Optimising plant design using plant feed and LD core data

A key requirement when designing a Coal Processing Plant (CPP) is for all process units to be sized to efficiently process the full range of expected feed types at design throughput. Conventional CPP design typically uses large diameter bore (LD) core samples to develop design windows that define the full range of size distribution and circuit yields. Application of these design windows applies the highest and/or lowest yields for each circuit with the coarsest and/or finest feed types to ensure that all circuits can handle all feeds that conceptually lie within the design windows. However, this may result in design unit capacities for some circuits that will never likely be required in practice, and hence overdesign of certain circuits, which can significantly increase capital and operating costs. This paper will discuss the application of an innovative approach, which involves the development of customised graphics that super-impose the results of Limn simulations for all feed samples onto a 2D graphic of feed size distribution and yield. This highlights non-populated or very lightly populated areas of the design windows that can be selectively excluded, resulting in a reduction of required process unit capacity for specific streams and equipment.