mechanisms involved in the remediation of contaminated groundwater, in the underground storage, and in new energy vectors based on the use of the subsurface
Improving mineral recovery efficiency of flotation using Computational Fluid Dynamics
At CNRS, ISTO, We offer a 3-year PhD fellowship to investigate mineral recovery in flotation processes using Computational Fluid Dynamics. The fellowship is part of MINFLOT, a research project funded through the French PEPR “Sous-sol, bien commun” program supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR).
The transition toward a low-carbon economy is driving a rapidly growing demand for critical metals such as lithium, tungsten, cobalt, and nickel. These resources must increasingly be recovered not only from primary ores but also from secondary sources, including mining and processing residues. However, conventional mineral-processing technologies still face significant challenges in terms of recovery efficiency, selectivity, and environmental impact. Improving these processes is therefore essential to enable the sustainable production of critical metals and support the ecological and industrial transition.
Flotation is one of the most widely used and effective techniques for separating valuable minerals from gangue. The process relies on the selective modification of mineral surfaces using chemical reagents, followed by the injection of air bubbles. Hydrophobic mineral particles attach to the bubbles and are transported to the surface, where they can be recovered. The efficiency of flotation depends on a complex interplay between fluid flow, bubble dynamics, particle transport, bubble–particle interactions, and surface chemistry, operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
The objective of the PhD thesis is to develop a robust, multiscale CFD framework for mechanically agitated flotation reactors. The research will address the coupled hydrodynamic and physicochemical phenomena governing flotation, with particular emphasis on multiphase flow, bubble–particle interactions, particle transport, and flotation kinetics. High-fidelity simulations at the microreactor scale will be used to develop and inform computationally efficient models suitable for larger, industrial-scale flotation systems. The developed framework will provide predictive insight into mineral recovery and flotation efficiency, while elucidating the influence of reactor design, operating conditions, and process parameters. Ultimately, the work will contribute to the optimization and sustainable intensification of flotation processes, in close interaction with the other multiscale modeling and experimental activities of the MINFLOT project.
