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By G. Fazel Jahromi

Enargite, known as one of the major arsenic containing copper minerals, with approximately 19% arsenic, introduces challenges to typical processing options. In most hydrometallurgical processing methods, arsenic remediation occurs after the copper recovery in an autoclave or in a stepwise neutralization process. In this study, the in situ precipitation of scorodite was investigated during an atmospheric leaching process in the presence of carbon-based catalysts and chloride media. The effective parameters of initial ferric addition, temperature, catalyst addition, and oxygen sparging rate were studied and the ferric behaviour was monitored during the scorodite precipitation. The most influential parameters on efficient scorodite precipitation are found to be: initial ferric addition, catalyst to concentrate ratio, and temperature. A 99% scorodite precipitation yield was achieved in this process.

By Petr Stehlík

"This paper is aimed at showing and demonstrating progress in technologies and improvements in units for the thermal processing of various types of waste. The following areas are covered: units for the thermal treatment of hazardous industrial waste and common MSW, technologies for the thermal treatment of industrial and sewage sludge, utilizing waste in cement production (material and energy recovery), up-to-date off-gas cleaning systems, original and unique units for the thermal processing of polluted gases, low-NOx burners. The paper represents a review based on industrial applications, papers published in reputable international journals and a monograph under preparation.IntroductionThe present contribution is an overview of the activities and achievements of the Institute of process and environmental engineering (UPEI) of the Brno University of Technology (VUT). The Institute belongs to European leading teams in the field of the thermal processing of various types of waste. The research in the institute currently revolves mainly around a strategic project “Waste and Biomass Utilization focused on Environment Protection and Energy Generation” that is supported by the national government. Due to the limited space this paper is conceived as a review of papers published especially in reputable international journals.Main (strategic) target of the research is development of new, efficient processes (eventually modernized processes with novel original elements) for effective and highly efficient treatment of waste and biomass, including their maximum utilization as renewable energy sources while minimizing harmful emissions. To this purpose, highly advanced know-how for the design and construction of the related technology lines is being developed, supported by mathematical modeling (see e.g. [1]), experimental validation and optimization.Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste – Concept of Waste-to-Energy CentersThermal processing of various types of wastes is not only waste disposal and/or treatment at present. It has to be regarded as waste to energy process wherever and whenever possible and feasible. This observation was at the origin of the concept of new regional Waste-to-Energy Centers (WTEC), outlined in the following paragraphs. The proposal of the centers is based on a combination of experience, know-how and sophisticated approach. The main fact influencing the concept of WTEC is the necessity to treat different types of wastes. Typical types of wastes as well as main products of the processes in a WTEC are shown in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 2008

By Heinz Böni, Christian Ludwig, Bernhard Steubing, Uca Silva

"Chile will soon have to find solutions for dealing with rapidly growing quantities of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) due to its strong economy and fast increase of internet and communications technology usage. To support this process, the state of the Chilean recycling infrastructure as well as government, industry and consumer efforts to deal with ewaste were analyzed. Current e-waste quantities were assessed and future flows were predicted using a material flow analysis model. In this model computer hardware was used as tracer equipment for WEEE. Best available numbers indicate that today’s formal recycling infrastructure receives less than 3% of the annual quantities of computer waste. This study represents the most comprehensive analysis regarding e-waste in Chile, identifying relevant streams of e-waste and providing a basis for authorities and producers of electronic goods in order to take the necessary actions to establish an adequate recycling system.IntroductionSince 1991, Chile has experienced a period of strong economic growth. It is amongst the countries with the fastest development in the sector of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Latin America and the number of people with access to ICT has been growing rapidly. The high growth rates of the computer market over the last years are representative for the ICT sector with the consequence that the generated quantities of electronic waste are increasing rapidly [1, 2].Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) or e-waste is “any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end-of-life” as defined by the OECD [3]. Even though the overall waste management in Chile has improved much over the last decade, the issue of ewaste was hardly addressed. Due to the value of the materials contained in computer waste - such as precious metals, basic metals as copper or plastics - it may be assumed that an important quantity is already being recovered. This usually takes place on the informal market under questionable conditions for human health and the environment [1, 2, 4]."

