This computer-aided design system for mineral processing flowsheets
which are based on froth flotation, size reduction and classification
combines an expert system for generating flowsheet structures with
numerical models for the physical processes and the economics. Design
decisions, such as specification, size and placing of process units and the
destination of recycle streams, are based on clear technical and economic
criteria. These decisions are controlled by user-set parameters, which
allow the incorporation of industry experience and preferences and the
generation of sets of good designs, from which choices may be made by
further criteria, such as controllability. Liberation is now fully modelled
and the early results from this extension continue to suggest potential
substantial increases in added value over conventional approaches.