Dynamic model for a dense medium drum separator in coal beneficiation

•Developed a dynamic model of a Wemco dense medium drum separator.•Model parameters obtained from industrial Wemco dense medium drum data.•Realistic steady-state partition factor model derived from the dynamic model.•Coal washability and drum partitioning behaviour are used to estimate the grade.•Dynamic drum model is considered adequate for process control purposes.

Dense medium drum (DMD) separators are unit processes that are typically used to beneficiate coal, iron ore and other minerals by making use of density separation. Some coal dense medium separation plants typically include a DMD separator. The operational management of this unit process is often limited to localised control of medium density and feed mass flow rate. Dynamic models for coal dense medium separation have been developed by the authors with the intention of using them for dynamic control.A suitable dynamic model for a DMD separator could not been found in the available literature. This paper shows how the dynamic model for a dense medium cyclone has been applied to a DMD separator. The model parameters were determined and the performance of the model is evaluated using actual plant data from a Wemco drum. Coal washability and drum partitioning behaviour are used to estimate the grade of the product for model grade simulation and validation.