Jan 1, 2008

By José Carlos Abreu

This work presents a kinetics study covering the effects of temperature over the reduction rates of a carbon composite briquette, aiming its use as burden in some of the new alternate ironmaking technologies, such as the Tecnored process. It is reported that increases in the temperature increases the reaction rate. Additionally, the morphology of the iron phase generated during the reduction of these briquettes is presented. It was possible to verify that three types of iron morphology occurred during the process: an external, dense and continuous iron layer, the presence of iron globules at the center of the briquettes and whiskers at the briquette's core. The measurement of the carbon content on the globules and the external iron layer is also presented

Jan 1, 2003

By Yuanbo Zhang, Zhixiong You, Li Qin, Guanghui Li, Tao Jiang

Low-grade manganese oxide ore is generally characterized by high iron content. In this work, sulfidation roasting of an iron-rich manganese oxide ore with elemental sulfur was characterized. The experimental results indicated that manganese dioxide can be selectively reduced over iron oxide by using elemental sulfur. The manganese phases in roasted product included low-valence manganese oxide, manganese sulfide and manganese sulfate, while those of iron mainly depended on the sulfur addition. Iron oxide would only be reduced or sulfidized at larger sulfur additions. The effect of roasting temperature and S/Mn mole ratio on the phase transformations was also investigated; extractions of Mn/Fe by sulfuric acid were evaluated. An extraction of Mn greater than 95% was obtained while that of Fe was controlled less than 10% under the optimal conditions.

Jan 1, 2016

By Yong Zhao, Yan-hui Sun

Behaviors and evolutions of MgO·Al2O3 in non-oriented silicon steel during calcium treatment were investigated by thermodynamic calculations and high-temperature experiments. MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were the main type of inclusions before calcium treatment, which is also confirmed by the stability diagram of MgO/MgO·Al2O3/Al2O3 from thermodynamic calculations. After calcium treatment, the majority of original MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were mainly modified to CaO-MgO-Al2O3 system inclusions, this would be beneficial to improve castability and product quality of silicon steel. But there was no modification happening to some MgO·Al2O3 spinels which were directly surrounded by CaS inclusions. The content of Al2O3 occasionally existed a sudden increase besides a common decrease in the product layer of CaO·MgO·Al2O3. Then the evolution mechanisms of MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were proposed in present work. Thus, Al/Mg atom ratio had a significant influence on the modification of MgO·Al2O3 spinel.

Jan 1, 2016

By Chuanfu Zhang, Liwei Liang, Yanxin Wu, Jinliang Wang

"According to the reaction shaft operation characteristics during the flash smelting process, 15 groups of slag samples containing high Fe3O4 were prepared by some chemical reagents, and then the slag viscosities were measured using a RTW-10 type synthetic test instrument for melt physical property by the rotating cylinder method. The effects of Fe/SiO2 ratio (mFe/mSiO2), Fe3O4 content (wFe3O4), Cu2o), MgO content (WMgO) and Cao content (wCaO) on the slag viscosity were also studied. Results show that slag viscosity is decreased with the increase of temperature, mFe/mSiO2, wCu2o, wMgO and wCao, and with the decrease of wFe3O4, under the range of slag contents: mFe/mSiO2 1.36~1.78, wFe3O4 17.83%~21.18%, wCu2o 3.51%~8.34%m wNgI 2.21%~6.57%m w/caI 6.22%~9.387% and temperature range if 1250 o/c~1450 oC. Only wFe3O4m and w/caO have great influence on the slag viscosity when temperatures as high as 1400 oC. Only wFe3O4 and wCaO have great influence on the slag viscosity when temperatures as high as 1400 oC or so. To form a freeze slag with higher viscosity inside the reaction shaft, wFe3O4 should be more than 20% and wCaO should be less then 6%.IntroductionSince its appearance in 1949, Outokumpu flash smelting technology has making continuous innovation and has become the most competitive intensified smelting technology [1], widely considered to be the standard clean smelting process [2]. At present, flash smelting technology is adopted to newly build or reconstruct most of the world's copper or nickel smelting enterprise [3]. Reaction shaft is the most important part of the flash smelting furnace. During the flash smelting process, reaction shaft must be able to withstand the following harsh conditions at the same time: 1) high temperature varying from 1400 °C to 1500 °C. 2) strong oxidative atmosphere containing 50% - 80% oxygen. 3) solid particles and melt with speed up to l00 m/s. 4) high acidic or basic slag with strong chemical corrosiveness. 5) smelting gas containing 50% - 80% SO2. 6) matte with strong dissolution."

