'Automate Control of the Milling Circuit' - A New Paper from Malvern Instruments
27 October 2010: Malvern, UK: A recently published paper from Malvern Instruments, jointly authored with an expert from the aluminium industry, considers how best to exploit on-line particle size analysis to automate and improve milling efficiency, towards more cost-efficient operation. 'Automated control of the milling circuit' includes research that illustrates how automated control on the basis of real-time particle size measurement using the Malvern Insitec online analyzer simultaneously improves product quality and reduces energy consumption. The information is relevant across all industry sectors that use milling. To view the publication visit www.malvern.com/hydro
Mill output is most typically defined in terms of a particle size specification. In a number of industries a product that is too coarse is not acceptable, while an overly fine one is. Consequently over-milling is a major issue and a significant cause of excessive energy consumption. For many products, grade change (a switch from one particle size to another) is also an important source of waste because manual analysis and control make it difficult to rapidly reach a new set point.
While on-line particle size analysis is increasingly employed for mill monitoring, a greater return on investment is achieved by using the resulting data to automate control. Designed for integration within existing control platforms, Insitec is an on-line laser diffraction particle size analyzer that measures up to four complete particle size distributions per second. This paper addresses the issue of how best to filter such data for optimal control and discusses the benefits that automation delivers. Results show how automation robustly maintains product quality, reduces over-milling and cuts unproductive transition times - delivering significant financial benefit.
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About Malvern Instruments
Malvern Instruments is a market leader in measuring performance controlling material properties. These include particle size, particle shape, zeta potential, molecular weight, size and conformation, rheological properties and chemical distribution. Malvern delivers the systems, support and expertise that ensure the analytical integrity and productivity needed to drive research, development and manufacturing.
Malvern's measurement solutions for scientists, technologists and engineers advance continually through customer collaboration. Complementary materials characterization systems deliver inter-related measurements that reflect the complexities of particulates and disperse systems, nanomaterials and macromolecules. Combining intelligently implemented technologies with in-depth industry applications knowledge and support, Malvern provides customers with the competitive advantage they demand.
Headquartered in Malvern, UK, Malvern Instruments has subsidiary organizations in all major European markets, North America, China, Korea and Japan, a joint venture in India, a global distributor network and applications laboratories around the world. www.malvern.com
