ChaptVt 10

HIGH GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION: AN INDUSTRIAL APPLICA-

TIoN OF MAGNETISM

D. Kelland. H. Kolm, C. deLatour, E. Maxwell,

and J. Oberteuffer

Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory, MIT

Cambridge, :Massachusetts 02139

1. INTRODUCTION

A widespread commercial application of magnetism is the separation

of mixed materials with different magnetic properties. Most magnetic
separators use permanent magnets or electromagnets which remove
ferromagnetic impurities such as bolts from non -magnetic products. Flour
and cereal, among other common foodstuffs are subjected to cleaning by
electromagnets. The grade of scrap iron is improved while loading it
for transportation by lifting it magnetically which reduces the non -ferro-
magnetic content.

Less well known but of great economic importance are the magnetic
separators used to improve low grade mineral ores. The reduction to
metal requires a certain percentage of mineral in the ore which is not
always found occurring naturally. About 23 minerals are improved or
beneficiated by magnetic separation [ll. In some low grade taconite, iron
is found as magnetite which is separated from a background of silica by
conventional magnetic separators.

These devices have a variety of physical forms utilizing drums, belts,

and grates, to accomplish the separation. The most familiar of the con-
ventional separation devices is probably the magnetic drum separator.
One of these is shown schematically in Fig. 1. It consists of a revolving
drum in which a set of stationary magnets provide a magnetic force on
the surface of the drum. The force holds the magnetic particles against
the revolving drum carrying them over to the right while allowing the non-
magnetic particles to fall off the drum to the left. This device is useful
for the separation of strongly magnetic particles of sizes somewhat larger
than 100 microns. The relatively low magnetic fields and field gradients

581
582 D. KELLAND, H. KOLM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWELL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER

at the surface of the drum are produced by either electromagnets or per-

manent magnets within the drum.

For separations of materials with smaller particles, having weaker

magnetic properties, machines of this kind do not work. Several attempts
have been made in the past decade or two to develop separators which
would treat non -ferromagnetic ores which contain paramagnetic or weakly
ferromagnetic components. These typically have magnetizations several
orders 01 magnitude less than that of magnetite. For example, a. -Fe203'
at 10 kG has a magnetization of 0.58 emu/gm whereas that of magnetite
is 96 emu/gm. Also, the development of machines with higher magnetic
field gradients, to trap smaller particles with smaller magnetic moments,
has been the object of many efforts, as there exist large deposits of ores
requiring very fine grinding to liberate the mineral components.

In the past, advancements have been made in available magnetic-field

strength by using larger coils and currents, improved magnetic circuits,
and smaller circuit gaps. Higher field gradients in the working volume of
the separators have been produced by the use of sharp pointed elements,
grooved plates, and spheres of various diameter. All of these methods
shunt the field through large volumes of ferromagnetic material, reducing
the effective open field-volume and the throughput capacity of the device.
The optimum system would have a small material-volume, a large field-
value throughout the open volume, a large number of gradient sites,
and the highest possible field gradient at these sites.

A magnetic separator with these features was develoRed at the Francis

Bitter National Magnet Laboratory about five years ago [2 J. Dr. Henry
Kolm, working on the problem of removing iron -stained titanium dioxide
from kaolin clay, designed a magnetic separator with a finely-divided
ferromagnetic matrix which occupies about 5% of the field volume. The
first material used for the matrix was steel wool. It has many small
fibers with points and sharp edges which have radii of curvature on the
order of a few microns. When placed in a region of magnetic field, there
are field gradients created at these points and edges which extend into
the space between the fibers. Because the steel wool is distributed
throughout the volume of a pipe or can forming the separator, but does
not fill the space with material, high magnetic field gradients are thus
provided all through the effective open volume. These gradients attract
and hold micron-size particles which have been magnetized by the back-
ground field. If the steel wool is magnetically saturated, gradients of the
order of 1 kG/micron can be obtained. The strong magnetic fields are
produced by efficient magnet design using normal magnets. They could be
produced for large volumes and high fields by superconducting magnets.

A schematic of a simple high gradient magnetic separator is shown

in Fig. 2. The feed, usually in the form of a liquid slurry, is passed
down through the cannister in which the ferromagnetic matrix is packed.
In the presence of the strong magnetic field, the magnetic particles are
trapped on the matrix; the liquid and non-magnetic particles pass easily
HIGH-GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 583

FEED

ROTATING
STATIONARY / DRUM
MAGNETS

TA ILS
MAGS

FIG. 1. A Conventional Drum-Type Magnetic Separator.