Jan 1, 2012

By Gordon D. Jarvinen

Polymer Filtration (PF) Is an innovative, selecthle metal removal technology. Chelating, water-soluble polymers are used to selectively bind the desired metal ions and ultrafiltration is used to concentrate the polymer-metal complex producing a permeate with low levels of the targeted metal ion. When applied to the treatment of, Industrial metal-bearing aqueous process streams, the permeate water can often be reused within the process and the metal ions reclaimed. This technology is applicable to many types of industrial aqueous streams with widely varying chemistries. Application of PF to 'aqueous streams from nuclear materials processing and electroplating operations will be described.

Jan 1, 1999

By Dandan Jian, Christian Karcher

Information of liquid steel flow patterns inside the mold may be obtained from the velocity at the free surface (meniscus). This meniscus flow may be measured using the contactless electromagnetic technique termed Lorentz force velocimetry (LFV). It is based on the measurement of Lorentz forces acting on a magnet system when an electrically conducting metal melt interacts with the field lines stretched by the magnet system. Force sensor and the magnet system form a so-called Lorentz force flowmeter. In this paper we present a series of model experiments that demonstrate the feasibility of using two identical flowmeters that are arranged in a certain distance one behind the other. In this case, surface velocity may be determined by just cross-correlating the two force signals recorded by the two sensors. This technique is called time-of-flight LFV. A special prototype of a respective measuring device, called meniscus velocity sensor (MVS), has been developed to measure local free-surface velocity. In the present paper we describe experimental results of respective measurements in the model test stand LiMeSCo (liquid metal surface velocity correlation). To check the potential of the time-of-flight technique, in a first step we measure surface velocities during solid-body rotation of metallic substances. We observe that small modulations in the signals that are due to the natural unevenness of the solid body can be used to determine surface velocities. In a second step we apply the time-of-flight technique to liquid metal free-surface flow. Here we use the low-melting eutectic alloy GaInSn as a test melt. In this case we observe that the cross-correlations between the signals are much rarer and much weaker than in the solid-body experiments. We conclude that the presence of the localized magnetic fields, produced by the permanent magnets of the flowmeter, give rise to intense deformation of the free surface and the creation of surface waves. The field acts as a magnetic obstacle. We observe that the flow velocity is decreased right underneath the magnetic field and is accelerated in the side regions. This magnetic obstacle effect may restrict the determination of the local surface velocity in application.

Jan 1, 2012

By Tian Sugui

By means of the long-term aging treated, creep properties measuring and microstructure observation, an investigation has been made into the microstructure and creep behavior of the casting and rolling GH4169 superalloy after long-term aged. Results show that, after the casting and rolling GH4169 superalloy treated by long-term aged, significant amount of " phase are dispersedly precipitated within the grains of the alloy, and some of the NbC, Cr7C3 carbide are distributed along the grain boundaries. In the range of the applied stresses and temperatures, the creep activation energies and stress exponents of LTA GH4169 alloy during steady state creep are calculated to be Q=541.1kJ/mol and n=16.2, respectively. During creep, the deformation mechanism of LTA GH4169 is thought to be the twinning and dislocation slipping within the twinning regions, and the damaging mode of the alloy is the intergranular fracture, and the non-smooth crystal surface is displayed in the fracture regions of the alloy. Thereinto, the carbides film formed along the grain boundaies has a few effect on the strength between the boundaries, which is a main reason of resulting in the alloy possessing a longer creep lifetimes.

