Search Documents

By Elli Nurminen

Sulphate decomposition was studied in the conditions of a typical copper flash smelting heat recovery boiler. The aim was to determine the kinetics of the copper sulphate decomposition reactions and to find out if they are likely to take place in the process conditions prevailing in an industrial HRB. The information is essential in CFD-modelling of the reactions taking place in the boiler and for optimising the process. Thermal decomposition of sulphates was studied by thermogravimetry. The experiments were conducted with a commercial copper sulphate, a partially sulphated copper oxide and an actual process flue dust. The main variables studied were temperature and gas composition of a N2-O2-SO2-mixture. The samples were characterized with SEM, optical microscope and XRD. Temperature affected the decomposition rate strongly but the gas composition had a minor effect on the kinetics. The decomposition was fastest in the partly sulphated oxide and slowest in commercial copper sulphate. Keywords: Sulphate decomposition, flash smelting, heat recovery boiler, flue dust

Jan 1, 2004

By Kai Kang, Jun Bao, Shouping Liu, Xiao Sun

Powder characteristics have a significant influence on selective laser melting (SLM) process. In this research, particle size, surface contour and the microstructure of IN718 powder used in SLM were tested, and the physical and chemical changes during heating process of the powder were investigated as well. The shape characteristic and fluid properties of IN718 powder were defined and measured. It is shows that most particles of IN718 powder exhibited nearly spherical shapes, and the particle size is about 22.95μm. On this basis, IN718 sample was fabricated by SLM process using the powder and the microstructure of the fabricated sample was investigated. The results indicated that the sample has a dense microstructure, no macro-defects but a few micropores and porosity. Compared with the powder, there was no new phase formed in the sample and melting point of the sample was little less than that of the powder.

Jan 1, 2015

By José Brant, Douglas Torres, Rogério Navarro, Rodrigo Souza, Eduardo Brocchi

The steelmaking process requires the input of ferro-alloys to implement the adjustment of some elements composition in the final product. In the particular case of stainless steel production, the high carbon FeCr alloy stands out as one important precursor. However in the production of this material a certain quantity of fine powder with remarkable chromium and carbon content is also generated, which, in turn, could be processed through alkaline roasting in order to selectively recovery this element in a subsequent aqueous route. In the present work, this process is investigated, using excess of NaOH as oxidizing agent, and H2O2 for precipitating chromium as Cr(OH)3, which is next calcinated to Cr2O3. According to the results, the global achieved recovery has shown to be around 98%, suggesting that the proposed route can be seen as a potential process for chromium oxide production from the mentioned fine powder.

Jan 1, 2015

By S. Shrivastava

A structure based model has been developed for the prediction of viscosities of K20-B20, melts. These melts exhibit an anomalous behavior of viscosity with continuous variation in B203 content. A maximum and a minimum are observed at low temperatures, which disappear on raising the temperature above the softening range. The addition of K20 to the borate melts causes two opposing phenomena: (1) depolymerization effects and the related breakdown of network structure resulting in the formation of singly bonded oxygens, which weakens the structure and hence causes a decreases in viscosity, and (2) the formation of four coordinated borons (BO4 tetrahedra) which strengthen the structure leading to an increase in the viscosity. The structural changes taking place in these melts on varying the temperature and the alkali content have been reviewed and are incorporated in developing this model. The predicted values are in excellent agreement with the experimental values over the whole temperature and composition range.

Jan 1, 1992

By Shengli Wu, Juan Zhu, Wei Huang, Xinliang Liu, Kaiping Du, Kaifa Zhang

Based on the furnace burden of high content of Al2O3, the process of softening and melting and the characteristic of primary slag were studied with the increase of MgO content in the sinter and adding some MgO into the pellet. The results showed that the content of MgO in the primary slag increased with the increase of MgO in the sinter and pellet. Meanwhile, the permeability of the furnace burden was improved because of low viscosity of high MgO primary slag. Compared with the increase of MgO content in the sinter, the increase of MgO content in the pellet can improved the softening and melting characteristic of the comprehensive furnace burden more effectively. More Mg-bearing pellet should be chosen in the comprehensive furnace burden for the purpose of improvement the fluidity of primary slag and the permeability of the furnace burden in the burden of high Al2O3 content.

