Industrial Optimization of Vacuum Disk Filter Dewatering in an Iron Ore Beneficiation Plant

Industrial Optimization of Vacuum Disk Filter Dewatering in an Iron Ore Beneficiation Plant | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Industrial Optimization of Vacuum Disk Filter Dewatering in an Iron Ore Beneficiation Plant M. Massinaei, S. Siavoshiy, Amer Javanshiri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8060071/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Filtration of the final concentrate at the Sanabad iron beneficiation plant is carried out using 16 vacuum ceramic disk filters. The plant survey indicated that the disk filters were operating sub-optimally, with high filter cake moisture (> 11%), deteriorating material handling, and reduced pelletizing performance. Industrial-scale trials were conducted to assess the effects of key operating parameters, including feed particle size, disk rotation speed, pulp level, agitator speed, flocculant addition, wash cycle time, and washing acid concentration. Plant-site tests demonstrated that filtration performance improved significantly by increasing feed particle size, reducing disk rotation speed (from 50 to 30 rpm), lowering tank level (from 100% to 50%), increasing agitator speed (from 30 to 50 rpm), shortening the disk washing cycle (from 8 to 6 hours), and increasing washing acid concentration. The addition of a flocculant significantly enhanced both filtration rate and clarity of the filtrate, while the moisture content of the cake remained relatively unchanged. Implementing the optimum conditions identified during plant-site trials resulted in a 1.84% reduction in cake moisture, along with a substantial increase in filtrate clarity. Although the filtration rate decreased due to changes in process conditions, this was offset by adding 10 g/t of flocculant to the filtration circuit, enabling the cake moisture to be maintained at the target value (around 9%). These findings demonstrate that operational adjustments can significantly enhance filtration efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and improve downstream process stability. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Iron concentrate Filtration Vacuum disk filter Cake moisture Cake thickness Turbidity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Graphicalabstract.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 10 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 24 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 22 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8060071","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":554108756,"identity":"bc8d0a1f-8e40-46e3-a69a-2fd3166d3cc1","order_by":0,"name":"M. Massinaei","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACAyBmZj7GkMDABmQlgIQkiNHClkaKFjDgMYMyEvCr0512+PHHHwV35PnZeb49eLiHT96cPYHxww8Gi3xcWsxup5lJ8xg8M5zZzLvdIOEZm+HOngfMkj0MEpYNOLUkmDEzGBxm3HCYd5tEwgE2xg03EhikgX4xwG1L+uePPwwO2+8/zPMMpMUeqIX5N34tOQYSPAaHEzcw87CBtCQCtbARsCWnDOiXw8kzDrOZGwC1JG8487DNsscAr8M2f/zx57Btf//hZw9/HDhmu+F48uEbPyrqcGpBB8eAmLEBErlEghrilY6CUTAKRsGIAQCbDlakmFmyPQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Birjand","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"M.","middleName":"","lastName":"Massinaei","suffix":""},{"id":554108759,"identity":"2acbf166-c14b-4b64-adde-8aecf0239599","order_by":1,"name":"S. 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Plant","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Iron concentrate, Filtration, Vacuum disk filter, Cake moisture, Cake thickness, Turbidity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8060071/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8060071/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eFiltration of the final concentrate at the Sanabad iron beneficiation plant is carried out using 16 vacuum ceramic disk filters. The plant survey indicated that the disk filters were operating sub-optimally, with high filter cake moisture (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;11%), deteriorating material handling, and reduced pelletizing performance. Industrial-scale trials were conducted to assess the effects of key operating parameters, including feed particle size, disk rotation speed, pulp level, agitator speed, flocculant addition, wash cycle time, and washing acid concentration. Plant-site tests demonstrated that filtration performance improved significantly by increasing feed particle size, reducing disk rotation speed (from 50 to 30 rpm), lowering tank level (from 100% to 50%), increasing agitator speed (from 30 to 50 rpm), shortening the disk washing cycle (from 8 to 6 hours), and increasing washing acid concentration. The addition of a flocculant significantly enhanced both filtration rate and clarity of the filtrate, while the moisture content of the cake remained relatively unchanged. Implementing the optimum conditions identified during plant-site trials resulted in a 1.84% reduction in cake moisture, along with a substantial increase in filtrate clarity. Although the filtration rate decreased due to changes in process conditions, this was offset by adding 10 g/t of flocculant to the filtration circuit, enabling the cake moisture to be maintained at the target value (around 9%). These findings demonstrate that operational adjustments can significantly enhance filtration efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and improve downstream process stability.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Industrial Optimization of Vacuum Disk Filter Dewatering in an Iron Ore Beneficiation Plant","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-03 21:11:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8060071/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-24T12:10:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-22T17:54:54+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"214133963151244224148481494911415164755","date":"2025-12-12T20:31:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-10T07:14:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"99602005064989172845380614802317998495","date":"2025-12-10T06:11:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-01T19:54:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-01T19:49:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-24T11:24:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-23T04:32:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-11-23T04:28:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ff6a505c-c012-4630-9281-72d95925a0c1","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 3rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":58964711,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":58964712,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-25T08:40:35+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-03 21:11:31","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8060071","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8060071","identity":"rs-8060071","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}