Jan 1, 2009

By Xiang-ning Meng, Miao-yong Zhu

"A three-dimensional finite-element heat-transfer model is conducted to predict temperature of hot copper plate in a slab continuous casting mold and the effect of casting speed on temperature difference between copper plate and solidifying shell is simulated in combination with process data. The results show that centre temperature of hot copper surface at casting speed 1.8 m·min-1 and 2.0 m·min-1 are higher than that of 1.6 m·min-1 casting speed 4.7-5.2 °C and 11.2-12.2 °C respectively and temperature is not increased linearly with casting speed. Temperature difference in meniscus between mold and shell is influenced obviously by casting speed and increased 4.0- 6.0 °C with increment of casting speed 0.2 m·min-1• Fluctuation of temperature difference in meniscus is a main reason to deteriorate casting quality as increasing casting speed.IntroductionIn conventional continuous casting of steel, a large amount of sensible and latent heat of molten steel dissipates in primary cooling zone and mold becomes a critical component of caster to govern steel quality, meanwhile, thermal load on mold is increased constantly and environment is also more abominable since high productivity and quality are required and high-effective technologies are applied. So, an in-depth understanding of thermal behavior of mold at high casting speed is essential to design cooling structure and maintain casting stability. Many studies have been carried out to shed light on thermal behavior in mold. Chow et al. [l] applied a mathematical model to heat transfer in billet mold at a high casting speed to give a new taper in order to minimize mold-strand interaction. Thomas et al. [2] researched relation between mold geometry and temperature distribution based on a finite-element heat-transfer model. Lu et al. [3] indicated that slab mold temperature are mainly affected by thickness of copper plate and nickel layer by a heat transfer model. Samarasekera et al. [4, 5] researched temperature of copper plates for both billet and slab molds and effect of a large number of factors ranging from water quality to casting speed. Park and Thomas et al. [6, 7] developed a finite-element thermal-stress model to determine temperature and thermal distortion and stress in both thin and slab molds and O'Connor et al. [8] applied an elastic-plastic-creep finite-element model in a funnel shaped mold to achieve same goals. Cicutti et al. [9] evaluated heat transfer and temperature fluctuation in a slab mold and proposed an expression to predict global heat flux as a function of process parameters and an index to quantify thermal instability. All mentioned above shown that thermal behavior is not only important to casting stability, it is also premise to further understand mechanical behavior in mold."

Jan 1, 2011

By Luciano B. Oliveira, Alexandre M. Stumbo, Luis G. C. Marques, Valdo S. Marques, Sergio N. Monteiro

"Similar to the ethanol program, initiated more than 30 years ago, the recently created biodiesel program in Brazil is expected to rely on private initiative based on agribusiness for vegetable oil production. Campos dos Goytacazes is a large county in the northern of the state of Rio de Janeiro with land still available for oily vegetables plantation in addition to the land traditionally occupied by sugar cane plantation, which is used to produce ethanol. In order to extend the biodiesel program to Campos dos Goytacazes, the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro (UENF) is conducting a technical project for the development of the infrastructure for biodiesel production. In this work, the infrastructure based on versatile equipment for biodiesel esterification built in the Center for Alternative Energy of the UENF is presented.IntroductionBiofuels are gaining worldwide attention as a possible economical solution for the prediction of declining reserves of petroleum and related increase in price of barrel. However, nowadays, a more relevant question is the climate changes caused by burning fossil fuels. This is especially the case of coal and petroleum based fuels, mainly gasoline and diesel that propel the majority of vehicles and generate a large amount of CO2 emissions responsible for global warming. This combination of economical an environmental problems is already providing a strong motivation to substitute conventional fossil fuels by renewable biofuels. More than just the interest of the market financial forces, government legislation is imposing a new order that obliges the use of biofuel. Many countries including the USA, the European Community, Japan and Brazil are committed to gradually substitute biofuels into their fleet of vehicles."

