Abstract High-efficiency flocculation and settling is required for solid–liquid separation in cemented paste backfill, which is one of the best approaches for tailings management and green mining. The optimization of flocculation and settling parameters of tailings slurry was carried out by response surface methodology (RSM) with Box–Behnken design. The solid fraction, flocculant dosage, flocculant concentration, and shear rate were selected as the factor. Likewise, the maximum square-weighted mean chord length of tailings floc, initial settling rate of the suspension-supernate interface, and turbidity of supernate were selected to characterize the flocculation and settling process. For individual response, a quadratic polynomial regression model was proposed and optimal parameters were achieved by RSM. Multiple response optimization by the overall desirability function approach was applied successfully to estimate the optimal parameters, i.e., solid fraction of 10.29%, flocculant dosage of 25%, flocculant concentration of 0.15%, and shear rate of 51.60 s−1. The validation experiments demonstrated that the Box–Behnken design in RSM is an appropriate and powerful approach for the optimization of flocculation and settling parameters of Nickel tailings slurry. More importantly, the optimal parameters achieved provide valuable information for the flocculation settling process of unclassified Nickel tailings slurry in Jinchuan Nickel Deposit, which will contribute to tailings management and water recycling, avoiding air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution in mine.

中文翻译：

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响应面法优化尾矿浆絮凝沉降参数

摘要 胶结充填体固液分离需要高效絮凝沉降，是尾矿治理和绿色开采的最佳途径之一。尾矿浆絮凝和沉降参数的优化采用响应面法 (RSM) 和 Box-Behnken 设计。选择固体分数、絮凝剂用量、絮凝剂浓度和剪切速率作为因素。同样，选择尾矿絮体的最大平方加权平均弦长、悬浮液-上清液界面的初始沉降速率和上清液的浊度来表征絮凝和沉降过程。针对个体反应，提出了二次多项式回归模型，并通过RSM实现了最优参数。通过整体合意性函数方法的多响应优化成功地应用于估计最佳参数，即固体分数为 10.29%，絮凝剂用量为 25%，絮凝剂浓度为 0.15%，剪切速率为 51.60 s-1。验证实验表明，RSM 中的 Box-Behnken 设计是优化镍尾矿浆絮凝和沉降参数的合适且有效的方法。更重要的是，获得的最优参数为金川镍矿未分级镍尾矿浆的絮凝沉降过程提供了有价值的信息，有助于尾矿管理和水的回收利用，避免矿山大气污染、水污染和土壤污染。