.

Int. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977

www.elsevier.nlrlocaterijminpro
Flowsheet mass balance with partial observation of
stream components
A.I.A. Salama
)
( )
Western Research Centre, Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology CANMET , Natural Resources
Canada, Suite A202, a1 Oil Patch Drie, Deon, Alberta, Canada T9G 1A8
Received 20 June 1999; received in revised form 18 September 2000; accepted 17 November 2000
Abstract
The problem of mass balancing flowsheets with partial observation of stream components is
considered. Minimization of relative error squares of stream components is used to determine the
optimum set of balanced stream components and stream mass splits. Since the missing compo-
nents do not contribute to the objective function, some of the optimization Lagrangian multipliers
are equal or zeros. Furthermore, it is shown that some of the multipliers are dependent on the rest
of the multipliers. The multipliers and a set of independent stream mass splits are used to search
for the optimum solution. For a given partially observed data set, the maximum number of missing
stream components that will still permit flowsheet mass balance is determined. Published by
Elsevier Science B.V.
Keywords: flowsheet mass balance; flowsheet material balance; oil sands processing; mineral processing; coal
processing
1. Introduction
In the past three decades, the mineral processing industry has come to recognize the
.
importance of plant flowsheet mass balance MB as a tool for evaluating and improving

plant performance Cutting, 1976, 1979; Hodouin and Vaz Coelho, 1987; Jefferson and
Scott, 1986; Kapur et al., 1993a,b; Lynch, 1977; Ragot and Auburn, 1980; Reid et al.,
1982; Salama, 1999a,b; Smith and Ichiyen, 1973; White and Winslow, 1979; Wiegel,
.
1972, 1979; Wills, 1992 . To generate data for plant flowsheet MB, plant streams are

sampled according to a well-designed sampling scheme Smith and Frew, 1983; Frew,
)
Tel.: q1-780-987-8635; fax: q1-780-987-8676.
.
E-mail address: salama@nrcan.gc.ca A.I.A. Salama .
0301-7516r01r$ - see front matter. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
.
PII: S0301- 7516 00 00068- 5
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 60
.
1983 that was improved by Salama, 1999a. In most cases the collected samples contain
.
errors e.g., sampling, measurement, and analytical errors and have to be adjusted
.
balanced through MB. Therefore, the MB problem can be stated as: given a plant
.
flowsheet and a set of observed raw data, determine the optimum balanced sets of
. .
stream components SCs and stream mass splits SMSs such that an objective function
is optimized subject to a set of mass conservation constraints.
.
In many cases, SCs assays are observed in all streams; however, there are cases
where some of the SCs are missing or unavailable for measurement. At present, there is
no systematic treatment of the problem of flowsheet mass balancing in the absence of
.
some of the SCs. The main objectives of this paper are to: i investigate the problem of
. .
flowsheet MB with partial observation PO of SCs, ii identify the data configurations
.
that produce singular solutions, and iii determine the maximum number of missing
.
components MCs beyond which the data array no longer carries enough information to
produce a MB. The approach adopted allows for the identification of singular cases and
the determination of limits beyond which the PO data set fails to produce a MB.
The paper begins by solving the flowsheet MB problem using full observation of
SCs. The results are then extended to handle single- and multi-node flowsheet MB with
PO of SCs. The symbols and notations used in the paper are defined in Appendix A.
2. Generation of balanced datarr rrrfull observation of stream components
Given a multi-node flowsheet and a corresponding observed normalized SCs set, p ,
i j
i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N , the objective is to find the optimum set of balanced SCs,
s c
x , i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N , and N independent SMSs, Y , i gS _S such that
i j s c i i 1 r
.
the sum of SC relative error squares defined as White et al., 1977; Kapur et al., 1993a
2
N N
s c
x yP
i j i j
Fs 1 .

/
P
i j is1js1
is minimized and subject to two sets of constraints
N
c
x s1, i s1,2, . . . , N , G s0 2 .

i j s 2
js1
.
The matrix G expresses the node component mass balances NCMBs at all internal
2
.
nodes, and has only N y1 columns rather than N columns see Salama, 1999a,b . It
c c
should be emphasized that the cases where some of the observed SCs are zeros are not
problematic, since it is shown that the corresponding estimated SCs are also zeros.
2.1. Necessary conditions
The solution of the optimization problem considered can be determined by investigat-
.
ing the necessary conditions for the stationary point of the Lagrangian Fletcher, 1987
N N N N y1
s c n c
w x LLsFq l 1y x q z G 3 .
k j i i j k j 2
/
is1 js1 ks1 js1
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 61
where l , i s1,2, . . . , N and z , ks1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N y1 are sets of La-
i s k j n c
. w x
grangian constant multipliers and G designates the kjth element of G . The
2 k j 2
necessary conditions are
E LL x yP
i j i j
s2 yl qY c s0, i s1,2, . . . , N ,
i i j s
2
i
/
E P
x i j
i j
j s1,2, . . . , N y1 4 .
c
x yP
E LL
i i
N N
c c
s2 yl s0, i s1,2, . . . , N 5 .
i s
2
/ E P
x i
i N
Nc c
N N y1
n c
E LL
w x s z R s0, i gS _S 6 .
k j k j i 1 r
EY
i ks1 js1
. w x w x
and Eq. 2 , where c designates the ith element of c and R designates the kjth
j i j i k j
w x . .
element of R . Eqs. 4 and 5 may be rewritten as
i
2
x sp q0.5 l yY c p , i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N y1 7 .
.
i j i j i i j i j s c
i
x sp q0.5 l p
2
, i s1,2, . . . , N 8 . .
i i i i s
N N N
c c c
. .
respectively. Eqs. 7 and 8 indicate that x s are expressed in terms of p s, Y s,
i j i j i
w x . . . .
l s, and c s or z s . Utilizing Eqs. 2 , 7 , and 8 it can be shown that
i j i k j
N y1
c
2
Y c p

