Use of residence-time distribution techniques to analyze industrial-scale froth-flotation circuits

Residence-time distribution techniques are useful tools in the analysis, ch aracterization and modeling of the performance of processing equipment and circuits. This paper presents the results of both conventional and more-sop histicated residence-ti)ne distribution techniques for industrial copper-fl otation-circuit data. While conventional techniques provide a description t hat is sufficient for,macroengineering design requirements, the mope sophis ticated tracer-technique methods give more realistic descriptions of proces s flows and system effectiveness. It is demonstrated that these approaches can provide highly useful information about different equipment, as well as its configuration and performance.