Slurry

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A slurry composed of glass beads in silicone oil flowing down an inclined plane.

A slurry is a thin sloppy mud or cement or, in extended use, any fluid mixture of a pulverized solid with a liquid (usually water), often used as a convenient way of handling solids in bulk.[1] Slurries behave in some ways like thick fluids, flowing under gravity but are also capable of being pumped if not too thick.

Examples

Examples of slurries include:

  • Cement slurry, a mixture of cement, water, and assorted dry and liquid additives used in the petroleum and other industries[2][3]
  • Soil/cement slurry, also called Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM), flowable fill, controlled density fill, flowable mortar, plastic soil-cement, K-Krete, and other names[4]
  • A mixture of thickening agent, oxidizers, and water used to form a gel explosive[citation needed]
  • A mixture of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water produced in a volcanic eruption and known as a lahar
  • A mixture of bentonite and water used to make slurry walls
  • Coal slurry, a mixture of coal waste and water, or crushed coal and water[5]
  • A mixture of wood pulp and water used to make paper
  • A mixture of animal waste, organic matter, and sometimes water known simply as "slurry" in agricultural use, used as fertilizer after ageing in a slurry pit
  • Meat slurry, a mixture of finely ground meat and water, centrifugally dewatered and used as food
  • An abrasive substance used in chemical-mechanical polishing
  • Slurry ice, a mixture of ice crystals, freezing point depressant, and water
  • A mixture of raw materials and water involved in the rawmill manufacture of Portland cement
  • A mixture of minerals, water, and additives used in the manufacture of ceramics
  • A bolus of chewed food mixed with saliva[6]

Calculations

Determining solids fraction

To determine the percent solids (or solids fraction) of a slurry from the density of the slurry, solids and liquid[7]

\phi _{{sl}}={\frac  {\rho _{{s}}(\rho _{{sl}}-\rho _{{l}})}{\rho _{{sl}}(\rho _{{s}}-\rho _{{l}})}}

where

\phi _{{sl}} is the solids fraction of the slurry (state by volume)
\rho _{{s}} is the solids density
\rho _{{sl}} is the slurry density
\rho _{{l}} is the liquid density

In aqueous slurries, as is common in mineral processing, the specific gravity of the species is typically used, and since SG_{{water}} is taken to be 1, this relation is typically written:

\phi _{{sl}}={\frac  {\rho _{{s}}(\rho _{{sl}}-1)}{\rho _{{sl}}(\rho _{{s}}-1)}}

even though specific gravity with units tons/m^3 is used instead of the SI density unit, kg/m^3.

Liquid mass from mass fraction of solids

To determine the mass of liquid in a sample given the mass of solids and the mass fraction: By definition

\phi _{{sl}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{M_{{sl}}}}*100

therefore

M_{{sl}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{\phi _{{sl}}}}

and

M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{\phi _{{sl}}}}

then

M_{{l}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{\phi _{{sl}}}}-M_{{s}}

and therefore

M_{{l}}={\frac  {1-\phi _{{sl}}}{\phi _{{sl}}}}M_{{s}}

where

\phi _{{sl}} is the solids fraction of the slurry
M_{{s}} is the mass or mass flow of solids in the sample or stream
M_{{sl}} is the mass or mass flow of slurry in the sample or stream
M_{{l}} is the mass or mass flow of liquid in the sample or stream

Volumetric fraction from mass fraction

\phi _{{sl,m}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{M_{{sl}}}}

Equivalently

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {V_{{s}}}{V_{{sl}}}}

and in a minerals processing context where the specific gravity of the liquid (water) is taken to be one:

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {{\frac  {M_{{s}}}{SG_{{s}}}}}{{\frac  {M_{{s}}}{SG_{{s}}}}+{\frac  {M_{{l}}}{1}}}}

So

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}SG_{{s}}}}

and

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {1}{1+{\frac  {M_{{l}}SG_{{s}}}{M_{{s}}}}}}

Then combining with the first equation:

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {1}{1+{\frac  {M_{{l}}SG_{{s}}}{\phi _{{sl,m}}M_{{s}}}}{\frac  {M_{{s}}}{M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}}}}}

So

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {1}{1+{\frac  {SG_{{s}}}{\phi _{{sl,m}}}}{\frac  {M_{{l}}}{M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}}}}}

Then since

\phi _{{sl,m}}={\frac  {M_{{s}}}{M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}}}=1-{\frac  {M_{{l}}}{M_{{s}}+M_{{l}}}}

we conclude that

\phi _{{sl,v}}={\frac  {1}{1+SG_{{s}}({\frac  {1}{\phi _{{sl,m}}}}-1)}}

where

\phi _{{sl,v}} is the solids fraction of the slurry on a volumetric basis
\phi _{{sl,m}} is the solids fraction of the slurry on a mass basis
M_{{s}} is the mass or mass flow of solids in the sample or stream
M_{{sl}} is the mass or mass flow of slurry in the sample or stream
M_{{l}} is the mass or mass flow of liquid in the sample or stream
SG_{{s}} is the bulk specific gravity of the solids

See also

References

  1. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed.: Slurry
  2. Shlumberger: Oilfield glossary
  3. Rheonova : Measuring rheological propertis of settling slurries
  4. Portland Cement Association: Controlled Low-Strength Material
  5. Red Valve Company: Coal Slurry Pipeline
  6. Rheonova : Measuring food bolus properties
  7. Wills, B.A. and Napier-Munn, T.J, Wills' Mineral Processing Technology: an introduction to the practical aspects of ore treatment and mineral recovery, ISBN 978-0-7506-4450-1, Seventh Edition (2006), Elsevier, Great Britain

External links

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