Statistical reliability of micro-flotation experiments

What is it about?

his paper presents the evaluation of the statistical reliability of micro-flotation experiments using a Hallimond flotation cell. The study was conducted by three experimental analysts using different micro-flotation conditions and samples. Statistical analysis of 20 micro-flotation experiments was performed. Using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, the data from all experiments were found to come from a normal distribution. The coefficient of variation ranged from 0.5% to 8.2%. The high variability was mainly justified by the poor reproducibility of the bubble size distribution; this was corroborated by the high deviation of the estimated mean bubble size in the experiments, which was 742 ± 249 µm. A frequency histogram showed that although extreme values up to 21.3% could appear, 70% of the experiments had coefficient of variation less than 4%. The Asymptotic Test and the Modified Signed-likelihood Ratio Test showed that there were not statistically significant differences between the variability of the 20 micro-flotation experiments. The overall confidence interval for the coefficient of variation from 2.2% to 4.5% was established. The coefficient of variation tended to decrease when the repetitions of the micro-flotation experiments increased. The main source of variability of the micro-flotation experiments conducted in the Hallimond cell is the repeatability of the method.

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Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash

Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The paper describes for first time the statistical reliability of using the hallimond cell for laboratory froth flotation experiments.