Implementation of a model for Falcon separation units using continuous size-density distributions

•Modeling of the Falcon enhanced gravity separator.•Representation of washabilities with continuous functions.•Application to coal fines and dredged sediments particle size–density distributions.•Step towards validation of the model for industrial scale Falcon devices.

Falcon concentrators are commonly used in the mining industry to separate ores. Recent research yielded a predictive model for their separation performance in the form an analytical expression, based on a mechanistic understanding of the separation physics in these devices. While giving good results for lab-scale concentrators, in the form it is given, this model is not ready for industrial applications because of two limitations: its strong dependance on high quality measurements of size-density distributions, and its sensitivity to the discretization of data. These two shortcomings are solved by representing the distributions using continuous polynomials functions, in order to produce a robust model that makes it possible to validate the predictions for industrial scale Falcon bowls.