FEED IN

MAGNETIC FIELD

MAGNET COIL

STAINLESS I
STEE L WOOL I~
MATRIX Ji;~

FILTERED '---_ _ _--'

LIQUID
FIG. 2. Schematic Diagram of a High Gradient Magnetic Separator
(HGMS).
584 D. KElLAND, H. KOlM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWElL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER
through the relatively open structure of the matrix, and are collected
below. Magnetic components are retrieved by reducing the applied magnetic
field to zero and backwashing the matrix.

The basic features of this static separator have been incorporated in

a device designed for continuous operation for the treatment of
materials in which the magnetic component is large. In iron ore this mag-
netic component may be 50% or more of the solid content. To stop the
operation of a static machine periodically in order to clean out the mag-
netically-trapped ore would not be practical.

In 1971 the RANN (Research Applied to National Needs) Division of

the National Science Foundation awarded a contract to the National Magnet
Laboratory at MIT to develop a continuous process based on high gradient
magnetic separation for beneficiation of certain iron ores [3J. We are now
engaged in a pilot plant test of a continuous device in the laboratory of a
major ore producer in Minnesota. Other research at the National Magnet
Laboratory on high gradient magnetic separation [ 4] has included the ap-
plicability of HGMS to the removal of pyritic sulfur from coal [5J purifica-
tion of water [6J and an investirtion of the basic characteristics of
HGMS devices and processes [7 .

The potential applications for high gradient magnetic separation de-

vices and techniques are numerous. In addition to the beneficiation of a
variety of minerals by high gradient magnetic separation, water purification
and liquid-solid separations in chemical processing can be accomplished.
Through its application for the beneficiation of low grade minerals,
HGMS may be useful in recovering value from minerals tailing piles as well
as from coaland oil ash. Water purifications include removal of suspended
magnetic solids such as those found in steel mill effluents. The removal
of dissolved heavy metal constituents which are present in many industrial
water effluents is also possible. Although superconducting magnets are
not necessary for many present applications of high gradient magnetic
separation, it is anticipated that future large -s cale high -field applications
will use superconducting magnets.

II. PRINCIPLES OF HIGH GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION

A simple expression for attractive magnetic force on a body

is given by F == VM(dH/dx), where V is the volume of the body,
M is its magnetization in the field H, and dH/dx is the field gradient ~ 8J .
High gradient magnetic separation devices seek to maximize this force
maximizing the magnetic field variation across the volume of the particle
to be trapped. Field gradients as large as 1 kG/micron are produced by
applying strong magnetic fields to ten micron diameter fibers of ferro-
magnetic materials as found in the matrices of HGMS devices. Since the
magnetization of a particle is in general a function of the ambient magnetic
field, maximizing the magnetic field in a HGMS device also increases the
 HIGH-GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 585
magnetic attractive force. For ferromagnetic materials this effect
generally saturates at fields of the order of 10 kilogauss, but for paramag-
netic particles, the magnetization increases with increasing magnetic
field beyond 10 kilogauss. For these materials larger magnetic fields
enhance the magnetic trapping forces.

It maybe seen intuitively that the range of the magnetic force implied
by the magnetic field gradient dH/dx must be matched to the size of the
particle to be trapped. If the particle is much larger than the range of
the gradient force then only a small portion of the particle will feel the
effect of the force. On the other hand, if particle is small compared to the
range of the gradient, then the difference of magnetization across the
particle, which accounts for this dipole force, will not be large. For a
given magnetic field gradient, then, the magnetic force as a function of
increasing particle size may be thought of as first increasing as the volume
of the particle, for particles small compared to the magnetic field
gradient range, and finally saturating at some upper limit for a particle
which is large compared to the range of the magnetic field gradient.

In a magnetic separation device it is the competition between the

force of magnetic attraction on a particle and the gravitational or hydro-
dynamic drag forces which determines the efficiency of the separation.
This is indicated schematically in Fig. 3. It may be shown that the ratio
of the magnetic force on a particle to the competing gravitational and

SLURRY
FLOW

APPLIED
MAGNETIC
'I'I ,,~ ~
II
FIELD

I I
II
I I III I
II I I I I I
I I I II
FIG. 3. Schematic Representation of a Fiber in a High Gradient
Magnetic Separator.
586 D. KELLAND, H. KOLM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWELL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER

hydrodynamic drag forces, is a maximum for a magnetic field gradient

range which approximately matches the size of a magnetic particle. In
HGMS separators this characteristic distance can be very small and this
is why the process is more effective for small particles than with conven-
tional magnetic separators.

