Experimental and numerical studies of the packing and piling of coal. This project is oriented to the coal and steel industries, which are important to Australia. In fact, the coal industry creates a significant employment and produces 80% of electricity in Australia. Australia is also the world's biggest coal exporter. This project will develop methods to control the packing and piling processes of coal, which are of fundamental importance to many granular processes. The benefits from the proje ....Experimental and numerical studies of the packing and piling of coal. This project is oriented to the coal and steel industries, which are important to Australia. In fact, the coal industry creates a significant employment and produces 80% of electricity in Australia. Australia is also the world's biggest coal exporter. This project will develop methods to control the packing and piling processes of coal, which are of fundamental importance to many granular processes. The benefits from the project include improvements in productivity, coke quality and fuel efficiency, which will lead reduced energy consumption and pollution emission and thereby improve the competitiveness of Australia's coal and steel industries. Read moreRead less
Experimental and numerical studies of the packing of alumina powders. This project is to investigate the packing of alumina powders at both microscopic and macroscopic levels by means of physical and numerical experiments, aiming to develop a comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics and computer models for predicting the packing properties under conditions corresponding to different operations in alumina refining and smelting processes. It will generate an effective method to solve ....Experimental and numerical studies of the packing of alumina powders. This project is to investigate the packing of alumina powders at both microscopic and macroscopic levels by means of physical and numerical experiments, aiming to develop a comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics and computer models for predicting the packing properties under conditions corresponding to different operations in alumina refining and smelting processes. It will generate an effective method to solve the complex packing problems for process and/or property control in alumina/aluminium industry.Read moreRead less
The effect of contaminant carbon films on the leaching of gold. A major problem in cyanidation is preg-robbing, which results in severe gold losses to tailings. Too much emphasis has been placed on the blinding and characterisation of free carbon or graphite particles, instead of considering carbon or graphite as a layer on top of other ore particles. It is the aim of this project to investigate the effect of contaminant carbon layers on the leaching of gold from sulphide ores. The understanding ....The effect of contaminant carbon films on the leaching of gold. A major problem in cyanidation is preg-robbing, which results in severe gold losses to tailings. Too much emphasis has been placed on the blinding and characterisation of free carbon or graphite particles, instead of considering carbon or graphite as a layer on top of other ore particles. It is the aim of this project to investigate the effect of contaminant carbon layers on the leaching of gold from sulphide ores. The understanding of the exact role of carbon layers on mineral surfaces in both preg-robbing and leaching is essential to devise process strategies that could lead to improved extraction.Read moreRead less
Economic Operability Assessment of Leaching Process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery. Process operability is concerned with systematic analysis and improvement of process performance in the face of variable operating conditions. This project will develop a rigorous methodology for analysis of process operability with respect to short-term and transient disturbances. The proposed technique will be applied to the Kwinana Nickel Refinery Leach section, in order to reduce the plant variability and increas ....Economic Operability Assessment of Leaching Process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery. Process operability is concerned with systematic analysis and improvement of process performance in the face of variable operating conditions. This project will develop a rigorous methodology for analysis of process operability with respect to short-term and transient disturbances. The proposed technique will be applied to the Kwinana Nickel Refinery Leach section, in order to reduce the plant variability and increase nickel throughput and plant availability. This can be considered as significant move by a process industry to embrace advanced theoretical developments and will act as a benchmark to promote future links between Australian industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Fundamental studies of screening processes in coal preparation. Screening is a most important unit operation widely used in industries but not well understood. This project will investigate the fundamentals governing the dynamic behaviour of coal slurry on desliming screens by a combined theoretical and experimental program. Its aim is to develop and validate a computer model that can simulate the operation under various conditions at a particle level, providing a cost effective way to quantify ....Fundamental studies of screening processes in coal preparation. Screening is a most important unit operation widely used in industries but not well understood. This project will investigate the fundamentals governing the dynamic behaviour of coal slurry on desliming screens by a combined theoretical and experimental program. Its aim is to develop and validate a computer model that can simulate the operation under various conditions at a particle level, providing a cost effective way to quantify the screening performance in relation to materials, machine and operation conditions. It will generate a basis for developing better design and control strategies of screen operation, resulting in an improved competitiveness of Australia's mineral industry.Read moreRead less
