow cannot be accelerated beyond Mach 1 in the throat of this type of nozzle.

Increasing the nozzle feed pressure further will not increase the velocity of the gas at the throat of
the nozzle, and so any additional pressure energy is then stored in the gas in the form of heat.

Divergent nozzles decelerate subsonic gases; the gas expands in the nozzle and slows down.
However, when the gas enters the divergent section at Mach 1, the divergent nozzle will accelerate the gas,
as the stored heat energy is converted to velocity. Therefore, combination convergent-divergent nozzles,
such as those used in the HyperSpargeTM can accelerate gases that have choked in the convergent section to
supersonic speeds. These nozzles develop thrust by converting the stored heat that builds up in the gas in
the throat into velocity when in the divergent section of the nozzle.

When gas is accelerated to velocities beyond the local speed of sound in the divergent section of
the nozzle, the local pressure drops further, and does not recover to ambient pressure until the gas passes
through the resulting shock wave as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Collapsing bubbles crossing the shock wave of a supersonic nozzle (Kawamura et al., 2004).

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The low pressure that is generated in the divergent section of the nozzle leads to collapse of the
gas bubble into a fine mist, and results in a dramatic increase in the gas surface area. This is shown in the
figure above, where the gas bubble leaves the throat of the nozzle at a size that is fairly similar to the size
of the throat diameter, and then collapses to a fine mist of micro-bubbles in the low pressure zone in the
divergent section. This collapse is triggered by the gas crossing the shock wave that is formed once the gas
is choked in the throat of the nozzle. This shock wave can extend anywhere from the nozzle throat to the
end of the nozzle and beyond, depending on the pressure applied to the nozzle.

A convergent-divergent nozzle has two important roles. The design of the nozzle determines the
exit velocity for a given pressure and temperature. And because of flow choking in the throat of the nozzle,
the nozzle design also sets the mass flow rate through the nozzle. Therefore, the nozzle design determines
the thrust of the gas injection system. By changing the shape of the nozzle and the flow conditions
upstream and downstream, both the amount of gas that passes through the nozzle and the thrust generated
by the nozzle can be controlled. A convergent-divergent nozzle is represented in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Cross section of a convergent-divergent nozzle (NASA, 2015).

EXPERIMENTAL

A number of experiments were performed to compare the nozzle types evaluating on the variables
of thrust and oxygen mass transfer co-efficient (kLa). Experiments were performed in a jacketed, 1750 L
tank fitted with four baffles and a lid to minimise evaporative loss. The process solution employed was a
copper leach solution at pH 1, with 15 g/L copper. High purity gaseous oxygen and nitrogen were used.
The nozzles employed for the experiments were:

 10 mm open pipe
 Converging high pressure sparger, 4 mm exit diameter
 Converging-diverging HyperSpargeTM nozzle, 1 mm throat and 5 mm exit diameter (“MV”)
 Converging-diverging HyperSpargeTM nozzle, 1 mm throat and 1.7 mm exit diameter (“MT”)

Thrust

Thrust is defined in Equation 5 as

( ) (5)

Where Q is the mass flowrate (kg/s), Uexit is the superficial gas velocity at the nozzle exit point (m/s), Aexit
is the exit area (m2), Pexit and Patm are the pressures at the exit point and atmosphere, respectively. In the
present context, thrust can be used to infer energy conversion efficiency of pressure stored in the incoming
gas stream into momentum. The higher the thrust measured, the more efficient the nozzle will be in
converting pressure energy into mass transfer with low heat dissipation losses. The nozzle discharge points
were positioned perpendicular and centred, 50 mm above a balance tray surface. The gas plume impinged
the balance’s surface and the mass imparted was recorded. For an identical energy input in the sparging gas

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(ie fixed flow and delivery pressure), each nozzle generated a different degree of thrust. The data are
shown in Figure 4.

20
Convergent Nozzle
GT MV Nozzle
GT MT Nozzle
15 10mm Open Pipe
Gas Thrust (gram-force)

10

0
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Gas flowrate (L/min at STP)
-5

Figure 4. Comparison of developed thrust values as a function of gas flowrate (at fixed impeller speed).

The results above show that at up to 6 L/min gas flow, all nozzles exhibited similar thrust values;
less than 3 grams (g) of thrust recorded by the scale. However, at higher flows, the nozzles have a very
different behaviour: The open pipe sparger developed negligible thrust across the entire range of gas
flowrates, and so did not exert any force on the balance.

The convergent nozzle showed a linear response, with thrust increasing with flowrate, up to a
maximum of 5 g at 13 L/min of gas flow.

Both GT HyperSpargeTM supersonic nozzles generated significantly more thrust than the open
pipe or convergent nozzle. In general, the nozzle designed to produce maximum thrust (MT) outperformed
the high velocity (MV) nozzle across all flow rates, achieving a thrust of 18 g at a gas flowrate of 13
L/min.

This compared well to the maximum theoretical thrust of 21g for a nozzle discharging 13 L/min of
gas flow. This meant that 85% of the pressure energy in the gas stream was converted to momentum for the
HyperSpargeTM MT nozzle profile. Both supersonic nozzles also displayed a considerable steepening of the
thrust curve at gas flowrates above 11 L/min, near the flow rate where the nozzles were choked, indicating
superior thrust as the gas velocity exiting the convergent-divergent nozzles approached supersonic values.