The hydrodynamic drag force depends on either the first or second

power of the diameter of the particle whereas the gravitational force
depends on the third power. If the characteristic distance associated with
the magnetic field gradient is adjusted to the particle diameter so as to
maximize the magnetic force, the magnetic force will depend on the second
power of the diameter. Because of this difference in the dependence of these
three forces on the particle diameter, the drag force becomes dominant
for very small particles and the gravitational force for very large particles.
In between,the magnetic force dominates and exhibits a maximum. F~~
cupric oxide particles (density = 4, magnetic susceptibility = 2.4 x 10
emu/g.) this occurs for a diameter of approximately 0.5 mm. in a field of
10 kG. For higher fields, or particles of higher susceptibility or lower
density, the maximum occurs at smaller diameters and vice-versa. In the
earlier conventional magnetic separation art, operating principally with
ferromagnetic or ferritic particles (like magnetite), these considerations
are not critical as the high intrinsic magnetization of the particle, even in
weak fields, insures that the magnetic force exceeds the competing forces
for a wide range of particle sizes.

III. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH GRADIENT MAGNETIC

SEPARATION

The efficiency of the separation accomplished by a magnetic separa-

tion device may be expressed in two ways. First, the amount of magnetic
material recovered in the magnetic component (mags) may be measured
relative to the amount of magnetic> material in the feeds. This percentage
is called "recovery". Second, the separation may be characterized by the
purity of the magnetic component separated; that is, the percentage of
magnetic material in the mags relative to the total mass recovered in the
mags. These two measures are independent quantities and together
determine the efficiency of the separation.

For most separation devices, both conventional and high gradient de-
vices, there is a relation between the grade and the recovery of the
des ired component, the product of the separator. As the operating vari-
abIes of the separator are changed, the recovery can be increased at the
expense of the grade, and vice versa.

For high gradient magnetic separation devices,the recovery as a

function of the two principle operating variables of the separator is
shown in Fig. 4. The material used in this test was a mixture of 10
micron cupric oxide powder and aluminum oxide power slurried in water.
HIGH·GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 587

100%

+, , 100kOe
'+,
""-
R
50

o
50 100kOe Ho
I I ~
10 20 cm/s Vs
FIG. 4. Recovery Percent of Desired Component in Mags Relative to
Feed, vs. Applied Magnetic Field (Solid Curves) and Slurry
Flow Rate (Dashed Curves).

100%

22 em Is
"_---- -0--__ 79
...... .....

, " ',,.............
" ........... -0_ _

" ~
w "
o "
"
« 80
a::
\
\\ " , ', .... ..... .... ....
(!) 0,
, .... "
,,"_.....',
...... ~,
'

~2.2
5 15 60 100kOe

60

RECOVERY
FIG. 5. The Grade, Percent Desired Component in Mass Relative to
Total Mass of the Mags, vs. Recovery under Various Conditions
of Applied Field and Slurry Flow Rate.
588 D. KELLAND. H. KOLM. C. DeLATOUR. E. MAXWELL. AND J. OBERTEUFFER

100~--------------------~

I
40~1--~~~~~~~~--~--~

FIG. 6. Recovery of a Non-Magnetic Iron Ore vs. Applied Magnetic

Field at Two Different Values of Slurry Flow Rate.

1OCr-----------------------------~

0---0.
..... .....
... .....
80-
--
.... 0 - - _ recovery

--0

60-
_------0
_' _ ...0- - - grade
0- - '"(Y' - . -

4Ct-

H=20 kOe

20 I I I I
5 10 15 20
FLOWRATE. cllfsec
FIG. 7. Grade and Recovery of a Non-Magnetic Iron Ore vs. Slurry
Flow Velocity in a HGMS device.
HIGH-GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 589

It may be seen that the recovery of cupric oxide increases with increasing
magnetic field at all slurry velocity rates, and decreases with increasing
slurry velocity for all values of applied magnetic fields. By contrast the
grade varies very little with increasing magnetic field and increases with
increasing velocity. If these pOints are plotted on a grade recovery curve,
as shown in Fig.5, it may be seen that increasing both the magnetic field
and the slurry flow velocity can increase simultaneously the recovery
of the desired component in the mags as well as the grade.

Similar results are obtained with taconite ores. Fig. 6 shows the
recovery of iron for field values up to 100 kG with two flow rates indicated.
The recovery is higher for slower flows (for a given field) at which more
material is trapped. The increase in recovery at higher fields is more
pronounced for higher flow rates (lower curve). Tradeoff between field
and flow capacity can be sought on the bas is of other parameters and
ultimately on economics.

