Twenty years of experimental and numerical studies on microwave-assisted breakage of rocks and minerals-a review

TL;DR

This review summarizes twenty years of research on microwave-assisted rock and mineral breakage, highlighting experimental and numerical methods, challenges, and future industrial applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the latest experimental and numerical modeling techniques in microwave-assisted rock breakage from 2000 to 2020.

Findings

Microwave technology enhances mineral processing efficiency.

Numerical models help understand microwave-rock interactions.

Challenges remain in scaling up for industrial use.

Abstract

Microwaves have been used for a variety of applications in the past two decades. However, there has been a significant and growing interest in the applications of microwaves in hard rock breakage and mineral processing industries. The purpose of this review paper is to focus on these applications and to present a careful review of the state-of-the-art experimental and numerical modeling techniques introduced in the literature from 2000 to 2020. The challenges involved in this research area are surveyed, and the efforts that should be made regarding the potential practical implementation of microwaves in industry are discussed.