FUZZY-BASED MODELING AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL FLOTATION COLUMN

In the mineral production industry, separation of valuable from gangue minerals is generally carried out using the flotation process. Mineral recovery into the concentrate and the grade of the concentrate are the main metallurgical parameters of the flotation process. In the present investigation, a fuzzy model was developed to simulate the relationship between the process conditions (i.e., gas velocity, slurry solids %, frother dosage, and frother type) and the metallurgical performance of an industrial flotation column in a copper concentrator in Iran. Afterwards, an intelligent model–based control system was designed to control the process performance at the desired level using fuzzy logic rules. Simulation results show that the developed controller is capable of maintaining the process performance at its target level within a reasonable time.