FUZZY SUPERVISORY CONTROL OF FLOTATION COLUMNS

The application of fuzzy logic to supervise a distributed basic contro l in a flotation column is discussed. The control strategies were stud ied and tested in a dynamic simulator of the process. Two control stra tegies were developed and tested to manage three basic distributed con trollers: an expert supervisor, mainly based on rules following a bina ry logic, and a fuzzy supervisor. The objective function to be optimiz ed was to keep the concentrate grade in a high band, subject to mainta ining the process recovery over a minimum value. The supervisor takes into account the present state of the gas flowrate, the froth depth an d the wash water flowrate, to make a decision. Simulated results are d iscussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.