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By R. David Prengaman

During the past several years a new insoluble lead anode has been developed for copper electrowinning. The new anode consists of a rolled lead-calcium-tin alloy sheet attached to a slotted copper bus bar by a soldering process which produces a complete metallurgical bond between bar and sheet. The metallurgical bond greatly reduces the resistance between the bus bar and the lead sheet and the high conductivity does not deteriorate during the life of the anode. The rolled anode thins uniformly and does not suffer preferential grain boundary or internal corrosion commonly seen in cast anodes. The lead-calcium alloy containing a high tin content corrodes slowly because the rolling process produces a uniform, fine grained structure. The wrought product is very strong and ductile; and contains no internal defects, segregation, cracks, or pores which can reduce the life of the anode. Because the anodes corrode uniformly, a high percentage of the anode thickness can be utilized thus extending the life of the wrought anodes. The anode alloy composition which is stable only in wrought form, produces exceptional resistance to passivation during current interruptions. First introduced into liberator cells, the new electrowinning anodes have been specified as the anodes of choice for every new SX-EW tankhouse constructed in the last two years. This paper describes the new anode, its method of construction, service history, and how it differs from present copper electrowinning anodes.

Jan 1, 1987

By Andre Thess, Oleg Zikanov

"Direct numerical simulation methods are applied to study the influence of a constant magnetic field on turbulent flows of liquid metals. The flow is assumed to be homogeneous and the problem is reduced to the classical case of the turbulent flow in a 3D box with periodic boundary conditions. The main subject of the study is the anisotropy developing in a liquid metal flow affected by constant magnetic field.To investigate the long-time evolution of initially isotropic flow the large-scale forcing is applied to maintain the flow energy at a statistically steady level. It is found that the flow evolution depend strongly on the magnetic interaction parameter (Stuart number). In the case of small Stuart number, the flow remains three-dimensional, turbulent, an approximately isotropic. At large Stuart number (strong magnetic field) the turbulence is suppressed rapidly and the flow becomes two-dimensional and laminar. Very interesting is the intermittent flow evolution at moderate Stuart number. Long periods of almost two-dimensional, laminar behavior are interrupted by strong turbulent three-dimensional bursts.The influence of a constant magnetic field on scalar transport properties of liquid metal turbulence is investigated using the simplified formulation of homogeneous flow driven by an imposed mean temperature gradient. Such a flow consists primarily of two turbulent antiparallel jets providing an effective mechanism for heat transfer. It is shown that the magnetic field parallel to the mean temperature gradient stabilizes the jets and, thus, enhances heat transfer considerably."

Jan 1, 1999

By Timothy W. Skszek, Adrian S. Sabau, Hebi Yin, Gerard M. Ludtka, Xiaoping Niu

"A constitutive model has been developed to predict the yield strength aging curves for aluminum casting alloys during non-isothermal age-hardening processes. The model provides the specific relationship between the process variables and yield strength. Several aging heat treatment scenarios have been investigated using the proposed model, including two-step aging recipes. Two-step aging heat treatments involve a low temperature regime to promote nucleation of secondary phases and a second step at higher temperature for the growth of the secondary phases. The predicted results show that a yield strength of approximately 300MPa might be obtained in a shorter aging time, of approximately 30 minutes. As a result, better mechanical properties can be obtained by optimizing the time-temperature schedules for the precipitation hardening process of heat treatable aluminum alloys.IntroductionA356 is one of the commercially heat treatable aluminum casting alloys, and T6 is one of the heat-treated conditions to improve mechanical properties. The first stage of a T6 temper is solution treatment at an elevated temperature, generally in the range of 480 - 540°C. After solution treatment, the cast part is typically quenched in water/air to retain the solute-rich homogeneous matrix chemistry at room temperature. Subsequent ageing treatment stages capitalize on this super-saturated solid solution to generate controlled dispersions of very small strengthening precipitates within the matrix of Al grains [l]."