Jan 1, 2015

By K. Eto, H. Akiyama, T. Iwamoto

The Hikoshima smelter carried out an expansion project in 1997 and increased its production from 59,200 t/y to 71,000 t/y. The leaching process and the casting process had production capacities of 84,000 t/y, but because of the electric power situation in Japan, the production capacity in the electrolysis process was limited to 59,200 t/y to justify the production cost. Electrolysis was the bottle neck of the plant. In order to eliminate a part of this bottle neck, and considering the electric power situation in Japan, a way to increase the production during the time when the electric power rate is low was sought. In practice, we increased the number of cells by 36, and further improved the operation procedures in the cellhouse. For example, we improved the working efficiency of the cells, improved the productivity during the night time, decreased the unit power consumption and improved labor productivity. Accordingly, this paper describes the recent operations at the Hikoshima plant.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. Y. Wan

Thiocyanate was evaluated for gold recovery from low-grade refractory gold ores following biooxidation for an acidic heap leaching approach. One of the important features in using thiocyanate is that the leaching can be performed in acidic media, thus avoiding problems related to neutralization and material handling as leaching with alkaline cyanide. Also, the acidic leaching enables the use of ferric ion or bioleach solution as oxidants. In this study, Newmont-Nevada low-grade refractory sulfidic ore was biooxidized in columns at a particle size of 100% passing 102 mm. Thiocyanate leach on the biooxidized ore sample was performed on both ground samples in pulps and coarse material in columns using ferric ion as an oxidant. The variables of thiocyanate and ferric ion concentrations were compared for effect on leaching. Thiocyanate leach results are encouraging and indicate potential for development of a practical process. Gold extractions by thiocyanate are comparable to cyanide leach. Thiocyanate consumption was higher than cyanide, but was in an acceptable level.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. Martins, L. Goulart, E. Araujo, R. Batista, A. Costa e Silva

Steel cleanness is of great importance to the performance of almost all steel products. From very clean steel for bearings to long products used in civil construction, processing variables – in special those in steelmaking operations- must be properly balanced to achieve adequate cleanness for the desired performance. With the present complexity of steels as alloy systems, it is not efficient nor appropriate to develop these processes on empirical basis alone. Computational thermodynamics can greatly improve process development to achieve the desired cleanness level at reasonable costs. In this work, examples of these calculations and their applications to real steel processing are presented and discussed. The advantages, limitations and areas in which improvement in these calculations is desired are highlighted and discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By M. K. Alam

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) processes are currently attracting special attention in materials processing. CVD processes are now used to produce special materials in the form of thin films, coatings, composites, and optical fibers. This process produces material of high purity, in complex shapes, and in a variety of microstructures. It is a capital intensive process, involving use of high cost raw materials. Modeling simulations have the potential of reducing the time for CVD . process design, and the need for experimentation. Modeling would, therefore, appear to be an attractive option for producing a product of acceptable quality. At Ohio University, progress has been made in modeling of CVD processes, specially in the areas of optical fiber preform fabrication, and fiber coating.

Jan 1, 1990

By William E. Torres

The Southern Peru Limited smelter, in Ilo, operates two reverberatory furnaces, seven Peirce-Smith converters, one Teniente Converter, two casting wheels and a single contact acid plant. The Teniente Converter was commissioned in August 1995 and was designed to smelt 744 dry metric tons (820 dry short tons) of concentrate per day. The process off-gas is collected in a water-cooled hood, cooled in a spray chamber, and cleaned in a Joy electrostatic precipitator for further treatment in the Acid Plant. This paper presents the current Teniente Converter operating practices and control philosophy. Relevant improvements and modifications to achieve a 379 day campaign without tuyere replacement and a daily average smelting rate of 862 dry metric tons (940 dry short tons) of concentrate are discussed.

Jan 1, 1998

By I. A. H. Schneiderl

Eichhornia crassipes approaches being a scourge in many parts of the world, .choking waterways and hindering transport upon them. At the same time it is known to readily abstract heavy metal ions from water and, thus, aids in the removal of heavy metals found in such waters. This paper considers the possibility of using specific parts of the plant as an inexpensive adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated chemical and mining industry waste waters. In particular the root of the plant was found to be an excellent accumulator of 'heavy metal ions including uranium from solution. It is. also suggested that dried roots of the plant ?might be placed in simple bags and used in a very low cost metal ion removal system.