Figure 7 shows the grade (and recovery) of the magnetically-trapped

product for a field of 20 kG plotted against flow rate. The grade increases
with flow rate because less non-magnetic material is trapped mechanically.
The stripping forces are higher in relation to the magnetic trapping
forces at higher flow rates, indicated by lower recovery. These figures
indicate the importance of having a high field available throughout the
volume of the separator and show that grade improves with increasing
flow rate- -a vital consideration in the economics of separation.

Figure 8 contains two grade-recovery curves, one for constant H

and the other for constant flow rate. The former shows that higher grades
may be attained at the expense of recovery by choosing higher flow rates.
The same result can be gotten by decreasing the field, but for a combin-
ation of good grade and recovery it would be better, except for very low
grades, to work at higher fields. It may be concluded that operating high
gradient magnetic separation devices at high throughput velocities and
high fields will yield a more efficient separation. Depending on the eco·
nomics,it may be desirable to use more costly but stronger magnetic fields
in order to increase the efficiency of the separation process. The use of
superconducting magnets to produce these fields may be indicated even
when a less efficient separation is possible using normal magnets.

IV. HIGH GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION DEVICES

Two basic types of high gradient magnetic separation devices have

been developed at the National Magnet Laboratory, and at Magnetic
Engineering Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts. These are
batch type devices and a continuous "Carousel" device whose particular
usefulness depends on tne application.
590 D. KELLAND, H. KOLM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWELL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER

100~--------------------------1

;'80 constant field

r- constant
0::: velocity / (20kOe)
W (5 cm/sec )
e5u
~60

40

40 50 60 70
GRADE,%
FIG. 8. Effect of Increasing Applied Field or Slurry Velocity on
Grade-Recovery Point for an HGMS Device.

A batch device, such as that shown schematically in Fig. 2 is useful

when the feed contains a relatively small amount of magnetic material
to be trapped in the separator. This allows a convenient duty cycle for
the separator; for example, in the removal of fine weakly magnetic
particles which stain kaolin. The slurry is allowed to pass through the
device for approximately 20 minutes during which time the impurity
particles are trapped. With the field reduced, the wash cycle takes place
in about 5 minutes. The use of slurry valves to switch between units
during the wash portion of the cycle or a simple surge tank makes the batch
device useful in this application where the material to be trapped repre-
sents perhaps one percent of the total volume of the feed material. The
capacity of the device for trapped material is approximately equal to 5
percent of the volume. In the case of water treatment where magnetic
impurities might constitute 2, 000 parts per million of the total feed
volume, it is indicated that a batch device would be adequate.

When a large proportion of the feed material is to be trapped by the

separator, the duty cycle of a batch type device may become inconveniently
short. For these applications such as beneficiation of iron ores,a con-
tinuous HGMS device is indicated. Such a device is shown in Fig. 9. A
wheel or "Carousel" containing cells which are packed witha filamentary
ferromagnetic material such as stainless steel wool is driven by an
external motor and allows the matrix cells to rotate into the region of
strong magnetic field. Here the feed slurry stream passes through the matrix
HIGH-GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 591

SLURRY
INPUT
WASH
WATER IN

CAROUSEL
MATRIX

FIG. 9. A Continuous "Carousel" HGMS Device.

and out below the device. In this region magnetic particles are trapped
in the cells. They are washed by the wash water which was introduced
by the pipes to the right of the feed pipe and finally, when the cell has
rotated around the opposite side of the device where the field is small,
the particles are washed out. The wheel turns continuously with new
cells constantly being introduced into the slurry stream. The device
shown in Fig. 9 is similar to the pilot plant device referred to in the
introduction which will be used for the beneficiation of non-magnetic
taconite ores. The wheel or Carousel in this device is approximately
45 centimeters in diameter and has a capacity of 3 tons of ore per hour.

Some particles, either by their small size or magnetic properties

cannot be trapped directly even in the matrix of a high gradient separator.
This is the case with some suspended solids, bacteria, and color particles
with contaminate water systems. It is possible, however, to associate
such particles with a magnetic seed. Finely divided iron oxide is coagulated
together with the contaminants into flocs which are then collected in the
separator. The removal of the flocs from the water stream is accomplish-
ed within a very short time after the flocculant is added. Very fast flow
rates are poss ible because of the large open volume of the separator and
because the amount of material to be removed from a water supply or
effluent stream is small compared to the volume of the stream.

