Experimental investigation of the inhibition of deep-sea mining sediment plumes by polyaluminum chloride

Deep-sea sediment disturbance may occur when collecting polymetallic nodules,resulting in the creation of plumes that could have a negative impact on the ecological environment.This study aims to investigate the potential solution of using polyaluminum chloride(PAC)in the water jet.The effects of PAC are examined through a self-designed simulation system for deep-sea polymetallic nodule collection and sediment samples from a potential deep-sea mining area.The experimental results showed that the optimal PAC dose was found to be 0.75 g/L.Compared with the test conditions without the addition of PAC,the presence of PAC leads to a reduction in volume,lower characteristic turbidity,smaller diffusion velocity,and shorter settling time of the plume.This indicates that PAC inhibits the entire development process of the plume.The addition of PAC leads to the flocculation of mm-sized particles,resulting in the formation of cm-sized flocs.The flocculation of particles decreases the rate of erosion on the seabed by around 30%.This reduction in erosion helps to decrease the formation of plumes.Additionally,when the size of suspended particles increases,it reduces the scale at which they diffuse.Furthermore,the settling velocity of flocs(around 10^(-2) m/s)is much higher that of compared to sediment particles(around 10^(-5) m/s),which effectively reduces the amount of time the plume remains in suspension.

Integrated biomarker response to assess toxic impacts of iron and manganese on deep-sea mussel Gigantidas platifrons under a deep-sea mining activity scenario

Deep-sea mining activities can potentially release metals,which pose a toxicological threat to deep-sea ecosystems.Nevertheless,due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the deep-sea biosphere,there is insufficient knowledge about the impact of metal exposure on its inhabitants.In this study,deep-sea mussel Gigantidas platifrons,a commonly used deep-sea toxicology model organism,was exposed to manganese(100,1000μg/L)or iron(500,5000μg/L)for 7 d,respectively.Manganese and iron were chosen for their high levels of occurrence within deep-sea deposits.Metal accumulation and a battery of biochemical biomarkers related to antioxidative stress in superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),malondialdehyde(MDA);immune function in alkaline phosphatase(AKP),acid phosphatase(ACP);and energy metabolism in pyruvate kinase(PK)and hexokinase(HK)were assessed in mussel gills.Results showed that deep-sea mussel G.platifrons exhibited a high capacity to accumulate Mn/Fe.In addition,most tested biochemical parameters were altered by metal exposure,demonstrating that metals could induce oxidative stress,suppress the immune system,and affect energy metabolism of deep-sea mussels.The integrated biomarker response(IBR)approach indicated that the exposure to Mn/Fe had a negative impact on deep-sea mussels,and Mn demonstrated a more harmful impact on deep-sea mussels than Fe.Additionally,SOD and CAT biomarkers had the greatest impact on IBR values in Mn treatments,while ACP and HK were most influential for the low-and high-dose Fe groups,respectively.This study represents the first application of the IBR approach to evaluate the toxicity of metals on deep-sea fauna and serves as a crucial framework for risk assessment of deep-sea mining-associated metal exposure.

Multiparameter Numerical Investigation of Two Types of Moving Interactions Between the Deep-Sea Mining Vehicle Track Plate and Seabed Soil:Digging and Rotating Motions

To ensure the safe performance of deep-sea mining vehicles(DSMVs),it is necessary to study the mechanical characteristics of the interaction between the seabed soil and the track plate.The rotation and digging motions of the track plate are important links in the contact between the driving mechanism of the DSMV and seabed soil.In this study,a numerical simulation is conducted using the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian(CEL)large deformation numerical method to investigate the interaction between the track plate of the DSMV and the seabed soil under two working conditions:rotating condition and digging condition.First,a soil numerical model is established based on the elastoplastic mechanical characterization using the basic physical and mechanical properties of the seabed soil obtained by in situ sampling.Subsequently,the soil disturbance mechanism and the dynamic mechanical response of the track plate under rotating and digging conditions are obtained through the analysis of the sensitivity of the motion parameters,the grouser structure,the layered soil features and the soil heterogeneity.The results indicate that the above parameters remarkably influence the interaction between the DSMV and the seabed soil.Therefore,it is important to consider the rotating and digging motion of the DSMV in practical engineering to develop a detailed optimization design of the track plate.

