Method and an apparatus for analyzing a material
AssigneeTechnological Resources Pty. Limited
InventorAndrea Gabrielle Pidcock
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and an apparatus for analyzing a material, such as coal and iron ore, particularly with a view to identifying contaminants, is disclosed. The method and apparatus are based on the use of multiple (particularly dual) energy x-ray analysis with x-rays at different photon energies. X-rays are transmitted through a material and the detected x-rays are processed to produce an image of the material that combines together the separated images produced by the different photon energy x-rays. The combined image has enhanced contrast which minimizes the affects of non-compositional factors that otherwise would affect identifying constituents of the material.
Claims8
A method of sorting a material produced in the minerals industry which comprises the steps of:
- i. feeding a stream of the material through a gap between a single x-ray tube operating at a selected voltage and two or more separate arrays of x-ray detectors;
- ii. operating the x-ray tube and directing x-rays of different photon energies towards the x-ray detectors;
- iii. operating the detectors and detecting x-rays received from the x-ray tube and generating data of detected transmitted x-rays obtained at different photon energies for each section of the stream of the material that passes through the gap;
- iv. identifying a constituent of the material by processing the data of detected transmitted x-rays obtained at different photon energies to minimise the effects of non-compositional factors relating to the material that otherwise would affect the identification of the constituent to thereby detect the constituent;
- and
- v. separating the constituent from the material.
An apparatus for sorting a material produced in the minerals industry to separate a contaminant from the remainder of the material which comprises:
- i. an x-ray transmission analysis system for directing x-rays at different photon energies onto the material and detecting x-rays transmitted through the material, the system comprising a single x-ray tube adapted to operate at a selected voltage and two or more separate arrays of x-ray detectors;
- and
- ii. a means for processing the data generated by the x-ray transmission system to minimise the effects of non-compositional factors on the data to obtain from the processed data information on the composition, type, or form of the material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.