Degradation of Polymetallic Nodules in Deep-Sea Multi-Stage Lifting Motor Pump

Abstract

The polymetallic nodules in the deep-sea multi-stage lifting motor pump will undergo repeated impeller blade impact and fragmentation, which will change the particle size, thereby affecting the number of ores that can be recovered on the surface and the design parameters of the processing equipment. A new calculation method of degradation rate is proposed. The degradation model of multiple impacts of particles is improved to quantitatively calculate the final particle size distribution (PSD) of polymetallic nodules transported from the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) to the ground through a series of multi-stage lifting electric pumps. The newly proposed calculation method is obtained by analyzing the degradation of experimental data of polymetallic nodules when they pass through the six-stage lifting motor pump experimental system many times. The improved model is used to predict the PSD of the nodules after running for 10 min in the experimental system, and compared with the experimental test results, the deviation is small. The new method can estimate the change in PSD of nodules due to degradation during transportation, reducing design costs for land processing equipment.