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A $500,000 engineering pilot plant which is the first of its kind in Australia and one of only four in the world was opened recently at Murdoch University's Rockingham campus.
 Alcoa of Australia, Honeywell Ltd, and Control and Thermal Engineering joined Murdoch's Engineering School to build the process-control plant, which provides a unique education facility for engineering students.
Similar to a flight training simulator, it combines computer know-how with safe, non-toxic, non-polluting fluids to provide new realism to learning and training.
Speaking at the opening, Murdoch Vice Chancellor Steven Schwartz said the plant used sophisticated computer software and inert materials to simulate the chemical and physical action of a large minerals processing plant.
"Complex and dangerous situations can be simulated in complete safety without any risk to people or equipment," said Professor Schwartz.
"The plant provides virtual 'on-the-job' experience for engineering students.
"The new plant is one of only four in the world. The others are in London, Denmark and Argentina."
Engineering Professor Peter Lee said the plant showed the benefits which could flow from a partnership between industry and the higher education sector.
"The facility simulates the plant process and provides a realistic environment for the training of plant operators," said Professor Lee.
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| Teachers will be able to programme different problems into the pilot plant and teach the students how to correct the 'problems' as they arise. |
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"For Murdoch, the plant provides a unique education facility for engineering students to simulate the chemical and physical action of a large minerals processing plant.
"Computers simulate the action of the chemicals on the ore, enabling students to run the plant as though it were the real thing.
"And for Honeywell and Murdoch, there is the opportunity jointly to develop value-added application programmes to get the best value from both the pilot and the real ore separation plants.
"It provides an ideal training facility for Honeywell staff and a demonstration site for Honeywell products.
"It is good news that the pilot plant and Murdoch's Engineering School is based in the Rockingham/Kwinana area, given its close association with industry.
"This provides an opportunity for local people to gain real hands-on experience while studying for a career in a growing field of engineering."
As with an airplane flight simulator, teachers will be able to programme different problems into the pilot plant and teach the students how to correct the 'problems' as they arise.
The simulator will have the complete physical make-up of a real extraction plant and will provide the full physical experience, but the 'chemical reactions' will be computer-driven while the ore is mixed with water instead of the normal hot caustic solution.
Tanks will feed 'ore' (sand) to a 'ball-mill' (actually a rotating drum to simulate a real ball-mill) then the sand will go through a 'precipitation' process where the 'alumina' will be concentrated and removed from the solution.
The plant was constructed by local WA company, Control and Thermal Engineering.
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