WAVELET-BASED MODELLING AND MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL OF COMPLEX MULTIDIMENSIONAL CRYSTALLISATION PROCESSES. The results of this project will directly contribute to a better understanding of crystallisation which is an important unit operation to achieve high purity separations. Many Australian industries for example, mineral processing, sugar processing, pharmaceuticals, etc will benefit from the results in order to enhance optimal operation and control to ensure globally competitive production ....WAVELET-BASED MODELLING AND MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL OF COMPLEX MULTIDIMENSIONAL CRYSTALLISATION PROCESSES. The results of this project will directly contribute to a better understanding of crystallisation which is an important unit operation to achieve high purity separations. Many Australian industries for example, mineral processing, sugar processing, pharmaceuticals, etc will benefit from the results in order to enhance optimal operation and control to ensure globally competitive production which is on time, minimize wastes and raw materials and inventories. The leading edge results will increase the contributions of these industries to the Australian economy and our global competitiveness necessary to maintain our culture and the beauty of our environment. Read moreRead less
Granular dynamics: theories, modelling and simulation. Particle science and technology is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research field and is of paramount importance Australia in view of the heavy dependence on raw materials processing. This project will tackle the core problems in this field by developing novel theories and mathematical models to describe the flow of particles. Application of the research outcomes can lead to better process or product control, a decrease in energy cons ....Granular dynamics: theories, modelling and simulation. Particle science and technology is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research field and is of paramount importance Australia in view of the heavy dependence on raw materials processing. This project will tackle the core problems in this field by developing novel theories and mathematical models to describe the flow of particles. Application of the research outcomes can lead to better process or product control, a decrease in energy consumption and an improvement in productivity, which, together with the research training offered through the conduct of the work, is very helpful to maintaining Australia's leading position in resource, energy, process and allied industries.Read moreRead less
Use of Parallel Inclined Channels to Enhance Foam Drainage in Ion Flotation. This study is concerned with increasing the rates of foam drainage in flotation processes. The findings will have direct benefit in the field of ion flotation, and will be highly relevant to the flotation of high value minerals worth tens of billions of dollars annually. The Reflux Classifier, a device that employs the Boycott Effect to achieve a significant increase in the effective area of the vessel, will be used. Th ....Use of Parallel Inclined Channels to Enhance Foam Drainage in Ion Flotation. This study is concerned with increasing the rates of foam drainage in flotation processes. The findings will have direct benefit in the field of ion flotation, and will be highly relevant to the flotation of high value minerals worth tens of billions of dollars annually. The Reflux Classifier, a device that employs the Boycott Effect to achieve a significant increase in the effective area of the vessel, will be used. This device has already attracted three national awards in the area of gravity concentration in mineral processing. The study is ideal for training new researchers, especially at the PhD level, given the importance of the field to Australia. Read moreRead less
Extending the range of the flotation process for particle separation. The minerals industry is a significant contributor to Australia's prosperity. Flotation is an important process for upgrading low-grade ores to high-grade concentrates, and for recovering fine coal from tailings. This project is aimed at solving a long-term problem in current flotation practice, the difficulty in recovering ultrafine and coarse particles, currently lost from production. We will pursue two new discoveries recen ....Extending the range of the flotation process for particle separation. The minerals industry is a significant contributor to Australia's prosperity. Flotation is an important process for upgrading low-grade ores to high-grade concentrates, and for recovering fine coal from tailings. This project is aimed at solving a long-term problem in current flotation practice, the difficulty in recovering ultrafine and coarse particles, currently lost from production. We will pursue two new discoveries recently made by us, relating to the recovery of ultrafines and coarse particles. Benefits to Australia are of the order of $500 million a year in increased exports, education of high-quality graduates, export income from license fees and equipment.Read moreRead less
Influence of Parallel Inclined Plates within Liquid Fluidized Beds. The aim of this study is to develop a fundamental understanding of the influence of a set of parallel inclined plates within a liquid fluidized bed. A broad range of systems that process particulate suspensions are very likely to benefit from this innovative arrangement. Considerably higher throughputs and improved separation performance are expected. A theoretical model will be developed and validated experimentally. The study ....Influence of Parallel Inclined Plates within Liquid Fluidized Beds. The aim of this study is to develop a fundamental understanding of the influence of a set of parallel inclined plates within a liquid fluidized bed. A broad range of systems that process particulate suspensions are very likely to benefit from this innovative arrangement. Considerably higher throughputs and improved separation performance are expected. A theoretical model will be developed and validated experimentally. The study will also examine whether a critical shear rate can be used to selectively separate particles on the basis of differences in density. This work will strengthen the potential exploitation of this new technology, and help train and educate a student at the PhD level in the area.Read moreRead less
