Wills' Mineral Processing Technology, 8th Edition

Chapter 11

Dense Medium Separation (DMS)

Dense medium separation is also known as heavy medium separation or the sink-and-float process. It has two principal applications: the preconcentration of minerals, that is, the rejection of gangue prior to grinding for final liberation, and in coal preparation to produce a commercially graded end-product, that is, clean coal being separated from the heavier shale or high-ash coal. The history of the process, innovations, and failures are reviewed by Napier-Munn et al..

Keywords

Dense medium types; gravitational separators; centrifugal separators; DMS circuits; heavy liquid tests; partition curves

11.1 Introduction

Dense medium separation (DMS) is also known as heavy medium separation (HMS) or the sink-and-float ...