Jan 1, 2008

By Richard A. Leiby

The recycling of lead-acid batteries in the United States has become a challenge as to how to balance ever increasing environmental regulation and cost with efficient operations. East Penn's captive secondary lead smelter has developed into a recycling facility producing lead, polypropylene, sulfuric acid, ammonium bisulfite, and non-hazardous discard slag. The emphasis has been to design a facility to comply with environmental regulations, to eliminate wastes, and to produce products, while at the same time, continuing to supply the company's battery manufacturing raw material needs.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ram Avtar

High tensile thick plates (>80mm, weight ~3000 Kg) of medium carbon low alloy steel, when heat treated, manifested higher percentage of crystalline area (>20%) in fractured surface. Such problem was not encountered in thinner plates. The genesis of higher crystallinity in fracture was examined. It was observed that the thicker plate undergone slower rate (Average 0.9oC/Sec.) from soaking temperature to Ms temperature) of cooling after austenising during oil quenching and thereby quenched microstructure had upper bainites. During tempering of as quenched bainite, additional precipitation took place at the lath boundaries of bainite. This led to weakening of grain boundaries and aided easy crack propagation during fracture and resulted in formation of higher percentage of crystalline area in fractured surface. Enhancement in cooling rate (Average 1.8oC/Sec. from soaking temperature to Ms temperature) of austenised plate by switching over from oil quenching to water quenching practice resulted in complete transformation of austenite into martensite and produced ductile fracture (zero Crystallinity). Plates conformed improvement in mechanical properties between 2-5%.

Jan 1, 2009

By M. Sahoo

The development of new alloys containing bismuth and selenium for potable water supplies are reviewed. The new alloys are replacements for the leaded red- and semi-red brasses by the low-lead alloys, SeBiLOYS I and II, for sand casting, and SeBiLOY III replaces the lead containing yellow brass, C85800, for permanent mold casting. As the new alloys use bismuth and selenium, the supply and demand of these elements are discussed. The key casting characteristics discussed are: tendency to dross formation, freezing range (liquidus and solidus temperatures), fluidity, resistance to hot tearing, microstructures, mechanical properties, machinability, grain refinement and corrosion behaviour.

Jan 1, 1999

By B. C. Jena

In a chromite smelting process for the production of high-carbon ferrochromium, the slag composition profoundly affects operating conditions and the economic performance of the process. For a Canadian chromite concentrate, optimum slag composition and operating temperature were determined by process simulation with a computer model, which is based on parameters, such as the minimisation of slag volume, liquidus temperature, electrical energy consumption and chromium losses. Chromium recoveries are identified for slag compositions spanning wide concentration ranges within the quaternary system MgO-AI2O3- SiO2-CaO. The simulated data are compared with the experimental results.

Jan 1, 1994

By Carlos M. Fontes Vieira, Ruben J. Sanchez Rodriguez, Carlos E. Gomes Ribeiro

"In this study we attempted to model a response surface for the apparent dry density of ternary blends of calcitic marble particles. The crushed marble was divided into three granulometric ranges. Simplex network methodology was used to determine the mathematical relation between granulometric ranges and apparent dry density (ADD) of particle mixtures. A highly significant regression was obtained and the simplex network methodology proved to be able to predict high packing particle compositions.IntroductionProblems with packing and expected porosity of particles are common and widely recognized to be important in terms of both fundamental physics and engineering applications. For example, densification of a powder mass is important in the shaping of solids in ceramics, powder metallurgy or composite synthesis; chemical processes such as solid-liquid separation (sedimentation, thickening and filtration), raw material handling (stockpiling, blending, drying, storage and transportation) and pyrometallurgical processes (agglomeration, coke making, ore sintering, blast furnace iron making and new iron making processes) [1,2].Many factors can affect particle packing, but in practice, there are three main factors: (dimensionless) particle size distribution, particle shape and absolute particle size [2].Geometrical and practical methods were developed to predict properties in mixtures. Zou, Gan and Yu [2] present a paper treating a prediction of the porosity of multi-component mixtures of cohesive (fine) and non-cohesive (coarse) particles. Bahiense et al. [3,4] used a simplex network to determine a mathematical model for obtain the optimal compositions between aggregates to a greater packing of a ternary particles mixture. Despite these techniques for predicting particle packing, some studies in particulate composites production don't present clear criteria for choice of particle distribution [5,6]. As the best particle packaging depends on the size, distribution and shape of these particles, individual models can be constructed for specific combinations of these factors."