Jan 1, 2013

By Y. H. Su, C. Y. A. Tsao

"The solidification behaviors and velocity of atomized droplets during flight is formulated by a mathematical model, in which the concept of transient nucleation is applied. During the flight, the droplet velocity shows a maximum, followed by an inflection phenomenon. The velocity of large droplet is lower than that of small droplet at shorter flight distance, and higher than that of small droplet at longer flight distance. The effect of the gas flow pattern is more significant at longer flight distance than at shorter flight distance at a given flight distance, large droplet has higher temperature than small droplets prior to nucleation. Large droplet has higher nucleation temperature than small droplet. Medium size droplet flies over the shortest flight distance before the nucleation starts. At the end of recalescence, large droplet has less solid fraction than small droplet has.IntroductionTraditional concept of steady state nucleation was used in all the previous models describing the solidification of molten droplets. [1-5] However, during atomization, the solidification rate of the molten metal droplets is very high, and therefore there is very little time for the nucleation event to occur. In the present work, the concept of transient nucleation [6] is considered to model such short nucleation event during solidification of the atomized droplets. The solidification behaviors and velocity of atomized droplets are modeled and the effects of the atomization gas flow pattern are also presented."

Jan 1, 1997

By Hitoshi Iijima, Fumitaka Tsukihashi

"Fine powder of tantalum is used as materials of electric condenser. It is important to control the distribution of particle diameter of tantalum fine powders for the commercial use. In this study, fine powders of tantalum were produced by reducing tantalum chloride vapor with hydrogen gas at 1673 and 1773K. The tantalum chloride vapor was reduced with hydrogen and the produced fine particles of tantalum were collected to observe the distribution of particle diameter. The effects of reaction temperature, partial pressure of hydrogen gas and vaporization temperature of tantalum chloride on the distribution of particle diameter and reaction efficiency of reduction were determined. The mechanism of reduction reaction of tantalum was discussed.IntroductionThe ultra fine powder shows various different physical properties from that of bulk materials. Therefore, the application of ultra fine powder to various fields such as magnetic material, electric material, catalyst, etc is anticipated. The control of shape of powder, size distribution, property of agglomeration, purity is required for the practical use of ultra fine powder. Although the ultra fine powders of ceramics are produced by various methods, the ultra fine powder of metals are produced by the evaporation in gas atmosphere, plasma evaporation process, chemical vapor deposition process, and reduction and precipitation in liquid phase depending on the metal and productivity. The chemical vapor deposition process has features that pure metal powder can be obtained and the control of the distribution of powder size is easy. [1,2,3,4,5]"

Jan 1, 2000

By Song Ning

The main mineral constituents of phase-transformed chalcopyrite are CuS and FeS2. CuS is more soluble than FeS2 in an acidic CuCl2 solution with presence of excessive NaCl, so that FeS2 could be removed as solid residue from a leached solution. The experimental results showed that the efficiency of the copper leaching is heavily determined by the following two factors: a) The degree of the chalcopyrite phase transformation to CuS and FeS2 b)The concentration of Cl during the leaching, specifically whether there is enough excessive Cl existed. I t was found that when the Cl in the solution is not excessive, the slowest step of the leaching is the dissolution of Cu2Cl2.

Jan 1, 2006

By Elli Nurminen

Fouling of heat recovery process equipment may significantly decrease their heat transfer efficiency. In Copper Flash Smelting process flue dust tends to form build-ups on the heat recovery boiler walls. Thermal transportation properties of copper flash smelting flue dust and its components have been studied. The effects of porosity and temperature on thermal transportation properties have also been determined. The results indicate that dust and its components are effective thermal insulators and build-up layers on the boiler walls are likely to decrease greatly the heat transfer efficiency of the boiler. Decreasing dust layer porosity has a strong increasing effect on thermal conductivity and increasing temperature has a slight decreasing effect on thermal conductivity. The results may be used in CFD-modelling and optimisation of the process.

