Separation technology wins award

Collaboration between the University of Newcastle and Ludowici MPE, which led to the development of a new separation technology, has won a national award for Best Research and Development.

The award from B-HERT (Business/Higher Education Round Table) recognises outstanding achievements in collaboration between business and higher education. The award was presented to the successful team by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson.

Associate Professor Kevin Galvin from the University of Newcastle says he is thrilled with the recognition the work has received.

"It's not only a great honour, but a tremendous result for our research group, the University of Newcastle, and for the Australian company, Ludowici MPE."

Associate Professor Galvin says the separation technology, known as the Reflux Classifier, is based on an observation first described in a Letter to the journal Nature way back in 1920. "There it was noted that the cells in blood settled in a test tube much more quickly when the tube was slightly tilted."

"Some eighty years later I found that by combining the phenomenon of inclined settling with another technology called fluidisation, we could actually separate different kinds of particles, not only at a higher rate, but also more efficiently."

As a result, the Reflux Classifier is meeting the industry need for efficient separation of particles, whether on the basis of size or density.

"This need is especially evident in the coal and minerals industries where it is increasingly necessary to recover valuable product from lower quality deposits."

"The Reflux Classifier has already undergone pilot and full scale trials in the coal industry," says Associate Professor Galvin.

Ludowici MPE has Reflux Classifier installations in Australia and China, and trials are being conducted by a number of companies around the world. The collaboration is also focusing on other separations, including mineral sands and iron ore.

The Reflux Classifier is 1.8 x 1.9m wide and about 3.5m high and can process up to 120 tonne of fine coal per hour.