Jan 1, 1995

By J. M. Floyd

Technology in use commercially and available for commercialisation for injection processing of base and precious metals in bath reactors is surveyed and compared. Differences between bath smelting and suspension smelting systems are highlighted in relation to important smelting criteria. The factors affecting the results achievable with various tuyere and lance injection bath smelting systems are discussed in relation to the various smelting, converting and refining operations involved in copper, nickel and precious metal processing steps. Process chemistry, process dynamics and heat and mass transfer rates are discussed for the different systems.

Jan 1, 1993

By Gabriel Plascencia

Copper was oxidized in the temperature range from 300 to 1000 GC under different pressures of oxygen. In the range from 300 to 500°C, copper oxidizes following the logarithmic rate law; while in the range from 600 to 1000°C oxidation follows the parabolic rate law. Transition from logarithmic to parabolic growth occurs at about 525°C. X-ray diffraction was performed on oxide scales to account for the CuO/Cu2O ratio at different temperatures. Activation energies found in this work are in good agreement with reported values.

Jan 1, 2003

By Gabriel Plascencia

Copper was oxidized in the temperature range from 300 to 1000 °C under different pressures of oxygen, In the range from 300 to 500 °C, copper oxidizes following the logarithmic rate law; while in the range from 600 to 1000°C oxidation follows the parabolic rate law. Transition from logarithmic to parabolic growth occurs at about 525°C. X-ray diffraction was performed on oxide scales to account for the CuO/Cu2O ratio at different temperatures. Activation energies found in this work are in good agreement with reported values.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. A. Barta

A new process for the leaching of chalcopyrite concentrates has been developed and tested in miniplant campaigns and locked cycle testwork carried out between 1996 and 1999. The process involves pressure leaching in a sulphuric acid solution, e.g. raffinate from copper solvent extraction. Iron in the feeds is precipitated predominantly as hematite in the autoclave, simultaneously with copper extraction. Gold and silver in the pressure leach residue are recoverable by conventional cyanidation, following flotation to remove elemental sulphur by-product. The results of recent miniplant tests and batch locked cycle tests are provided.

Jan 1, 1999

By Ann M. Hagni

"Ceramic matrix composites are inorganic materials that are particularly resistant to heat and abrasion. A magnesia (MgO) and aluminum nitride (AlN) based composite is formed by exposing a magnesia preform to a metallic alloy block in a nitrogen atmosphere at 950°C. The metallic alloy, which is composed primarily of aluminum, is wicked into the preform. Aluminum nitride matrix is grown between MgO particles as the wicked metallic aluminum reacts with nitrogen. Unused metallic alloy, remnant metallic alloy (carcass), and composite produced after 8 hours, 50 hours, and 225 hours of processing are characterized mineralogically. Reflected light microscopy, transmitted light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques reveal that in addition to anhedral to euhedral AhNi, AbSbSr, and Al crystallizing in the metallic alloy carcass, AIN and (Al,Si)N have formed as well. Nitride rings and nodules in the carcass may hinder AIN growth in the composite. Fine-grained residual AhNi and AhShSr are dispersed throughout the composite matrix. The nitride matrix is composed of AIN and (Al,Si)N. Rim replacement of MgO by spine! occurs in the composite. Aluminum nitrides in the metallic carcass cathodoluminesce deep violet-blue, unlike non-luminescent AIN in the composite matrix. This distinction in cathodoluminescence suggests a different mode of formation for composite AIN than for carcass AIN. Phase interpretations and textural characterizations deduced from the implementation of sophisticated mineralogical techniques have contributed to the understanding, and will aid in the improvement, of MgO/ AlN-based ceramic matrix compositeprocessing."