Jan 1, 2006

By Linda C. White

The use of red mud, a waste product of the ?Bayer? process for bauxite refining, was investigated for its arsenic removal effectiveness from aqueous solutions under various conditions. Red mud efficiently removed As(III) between a pH range of 7.6 and 9; and As(V) in the pH range between 5.5 and 6. Pre-washing of the red mud with salt water considerably improved its arsenic adsorption capabilities. With appropriate red mud dosage, the residual arsenic in solution was decreased below the regulated acceptable arsenic limit (0.1 mg/L) from aqueous industrial wastes. The arsenic adsorption followed first-order rate kinetics and fitted the Langmuir isotherm model. Results suggest that red mud is potentially a useful adsorbent for removal of arsenic from contaminated water or industrial waste solutions.

Jan 1, 2003

By Tang Chaobo

Employing manganese carbonate ore and zinc oxide dust as material, Mn-Zn compound oxide powder for soft magnetic ferrite was prepared by a serial methods, as follows: leaching by using sulfuric acid, removing aluminium and silicon by neutralization and flocculation method, using ammonium bicarbonate to co-precipitating Mn and Zn, calcinations and washing to removing impurity content. The optimal technical condition was obtained by experiments. The difficulty of removing impurity such as Si, Al, Ca, Mg, from leaching solution was solved. The impurity content in the production meets with the preparation standard of high quality soft magnetic ferrite. The compound oxide powder obtained in the experiment was made into lower power loss magnetic ferrite, the quality of magnetic ferrite meet the standard of PC40 which was established by TDK corporation.

Jan 1, 2006

By Luis G. S. Sobral, Gabrielle N. Bard

Copper sulphides Concentrates, from the flotation process of copper primary ore; contain, commonly, small amounts of precious metals, such as gold and silver. During the smelting process of those concentrate all gold and silver are practically in the blister copper, which is cast into anodes. Those copper anodes are electrorefined in an electrolytic system, where the electrolyte is an acid copper sulphate solution, where a high purity electrolytic copper is produced (>999,9/1000). The slime when submitted to an oxidative leaching process, using sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide as oxidizing agents, turn those metals into solution. This research practical work, apart from concentrating effort on the digestion of the anode slime, aims at evaluating the efficiency of the cementation process of the metals of interest for the separation of them to take place. 141

Jan 1, 2008

By Sheng-hai Yang

The electrochemical synthesis was conducted in anhydrous ethanol solvent mixed with conductive reagent when tantalum plate was used as anode and stainless steel plate as cathode. The effects of different conductive reagents (such as NH4Br, (CH3)4NCl, (C4H9)4NCl), conductive reagent concentration and the space on the cell voltage and the current density were investigated. The current efficiency of electrosynthesis was more than 95%. The electrolyte, a mixed solution was then undergone air distillation and vacuum distillation to get the final product which was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectra, 1H-Neclear Magnetic Resonance(1H-NMR) spectroscopy. Carbon and hydrogen contents in the product were determined by elemental analysis instrument. Results consistently show that the product was tantalum penta-ethoxide.

Jan 1, 2006

By I. K. Chopde, M. M. Dhobe, C. L. Gogte

"The quality of machined surface is becoming more and more important to satisfy the increasing demand of component performance and its reliability. While machining any component, it is necessary to satisfy the surface integrity requirements. Heat treatment plays an important role in improving the characteristics of the material.This work investigates the effect of heat treatment on the surface characteristics of AISI D2 tool steel after Wire-Electro Discharge Machining (W-EDM). The test specimens were prepared by hardening and tempering and then machined with Wire-Electro Discharge Machining process. Optical and scanning electron microscopy, surface roughness and micro hardness tests were conducted to study the surface characteristics of the machined surface. After characterization based on microstructures and test results, it is observed that the recast layer droplets are of smaller size with reduced white layer thickness resulting in higher hardness and lower surface roughness.IntroductionWith the development of mechanical industry, the requirement of alloy materials having high hardness, toughness and impact resistance is increasing. At the same time the quality of machined surface is becoming more and more important to satisfy the increasing demands of component performance and reliability. When machining any component, it is necessary to satisfy the surface integrity requirements. Surface integrity has two important parts. The first is surface texture, which governs mainly surface roughness. The second is surface metallurgy, which concerns to the nature of surface layer produced in machining [2]."

