Innovations in Comminution Instrumentation and Control

摘要

In one form or another process control in comminution has been around since man first started breaking rock. However, as we usually associate the term 'process control' with automatic process control, this history dates back to the 1960s when analog controllers were first introduced to mineral processing plants. The past five decades have seen significant change in the practice of process control, and innovations in this area have occurred much more quickly than, say, innovations in the associated process equipment portfolio. In this evolution, automation has gone from nice-to-have to need-to-have, and plant-wide process control systems are now an essential element of every operation. Innovation continues in mainstream process control (control hardware, field instrumentation, control algorithms, interfaces, communications, etc.), but we are also witnessing the beginning of innovation in several related areas, such as condition monitoring, data/image mining, simulation, as well as a future that will include autonomous operation.