Based on long-term collaboration, FLSmidth (FLS) and Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) were awarded the EID FlotSim project to improve the recovery rates of flotation by science-based development. FLSmidth (FLS) is a world-leading manufacturer, providing service and technology to extract base metals and critical raw materials by flotation processes. Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) is a world-leading institute of higher education and one of the most dynamic universities in Germany, offering a broad variety of disciplines and covering a wide research spectrum. Flotation is an extremely complex and not completely understood process, with a lot of energy and resources wasted. Highly improved, next-generation flotation cells are necessary to remain economically competitive and to respond to the desire of citizens for ecology-friendly mining. FlotSim addresses these societal challenges through its research and development, as well as the recruitment and training of five early stage researchers [ESRs]. The ESRs will jointly investigate and model the flotation process with its complex interactions between valuable mineral particles, gas bubbles, and turbulent flow, addressing phenomena from the nanoscale to the scale of pilot machines. With FlotSim, FLS, TUD and associated non-academic partners join forces to integrate top-notch scientific expertise and computational know-how into an industry-driven network. FlotSim will jointly develop new sophisticated quantitative models of the relevant micro-processes and integrate them into a novel predictive simulation framework for the entire flotation process. FlotSim strives for sustained impact through joint publications and the transfer of results into unprecedented simulation software, technological solutions, and the next generation of flotation machines by FLSmidth and other stakeholders.