Deep-sea rock mechanics and mining technology:State of the art and perspectives

The review covers the development and the state of the art in deep-sea mining rock mechanics,equipment and challenges.It begins by introducing the significance of deep-sea mining,the types and geographical distribution of deep-sea resources.Section 2 reviews the mechanical properties and fracture mechanism of seabed and related continental rocks,which contributes to the advancement of relevant technologies and theories.Deep-sea mining systems developed by coastal countries are presented in Section 3.Seabed mineral collection systems are critically assessed in Section 4.Subsea mining vehicle is reviewed by walking mechanism and controlling system in Section 5.In Section 6,the development of subsea lifting system is detailed by dividing it into hydraulic and pneumatic lifting modes,and some technical problems in the lifting system are described.An in-depth description of surface support systems is presented in Section 7,which includes the deep-sea mining ship,dynamic positioning system,heave compensation system,launch and retrieval system,mineral disposing system as well as the storage and transferring systems.Section 8 discusses the challenges in the deep-sea mining,in terms of natural occurrence conditions,international legal framework and cooperative mining,environmental protection and economic benefits,etc.Finally,a brief summary and some aspects of prospective research are presented in Section 9.

System Identification and Parameter Self-Tuning Controller on Deep-Sea Mining Vehicle

System identification is a quintessential measure for real-time analysis on kinematic characteristics for deep-sea mining vehicle, and thus to enhance the control performance and testing efficiency. In this study, the system identification algorithm, recursive least square method with instrumental variables(IV-RLS), is tailored to model ‘Pioneer I’, a deep-sea mining vehicle which recently completed a 1305-meter-deep sea trial in the Xisha area of the South China Sea in August, 2021. The algorithm operates on the sensor data collected from the trial to obtain the vehicle’s kinematic model and accordingly design the parameter self-tuning controller. The performances demonstrate the accuracy of the model, and prove its generalization capability. With this model, the optimal controller has been designed, the control parameters have been self-tuned, and the response time and robustness of the system have been optimized,which validates the high efficiency on digital modelling for precision control of deep-sea mining vehicles.

Stress Path Analysis of Deep-Sea Sediments Under the Compression-Shear Coupling Load of Crawler Collectors

The mechanical properties of deep-sea sediments during the driving process of crawler collectors are essential factors in the design of mining systems.In this study,a crawler load is divided into a normal compression load and a horizontal shear load.Then,the internal stress state of sedimentary soil is examined through a theoretical calculation and finite element numerical simulation.Finally,the driving of crawlers is simulated by changing the relative spatial position between the load and stress unit,obtaining the stress path of the soil unit.Based on the calculation results,the effect of the horizontal shear load on the soil stress response is analyzed at different depths,and the spatial variation law of the soil stress path is examined.The results demonstrate that the horizontal shear load has a significant effect on the rotation of the principal stress,and the reverse rotation of the principal stress axis becomes obvious with the increase in the burial depth.The stress path curve of the soil is different at various depths.The spatial variation rule of the stress path of the shallow soil is complex,whereas the stress path curve of the deep soil tends to shrink as the depth increases.The stress path of the corresponding depth should be selected according to the actual research purpose and applied to the laboratory test.

Blockage of the Deep-Sea Mining Pump Transporting Large Particles with Different Sphericity

The present study aims to plumb blockage of the deep-sea mining pump transporting large particles with different shapes. A numerical work was performed through combining the computational fluid dynamics(CFD) technique and the discrete element method(DEM). Six particle shapes with sphericity ranging from 0.67 to 1.0 were selected. A velocity triangle is built with the absolute, relative, and circumferential velocities of particles. Velocity triangles with absolute velocity angles ranging from 90° to 180° prevail in the first-stage impeller. With declining sphericity, more particles follow the velocity triangle with absolute velocity angles ranging from 0° to 90°, which weakens the ability of particles to pass through the flow passage. Furthermore, the forces acting on the particles traveling in the impeller passage are analyzed. Large particles, especially non-spherical ones, suffer from high centrifugal force and therefore move along the suction surface of the impeller blades. Non-spherical particles undergo great drag force as a result of large surface area. The distribution of drag force angles is featured by two peaks, and one vanishes due to blockage.As particle sphericity declines, both magnitude and angle of the pressure gradient force decrease. Variation of the drag force and the pressure gradient force causes clockwise deflection of the centripetal force, resulting in deflection and elongation of particle trajectory, which increases the possibility of blockage.

Experimental research on grouser traction of deep-sea mining machine

The traction characteristics of the grouser, cutting the simulative soil of deepsea sediment, with different tooth widths, tooth heights, and ground pressures are studied with traction characteristic test apparatus. A traction-displacement model is obtained by combining the analysis of the cutting mechanism. The results show that the tractiondisplacement curves of grousers with different tooth widths, tooth heights, and ground pressures have the same changing trend, which matches the Wong traction model. Their sensitivity coefficient and shear modulus are slightly fluctuated. Therefore, the average values can be used as the traction model parameters. The maximum traction of the grouser with a two-side edge and a 10 mm tooth width increment changing with the tooth height and ground pressure can be determined according to the grousers with different tooth widths. By combining the traction model parameters, the traction-displacement curve of the grouser with a certain group values of tooth width, tooth height, and ground pressure can be predicted. Therefore, the slip of the mining machine can be prevented to improve the mining efficiency.

