A Survey Of Material Balance Computer Packages In The Mineral Processing Industry

A historical background of the development of automated material balance packages is presented including a summary of currently available packages and a description of the present work at the Mineral Resources Research Center of the University of Minnesota. A brief mathematical statement of the problem is given and solution techniques discussed. The problems and difficulties normally associated with material balances, both hand calculated and computer calculated are described. Several aspects of the available material balance packages as related to the "user/computer" interface are evaluated in detail. Elements of the material balance packages that affect the solutions are examined and the relative performance of the main packages on specialized problems presented. Finally, areas associated with automated material balances that require further work before computer packages can be widely used in industry are outlined.