What Are the Key Factors for Selecting Tailings Pipes?

Selecting tailings pipes for mining operations involves considering several key factors to ensure safety, efficiency, and environmental compliance.

 

Selecting tailings pipes for mining operations involves considering several key factors to ensure safety, efficiency, and environmental compliance. Here are the primary factors to consider:

 

1. Material Compatibility

 

- Corrosion Resistance: Tailings often contain abrasive and corrosive materials. Pipes must be made from materials resistant to chemical degradation, such as UHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyurethane.

 

- Abrasion Resistance: The pipe material should withstand wear from solid particles in the slurry. Materials like steel with rubber lining, steel with UHMWPE lining, steel with polyurethane lining or ceramic-lined pipes are often used.

 

 

2. Pipe Diameter and Wall Thickness

 

- Flow Capacity: The diameter must accommodate the required flow rate of the tailings slurry without causing excessive pressure drops or blockages.

- Pressure Rating: The wall thickness should be sufficient to handle the internal pressure, including surges and static head pressure.

 

3. Slurry Characteristics

 

- Particle Size and Concentration: The size and concentration of solids in the slurry affect the pipe's wear rate and flow dynamics. Slurry solid size is an important factor to help decide which pipe material or pipe liner material is suitable for a specific pipeline case. For sharp-particle slurry applications like coal, and large-particle applications like oil sands, dredging and hard rock, polyurethane liner is recommended, as polyurethane liner is good at resist gouging from high-energy particles.

 

For slurry particles with great impact force, say nearby slurry pump, rubber liner is suitable as rubber lining absorbs and disperses particle impact and provide good wear resistance. For long distance tailings pipeline, with small particle size, UHMWPE lined pipes or UHMWPE pipes are a cost-effective choice, not only because of UHMWPE material shows excellent abrasive wear resistance, but also because UHMWPE smooth surface, small surface roughness, small friction loss, means less pumping energy is required, friendly to slurry pumps.

 

- Density and Viscosity: These properties influence the pump requirements and pressure losses in the pipeline.

 

4. Operational Conditions

 

- Temperature: High temperatures can affect the material properties of the pipe.

 

- Pressure: The pipeline must withstand the maximum operating pressure, including transient pressures during startup and shutdown.

 

- Flow Velocity: Optimal velocity minimizes wear and prevents settling of solids.

 

5. Environmental and Safety Considerations

 

- Leak Prevention: Ensure the pipe system has robust joints and seals to prevent leaks, which can cause environmental contamination.

 

- Durability: The pipe should have a long service life to reduce maintenance and replacement costs.

 

- Compliance: The pipe system must meet local and international environmental and safety regulations.

 

6. Installation and Maintenance

 

- Ease of Installation: Consider the terrain and accessibility of the installation site. Flexible pipes like rubber hose, HDPE pipes, UHMWPE pipes can be easier to install in difficult terrains. UHMWPE pipes can be manufacturered in long lengths and have some flexibility, which can be advantageous when navigating around obstacles or uneven terrain during installation.

 

- Maintenance Requirements: Choose pipes that are easy to be inspected and maintained. Quick-connect fittings and modular designs can facilitate maintenance.

 

7. Cost

 

- Initial Cost: Consider the upfront cost of the pipe material and installation. According to our experience, upfront cost of the pipe material for tailings pipeline is High-performance rubber≈high performance polyurethane﹥UHMWPE﹥HDPE. Due to different availability of manufacturing approches, the above pipe material upfront cost may show differently.

 

- Lifecycle Cost: Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including maintenance, replacement, and potential downtime.

 

8. Manufacturer and Supplier Reliability

 

- Reputation: Choose reputable manufacturers with a proven track record in supplying tailings pipes. For some materials like rubber or polyurethane or UHMWPE, the manufacturing process can affect how the material liner wears. For some lined steel pipes, say UHMWPE lined steel pipes, there are lots processes that plays an important role to the final quality, whether the liner is tight-fit, welding quality, external painting quality, all the related aspects lead to the final success supply.

 

- Support: Ensure the supplier offers good technical support and after-sales service.

 

(Dragon uhmwpe ‘s painting house for lined steel pipes)

 

9. Regulatory and Industry Standards

 

- Compliance: Ensure the pipes meet relevant industry standards and certifications, such as ISO, ASTM, or other local regulations.

 

By carefully evaluating these factors, mining operations can select tailings pipes that provide reliable, efficient, and safe transportation of tailings, minimizing environmental impact and operational costs.