Jan 1, 1999

By A. V. Tarasov

A flow-sheet for waste-less processing of spent lead batteries comprises mechanized separation of batteries, smelting of the metallic fraction in a kettle, electrothermal smelting of oxysulfate fraction, refining of crude lead and processing of reverts to produce commercial products. Smelting of lead-containing fraction is performed in an electrothermal furnace using a processing technology developed in the Gintsvetmet Institute and differing from conventional processes by the fact that it does not require any fluxing agent (soda); no matte is formed in the process and the amount of slag produced is minimal, because its formation depends only on the ash content of coke and the quality of battery scrap separation. The process has been patented. It has been introduced on a commercial scale in 1.8 MVA furnaces at the plant of A0 "RyazTsvetmet" (Ryazan, Russia). The process has the following main advantages as compared with conventional shaft-furnace smelting and smelting in a short-drum furnace: the process does not require technical-grade oxygen, the amount of process gas generated is minimized ensuring a decrease in lead-containing dust and sulfur dioxide emissions by 3 to 5 times per unit of lead recovered; a decrease in dust entrainment resulting in lower amounts of recycled dust; lower slag yield (a decrease from 20-25% to 3-5%); lower coke requirement (a decrease from 10-14% to 3-4%). Refining of crude lead is performed using conventional technology but there are several unique features for which know-how is available. Processing of by-products of electrothermal smelting and secondary lead refining (slag, drosses, skimmings) and ebonite fraction (crushed battery casings) is performed in a slag-fuming furnace.

Jan 1, 2002

By Fu-Shen Zhang, Mengjun Chen, Jianxin Zhu

"In China, hazardous e-waste—cathode ray tube (CRT) glass is usually left around, and it is likely to contact with water resources directly. To identify the real leaching characteristics and bioavailabilities of heavy metals Pb and Ba contained in CRT glass in the nature environment, experiments were carried out by simulating the nature environment. The results indicated that Pb and Ba contained in CRT glass were stable in most conditions, which only showed obvious leaching toxicities in strong acidic/alkali conditions. EDTA and DTPA extractable Pb and Ba amounts were extremely high, e.g., EDTA extractable Pb of color funnel glass was up to 1960.07 ìg/kg, indicating that the potential bioavailability of waste CRT glass is very high. IntroductionIn recent years, cathode ray tube (CRT) contained monitors or TV sets has been substituted by novel and better electronic and electric equipments such as LCD and PDP, leaving huge amounts of end-of-life CRTs. 50~85% of the total weight of a computer monitor or a TV set is glass'1-21, which was classified to three categories: black & white glass (BW), color panel glass (CP) and color funnel glass (CF), according to their chemical compositions'3' (Méar et ai, 2006). In order to provide shielding from X-rays generated during the picture projection process, lead, barium and strontium oxides were used in the glass. In general, a color CRT contains 1.6-3.2 kg of lead'4'. Concerning the high toxicity of lead, these waste glasses have posed a potential risk to the environment and human health and researches on these glasses have been attracting wide and tense attention currently."

Jan 1, 2011

By Karen Tempel

Newmont's Lone Tree Mine is located 30, miles east of Winnemucca in Humboldt County, Nevada. Starting in February 1994 a pressure oxidation circuit was commissioned to treat refractory gold ores. Gold is leached and recovered from the oxidized slurry in a six-stage carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit. Lone Tree has been able to maintain tighter control' of cyanide addition and reduce cyanide consumption its CIL circuit through the installation of Degussa's Cyplus® CCS Cyanide Control System in the spring of 2000. 'The Cyplus® CCS, along with additional inputs' from plant sensors, has allowed tor a more efficient and effective control strategy over the manual control method used ,in the past. This paper documents the key aspects of the Cyplus® CCS installation; the development of the control strategy, and the benefits achieved from enhanced control.

Jan 1, 1998

By Sang Han Son

The vapor pressures of FeCL2 and ZnCL2 in the FeCL2?ZnCL2 system were measured by the transpiration method at 873K and 9I7K, The vapor pressure data were interpreted to indicate the formation of complex ions in the FeCL2?ZnCL2 melts, It is presumed that the complex molecule FeZnCl4 as well as FeCL2 and ZnCL2 exists in the vapors in equilibrium with molten FeCL2-ZnCL2 mixtures, The activities in the FeCL2-ZnCL2 system are shown a negative deviation from Raoult's law. These results suggest the formation of complex ions such as ZnCL14 in molten FeCI2?ZnCL2 mixtures.

Jan 1, 2003