Modified activated carbons for recovery of gold from thiosulphate solutions. Thiosulphate is currently being considered by various international mining companies as an environmentally friendly alternative to cyanide for gold extraction. Although little is available in the open literature, most confidential research on recovery from thiosulphate leach slurries has focused on ion-exchange technology. Activated carbon as a more practical sorbent has been ignored completely owing to the general perc ....Modified activated carbons for recovery of gold from thiosulphate solutions. Thiosulphate is currently being considered by various international mining companies as an environmentally friendly alternative to cyanide for gold extraction. Although little is available in the open literature, most confidential research on recovery from thiosulphate leach slurries has focused on ion-exchange technology. Activated carbon as a more practical sorbent has been ignored completely owing to the general perception that it has a very low affinity for gold thiosulphate. On the basis of promising preliminary work, the aim of this project is to develop physically and chemically modified activated carbons with a high affinity for the sterically large gold thiosulphate complex. This project will aim to prove the hypothesis that the graphitic edges of an active carbon should be maximised and the organic active sites minimised for optimal adsorption.Read moreRead less
Mineral Flotation - Integrating Science and Practice. Froth flotation is one of the most important processes in the recovery of valuable minerals from ores. This project aims to achieve a quantum improvement in the understanding of flotation, delivered as a computer model that will predict flotation response from measurable particle properties such as size, mineral composition and hydrophobicity. Providing the scientific foundation for the current practice of flotation, it will also allow floa ....Mineral Flotation - Integrating Science and Practice. Froth flotation is one of the most important processes in the recovery of valuable minerals from ores. This project aims to achieve a quantum improvement in the understanding of flotation, delivered as a computer model that will predict flotation response from measurable particle properties such as size, mineral composition and hydrophobicity. Providing the scientific foundation for the current practice of flotation, it will also allow floatability to be predicted when regrinding, oxidation or reagent addition occurs, which is beyond the scope of any current modelling approach. The model will be validated on full-scale flotation plants in Australian mineral processing operations.Read moreRead less
Thermal characterisation of iron ores and coals for HIsmelt operation. Substantial developments in direct reduction ironmaking (DRI) have been recently conducted providing sustainable way for metallurgical operations. The largest advantage of DRI is that it does not require cokemaking and sintering, two processes which are consistently causing environmental concerns. This project aims to thermally investigate coals and iron ores for optimising direct smelting, and to provide insight into effect ....Thermal characterisation of iron ores and coals for HIsmelt operation. Substantial developments in direct reduction ironmaking (DRI) have been recently conducted providing sustainable way for metallurgical operations. The largest advantage of DRI is that it does not require cokemaking and sintering, two processes which are consistently causing environmental concerns. This project aims to thermally investigate coals and iron ores for optimising direct smelting, and to provide insight into effect of the properties of ores and coals on the process. Structural changes using hot stage optical microscopy will be carefully clarified. Finally, a predictive model for DRI and energy requirements for direct smelting based on the experimental outcomes will be developed.Read moreRead less
Flow field evaluation of AusIron top submerged injection system. The top submerged gas injection system is widely used in the metallurgical industry in many metal refining processes. The AusIron process, which uses dual top submerged lances injection, has been developed recently for direct smelting of iron ore to produce pig iron using low quality coal as fuel and reductant. Successful implementation of the process requires optimum furnace design. This project aims to study fluid flow within the ....Flow field evaluation of AusIron top submerged injection system. The top submerged gas injection system is widely used in the metallurgical industry in many metal refining processes. The AusIron process, which uses dual top submerged lances injection, has been developed recently for direct smelting of iron ore to produce pig iron using low quality coal as fuel and reductant. Successful implementation of the process requires optimum furnace design. This project aims to study fluid flow within the furnace using a laboratory scale model, plant trials and numerical analysis. The project will enhance our fundamental understanding of the top submerged injection processes and assist in optimising AusIron furnace design.Read moreRead less
Template-free Control of Titania Precipitation from Homogeneous Aqueous Solution. Used in the paint, plastic, ceramic, paper and synthetic fibre industries and having strategic nano-technological applications, titania is an important commodity for Australia, earning about $1.3 billion p.a. in exports. Better production methods through improved understanding of titania precipitation chemistry will help to increase our industrial productivity and minimise energy consumption. It may also lead to us ....Template-free Control of Titania Precipitation from Homogeneous Aqueous Solution. Used in the paint, plastic, ceramic, paper and synthetic fibre industries and having strategic nano-technological applications, titania is an important commodity for Australia, earning about $1.3 billion p.a. in exports. Better production methods through improved understanding of titania precipitation chemistry will help to increase our industrial productivity and minimise energy consumption. It may also lead to useful new processes and/or materials with catalytic properties. In an increasingly competitive global market, this is most relevant to Australian titania exporters and to Australian renewable energy programs (particularly for generating photovoltaic power). Read moreRead less