In Table 1, data is given for surface and bottom samples from the
Charles River in Boston. Coliform bacteria and other solids have been
removed with the seeding technique. Approximately 1000 parts per million
iron oxide is used as the seed and the flocculant is aluminum sulphate.
592 D. KELLAND, H. KOlM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWELL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER

TABLE l. EFFECT OF MAGNETIC TREATMENT ON WATER QUALITY

CHARLES RIVER SAMPLE DEER ISLAND

SURFACE BOTTOM SEWAGE SAMPLE

control treated control treated control treated

Coliform
Bacteria
6
(jl00ml) 16,000 0 16,000 300 2.8xl0 18,000

Turbidity
JTU units 20 2 1,700 1 50 3

Color
(color units) 105 3 3, 700 1 150 20

Suspended
Solids 7 5 690 5 45 9
(mg/liter)

TABLE 2. EFFECT OF MAGNETIC TREATMENT ON PHOSPHATE

CONTENT OF WATER

ORTHOPHOSPHATE
parts per billion P

Control Treated

CHARLES RIVER SAMPLE

no clay added 330 180

bentonite clay added 330 60

DEER ISLAND SAMPLE

no clay added 3000 300

bentonite clay added 3000 (100
HIGH-GRADIENT MAGNETIC SEPARATION 593

Dissolved ions can be separated from water systems in similar ways.

The orthophosphate ion is a nutrient for algal growth and its removal from
water supplies can limit growth.

Table 2 shows orthophosphate removal from Charles River water and

from sewage samples taken at a bottom sewage treatment facility on
Deer Island. Here, magnetite is the seed and added aluminum ions bind
the phosphate ions into flocs. Included in this table are data for the same
process but with added colloidal clay. The clay serves to absorb
orthophosphate ions thereby aiding in the coagulation. More than one
stage of treatment can reduce the phosphate content to very low levels.

V. CONCLUSIONS

Since magnetic separation represents a large commercial use of

magnetism, the potential use of superconducting magnets for this application
may represent its largest commercial potential. The use of supercon-
ducting magnets in conventional eXisting magnetic separation devices is
probably quite limited. However, for the large-scale high-gradient type
magnetic separation devices the use of superconducting coils is very
likely to be significant. It should be noted that the introduction of any
new teChnology is not a simple process; high gradient magnetic separation
has not been accepted in many areas of potential application. For this
reason it has not been thought wise to try to introduce the additional con-
cept and technology of superconductivity in these areas. Once the tech-
nology of high gradient magnetic separation can be accepted using normal
magnets it is likely that the economics of superconducting magnets for
these devices can prevail over the resistance to that new technology.
Indeed,it appears that for most high gradient magnetic separation
devices larger than pilot scale, that is with bores larger than about 2 feet
in diameter and matrix volumes of the order of a few cubic feet, super-
conducting magnets would have favorable economics. These devices would
be assumed to operate in the range of 10 kilogauss. Naturally, even for
pilot scale devices which were required to operate at fields of 100 kilogauss,
the use of superconducting magnets would be indicated. Nearly all of the
commercial-industrial-large-scale applications for high gradient magnetic
separation would involve devices whose capacity is somewhat larger than
a few cubic feet in volume. This is especially true in the case of water
treatment. A large steel mill may discharge on the order of 100 million
gallons of water per day. At the flow rates which may be achieved in
high gradient magnetic separation devices this implies a magnetized
volume on the order of 1, 000 cubic feet, probably in several units. Such
devices may be made with normal magnets but it would appear that the
favorable economics of superconducting magnets would prevail, at this
point. Thus, use of superconductivity in future magnetic separation
devices appears assured, even though the time scale is uncertain.
594 D. KELLAND, H. KOLM, C. DeLATOUR, E. MAXWELL, AND J. OBERTEUFFER
REFERENCES

1. Bureau of Mines Staff, Mineral Facts and Problems, Bureau of

Mines Bulletin 650, U.S, Department of the Interior, 1970.
2. H. Kolm, E. Maxwell, I. Oberteuffer, D. Kelland, C. de Latour,
and P. Marston, Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference
Proceedings 1971 (abstract only).
3. D. R. Kelland, IEEE Trans. on Magnetism Vo. Mag-9,
September 1973.
4. I,A. Oberteuffer and D.R. Kelland, eds., Proceedings of the High
Gradient Magnetic Separation Sympos ium, MIT Francis Bitter
National Magnet Laboratory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1973.
5. S.C. Trindade and H,H. Kolm, IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, Vol.
Mag-9, September 1973.
6. C. de Latour, IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, Vol. Mag-9, September
1973.
7. I.A. Oberteuffer, IEEE Trans. on Magnetism, Vol. Mag-9,
September 1973.
8. E.C.Stoner p. 37 in Magnetism and Matter, London: Metheun
and Co. (1934).