Optimisation of a material separation process

The invention concerns a method, device and computer program product for controlling a material separation process as well as to a material separating system. The material separating system (10) comprises units (16, 26) separating desired material from undesired material, units (24, 34) measuring process output variables in the material separation process indicative of the degree of separation between desired and undesired material, a unit (38) estimating the state of the process by applying the measured output variables and external constraints for a prediction time interval on a model of the material separation process, a unit (40) optimising an objective function through maximising the recovery of the desired material in the separation process, which optimising provides at least one set point value for each input variable of the model, and at least one regulating unit (22, 32) regulating the separation process by using the set point value.