Title

IMPROVED FLOW MONITORING FOR PROCESS EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS UTILIZING NON-INVASIVE PASSIVE ARRAYS Measurement of Slurry with SONAR Passive

IMPROVED FLOW MONITORING FOR PROCESS EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS UTILIZING NON-INVASIVE PASSIVE ARRAYS Measurement of Slurry with SONAR Passive

Authorship

Longo, Paulo; O’Keefe., Christian

Longo, Paulo

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O’Keefe., Christian

I am this author

DOI

10.5151/2594-357X-22573

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Abstract

The process of Mineral Industry requires flow measurements. One of the main requirements is the measurement flow of slurry. However, this is an extremely demanding application that is not adequately solved by traditional technologies such as magmeters or Ultrasonic meters (Doppler or Transit Time), commonly used. The measurement principle based on Passive SONAR overcomes many known disadvantages in traditional approaches and has been put to test in more than 180 mineral processing plants throughout the years. This technology is based on a combination of an axial array of passive sensors installed externally around of the process pipe, connected to a transmitter can process a range of powerful algorithms for determining accurately the volumetric flow rate in the most fluids, including ore pulp. Besides measuring the volumetric flow rate, can also extract the Percentage of Entrained Air in the fluid. This combination of information, Entrained Air and Volume Flow, is a powerful tool for the real calculation of the mass balance of the process, improvement of the reagent dosage, among other important applications. This paper will present some of the main cases of use of this technology in Brazil and worldwide: feed flow of the cyclones, control of flotation reagent dosage, pipelines and leak detection.

The process of Mineral Industry requires flow measurements. One of the main requirements is the measurement flow of slurry. However, this is an extremely demanding application that is not adequately solved by traditional technologies such as magmeters or Ultrasonic meters (Doppler or Transit Time), commonly used. The measurement principle based on Passive SONAR overcomes many known disadvantages in traditional approaches and has been put to test in more than 180 mineral processing plants throughout the years. This technology is based on a combination of an axial array of passive sensors installed externally around of the process pipe, connected to a transmitter can process a range of powerful algorithms for determining accurately the volumetric flow rate in the most fluids, including ore pulp. Besides measuring the volumetric flow rate, can also extract the Percentage of Entrained Air in the fluid. This combination of information, Entrained Air and Volume Flow, is a powerful tool for the real calculation of the mass balance of the process, improvement of the reagent dosage, among other important applications. This paper will present some of the main cases of use of this technology in Brazil and worldwide: feed flow of the cyclones, control of flotation reagent dosage, pipelines and leak detection.

Keywords

Mass balance; Flow measurement; SONARtrac; Array-based.

Mass balance; Flow measurement; SONARtrac; Array-based.