The separation performance of a parabolic hydrocyclone in separating iron from red mud

A parabolic hydrocyclone was proposed to solve the problem of low concentrate recovery in the subsequent separation process due to the entrainment of fine particles in the underflow in red mud desliming and classification. To further explore the separation performance of the parabolic hydrocyclone in red mud desliming, the effects of the apex diameter, particle concentration and inlet velocity on the flow field and separation performance were studied by combining numerical simulation and experimental tests. The results show that the parabolic hydrocyclone has an obvious desliming effect; that is, the content of −5 μm particles in the underflow decreases from 46.53% to 19.21%, and the desliming efficiency reaches 58.71%. Additionally, the hydrocyclone has a certain enrichment effect on Fe2O3; that is, the iron grade in the underflow increases from 26.75% to 36.04%, and the total iron recovery can reach 36.60%.