Residence time distributions modelling for mineral processes evaluation

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 81, No. 911, 1988

C. BAZIN and D. HODOUIN Groupe de recherche sur les applications de I'informatique, a I'industrie minerale (GRAIIM), Departement de mines et metallurgie, Universite Laval

A flexible model involving perfect mixers, stagnant zones, plug flow, material bypassing and recycling zones has been developed for interpreting mixing phenomena in mineral processes. The mixing properties are described by the residence time distributions which can be subsequently interpreted by the flexible model. User-friendly computer programs (for IMB-PC or compatible) have been developed for simulation and modelling of RTDs using the proposed model. Seven mineral processing case studies are discussed in terms of experimental procedure, model calibration results and application of the estimated mixing model to process modelling, diagnosis, and performance evaluation.

Keywords: Mineral processing, Modelling, Computer programming, Computer application, Mixers, Residence time distribution, Homogenization.