i j i j
i
js1
l s , i s1,2, . . . , N 9 .
i s N
c
2
p

i j
js1
w x .
or l s can be determined in terms of p s, Y s, and c s orz s , i.e., the
i i j i j i k j
. . .
Lagrangian multipliers are reduced by N . G s0 and Eq. 6 are N N y1 qN
s 2 n c i
. .
equations in the N N y1 qN unknowns, Y s and z s. The structure of G is
n c i i k j 2
linear, which simplifies the search for the optimum solution. The Taylor algorithm has
.
been found satisfactory for the present application Spath, 1974 . Knowing Y s and
i
. . . .
z s, the balanced SCs are determined using Eqs. 7 9 . Note that Eqs. 7 and 8
k j
force the balanced SCs to zeros if the corresponding observed SCs are zeros. To
facilitate the graphic presentation the data array is transposed in the following discus-
sion.
3. Single-node flowsheetrr rrrpartial observation of stream components
Consider a single-node flowsheet with N s1 and the node is labelled k, the number
r
of independent SMSs is N sN y2. Since the MCs are not included in the objective
i s
.. . .
function Eq. 1 , Eqs. 4 and 5 reduce to
l "Y z s0, l s0 10 .
i i k j i
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 62
where the first and second equations are used when 1Fj FN y1 and j sN , respec-
c c
tively. The q or y signs are used depending on whether the ith stream is entering or
leaving the node, respectively.
In general, the MCs are expressed using the adjacent observed SCs and implementing
stream consistency conditions or NCMBs. If the stream i consistency condition is used
.
in expressing an MC in stream i, l cannot be determined using Eq. 9 but can be using
i
.
Eq. 10 . Then, G is modified by replacing some of its elements NCMBs used in
2
.
expressing some of the MCs by using equations that represent equalities between some
.
of the z s as discussed later or stream consistency conditions. Note that, as much as
k j
possible, stream consistency conditions should be used in expressing some of the MCs.
..
The N qN y1 equations the modified G s0 and Eq. 6 can be solved for the
i c 2
N qN y1 unknowns, Y s and z s.
i c i k j
3.1. Connectiity indices
Mass balance for different data sets with PO of SCs can be investigated by

introducing single vertical, horizontal, and diagonal steps i.e., a jump or move from one

MC to the next, where there are no intermediate MCs see Fig. 1, configuration A,
v
.
where A B and AXB indicate missing and observed SCs, respectively . Furthermore,
configuration A contains a square missing-component cell. Data arrays containing
Fig. 1. Single-node data configurations with PO of SCs.
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 63

square or rectangular missing-component cells lead to singular solutions i.e., no unique

solution, or for every initial guess of the cell MCs we obtain different estimates for the
.
cell MCs .
Given a PO data array with no square or rectangular missing-component cells, let
.
single vertical steps be used to connect all MCs in each column stream . The successive
single vertical steps in a column form a vertical line. The vertical lines and the columns
containing single MC are connected sequentially, using single horizontal or diagonal
steps. Therefore, we end up with a broken line passing through all the MCs, where the
vertical lines are scanned only once in one direction. Note that the single horizontal or
diagonal steps are interchangeable, however, such changes do not affect the step count.
Each broken line has a set of diagonal, horizontal and vertical connectivity indices t ,
d
t , and, t defined as the number of single diagonal, horizontal, and vertical steps
h v
encountered along the broken line, respectively. Fig. 1 shows different data configura-
tions and their corresponding connectivity indices.
3.2. Maximum number of missing components

