Segmentation of Flotation Bubbles Using a Novel Marker-Based Watershed Algorithm

In the mineral production industry, the separation of valuable material from waste material is generally carried out using the flotation process. Metallurgical parameters of the process reflect the quality and quantity of the product. Online measurement and control of these parameters is currently not possible, due to lack of scientific relationship between froth structure and various aspects of flotation process. Bubble size distribution which is regarded as the most important characteristics of froth structure, is being addressed in this thesis by using a segmentation algorithm. A marker-based watershed algorithm had been adopted and improved so as to prevent the over-segmentation of big bubbles and able to adapt itself with different scenario of froth images. This results in a measurement of bubble size with high precision. The performance of improved marker-based watershed algorithm was validated by using several industrial and laboratory froth images.

Keywords:

Flotation Froth , Bubble Size , Segmentation , Marker-based Watershed