Advanced Control and Supervision of Mineral Processing Plants describes the use of dynamic models of mineral processing equipment in the design of control, data reconciliation and soft-sensing schemes; through examples, it illustrates tools integrating simulation and control system design for comminuting circuits and flotation columns. Coverage is given to the design of soft sensors based on either single-point measurements or more complex measurements like images. Issues concerning data reconciliation and its employment in the creation of instrument architecture and fault diagnosis are surveyed. In consideration of the widespread use of distributed control and information management systems in mineral processing, the book describes the platforms and toolkits available for implementing such systems. Applications of the techniques described in real plants are used to highlight their benefits; information for all of the examples, together with supporting MATLAB® code can be found at www.springer.com/978-1-84996-105-9.

Wills' Mineral Processing Technology: An Introduction to the Practical Aspects of Ore Treatment and Mineral Recovery has been the definitive reference for the mineral processing industry for over thirty years. This industry standard reference provides practicing engineers and students of mineral processing, metallurgy, and mining with practical information on all the common techniques used in modern processing installations. Each chapter is dedicated to a major processing procedure—from underlying principles and technologies to the latest developments in strategies and equipment for processing increasingly complex refractory ores. The eighth edition of this classic reference enhances coverage of practical applications via the inclusion of new material focused on meeting the pressing demand for ever greater operational efficiency, while addressing the pivotal challenges of waste disposal and environmental remediation. Advances in automated mineralogy and analysis and high-pressure grinding rolls are given dedicated coverage. The new edition also contains more detailed discussions of comminution efficiency, classification, modeling, flocculation, reagents, liquid-solid separations, and beneficiation of phosphate, and industrial materials. Finally, the addition of new examples and solved problems further facilitates the book's pedagogical role in the classroom. - Connects fundamentals with practical applications to benefit students and practitioners alike - Ensures relevance internationally with new material and updates from renowned authorities in the UK, Australia, and Canada - Introduces the latest technologies and incorporates environmental issues to place the subject of mineral processing in a contemporary context, addressing concerns of sustainability and cost effectiveness - Provides new case studies, examples, and figures to bring a fresh perspective to the field

This book presents a state-of-the-art analysis of energy efficiency as applied to mining processes. From ground fragmentation to mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, experts discuss the current state of knowledge and the nagging questions that call for further research. It offers an excellent resource for all mine managers and engineers who want to improve energy efficiency to boost both production efficiency and sustainability. It will also benefit graduate students and experienced researchers looking for a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge concerning energy efficiency in the minerals industry.

This landmark publication distills the body of knowledge that characterizes mineral processing and extractive metallurgy as disciplinary fields. It will inspire and inform current and future generations of minerals and metallurgy professionals. Mineral processing and extractive metallurgy are atypical disciplines, requiring a combination of knowledge, experience, and art. Investing in this trove of valuable information is a must for all those involved in the industry—students, engineers, mill managers, and operators. More than 192 internationally recognized experts have contributed to the handbook’s 128 thought-provoking chapters that examine nearly every aspect of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. This inclusive reference addresses the magnitude of traditional industry topics and also addresses the new technologies and important cultural and social issues that are important today. Contents Mineral Characterization and AnalysisManagement and ReportingComminutionClassification and WashingTransport and StoragePhysical SeparationsFlotationSolid and Liquid SeparationDisposalHydrometallurgyPyrometallurgyProcessing of Selected Metals, Minerals, and Materials

The Engineering Science of Mineral Processing: A Fundamental and Practical Approach emphasizes the fundamentals of mineral processing to provide readers with a deep understanding of the science and phenomena that occur during the processing of ores. It also offers guidance on contemporary process implementation through practical industry applications. It includes examples of dynamic simulations and practical execution of advanced software to guide operating plans to ensure optimal conditions that predict process constraints. Focuses on the science of mineral processing, including particulate systems, hydrodynamics, and physical chemistry Discusses modeling, rheology, comminution, classification, flotation, and solid-liquid separation Includes practical examples from real-world industrial applications Provides information on dynamic process simulations and the application of digital twins in mineral processing plants to improve management and efficiency Details the future of mineral processing in the digital era. Offering a balance between fundamentals and applications, this book will be of interest to researchers and industry professionals working to optimize mining, mineral and chemical processing plants. It will also be of value to advanced students taking mineral processing and chemical engineering courses.