Assume a PO data set has N sN fully observed components i.e., a component is

D i
.
observed in all streams . Such condition allows for estimating the independent SMSs.
Along the broken line of the data set, if the conditions
t Ft
)
sN y N q1 11 . .
v v c D
.
is satisfied, the data set has a solution. Repetitive application of Eq. 10 indicates that a
. .
single vertical step in a column stream i.e., js in Eq. 10 are the single vertical step
.
end point indices forces two of the multipliers, z s to be equal. Setting N yN
k j c D
multipliers, z , j s1,2, . . . , N yN , to be equal and the remaining multipliers N y1
k j c D D
.
be arbitrary and using stream consistency conditions, Eq. 6 become N homogeneous
D
equations in N multipliers. This leads to z s0, j s1,2, . . . , N y1. Applying this
D k j c
.
result in Eq. 10 leads to l s0, i s1,2 . . . , N , but still the SMSs can be determined
i s
using the N fully observed components. If N -N then z s and l s are zeros and
D D i k j i
.
SMSs cannot be determined or singular solution i.e., N NCMBs in N unknowns .
D i
.
)
Therefore, t must satisfy the condition in Eq. 11 . For a broken line with t Ft , it
v v v
can be verified that
t qt qt FN y N q1 qN y1 12 . .
d h v c D s
.
)
If t in Eq. 12 is replaced by t , t qt FN y1 or the maximum number of single
v v d h s
horizontal and diagonal steps is N y1. The connectivity indices determine the number
s
of MCs as
Vst qt qt q1 13 .
d h v
. .
Using Eq. 12 with an equals sign and substituting into Eq. 13 , the maximum number
of MCs that does not preclude a MB is
V
)
sV
)
s N yN q N y1 14 . . .
1 c D s
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 64
The reason for introducing V
)
will be apparent when we consider multi-node
1
flowsheets. In the extreme cases when VsV
)
, the observed SCs remain in the
balanced SCs set. Furthermore, if V)V
)
, the data set fails to produce a MB.
3.3. Seeral data configurations with missing components
.
Consider a single-node flowsheet with four streams one input and three outputs
having N s7, N sN s2, V
)
s8, and t
)
s4. The application of Eqs. 1114 is
c D i v
illustrated using the configurations shown in Fig. 1.
3.3.1. Data configurations A and Bmissing-component cell
Consider a square missing-component cell having the j, j q1, i and i q1 indices
. .
configuration A . Applying Eq. 10 , we arrive at z sz . Furthermore, if we try to
k j k jq1
utilize the NCMBs at j and j q1 and the consistency conditions of streams i and i q1
to express the four MCs, x , x , x x in terms of the other observed SCs,
i j i j q1 i q1 j i q1 j q1
we end up with four linear equations. The resulting system matrix is singular and no
unique solution exists. Configuration B shows several other missing-component cells,
and configuration A conclusions are still valid. Note that the overall flowsheet MB may
.
reach a unique solution excluding the MCs , but for every initial guess of the cell MCs
we obtain different estimates for the MCs.
3.3.2. Data configurations C and D
.
In configuration C, stream i s3 components are missing and by utilizing Eq. 10 we
get z sz s. . . sz sl s0, and l s0, i s1,2, . . . , N . Consequently, Eqs.
k1 k 2 k N y1 3 i s
c
. .
7 and 8 indicate that the balanced SCs are identical to the observed SCs. No NCMB

can be found to determine the SMSs. Therefore, we arrive at a singular solution i.e., no
unique solution and the observed data with any consistent SMSs excluding stream i s3
.
can be used to determine stream i s3 SCs . Note that, in this case, t s6, and the
v
.
)
.
condition in Eq. 11 i.e., t Ft s4 is violated, i.e., there is a singular solution. In
v v