Mass transport in aqueous foams. Flotation is extremely important in the minerals industry, whose exports are $110.5 billion annually. This project aims to significantly advance understanding of liquid transport in flotation froths, via a quantitative study of foam mass flow mechanisms. If successful, it may lead to modifications to current flotation devices, improving their froth-zone performance and saving money, water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
New process for mineral flotation. Flotation is an important process in the minerals industry, which underpins Australia's prosperity. Ore is first finely ground and suspended in water. Finer grinds need more energy. The energy used in grinding in Australia is 14 percent of the national electricity consumption. This project will lead to a flotation technology that can successfully process much coarser particles than current devices, with large savings in grinding energy, greenhouse gas emissions ....New process for mineral flotation. Flotation is an important process in the minerals industry, which underpins Australia's prosperity. Ore is first finely ground and suspended in water. Finer grinds need more energy. The energy used in grinding in Australia is 14 percent of the national electricity consumption. This project will lead to a flotation technology that can successfully process much coarser particles than current devices, with large savings in grinding energy, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. A case study of a large mine shows that, by increasing the initial grinding size from 100 µm to 500 µm, the new technology could cut grinding energy by 45 percent, the carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount, and the water consumption by a factor of five.Read moreRead less
Confined comminution and particle flow: a general model for large-scale canonical solutions. The project integrates recent advances in continuum mechanics to develop a novel theory of comminution for large-scale problems of grain-size reduction, beyond the reach of particle-based simulations. We will deliver new knowledge and predictive tools by solving fundamental and significant comminution problems. Underpinning this development will be a direct link between energy and particle kinematics. Th ....Confined comminution and particle flow: a general model for large-scale canonical solutions. The project integrates recent advances in continuum mechanics to develop a novel theory of comminution for large-scale problems of grain-size reduction, beyond the reach of particle-based simulations. We will deliver new knowledge and predictive tools by solving fundamental and significant comminution problems. Underpinning this development will be a direct link between energy and particle kinematics. This unique methodology will enable the prediction of energy flow in fault zones, and energy losses from machine to particle and between particles.Read moreRead less
The elutriation of ultrafine particles according to their density. This study is concerned with exploiting a new and powerful mechanism for separating particles according to their density, with strong potential for recovering and concentrating tens of billions of dollars worth of valuable minerals annually. By coupling the new separation mechanism with a centrifugal force it should be possible to apply gravity separation technology, arguably for the first time, to the recovery of ultrafine parti ....The elutriation of ultrafine particles according to their density. This study is concerned with exploiting a new and powerful mechanism for separating particles according to their density, with strong potential for recovering and concentrating tens of billions of dollars worth of valuable minerals annually. By coupling the new separation mechanism with a centrifugal force it should be possible to apply gravity separation technology, arguably for the first time, to the recovery of ultrafine particles from 200 microns to well below 10 microns, at high separation efficiency, and high feed rates. This study is also ideal for training new researchers, especially at the PhD level, in an area of importance to Australia's economic future. Read moreRead less
Fundamental Studies of the Packing of Cohesive Particles. Particle/powder technology is of paramount importance to Australia in view of its heavy dependence on the handling and processing of raw materials. Particle packing is here a most basic operation. This project will examine the underpinning physics of the packing of cohesive particles and develop novel generic theories and mathematical models for solving packing problems. Its outcomes can lead to better process or product control, a decrea ....Fundamental Studies of the Packing of Cohesive Particles. Particle/powder technology is of paramount importance to Australia in view of its heavy dependence on the handling and processing of raw materials. Particle packing is here a most basic operation. This project will examine the underpinning physics of the packing of cohesive particles and develop novel generic theories and mathematical models for solving packing problems. Its outcomes can lead to better process or product control, a decrease in energy consumption and an improvement in productivity in many processes/operations in mineral/material and relevant industries, which, together with the research training offered, will help strengthen and maintain Australia's leading position in particulate science and technology.Read moreRead less