Microwave technology will feature at Physical Separation '11

Falmouth, Cornwall

The use of microwaves to enhance physical separation methods will be featured at Physical Separation ’11 in Falmouth in June. Already we have papers submitted from France, India and Turkey on this evolving technique.

The potential of microwave technology, which exploits the differing thermal dielectric properties of minerals to enhance grain boundary fracture, has been understood for more than 20 years, but has not been considered commercially viable until recently because of the large amount of energy required.

However recent developments, such as pulsed microwave technology, may overcome this. There are many aspects of mineral processing where the use of microwaves will have importance, and if you have an interest in this field, and would like to present a paper in Falmouth, we invite you to submit a short abstract as soon as possible, as we will be drafting the provisional programme at the end of this month.