The effect of inclined plate motion on the classification efficiency of quartz sand in the Reflux Classifier

In mineral processing, the classification of fine particles remains a critical challenge due to their slow settling velocity, low classification efficiency, and limited processing capacity per unit area. The perennial efforts are devoted to increasing the efficiency of handling these fines. A new technical idea was proposed to solve these problems using an inclined plate motion Reflux Classifier (RC) to improve the movement state of fine particles in the channels. This change produced a much more shear effect, which could disperse particles, reduce agglomeration, and produce significant particle stratification, hence significant enhancement in size classification performance. This paper presents a test investigation into the effectiveness of the inclined plate motion RC for the beneficiation of quartz sand fines. The results showed that the inclined plate motion enhanced the movement difference between particles of varying sizes. When the motion speed of the inclined plates was increased to 0.0175 m/s, the separation size, d₅₀, exhibited only a marginal increase, whereas the classification efficiency improved by approximately 5 %. Hence using the inclined plate motion greatly enhances classification and demonstrates the benefits of the new classification mechanism.