Jan 1, 2012

By San-chuan Tang, Wen Chen, Shun-ming Ning, Kan-ping Yu, Qiang Zhao, Xue-yong Xing

"A new type of desilication agent (PA-2) was selected by experiment based on the analysis of the characters of silica gel, and the influence of desilication type, desilication dosage, pH value, temperature and aging time on the desilicating effect was studied. The test results showed that on the conditions that pH was 2.0, temperature was 20""C, aging time was12 hours and the dosage of desilication agent was 0.23%, the desilication rate was higher than 93% in solution.IntroductionVanadium is an important strategic resources, which applies to steel industry and petrochemical industry. The main materials for vanadium product are steelmaking vanadium slag, stone coal and containing vanadium waste catalyst, etc. And stone coal is a low-grade carbonaceous silicified vanadium resource, which is unique material for vanadium extraction in China. Meanwhile, our stone coal reserves is No.l throughout the world.The silica acid solution containing vanadium is produced by acid leaching of raw stone coal or its roasted ore. The silica content of this solution is mostly high, besides, when pH is higher than 2 , the solution is unstable. Furthermore, it is very easy to generate gel substance with the increasing of pH value and standing time. 'Ibis silica gel is composed of colloidal particles with the size in 0.001 - 0.1 um. As a result, it is very hard even impossible for the following operation of solution."

Jan 1, 2013

By Evan Jamieson

The conditions under which various iron(III) oxy-hydroxides phases precipitate from iron(III) chloride and sulfate solutions at ambient temperatures (<60°C) are reviewed. Many of these precipitates are slow settling and gelatinous but ultimately transform into other more stable or crystalline phases. The phase that forms depends upon the rate of precipitation and pH. A comparison has been made of the iron(III) oxides formed upon the neutralisation of various iron(III) solutions with caustic, slaked lime or slaked magnesia which provide different rates of neutralisation and slowly dissolving solids with localised high pH. Mössbauer spectra of ferrihydrites precipitated under these different conditions are compared and interpreted. Particular attention is paid to the settling rate and settled volume which is likely to relate to industrial thickener and filter performance. It is shown that in pure chloride solutions, poorly settling ferrihydrite is usually produced at 20oC regardless of the choice of base. However in sulfate solutions fast settling precipitates are produced using lime and magnesia but not with caustic. In mixed chloride/sulfate solutions, optimum settling rates occur when the molar ratio of [SO4]2to Fe3+ is about 1:1 and when the sulfate concentration is <0.20 M. It is proposed that ?dense amorphous basic iron sulfate? or well-ordered ferrihydrite is formed on slowly dissolving lime or magnesia surfaces. Implications for industrial liquors are considered.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Filzwieser

The highest current density suitable for the electrowinning process is between 50 to 60 % of its limiting current density. One of the most important influences on the limiting current density is the thickness of the hydrodynamic boundary layer near the electrode surface. Therefore, the fluid flow in a copper electrowinning cell is calculated. The numerical simulation - using the CFD-software package FIRE® - considers all three different types of the fluid flow, namely, the natural convection, the forced convection by electrolyte circulation and the forced convection by electrochemically induced gas stirring. The simulation of natural convection is based on the different density values in the boundary layer at the electrode surface given by a density/concentration correlation. The copper concentration - linked with the current density by Faraday law - is solved by an additional transport equation. The simulation of the forced convection by the electrochemically-induced gas stirring is done by using a real two-phase calculation. That means that all differential equations are solved again for the second phase. The numerical solution of the fluid flow field is compared with the results of LDA- measurements, which were done in a special cell. The software for the LDA enabled a calculation of the void fraction possible and therefore a rough estimate of the mass transfer coefficient through the prevailing gas bubble induced convection can be made by assuming the influence of relative bubble volume.