practice and the absence of SCs information, the MB of a quality measure e.g., mineral,
.
ash or sulfur content may be used to determine the SMSs; and assuming that the
observed SCs are accurate, stream i s3 SCs are determined. For configuration D,
.
t s5 or the condition in Eq. 11 is violated, i.e., a singular solution exists and there is
v
no MB.
3.3.3. Data configurations E, F, and G
Configuration E is similar to configuration C except that N th SC of stream i s3 is
c
.
observed. Utilizing Eq. 10 , we get z sz s. . . sz sconstant. However, to
k1 k 2 k N y1
c
.
satisfy Eq. 6 simultaneously, the constant must be zero or l ss0. There is only one
i
component MB condition at j sN to determine the two independent SMSs, Y and Y ;
c 2 3
this leads to a non-unique solution. Again, in this case t s5, and the condition in Eq.
v
.
11 is violated, i.e., a singular solution exists. Note that when N s3, configuration E
s
generates a unique solution because there is only one independent SMS to be deter-
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 65
mined. Configurations F and G are similar to configuration E and we arrive at the same
conclusions.
3.3.4. Data configurations H and I
.
In this case t s4 and the condition in Eq. 11 is satisfied; a solution exists. Note
v
that configurations H and I are reversed in SCs order, and represent typical configura-
tions where unique solutions exist.
3.3.5. Data configuration J
.
Since the jth SCs are missing in all streams, 1Fj FN y1, Eq. 10 is used and the
c
.
MB leads to a solution. Note that the l s are determined using Eq. 10 and the MCs
i
are determined from the stream consistency conditions. If the N th SCs are missing in
c
.
all streams, the l s and z s are zeros singular case ; however, this situation can be
i k j
remedied by reversing the order of the SCs.
4. Multi-node flowsheetrr rrrpartial observation of stream components
The MB of multi-node flowsheets with PO of SCs can be investigated by utilizing the
.
single-node results. The reference stream s and N are adjusted according to the
r
flowsheet configuration. As stated earlier, MCs do not have corresponding terms in Eq.
. . .
1 ; consequently, Eqs. 4 and 5 reduce to
l yY c s0, l s0 15 .
i i j i
i
where the first equation is used when 1Fj FN y1 and the second equation is used
c
when j sN .
c
4.1. Succession from an initial node to adjacent nodes
Multi-node flowsheets can be investigated by considering one node at a time and
utilizing the single-node flowsheet results obtained in Section 3, where N s1. The
D
reason for choosing N s1 is that, in many multi-node flowsheets, N GN , i.e., a
D n i
single component observed in all streams is sufficient to estimate the SMSs. The cases
where N -N will not be discussed, however, they can be treated by having N )1
n i D
and following the approach discussed in this section and the results reported by Salama
.
1999a .
The succession from an initial node to the adjacent node can take different directions
depending on whether it is an end or an intermediate node in the sequence of node
numbering. All streams connected to the initial node are considered, however, in a
. . .
succeeding adjacent node, any stream s already considered in the previous node s is
.
are excluded and the new streams are considered. A succeeding node with the new
streams forms Astream-reducedB node. This process is repeated from one node to the
next until all nodes have been considered. Fig. 2 presents a section of mineral processing
.
circuit, where N s8, N s4, N s3, N sN s1 Jefferson and Scott, 1986 . Fig. 3
s n i D r
demonstrates three corresponding data configurations with PO of SCs and node progres-
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 66
Fig. 2. Section of a mineral processing circuit and its node-branch graph.
. . .
sions I,II,II,IV , IV,III,II,I , and III,IV and III,II,I , respectively. The shaded columns
indicate streams that have already been considered in the previous nodes.
Fig. 3. Multi-node data configurations with PO of SCs.
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 67

)
..
The initial node streams could have a full broken line t st , see Eq. 11 passing
v v
.
through the MCs. In the adjacent nodes, after excluding the stream s considered in the
.
previous node s , the remaining streams could have a full broken line passing through
the MCs in these streams. This approach of having full broken lines at the initial and the
succeeding stream-reduced nodes is implemented in the three data configurations shown
in Fig. 3. Although the three configurations are different, the number of MCs, V, is 24.
While the initial node and the stream-reduced nodes are assumed to have no square or
rectangular missing-component cells because they lead to singular solutions, the MCs in
the excluded streams of the stream-reduced node and the other streams MCs can form
missing-component cells.
In general, based on the flowsheet topology or connection matrix, all templates

covering all possible initial-subsequent-nodes combinations are generated similar to

.
Fig. 3 . Then, projecting the PO data on these templates and evaluate the condition in
.
Eq. 11 at each node. If at any node, the condition fails, the data produce singular
solution. This procedure can be easily implemented on computer.
4.2. Maximum number of missing components

)
..
Considering a data configuration with full broken lines t st , see Eq. 11 at all
v v
nodes, the maximum number of MCs, V
)
, that permits a flowsheet MB is expressed as
V
)
s N N yN q N yN 16 . . . .
1 n c D s n
V
)
sV
)
q N y2 N yN qN sN N yN qN qN 17 . . . .
1 s s n r n c D n r
where N s1 and V
)
is the maximum number of MCs in the observed data array
D 1
.
excluding the N th component. The first term in Eq. 16 can be established by noting
c
)
..
that each node has a full set of N yN MCs or t st Eq. 11 ; the second term
c D v v
represents the maximum sum of single horizontal and diagonal steps after scanning all
.
)
the internal nodes. In Eq. 17 , the term added to V represents the maximum number
1
.
of missing N th SCs that permits single component SMSs balance Salama, 1999a .
c
. .
)
Substituting N s1 i.e., single-node flowsheet in Eq. 16 , it is obvious that V in
n 1
.
)
.
Eq. 16 is reduced to V of Eq. 14 .
1
The data configurations where V is less than V
)
are straightforward and lead to
unique solutions. However, it is of interest to examine the cases where V is in the
neighbourhood of V
)
.
)

)
..
Case VsV full observation of the N th stream components . Since there are
1 c
N yN single vertical steps at each node and the flowsheet is non-separable, repetitive
c D
. w x
applications of Eq. 15 yield some c s that are equal. Consequently, the sets of
j i
multipliers z , j s1,2, . . . , N yN are equal. The MCs in stream i force l to be
k j c D i
. . .
determined using Eq. 15 . Substituting Eq. 15 into Eq. 7 forces all observed SCs to
remain in the balanced SCs array.
.
One approach is to use N stream consistency conditions and N N yN y1 NCMBs
s n c D
to express the MCs in terms of the adjacent observed SCs and SMSs. The corresponding
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 68
. .
N N yN y1 NCMBs in G are replaced by N N yN y1 differences between
n c D 2 n c D
w x .
c s or z s . The number of differences can be established by noting that the
j i k j
.
number of single vertical steps at each node is N yN y1 . To cover all nodes then
c D
. .
we have N N yN y1 single vertical steps. The remaining N N y1 yN N yN
n c D n c n c D
. .
y1 sN N equations in G stay. It should be emphasized that we have N N
n D 2 n D
..
equations in the modified G and N equations Eq. 6 , involving N unknowns
2 i i
.
independent SMSs , and we arrive at a unique solution. This approach is used as an
example to illustrate how the results of Section 2 are modified to handle SCs with PO.
))