Control of Integral Processes with Dead Time provides a unified and coherent review of the various approaches devised for the control of integral processes, addressing the problem from different standpoints. In particular, the book treats the following topics: How to tune a PID controller and assess its performance; How to design a two-degree-of-freedom control scheme in order to deal with both the set-point following and load disturbance rejection tasks; How to modify the basic Smith predictor control scheme in order to cope with the presence of an integrator in the process; and how to address the presence of large process dead times. The methods are presented sequentially, highlighting the evolution of their rationale and implementation and thus clearly characterising them from both academic and industrial perspectives.

Industrial Process Identification and Control Design is devoted to advanced identification and control methods for the operation of continuous-time processes both with and without time delay, in industrial and chemical engineering practice. The simple and practical step- or relay-feedback test is employed when applying the proposed identification techniques, which are classified in terms of common industrial process type: open-loop stable; integrating; and unstable, respectively. Correspondingly, control system design and tuning models that follow are presented for single-input-single-output processes. Furthermore, new two-degree-of-freedom control strategies and cascade control system design methods are explored with reference to independently-improving, set-point tracking and load disturbance rejection. Decoupling, multi-loop, and decentralized control techniques for the operation of multiple-input-multiple-output processes are also detailed. Perfect tracking of a desire output trajectory is realized using iterative learning control in uncertain industrial batch processes. All the proposed methods are presented in an easy-to-follow style, illustrated by examples and practical applications. This book will be valuable for researchers in system identification and control theory, and will also be of interest to graduate control students from process, chemical, and electrical engineering backgrounds and to practising control engineers in the process industry.

This book deals with a novel and practical advanced method for control of tandem cold metal rolling processes based on the emerging state-dependent Riccati equation technique. After a short history of tandem cold rolling, various types of cold rolling processes are described. A basic mathematical model of the process is discussed, and the diverse conventional control methods are compared. A detailed treatment of the theoretical and practical aspects of the state-dependent algebraic Riccati equation technique is given, with specific details of the new procedure described and results of simulations performed to verify the control model and overall system performance with the new controller coupled to the process model included. These results and data derived from actual operating mills are compared showing the improvements in performance using the new method. Material is included which shows how the new technique can be extended to the control of a broad range of large-scale complex nonlinear processes.

In the process industries, stiction is the most common performance-limiting valve problem and over the last decade numerous different techniques for overcoming it have been proposed. This book represents a comprehensive presentation of these methods, including their principles, assumptions, strengths and drawbacks. Guidelines and working procedures are provided for the implementation of each method and MATLAB®-based software can be downloaded from www.ualberta.ca/~bhuang/stiction-book enabling readers to apply the methods to their own data. Methods for the limitation of stiction effects are proposed within the general context of: oscillation detection in control loops, stiction detection, diagnosis and stiction quantification and diagnosis of multiple faults. The state-of-the-art algorithms presented in this book are demonstrated and compared in industrial case studies of diverse origin – chemicals, building, mining, pulp and paper, mineral and metal processing.

The Chemical Batch Reactor is aimed at tackling the above problems from a blending of academic and industrial perspectives. Advanced solutions (i.e., those based on recent research results) to the four fundamental problems of modeling, identification, control and fault diagnosis for batch processes are developed in detail in four distinct chapters. In each chapter, a general overview of foundational concepts is also given, together with a review of recent and classical literature on the various subjects. To provide a unitary treatment of the different topics and give a firm link to the underlying practical applications, a single case study is developed as the book progresses; a batch process of industrial interest, i.e., the phenol-formaldehyde reaction for the production of phenolic resins, is adopted to test the various techniques developed. In this way, a roadmap of the solutions to fundamental problems, ranging from the early stages of the production process to the complete design of control and diagnosis systems, is provided for both industrial practitioners and academic researchers.