Chemical and mineralogical characterization of bulk particles by optical-digital techniques

The main characteristics which define a system of solid particulate matter are the chemical-mineralogical associations and the size-composition. The characterization of particulate solids in real time implies identifying a set of features recognizable without resort to laboratory testing. Lab tests, in fact, takes a long time to perform, in so far as one must carry out complex procedures simply to select samples out of the flow in the plant to determine their chemical and physical properties. In order to reduce the time required for solids characterization a procedure has been developed for identifying discriminating indicators obtained from the opto-digital analysis of particulate solids looking at their color distribution and texture, minimizing laboratory analyses. The problem was analyzed in the case of an ore of siliceous-feldspar sands, which had to be treated to extract raw materials for different applications in glass and ceramics industries.