)
..
Case VsV partial observation of the N th stream components . Since some of
c
the N th SCs are missing, some of the remaining N N equations in G are used to set
c n D 2
w x ..
some of the c s to zeros Eq. 15 . The NCMB equations remaining in G are
j i 2
. .
N N y N y2 N yN qN . If the number of remaining equations is equal to or
n D s s n r
larger than N we obtain a unique solution.
i
Since the flowsheet is fully connected and having full broken lines at all nodes, z s
k j
. .
and l s are zeros. Substituting this result in Eqs. 7 and 8 leads to balanced SCs
i
equal to observed SCs. Note that the observed N th SCs are being fixed, thereby,
c
impose constraints on the balanced independent SMSs.
)))

)
..
Case V)V partial observation of the N th stream components . In this case,
c
the number of available N th NCMB equations is given as
c
N sN y2 VyV
)
18 . .
e i

)
. .
where VyV represents the number of missing N th SCs. Eq. 18 is valid when the
c
N th MCs are in internal streams. However, if the stream is an external stream the factor
c
. .
2 in Eq. 18 is replaced by 1 Salama, 1999a . Since N is less than N , a singular
e i
solution exists, i.e., different initial conditions yield different estimates.
5. Demonstration of results

)
.
A data set, A, having N s6, N s2, and t s3 is considered Peng and Chang,
c D v
. . 4
1997 . Stream 1 the feed is designated as a reference and the sets S s 1,2,3 ,
1
4 4
S s 4 , and S _S s 2,3 are selected. Table 1 presents the MB results of the fully
2 1 r
observed data and is provided as a benchmark for comparison with the PO results. A PO
data set is generated from data set A and having t st
)
s3, V
)
s7. Since t is at
v v 1 v
maximum, the observed SCs stay in the balanced SCs array, and the balanced SCs
corresponding to the MCs are determined using NCMBs or stream consistency condi-
tions. After implementing all the necessary equalities between z s in the modified G ,
k j 2
. .
we are left with two NCMB equations N s2 in two unknowns Y and Y . The
D 2 3
observed fifth and sixth SCs impose constraints on the balanced SMSs. The results
obtained are shown in Table 2. Other configurations with PO and having t st
)
s3,
v v
Vs4,7, and the 5th and 6th SCs kept the same were tried and the resulting SMSs are
identical to those shown in Table 2.
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 69
Table 1
.
Fully observed data set A and its balance Peng and Chang, 1997
Relative Observed data Balanced data
density
Feed Product Product Product Feed Product Product Product
interval
. . . . . . . .
% 1 % 2 % 3 % % 1 % 2 % 3 %
-1.3 10.81 16.81 4.15 0.23 9.77 18.07 4.20 0.23
1.31.4 42.40 70.70 39.14 1.78 45.04 69.12 38.30 1.78
1.41.5 13.46 10.38 20.60 1.35 12.42 10.70 21.40 1.35
1.51.6 4.53 1.32 11.47 1.67 4.69 1.31 11.11 1.67
1.61.8 5.33 0.65 10.60 5.49 5.10 0.65 10.90 5.53
)1.8 23.47 0.14 14.04 89.48 22.99 0.14 14.09 89.44
Sum 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Estimated Y s 1.00 0.4594 0.3375 0.2031
i
The flowsheet shown in Fig. 2 having N s6, N s3, N s4, N s1, N s8 is
c i n r s
.
considered. The feed stream stream 1 is designated as a reference and the sets
4 4 4
S s 1,2,3,6 , S s 4,5,7,8 , and S _S s 2,3,6 are selected. A data set, B, associated
1 2 1 r
.
with this flowsheet is considered Jefferson and Scott, 1986 . Using data set B as a
source, several configuration conditions are chosen and given in Table 3 where N s1,
D
)
. . .
) ))
V s24. Data sets B-1,B-2, B-3 , B-4,B-5 , and B-6 represent Cases , , and
)))
.
, respectively see Section 4.2 . Data sets B-4 and B-5 are data set B-3 with one
missing N th component in the 8th and the 2nd streams, respectively. Data set B-6 is
c
data set B-3 with missing N th component in streams 2 and 8. The full observation MB
c
results are presented in Table 4 and are given as a benchmark. All the PO data sets have
been implemented, however, selected results corresponding to data sets B-1 and B-4 are
presented in Tables 5 and 6.

