Solid/liquid separation equipment simulation & design – an expert systems approach

Published texts on solid/liquid separation technology have allowed a limited amount of knowledge to be available widely, but none put forward the rules of thumb in such a manner that they are readily assimilable by the non-expert. There are many unpublished techniques and approaches. The computer technologist might target solid/liquid separation as a technology ripe for the application of expert systems. It is argued here that expert systems on their own are inadequate in this subject area, but the most effective software utilises a well-chosen mix of algorithm, graphics, expert system, and interactive input from the engineer. In this paper some examples are given of both public and private knowledge and an example of the application of the combined approach to equipment selection demonstrates that efficient software can save time and enable decisions to be made rapidly. Equipment selection using the pC-SELECT software is demonstrated.