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H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process

Bibliography: leaves 156-160.

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Main Author: Olivier, Brendan
Other Authors: Braae, Martin
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Electrical Engineering 2014
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author Olivier, Brendan
author2 Braae, Martin
author_browse Braae, Martin
Olivier, Brendan
author_facet Braae, Martin
Olivier, Brendan
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description Bibliography: leaves 156-160.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8350 H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process Olivier, Brendan Braae, Martin Swartz, Chris Electrical and Electronic Engineering Bibliography: leaves 156-160. The extraction of gold from ore that has been mined is the most important part of the process which eventually produces gold bullion. The process most commonly used today is that of carbon-in-pulp gold extraction (CIP). One of the main reasons for this is that it is the most economically efficient method of extracting gold from ore. The process uses activated carbon to absorb gold from a cyanide leach solution. Slurry containing the gold bearing ore and the activated carbon flow in a counter-current fashion. This counter-current flow enables a high percentage of the gold to be recovered. Gold can then be recovered through an elution process. Large amounts of activated carbon are used in the process and a formal multi variable control study of the adsorption section of the CIP process could provide further economic savings by extracting more gold with controlled amounts of carbon. A study was performed to identify the chemical mechanisms involved in the adsorption section of a CIP plant. It was felt that the workings of the process could best be established by designing a simple simulator of the process. The simulator was designed with four reactor tanks, in which the carbon absorbs gold from the leached slurry. The simulator uses a continuous transfer of carbon. In order to fully understand the operation of the HERIG, a simulation study was performed. This simulated model was a simplified version of the actual rig. The level changes of COLD water in the tanks were assumed to be instantaneous and the heat transfer coefficients were assumed to be the same for all four of the tanks. The calculation of the heat transfer coefficients was investigated thoroughly and care was taken to obtain accurate values. The simulator designed was a lumped parameter model. The pipes containing the HOT stream were divided into many small section, in each of which a constant temperature was assumed. A sum of the contributions of all the sections submerged under the COLD water was used to calculate the heat transferred into the COLD water. The COLD water in the tank is stirred continuously and is assumed to be at a constant temperature. The level of COLD water in each tank on the HERIG represents the mass of carbon in each of the tanks on a CIP plant. A change in the HOT water pipe temperature (concentration of Au in slurry) was examined as a function of a change in the level of COLD water in a tank (mass of carbon in a reactor). A steady state and dynamic analysis verified that trends observed from the CIP model were in fact mimicked by the trends observed on the HERIG. It was then decided to perform a formal control study of the HERIG, since the numerous similarities found between the CIP and HERIG enabled relevant conclusions to be drawn about the control of CIP from the control of the HERIG. 2014-10-11T12:06:13Z 2014-10-11T12:06:13Z 1991 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8350 eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Olivier, Brendan
H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
thesis_degree_str Master's
title H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
title_full H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
title_fullStr H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
title_full_unstemmed H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
title_short H to infinity optimal control of a counter-current process
title_sort h to infinity optimal control of a counter current process
topic Electrical and Electronic Engineering
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8350
work_keys_str_mv AT olivierbrendan htoinfinityoptimalcontrolofacountercurrentprocess