Predicting the sinkage of a moving tracked mining vehicle using a new rheological formulation for soft deep-sea sediment

The sinkage of a moving tracked mining vehicle is greatly af fected by the combined compression-shear rheological properties of soft deep-sea sediments. For test purposes, the best sediment simulant is prepared based on soft deep-sea sediment from a C-C poly-metallic nodule mining area in the Pacific Ocean. Compressive creep tests and shear creep tests are combined to obtain compressive and shear rheological parameters to establish a combined compressive-shear rheological constitutive model and a compression-sinkage rheological constitutive model. The combined compression-shear rheological sinkage of the tracked mining vehicle at dif ferent speeds is calculated using the Recur Dyn software with a selfprogrammed subroutine to implement the combined compression-shear rheological constitutive model. The model results are compared with shear rheological sinkage and ordinary sinkage(without consideration of rheological properties). These results show that the combined compression-shear rheological constitutive model must be taken into account when calculating the sinkage of a tracked mining vehicle. The combined compression-shear rheological sinkage decrease with vehicle speed and is the largest among the three types of sinkage. The developed subroutine in the Recur Dyn software can be used to study the performance and structural optimization of moving tracked mining vehicles.

Theoretical analysis of effect of solid phase on cavitation performance of deep-sea mining pump

In view of the present situation of low cavitation performance of deep-sea mining slurry pump, the effect of solid phase on the cavitation performance of deep-sea mining pump is analyzed theoretically. The relationship between gas and liquid phases are established by cavitation nucleon theory and mass energy equation as well as solid phase and liquid phase, and then we explored the relationship between gas phase and solid phase. The results show that the critical bubble radius and solid-phase concentration flow rate during the cavitation can be related to the liquid pressure. Eq.(19) show that the larger the solid particle concentration and the solid phase flow, the earlier the cavitation will occur, and pump anti-cavitation performance will decline.

Review of Nodule Mineral Image Segmentation Algorithms for Deep-Sea Mineral Resource Assessment

A large number of nodule minerals exist in the deep sea.Based on the factors of difficulty in shooting,high economic cost and high accuracy of resource assessment,large-scale planned commercial mining has not yet been conducted.Only experimental mining has been carried out in areas with high mineral density and obvious benefits after mineral resource assessment.As an efficient method for deep-sea mineral resource assessment,the deep towing system is equipped with a visual system for mineral resource analysis using collected images and videos,which has become a key component of resource assessment.Therefore,high accuracy in deep-sea mineral image segmentation is the primary goal of the segmentation algorithm.In this paper,the existing deep-sea nodule mineral image segmentation algorithms are studied in depth and divided into traditional and deep learning-based segmentation methods,and the advantages and disadvantages of each are compared and summarized.The deep learning methods show great advantages in deep-sea mineral image segmentation,and there is a great improvement in segmentation accuracy and efficiency compared with the traditional methods.Then,the mineral image dataset and segmentation evaluation metrics are listed.Finally,possible future research topics and improvement measures are discussed for the reference of other researchers.

Influence on the Solid−Liquid Two-Phase Flow from Cross-Section Area of Slurry Pumps for Deep-Sea Mining

To explore the mechanism of solid-liquid two-phase flow in deep-sea mining pumps,this paper investigates the influences of the impeller cross-section area on the multi-phase flow in the slurry pump.Experimental and numerical results are presented for two-phase flow in four impellers with different cross-section areas.They show that the degree of vortex strength and the passing capacity of particles increase as the cross-section area of the impeller.In addition,the correlations between the two-phase flow and cross-section area have been revealed by a mathematical model taking the force of the flow field into account.The simulation results confirm the theoretical analysis,while the experimental pump performances validate the numerical calculation.The influence of the cross-section area on two-phase flow and pump performance could provide theoretical support for the design of high-performance deep-sea mining slurry pumps.

深海多金属结核集矿装置水力输送流场分析与试验

对深海多金属结核集矿装置水力输送流场进行了理论计算,得到了多金属结核粒径与输送通道最小输送速度的关系;仿真分析了喷嘴射流速度分别为15、20、25 m/s时输送通道内水流流态分布,给出了流道下表面30 mm处的流速。在实验室进行了输送喷嘴不同射流速度的采集试验,实验结果与理论计算及仿真分析结果相符。

青海某铜铅锌多金属矿选矿工艺研究

针对青海某铜铅锌多金属矿,进行了不同类型捕收剂对铜铅锌浮选分离影响的试验,重点考察了新型捕收剂4037B、P5100C、QBSC的选别效果。结果表明:P5100C和QBSC更有利于铜、铅分离,在最佳条件下,采用铜快速浮选—铜铅混选—铜铅再磨分离—锌浮选流程,获得铜品位35.56%、铜回收率75.23%的铜精矿;铅品位45.02%、铅回收率71.92%的铅精矿;锌品位41.49%、锌回收率72.58%的锌精矿;含铜20.14%、含铅8.90%、含锌28.38%,铜回收率11.93%、铅回收率6.77%、锌回收率11.81%的混合精矿。全流程铜总回收率97.94%,铅总回收率96.62%,锌总回收率92.64%。

