Method and apparatus for agglomerating hydrophobic particles

An apparatus for agglomerating hydrophobic particles from a feed slurry, comprising:

• a feed stream conduit fluidly connected to an agglomerating device for conveying said feed slurry to said agglomerating device;
• and
• a binder conduit fluidly connected to said feed stream conduit for adding a binder emulsion to said feed slurry, said binder emulsion comprising 50% or more by volume of a non-hydrophobic substance contained within a hydrophobic binder;
• wherein a high shear is induced within said agglomerating device to cause said hydrophobic particles to collide and bind to said binder emulsion, thereby agglomerating said hydrophobic particles together;
• and
• wherein said agglomerated hydrophobic particles and said binder emulsion are removed after passing through said agglomerating device;
• further comprising a first dewatering device for initially dewatering said agglomerated hydrophobic particles to remove non-agglomerated material;
• and
• a second dewatering device for subsequently dewatering said agglomerated hydrophobic particles to remove said non-hydrophobic substance from within said hydrophobic binder,
• wherein said agglomerating device comprises:
• a separation chamber comprising an inlet, an outlet pipe centrally located in the separation chamber, and a conical end, said conical end having a discharge outlet for removing coarser-sized non-agglomerated particles, wherein a high shear rotational flow is induced within said separation chamber, said rotational flow causing segregation of said agglomerated hydrophobic particles and non-agglomerated particles, and wherein said agglomerated hydrophobic particles and said binder emulsion are removed as an overflow through said outlet pipe after moving radially inwards within said separation chamber, or
• a passage having an inlet, an outlet and a flow restriction device located within the passage between the inlet and the outlet, wherein said flow restricting device comprises an opening having a smaller diameter than the diameter of said passage, and said agglomerating device forces a flow of said feed stream and said binder emulsion through said opening to induce a pressure drop in said flow, thereby causing said colliding and binding of said hydrophobic particles to said binder emulsion.