Jan 1, 1999

By H. Tan

?Preg-robbing? is the active adsorption of gold from cyanide solution by the ore components. The role of carbonaceous coatings on chalcopyrite surfaces in the preg-robbing of chalcopyrite has been investigated by using pure chalcopyrite and a copper concentrate. Activated carbon and graphite were chosen as representative carbonaceous contaminants. It was found that the carbonaceous coatings enhanced the preg-robbing of chalcopyrite. Activated carbon coating increased gold adsorption onto chalcopyrite to a lager extent, in comparison with graphite coating. In the preg-robbing of the copper concentrate, gold adsorption was increased to larger extent at finer particle sizes and at higher contents of activated carbon or graphite. The preg-robbing of chalcopyrite was reduced or eliminated, depending on the concentrations of free cyanide. However, the gold adsorption on the carbon and graphite coated chalcopyrite could not be avoided even at higher cyanide concentrations, and this adsorption was solely attributed to the carbonaceous coatings. Zeta potential studies indicated that the carbonaceous coatings reduced the negativity of the chalcopyrite surface charge. As shown by SEM analysis, gold not only accumulated at the edges and defect sites, but was also spotted on the smooth surfaces of chalcopyrite with carbon or graphite present. XPS results revealed that gold was strongly reduced on chalcopyrite surfaces, with the sulfide ions of the chalcopyrite being oxidized to elemental sulfur. Diagnostic elution indicated three mechanisms contributing to gold take-up by chalcopyrite, i.e. gold reduction, physical adsorption and chemical adsorption.

Jan 1, 2003

By Abhishek Asthana

The incineration of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) is an attractive process for reducing the volume of the wastes and recovering their energetic value, which, however, requires to be strictly controlled in order to limit its impact on the environment. In this context, we have undertaken the mathematical modeling of the different sections of a typical incineration plant. The combustion of the waste bed, usually carried out on a moving grate, is at the core of the process. This paper presents the 2-dimensional, steady-state model that we have developed for simulating the MSW combustion. The model describes gas flow through the porous waste particle bed, the gas-solid reactions, conductive and radiative heat transfers, drying of the feed, its pyrolysis and the emission of volatile species, combustion of the pyrolysis gases, the formation of char and its gasification by water vapor and carbon dioxide, and the consequent reduction of the bed volume. Pyrolysis kinetics distinguish between cellulosic and non-cellulosic materials and are experimentally derived from our laboratory measurements. The calculated results give a deep insight into the various involved phenomena, an example being the complete consumption of oxygen in a large zone of the bed and the related appearance of a char gasification zone. The influence of various operating parameters, like the temperature and flow rate of primary air, is presented and explained. Finally, the effect of stirring the waste bed on the moving grate is also analyzed.

Jan 1, 2006

By L. Katgerman, E. N. Straatsma, Suyitno

"Single-roll strip casting process is studied using computational fluid dynamics which takes into account fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification. The computational model is based on the conservation Jaws of momentum, energy and continuity. Correlation of strip thickness, solidification zone length, and puddle shape on single-roll strip casting of Al-1 %Mn is explored. Feeding pressure and roll speed are investigated. The results show that the··strip thickness slightly increases with pressure, similarly the length of solidification zone. The variations of strip thickness and solidification zone length with roll speed show a sharp decline for strip thickness and slight decline for the length of solidification zone with increasing roll speed. The constraint and free-jet flow have different feature in term of flow field. Severe turbulence is observed on the free-jet flow.IntroductionThe near-net shape casting of strip metals is a demand nowadays. The demand is particularly stimulated by the challenge to become more competitive through enhanced performance. The improvement in the existing processes and new innovative technologies are introduced by the metal industry to gain better product quality, more efficiency in energy consumption, low throughput, yield and operating costs [1-3].There are many advantages that can be obtained by the direct casting of strip. The most prominence is the elimination of hot rolling. Beside that the high rate of heat extraction associated with strip casting offers the possibility of a finer, Jess segregated cast structure. The microstructure will result in the improvement of mechanical properties compared to conventional material, or alternatively the opportunity of using grades of metal outside the normal range for continuous casting.The concept of single-roll strip casting has been difficult to commercialize, because of the complex interactions between fluid flow, solidification, shrinkage, and stress, which lead to serious quality problems. Besides that, the quality and the thickness of the strip are affected by the thermal properties of the strip, roll cooling conditions, roll geometry, and other process parameters. To understand how these parameters affect the strip formation, some researchers have modeled the process [4]."

