Disperser produces fisheye-free dispersions in a single pass every time
A talc producer installs a high-shear mixer-disperser to homogeneously disperse a flocculant into water.
Barretts Minerals, a subsidiary of Minerals Technologies Inc., operates a talc mining and processing plant near Dillon, Mont. The company mines talc from two nearby mines and processes it into coarse, medium, and ultrafine grades, which are used as functional additives and fillers in various products. In one step of the talc production process, the company moves a slurry containing about 15 percent minus-150-mesh talc and 85 percent water to a dewatering tank (also called a thickener) where the talc is separated from the water. After the talc settles to the thickener’s bottom, it’s pumped out and transferred to downstream equipment for further processing, drying, and packaging, and the water is recycled to a tailings pond. In the past, the thickener couldn’t separate the fine talc particles from the water, so the company lost a large amount of fine talc when the water was recycled. The company needed to find a way to recover the fine talc to maximize talc production.