988 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
design can improve long-term system performance, pre-
vent catastrophic events, and improve project and process
economics.
PrOMMiS is working to apply the Pyomo Robust
Optimization Solver (PyROS) to obtain robust optimal
solutions for the membrane diafiltration process that are
feasible for all realization of uncertainty. (Isenberg, Akula,
Bhattacharyya, Miller, &Gounaris, 2021) (Isenberg,
Sherman, Siirola, &Gounaris, 2024) This will help provide
appreciation of the most critical membrane tube location
within a stage, and allow for robust feasible designs that
obtain specified recovery objectives in spite of underper-
forming tubes. So far, exercising PrOMMiS with PyROS
has provided several general insights for robust design of the
cascades, including i) robust feasible designs comes with a
cost of robustness in the form of reduced cobalt recovery
and greater membrane area, and ii) robust optimization for
the worst-case scenario can identify critical membrane tube
locations within a diafiltration cascade (Figure 7). (Yao,
Dougher, Lee, Dowling, &Gounaris, 2024) These prom-
ising initial results represent an intriguing application of
PrOMMiS for de-risking demonstration and commercial
plants during scale-up and deployment.
CONCLUSIONS
In early 2023, the DOE’s Office of Resource Sustainability
identified an opportunity to leverage the existing IDAES-IP
in a new application space, the creation of new CMM pro-
cessing facilities, to accelerate and de-risk RD3 the office
was funding. The urgent national need for domestic supplies
of CMM coupled with the historic levels of Federal fund-
ing focused on rapidly demonstrating and deploying new
technologies underpinned the importance of developing
this capability in a fashion that it would have a near-term
impact and be available in to support projects currently
under consideration.
In just over one year, the PrOMMiS Initiative has dem-
onstrated the ability to model FECM-funded pilot projects
and apply a novel, integrated modeling platform to CMM
production systems. Initial case studies have shown that
PrOMMiS can identify pathways for technical risk reduc-
tion—a de-risking scale-up and deployment—through
process design. The ability to identify optimal process
designs in novel CMM processing systems has also been
demonstrated.
Substantial work remains to be done, particularly in
terms of improving model rigor and identifying or devel-
oping thermophysical property models which address the
broad application space of critical minerals and materials
processing and purification. These challenges notwith-
standing, these initial accomplishments bode well for the
potential of PrOMMiS to amplify the impact of DOE
investments, and accelerate innovation and the develop-
ment of new domestic CMM supply chain technologies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The PrOMMiS Initiative is funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon
Management’s Office of Resource Sustainability.
Source :Yao et al., 2024.
Figure 7. Robust optimization across a Pareto front of cobalt and lithium recoveries: (a) Pareto fronts for a deterministic
model and robust feasible models for 10/50/90% decreased membrane flux in a single tube (b) Optimal superstructure of
deterministic model (c) Optimal superstructure of robust feasible model for 50% underperforming membrane tube
design can improve long-term system performance, pre-
vent catastrophic events, and improve project and process
economics.
PrOMMiS is working to apply the Pyomo Robust
Optimization Solver (PyROS) to obtain robust optimal
solutions for the membrane diafiltration process that are
feasible for all realization of uncertainty. (Isenberg, Akula,
Bhattacharyya, Miller, &Gounaris, 2021) (Isenberg,
Sherman, Siirola, &Gounaris, 2024) This will help provide
appreciation of the most critical membrane tube location
within a stage, and allow for robust feasible designs that
obtain specified recovery objectives in spite of underper-
forming tubes. So far, exercising PrOMMiS with PyROS
has provided several general insights for robust design of the
cascades, including i) robust feasible designs comes with a
cost of robustness in the form of reduced cobalt recovery
and greater membrane area, and ii) robust optimization for
the worst-case scenario can identify critical membrane tube
locations within a diafiltration cascade (Figure 7). (Yao,
Dougher, Lee, Dowling, &Gounaris, 2024) These prom-
ising initial results represent an intriguing application of
PrOMMiS for de-risking demonstration and commercial
plants during scale-up and deployment.
CONCLUSIONS
In early 2023, the DOE’s Office of Resource Sustainability
identified an opportunity to leverage the existing IDAES-IP
in a new application space, the creation of new CMM pro-
cessing facilities, to accelerate and de-risk RD3 the office
was funding. The urgent national need for domestic supplies
of CMM coupled with the historic levels of Federal fund-
ing focused on rapidly demonstrating and deploying new
technologies underpinned the importance of developing
this capability in a fashion that it would have a near-term
impact and be available in to support projects currently
under consideration.
In just over one year, the PrOMMiS Initiative has dem-
onstrated the ability to model FECM-funded pilot projects
and apply a novel, integrated modeling platform to CMM
production systems. Initial case studies have shown that
PrOMMiS can identify pathways for technical risk reduc-
tion—a de-risking scale-up and deployment—through
process design. The ability to identify optimal process
designs in novel CMM processing systems has also been
demonstrated.
Substantial work remains to be done, particularly in
terms of improving model rigor and identifying or devel-
oping thermophysical property models which address the
broad application space of critical minerals and materials
processing and purification. These challenges notwith-
standing, these initial accomplishments bode well for the
potential of PrOMMiS to amplify the impact of DOE
investments, and accelerate innovation and the develop-
ment of new domestic CMM supply chain technologies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The PrOMMiS Initiative is funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon
Management’s Office of Resource Sustainability.
Source :Yao et al., 2024.
Figure 7. Robust optimization across a Pareto front of cobalt and lithium recoveries: (a) Pareto fronts for a deterministic
model and robust feasible models for 10/50/90% decreased membrane flux in a single tube (b) Optimal superstructure of
deterministic model (c) Optimal superstructure of robust feasible model for 50% underperforming membrane tube