岩巷掘进工作面控风净化除尘系统设计与应用

针对岩巷掘进工作面压风风流携带迎头粉尘弥漫扩散造成粉尘治理难度大的问题,提出了掘进面“控风—净化”综合粉尘治理方案,构建了由湿式旋流除尘器、易装拆控尘装置、便移式负压风筒等组成的岩巷掘进面高效除尘系统,对比分析了除尘系统的不同安装方案对除尘效果的影响;综合考虑现场除尘效果与劳动强度,明确了湿式旋流除尘器最佳安装方案以及负压风筒与控尘装置的最优安装位置。在某矿辅运大巷岩巷掘进面进行了现场应用,结果表明:当负压风筒安装至通风风筒对侧,吸尘口距巷道迎头3 m,控尘装置位于通风风筒压风口后方5 m时,迎头高浓度粉尘在通风风筒压风、控尘装置控风及除尘器抽尘共同作用下被控制在迎头附近,并不断向负压风筒吸尘口运移最终被除尘器抽入净化,除尘器前方全尘和呼尘除尘效率分别达到95.9%和94.9%以上,除尘器后方全尘和呼尘除尘效率分别达到96.5%和95.4%以上,显著提升了巷道可见度,有效解决了岩巷掘进面通风造成的粉尘治理难题。

某铜铁矿矿石浮选试验研究

某铜铁矿主要产品有铜、铁精矿、附产金、附产银,是一个采选兼备的大型矿山。该矿一方面努力提高资源综合利用水平,实施节能减排,另一方面推进绿色矿山建设,努力开展技术创新,实现技术突破,优化经济技术指标。该矿为原生铜铁矿石,经过专业的采样,按实验室样品加工标准流程制成选矿试验样品。试验针对该铜铁矿石进行了选矿研究,根据对矿石性质、浮选工艺流程的分析,通过最佳磨矿细度、捕收剂种类及药剂用量的试验,确定了该矿选别的最佳浮选条件。在此条件上,采用“一粗、二扫、一精”的闭路试验进行浮选,捕收剂采用T211(捕收剂C)和起泡剂松油。最终可获得铜精矿品位20.25%、铜回收率93.12%、金回收率75.26%、银回收率78.12%,实现理想回收效果。

矿用湿式过滤除尘器过滤单元过滤技术优化研究

为提升矿用湿式过滤除尘器呼吸性粉尘除尘效率,以除尘器过滤单元过滤参数为实验对象,搭建过滤单元实验平台,研究除尘器过滤单元过滤形式、过滤网层数/除雾垫厚度、孔径、过滤风速等对呼尘除尘效果和阻力的影响规律。研究结果表明:相同条件下,10层20目金属过滤网过滤板过滤性能最佳,阻力1 370 Pa,呼尘除尘效率90.7%;过滤风速取7.8 m/s,除尘器呼吸性粉尘除尘效率最高;采用冲击式惯性分离器与滤网融合设计的过滤板能有效避免出现堵死导致除尘器风机损坏。研究结果可为优化矿用湿式过滤除尘器结构、提升呼尘除尘效率提供依据。

铁矿采选行业选矿厂湿式除尘器升级改造的研究及应用

在铁矿采选行业选矿厂中历史较为久远的选矿厂建设时设计的湿式除尘器排口颗粒物排放浓度执行《大气污染物综合排放标准》(GB 16297—1996)中120 mg/m^(3)的要求,自2015年1月1日起执行《铁矿采选工业污染物排放标准》(GB 28661—2012)中20 mg/m^(3)的要求。为提升选矿厂现场作业环境,保障有组织废气污染物稳定达标排放,降低超标排放的环保风险,湿式除尘器升级改造在铁矿采选行业选矿厂中具有广泛的应用前景和重要意义。

Suspension principle of deep-ocean nodule collector

To make sure that the nodule collector can walk on the soft sediments of seafloor effectively, suspension principle of deep-ocean nodule collector is proposed. The supporting and driving mechanisms are separated to avoid collector sinking. The supporting mechanism is a streamlined body with large and smooth supporting area. The grounding pressure is reduced to 0.5- 1 N/cm2 to make sure that the sinkage is limited. The impellers serve as the driving mechanism to supply enough driving power. The position between the supporting mechanism and the driving mechanism can be adjusted according to the operating condition to decrease the walking resistance and to increase driving efficiency. The test results indicate that the collector can walk on the surface of the soft sediments with the limited sinkage. The traction forces were up to 800 kg and the sinkage of the impeller was under the limitation.