Increasing Energy Efficiency and Productivity of the Comminution Process in Tumbling Mills by Indirect Measurements of Internal Dynamics—An Overview

Mateusz Góralczyk, Pavlo Krot, Radosław Zimroz and Szymon Ogonowski
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Mateusz Góralczyk: Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wrocław, Poland
Pavlo Krot: Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wrocław, Poland
Radosław Zimroz: Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wrocław, Poland
Szymon Ogonowski: Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Tumbling mills have been widely implemented in many industrial sectors for the grinding of bulk materials. They have been used for decades in the production of fines and in the final stages of ore comminution, where optimal levels for the enrichment particles’ sizes are obtained. Even though these ubiquitous machines of relatively simple construction have been subjected to extensive studies, the industry still struggles with very low energy efficiency of the comminution process. Moreover, obtaining an optimal size for the grinding product particles is crucial for the effectiveness of the following processes and waste production reduction. New, innovative processing methods and machines are being developed to tackle the problem; however, tumbling mills are still most commonly used in all ranges of the industry. Since heavy equipment retrofitting is the most costly approach, process optimization with dedicated models and control systems is the most preferable solution for energy consumption reduction. While the classic technological measurements in mineral processing are well adopted by the industry, nowadays research focuses on new methods of the mill’s internal dynamics analysis and control. This paper presents a retrospective overview of the existing models of internal load motion, an overview of the innovations in process control, and some recent research and industrial approaches from the energy consumption reduction point of view.

Keywords: ball mills; energy efficiency; internal dynamics; DEM model; resonance oscillations; measurements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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