Design of an induced roller magnetic separator for mineral value addition

Abstract

Material separation is critical in value addition process especially in mining and other related industry. There are several methods employed in separating material into different classes. Magnetic separator as a separation technique/method leverages the magnetic properties of materials and is employed in various industries, including mineral processing industries, recycling, and resource recovery. Researchers and Engineers have conducted numerous studies to comprehend how different types of paramagnetic minerals behave when separated using various separator technologies. However, despite these efforts, these separators have not been widely adopted for processing different paramagnetic minerals because most of the existing induced roller magnetic separator have poor efficiency, cost-effectiveness and adaptability for different paramagnetic minerals. This paper examines the current state of these separators, providing an overview of their operational mechanisms, practical uses, and theoretical models. It goes further to design an induced roller magnetic separator after considering various factors such as magnetic susceptibility, cost, adaptability and performance efficiency, while observing certain industry specifications. The resulting design will be able produce a magnetic field of about 2.2 Tesla that can be used to separate certain minerals for a reasonable period of time. Further implementation and modification of this design will hope to yield an increase in the extraction and processing of various minerals internally within Nigeria, minimizing dependence on importation of machines, providing jobs and improving the economic status of this country