)
)
.
For data set B-1 to B-3 and close examination of Table 5 Case , VsV s24
1
.
reveal that the observed SCs excluding the N th SCs stay in the balanced SCs, the
c
Table 2
Partially observed data set A and its balance
Relative Observed data Balanced data
density
Feed Product Product Product Feed Product Product Product
interval
. . . . . . . .
% 1 % 2 % 3 % % 1 % 2 % 3 %
v
-1.3 10.81 16.81 4.15 10.81 16.81 4.15 10.43
v v
1.31.4 42.40 70.70 42.40 70.70 37.82 y8.42
v v
1.41.5 13.46 1.35 13.46 11.87 21.92 1.35
v v
1.51.6 11.47 1.67 4.53 y0.17 11.47 1.67
1.61.8 5.33 0.65 10.60 5.49 5.33 0.65 10.60 5.49
)1.8 23.47 0.14 14.04 89.48 23.47 0.14 14.04 89.48
Sum 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Estimated Y s 1.00 0.4252 0.3714 0.2034
i
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 70
Table 3
Different settings for multi-node flowsheet data configurations
a
Table a Data set Observation Node progression Case V Missing N th SC Remaining
c
NCMB
Stream a Nodes
equations
left
4 B full I, II, III, IV none none 4 20
)
5 B-1 partial I, II, III, IV 24 none 4 4
)
B-2 partial IV, III, II, I 24 none 4 4
)
B-3 partial III, II, I and III, VI 24 none 4 4
) )
6 B-4 partial III, II, I and III, VI 25 8 3 3
) )
B-5 partial III, II, I and III, VI 25 2 2 3
) ) )
B-6 partial III, II, I and III, VI 26 2, 8 1 2
Reference stream mass split a 1.
Independent stream mass splits a 2,3,6.
a
See text of paper.
same SMSs, the observed sets of N th components change to the same set, and a unique
c
. .
solution. The first item can be derived by using Eqs. 7 and 15 . The second item can
be established by noting that z s are the same in the three configurations, therefore, the
k j
.
structure of Eq. 6 is the same. Furthermore, since the source data are the same, the
determination of the MCs through the direct use of the observed data or the use of
remaining NCMB equations in G , would not affect the solution. The third item can be
2
established by noting that the SMSs, l s and observed N th components are the same;
i c
.
then Eq. 8 leads to the same balanced N th components. Note that, after implementing
c
w x
all equalities between c s, the number of remaining NCMB equations in the modified
j i
.
G is 4 and Eq. 6 is three equations, involving three unknowns independent SMSs
2
.
Y ,Y , Y . Since the number of equations is larger than the number of unknowns, we
2 3 6
obtain a unique solution.

))
)
.
For data set B-4 to B-5 and close examination of Table 6 Case , VsV s25
.
indicate that the observed SCs including the N th SCs stay in the balanced SCs array;
c
the SMSs are constrained by the observed N th SCs, and a unique solution is obtained.
c
Note that the number of remaining NCMB equations in G is three involving the three
2
.
unknowns Y , Y , Y . As a result a unique solution is obtained. Note that results in
2 3 6
Table 6 indicate that the mass splits are constrained by three equations using the

observed N th SCs. In spite of having a unique solution the results are poor negative
c
.
and unrealistic values . Obviously, the poor results are attributable to the limited
information in the observed data.

)))
)
.
Data set B-6 Case , Vs26)V has two missing N th components in the
c
2nd and 8th streams, so we end up with two NCMB equations in G involving three
2
.
unknowns Y , Y , Y ; as a result there is no unique solution.
2 3 6

The cases considered in this section were tried using the ASolverB module within
.
Microsoft Excel and converged to non-optimal and unrealistic solutions. However,

when the results and constraints derived in this paper are imposed e.g., balanced SCs
.
equal observed SCs the individual solutions converge to the results obtained using the
proposed technique.
(
)
A
.
I
.
A
.
S
a
l
a
m
a
r
I
n
t
.
J
.
M
i
n
e
r
.
P
r
o
c
e
s
s
.
6
3
2
0
0
1
5
9

7
7
7
1
Table 4
.
Fully observed data set B and its balance Jefferson and Scott, 1986
Observed Data Balanced Data
Stream a Stream a
Component a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 33.73 30.20 33.74 24.33 26.42 22.83 30.38 14.10 32.05 31.03 34.60 24.47 27.14 20.74 31.80 14.85
2 9.04 10.70 4.90 19.40 25.77 28.24 13.56 35.25 8.66 11.50 4.89 23.66 21.34 26.89 13.34 34.09
3 0.50 0.49 0.32 0.56 0.46 0.62 0.50 0.71 0.41 0.43 0.37 0.55 0.48 0.65 0.50 0.73
4 17.95 18.41 19.44 9.09 9.26 9.18 16.01 8.41 18.60 16.47 20.20 9.61 9.16 10.24 14.80 7.81
5 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.05
6 38.73 40.15 41.56 46.58 38.03 39.07 39.49 41.48 40.23 40.52 39.90 41.67 41.83 41.44 39.50 42.47
Sum 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Estimated Y s 1.00 1.35 0.87 0.47 0.28 0.20 0.07 0.13
i
(
)
A
.
I
.
A
.
S
a
l
a
m
a
r
I
n
t
.
J
.
M
i
n
e
r
.
P
r
o
c
e
s
s
.
6
3
2
0
0
1
5
9

