Sand attrition unit WEMCO®

Product overview
Ideal for the attrition of thick, high-density pulps, WEMCO attrition scrubbers achieve the strongest possible scrubbing without degrading your valuable product. They set the stage for maximising product quality through the flotation circuit. The design focuses on intense scrubbing while minimising particle degradation, enabling improved product quality and recovery.

Key benefits of WEMCO attrition scrubbers

• Highly effective scrubbing: Impellers with three blades of opposing pitches maximise suspension and particle retention; the octagonal tank design generates multiple circulation areas without baffles, reducing dead zones and improving scrubbing efficiency compared to square or cylindrical tanks.
• Uniform treatment: Three-impeller design suspends solids throughout the cell, reducing short-circuiting and ensuring more uniform treatment; cell circuits are arranged with alternating downcast and upcast flows to prevent short-circuiting between cells.
• Operate at high percent solids: Designed to operate at high percent solids (typically 65% to 75% and in some applications up to ~80%), increasing particle interactions for better scrubbing efficiency, reduced water usage and more compact scrubber designs.

Applications

• Pre-treating pulps to increase flotation recovery rates and product quality
• Production of glass and industrial sands
• Liberation of compacted minerals
• Desliming by maximising surface exposure to solvent and reducing contact time

Maintenance & services
Operational attrition cells are supported by a global network of service centres offering full-lifecycle technical assistance. FLS Minerals Testing and Research Centre provides testing and analysis to determine optimal sizing, configuration and operating practices. Service engineers perform inspections, audits, supervise maintenance and deliver tailored training. FLS spare and wear parts are available to maintain long service life and consistent performance.

Technical specifications

• Commercial designation: WEMCO® Attrition Scrubber
• Impeller design: three blades with opposing pitches (three-impeller arrangement per cell)
• Tank geometry: octagonal tank to generate multiple circulation areas and minimise dead zones
• Active volumes available: from 1.7 m³ (60 ft³) up to 5.7 m³ (200 ft³)
• Typical operating percent solids: 65%–75% (application dependent; up to ~80% in some cases)
• Cell circuit arrangement: alternating downcast and upcast flows to prevent short-circuiting between cells
• Primary functions: surface contamination removal, desliming, liberation of compacted minerals and pre-treatment for flotation