Oxygen mass transfer co-efficient (kLa)

For slurry temperatures up to 50°C, the oxygen mass transfer co-efficient was determined using
the Dynamic Gassing Out Method (Taguchi & Humphrey, 1966). Above 50°C, the combined sulphite
method was used (Puskeiler, 2005). Experiments were conducted with and without solids in the reactor.
The results conducted at ambient temperature and fixed impeller speed (210 rpm) are presented in Figure 5.
The GT HyperSpargeTM MV and MT nozzle designs resulted in consistently higher k La values across the
entire range of gas flow rates tested relative to the open pipe and the convergent nozzle. As the gas flow
rate approached choked flow in the GT nozzles, the difference in kLa was more pronounced, and was up to
300% of the value observed for the conventional open pipe and 50% compared to a convergent nozzle.

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0.011
10mm Open Pipe, 5bar(g)
0.009
KLa (1/s) GT "MV" Nozzle, 5bar(g)
0.007 GT "MT" Nozzle, 5bar(g)
0.005

0.003

0.001
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Gas Flowrate (L/min)

Figure 5. Performance comparison: kLa vs gas flowrate at 5 bar(g) inlet pressure and fixed impeller speed

The GT HyperSpargeTM MV and MT nozzles show similar performance because both are
variations on the convergent-divergent design. Of the two HyperSpargeTM nozzles, the MT nozzle provided
the highest kLa, gas utilisation and thrust values, typically by 25% relative to the MV nozzle at a set gas
flow rate. The higher thrust generated in the MT nozzle at the expense of exit gas velocity explains this
difference.

SCALE UP FROM LABPRATORY TO INDUSTRIAL SCALE

Through the experimental method, GT established that supersonic gas injection was technically a
superior way to inject gas into a slurry requiring oxygen. The next step was to develop the converging-
diverging nozzle into a product that can be used at the industrial scale.

The HyperSpargeTM

The HyperSpargeTM was developed by GT as a complete gas injection solution. At the heart of the
device is a converging-diverging nozzle which accelerates gases to supersonic velocities for injection into
solutions and slurries. The nozzle is designed to minimise pressure energy loss. A schematic of the
HyperSpargeTM and close up of the nozzle is shown in Figure 6.

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Figure 6. HyperSpargeTM gas injector and supersonic nozzle.

In addition to the process advantages of superior oxygen mass transfer rates, the HyperSpargeTM is
safe and easy to use. The HyperSpargeTM can operate over a range of pressures which can be adjusted as a
means to regulate gas flow requirements. The nozzles can be easily interchanged with the threaded nozzle
holder allowing the use of different nozzle diameters and hence flow operating envelopes. One attractive
feature is that the sparger can be inserted and removed from a vessel while it is full of slurry spillage free
without using any additional removal device.

Oxygen Mass Transfer System Design

During the GPM Gold Albion ProcessTM plant development, oxygen mass transfer experiments
were conducted to determine the kLa under conditions as close as practicable for temperature and slurry
conditions. The data was used by GT to then correctly size the gas injectors, agitators and optimise tank
dimensions. The design criteria for the GPM Gold Plant are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. GPM Gold Albion ProcessTM Plant Design Criteria

Parameter Units Actual Design
Throughput t/h 13.1 14.5
S2- concentration % 17.6 20.0
S2- oxidation % 76 76
Oxygen utilisation % 90 80
Required kLa m/s 0.12 0.14
CIL Gold recovery % 90 92

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The economics of the industrial process rely on the efficiency of oxygen transfer to the system to
maximise its transfer rate (achieving design residence time) and maximise utilisation of the oxygen that is
injected.

A survey was completed to collect plant data and assess the transfer rate and transfer efficiency.
Since an industrial plant was the subject of the survey, the plant couldn’t be taken off-line to replicate
laboratory experiments. Instead, the oxidation extent and oxygen consumption from the operating plant
were compared against the design. The conditions of the survey were a throughput rate of 14.0 t/h
concentrate and a sulphide concentration of 17.0%.The survey data for oxidation extent and gold recovery
are shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Sulphide oxidation survey of GPM Gold Albion ProcessTM plant.

Figure 7 shows that at the design throughput the sulphide oxidation is achieved along with
corresponding gold recovery. The oxygen utilisation was determined by comparing the oxygen injection to
the process during the survey period against the modelled values. The results are shown in Figure 8.

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Figure 8. Oxygen utilisation at the GPM Gold Albion ProcessTM Plant

Figure 8 shows that the cumulative oxygen utilisation is in excess of the design value of 90%
achieving 93%. This observation is consistent with other multi-tank Albion ProcessTM plants where it
appears oxygen that is dissolved in the first few tanks of the leaching train is utilised later in the process.
Figures 7 and 8 both illustrate that the oxygen mass transfer system was correctly and successfully
designed to achieve sulphide oxidation capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxygen injection using convergent-divergent nozzles generates superior thrust. This results in
improved oxygen mass transfer compared to other gas injection techniques. Power delivered to the system
is more efficient through gas injection rather than mechanical agitation. The HyperSpargeTM is a
development of the convergent-divergent nozzle and offers additional advantages over other sparging
technologies contributing to a safer work environment, maximising process run-time and optimising energy
input through the agitator. GT successfully scaled up the oxygen mass transfer system from the laboratory
to the industrial scale at the GPM Gold Albion ProcessTM plant. The plant achieves greater than design
performance in terms of oxygen mass transfer and oxygen utilisation.

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Hourn, M., Voigt, P., & Turner, D.W. (2014). Development of the Albion Process plant to treat refractory
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COM2017 | THE CONFERENCE OF METALLURGISTS hosting World Gold & Nickel Cobalt Proceedings ISBN: 978-1-926872-36-0

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