Jan 1, 2004

By A. Mezei

A process has been developed to recover cobalt, gold and bismuth from the NICO deposit in Canada. The process consists of a bulk rougher flotation followed by an optional separation by flotation to produce a bismuth concentrate and a cobalt concentrate, grading on average 12.8 % Bi and 1.8% Co, respectively. Cobalt is leached by pressure oxidation at 97% efficiency, producing a pregnant solution suitable for further processing. Before optimization, about 38% of the bismuth is recovered in the selective concentrate, wherefrom it is recovered by ferric chloride leaching followed by cementation, at overall efficiencies exceeding 98%. The gold is recovered from the cobalt and bismuth leach residues by cyanidation, at 95% efficiency. Previous work described the results of the leaching of the concentrates, recovery of gold (Part I) and the recovery of bismuth (Part 11). This work describes the results of the cobalt recovery testwork and the resulting conceptual flowsheet. The sulfur dioxide-oxygen system was the most efficient for the oxidationlprecipitation of iron and arsenic from cobalt bearing pregnant leach solutions, producing purified solutions assaying <1 mg/L As and <8 mg/L Fe. The efficiency of cobalt solvent extraction (from the resulting purified PLS containing about 1 g/L Co) ranged from 9 1 to 98%; the co-extractions ranged from 88 to 100% for copper, from 28 to 33% for magnesium, from 6 to 7% for calcium and from 96 to 98% for zinc. Sulphide precipitation processes (using either sulfur dioxidelelemental sulfur or sodium sulfide) produced residual copper concentrations in the cobalt strip solution ranging from 0.1 to 2 mg/L Cu. About 90% of the calcium and magnesium were separated by scrubbing the organic with cobalt sulfate, producing residual concentrations of 12 mg/L Ca and from 180 to 330 mg/L Mg in typical feed solutions directed to cobalt carbonate precipitation tests. Cobalt carbonate precipitation efficiencies ranged from 75 to 78% when calcium and magnesium co- precipitations were restricted from 8 to 17% and 0.3 to 0.4%, respectively. The limits required by most stringent specifications on commercial grade cobalt carbonate products were met or exceeded.

Jan 1, 2002

By David E. Hardt

"One of the critical variables to be controlled during arc welding is the size or geometry of the weld pool. The measurement of pool geometry has become an increasingly important problem with the advance of welding automation and control, and this paper addresses that problem. The basic concept of pool size estimation via measurement of pool dynamics is presented. The theory underlying this concept is discussed and is followed by a review of the current work in this area. It is concluded that pool dynamics can be characterized by natural frequencies of oscillation, for stationary welds, and that these can be measured by appropriate signal processing performed on the arc voltage. However, it appears that only full penetration welds show a strong correlation between weld size and natural frequency. Also, the extension of these results to the realistic case of moving welds has yet to be considered in detail. Nonetheless, this method of in-process measurement for real-time weld process control is still quite attractive where applicable since it can be accomplished simply by modifying the arc current schedule and by signal processing of the arc voltage.INTRODUCTUIONThe study of welding process control has been dominated by research into methods of in processing sensing of the weld pool geometry. While it has been shown feasible to measure the topside pool geometry using video methods [1,2], the penetration or backside bead width have remained elusive quantities. This is particularly true if a topside sensor location is required.The concept of using weld pool motion as a pool geometry sensing method was proposed by Hardt et al. [3] and later demonstrated by Hardt and Zacksenhouse [5] and Richardson and Renwick [6]. The concept is based on the fluid dynamics of a pool constrained by a solid container and by significant surface tension forces (i.e. a small shallow pool, not a ""pond"" or ""lake""). Such a pool, if subjected to external forces, will exhibit a surface motion is a function of that force, the properties of the fluid, the surface tension, and the shape of the container. Thus, if this motion can be excited and measured, and the relationship to the pool geometry determined, a means of sensing pool shape will exist."

Jan 1, 1986