7
7
7
2
Table 5
Partially observed data set B-1 and its balance
Observed data Balanced data
Stream a Stream a
Component a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
v v v v
1 33.73 24.33 26.42 30.38 33.73 33.72 32.93 24.33 26.42 26.22 30.38 34.67
v v v v v v
2 9.04 19.40 9.04 7.30 8.32 19.40 16.50 16.78 13.39 9.89
v v v v
3 0.50 0.49 0.56 0.50 0.50 0.49 0.50 0.56 0.49 0.50 0.50 0.51
v v v v v
4 18.41 9.09 16.01 16.16 18.41 17.63 9.09 18.43 17.54 16.01 14.43
v v v v v
5 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.07
6 38.73 40.15 41.56 46.58 38.03 39.07 39.49 41.48 40.52 40.04 40.58 46.57 38.10 38.91 39.66 40.44
Sum 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Estimated Y s 1.00 0.49 0.54 y0.05 0.43 y0.48 y0.94 0.46
i
(
)
A
.
I
.
A
.
S
a
l
a
m
a
r
I
n
t
.
J
.
M
i
n
e
r
.
P
r
o
c
e
s
s
.
6
3
2
0
0
1
5
9

7
7
7
3
Table 6
Partially observed data set B-4 and its balance
Observed data Balanced data
Stream a Stream a
Component a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
v v v v
1 30.20 24.33 26.42 14.10 10.11 30.20 28.91 24.33 26.42 26.17 6.63 14.10
v v v v v
2 10.70 19.40 35.25 41.36 10.70 12.61 19.40 25.67 24.91 41.65 35.25
v v v v v
3 0.49 0.56 0.62 y2.85 0.49 0.51 0.56 0.63 0.62 y3.85 y2.14
v v v v v
4 9.09 9.18 16.01 12.60 18.42 16.37 9.09 9.19 9.18 16.01 13.40
v v v v v
5 0.04 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06
v
6 38.73 40.15 41.56 46.58 38.03 39.07 39.49 38.73 40.15 41.56 46.58 38.03 39.07 39.49 39.33
Sum 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Estimated Y s 1.00 y0.21 y0.27 0.06 y0.43 0.49 y0.78 1.27
i
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 74
6. Conclusions
An approach for flowsheet mass balancing in the presence of PO of SCs is proposed.
The maximum numbers of MCs that still permit MB have been determined for single-
and multi-node flowsheets. If the number of MCs exceeds the maximum value, the
observed data do not carry sufficient information to generate a flowsheet MB. Naturally,
as the number of MCs approaches the maximum value, the balanced data generated
become strongly biased towards the observed data.
Based on the results presented several conclusions are given below.
v
In single-node flowsheets, data arrays containing square or rectangular missing-
component cells lead to singular solutions. In multi-node flowsheets, the same conclu-
sion applies to the stream-reduced nodes of the flowsheet, however, the overall data
array may contain missing-component cells between columns, which do not belong to
the same node.
v
) )
For single-node flowsheets, when VsV and t st , the Lagrangian multipli-
v v
ers are identically zeros and all the observed SCs remain in the balanced SCs.
v
) )
For multi-node flowsheets, when VsV and t st , the Lagrangian multipliers
1 v v
.
for each node are the same and all the observed SCs except the last N components
D
remain in the balanced SCs. The last N SCs and MCs are determined using stream
D
consistency and NCMBs using the observed SCs. When VsV
)
and t st
)
, the
v v
Lagrangian multipliers of the optimization problem are identically zeros and all the
observed SCs remain in the balanced SCs array.
v
The approach developed in this paper can be adapted to handle cases with PO of
SCs using other forms of least-squares objective functions. Because at the extreme cases
of V (V
)
the objective function form has little effect.
In all cases, the MCs are determined by stream consistency and NCMBs using the
observed SCs and SMSs. Furthermore, the results presented provide a road map for
identifying the data configurations, which lead to singular solutions; and the identifica-
tion process can be implemented on computer.
The approach proposed provides mineral, oil sands, and coal processing engineers
with a technique for flowsheet MB in the absence of full observation of SCs.
Nomenclature
p
i j
observed stream component
x
i j
estimated stream component
C
0
.
flowsheet connection incident matrix
C
1
C matrix with columns rearranged
0
C
11
submatrix of C containing columns of C corresponding to the dependent
1 0
stream indices
C
12
remaining submatrix of C containing columns of C corresponding to the
1 0
reference and independent stream indices
C
2
row echelon matrix of C
1
C
21
preceding submatrix of C , unity matrix
2
C
22
remaining submatrix of C
2
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 75
C
Y
i
matrix with the submatrices M and Q
12 i
I unity matrix
LL Lagrangian of the optimization problem
M
12
submatrix C with all its elements are set to zero except the ith column is kept
12
N
c
number of components per stream
N
i
number of selected independent stream mass splits
N
n
number of internal nodes in the flowsheet
N
r
number of selected reference stream mass splits
N
s
number of streams in the flowsheet
N
D
.
number of fully observed SCs i.e., a component is observed in all streams ,
normally, the last N rows in the observed data array
D
Q
i
a matrix formed by products of C and C elements
11 22
R
i
a matrix formed by matrix product of C and X matrices, used to express the
Y 1
i
partial derivatives of LL relative to the independent SMSs
S
1
set of the reference and independent stream mass splits indices
S
2
set of the dependent stream mass splits indices
S
r
set of the reference stream mass splits indices
X matrix of estimated stream components excluding the N th components
c
X
1
X matrix with rows rearranged
Y column matrix of the stream mass splits Y s
i
Y
i
stream i mass split
YX X matrix whose elements are scaled by the SMSs where the N th components
c
are excluded
z
k j
constant multiplier of the optimization problem
l
i
constant multiplier of the optimization problem
t
d
single diagonal step from one missing component to the next in the data array
t
h
single horizontal step from one missing component to the next in the data array
t
v
single vertical step from one missing component to the next in the data array
c
j
N row matrix whose elements are products of C elements and z s
s 0 k j
G
2
matrix whose elements are the component mass balance at all nodes excluding
the N th components
c
F objective function of the optimization problem
V number of missing stream components in the observed data array
V
)
maximum number of allowable missing stream components in the observed
data array
V
)
l
maximum number of allowable missing stream components in the observed
data array excluding the last N rows in the observed data array
D
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by the federal Panel on Energy Research and
.
Development PERD .
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 76
Appendix A
.
Let the connection or incident matrix associated with any flowsheet or node-branch
. .
graph be denoted as C and it has dimension N =N Cutting, 1976, 1979 , where N
0 n s n
.
and N designate the number of internal nodes and the number of streams branches ,
s
respectively. Note that
C Ys0 A1 .
0
where Y is a column vector of dimension N and its elements are the estimated SMSs
s
.
Y , i s1,2, . . . , N . A row matrix c can be derived from Eq. A1 as
i s j
N
n
w x c s PPP C z PPP A2 .

j 0 k j k i
ks1
where the ith element is shown, i s1,2, . . . , N , and z s are defined in the paper. In a
s k j
multi-input flowsheet the maximum number of independent stream fractional mass splits

is N sN yN yN where N designates the number of reference streams may be input

i s n r r
.
streams .
.
Let the indices numbers of the reference and independent SMSs be grouped in a set
.
S , the indices of remaining dependent SMSs be grouped in a set S , and the indices of
1 2
.
reference SMSs be grouped in set S Reid et al., 1982; White et al., 1977 . Note that the
r
indices are entered in S , S , and S in increasing order. Let us rearrange the columns of
1 2 r
C in another matrix C which has two submatrices C and C such that the
0 1 11 12
submatrix C contains the columns of C whose indices are in S and the submatrix
11 0 2
C contains the columns of C whose indices are in S . Putting C into its row echolon
12 0 1 1
. .
form or Hermite form C Scheick, 1997 , we get
2
w x w x C s C C s I C A3 .
2 21 22 22
.
Eq. A3 is used to express the dependant SMSs as linear combination of the indepen-
dent SMSs. A set of matrices C s can be constructed by using the matrices Q s,
Y i
i
i gS _S , where A _B designates the difference of two sets. The elements of the Q s
1 r i
matrices can be determined from the elements of C and C submatrices as
11 22
w x w x w x Q sy C C , r, xs1,2, . . . , N A4 .
rx rx x i i 11 22 n
The matrices C can be formed by using the matrices Q s and M as submatrices and
Y i 12
i
we get
w x C s M Q , i gS _S A5 .
Y 12 i 1 r
i
where submatrix M is the submatrix C with all elements set to 0, except that the ith
12 12
column elements are kept.
.
Let the estimated SCs excluding last component be arranged in matrix form as
w x
Xs x , i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N y1 , where N is the number of SCs per
i j s c c
stream. Let us scale the estimated stream fractional components by the stream fractional
w x
mass splits as YXs Y x , i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N y1 and denote the matrix
i i j s c
.
product of C and YX as matrix G having a dimension of N = N y1 .
0 2 n c
( )
A.I.A. SalamarInt. J. Miner. Process. 63 2001 5977 77
Since the indices of the SMSs Y , i s1,2, . . . , N are grouped in two sets, S and S ,
i s 1 2
the estimated SCs, x , i s1,2, . . . , N , j s1,2, . . . , N y1, are grouped in a similar
i j s c
fashion to produce the matrix X . Another set of matrices is defined as
1
R sC . X , i gS _S A6 .
i Y 1 1 r
i
where A.B designates matrix product.
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