Jan 1, 2014

By J. W. Ahlrichs

In gold exploration and metallurgical testing, the role of the mineralogist is to assist in solving problems with regard to (a) sampling, (b) gold occurrences, and (c) petrologic classifications of host rocks. The presence of "coarse" gold as a sampling problem can be overcome by various methods, including "screen fire assays," screened analyses and special gravity techniques which may be used to determine distributions of "coarse" versus fine gold. Determinations of mineralogic associations of gold usually require special separation techniques, accompanied by fire-AA-mineralogic assays of the products. After accurate mineralogic analyses are obtained for various products, quantitative distributions of refractory gold associations can be calculated by the use of simultaneous equations. Petrologic classifications are required by the geologist for mapping and interpretation of the various rocks. After the petrology and mineralogic differences of the rock units are determined, x-ray diffraction analyses of analytical pulps can be used for lithologic logging of drill cores. XRD logging is an efficient method for correlating lithologic units and alteration trends throughout a gold prospect.

Jan 1, 1981

By Yotamu Hara, Animesh Jha

"High Curie temperature and large magnetic anisotropy make cobalt an important magnetic material for power engineering applications of magnets operating above ambient. It is also an essential constituent of modem lithium - cobalt oxide batteries, without which modem electronic gadgets will be functionless. Both these applications of cobalt save energy and reduce C02 emission. Ironically, however the production of cobalt from copper and nickel smelting in the world remains one of the least energy efficient process. The paper analyzes the energy balance, material and process chemistry of overall cobalt recovery and the waste generated, which entail the process limitations. We discuss a novel approach for the reduction of sulphide minerals with CaS04, permitting better separation of metals from slag and generating higher concentrations of S02. Such an approach may seem to be an alternative energy efficient option for processing and further purification of cobalt in metallic form. The results are discussed in the context of process thermodynamics and reaction kinetics for Coalloy production.IntroductionCopper sulphides bearing minerals are predominantly associated with iron and cobalt sulphides minerals. Carrollite (CuC02S4) is a mineral that has both copper and cobalt sulphides [1,2], which may also contain FeS, by substituting either Cu2+ or Co2+ ions in mineral lattice. On smelting copper - cobalt - iron sulphide concentrates, some parts of the cobalt often partition to matte at preferentially low oxygen potential by forming eventually an alloy phase with copper, however a significant fraction is often lost into an oxide slag rich in iron and silica. The slag heaps accumulated in the Copperbelt region in Zambia from last 60 years of mineral processing and metal extraction is reported to be 0.3 to 2.6 wt% of cobalt element, which is high [3]. Cobalt is also available in smaller concentrations in the copper smelting and converter slag, as reported in the investigations on the recycling of such slag materials using leaching with ammonium salt [4], iron chloride [5], and sulphuric acid [6], and solvent extraction [7].The recovery of cobalt from slag, irrespective of the techniques researched so far, does not seem energy efficient because the molten slag at 1300°C is quenched by losing thermal and chemical energy. The quenched slag is again reheated to above room temperature for leaching and above liquidus for carbothermic reduction of residual cobalt oxide. For example, in Mintek DC arc smelting [3], 80% of cobalt and 95% nickel are recovered by expending 600 kW per tonne. Assuming that the mineral carrollite is the starting phase, the univariant calculations for the Co-Ca-Si-S-0, Fe-Ca-Si-S-0, and Co-C-Si-S-0 systems are shown in Figure la, lb, and le, respectively at 1573 K."

Jan 1, 2012

By Tobias Dubberstein, Hans-Peter Heller

The viscosity of Fe-Cr-Mn-Ni TRIP/TWIP (Transformation Induced Plasticity, Twinning Induced Plasticity) steel with varied nickel content is investigated using a vibrating finger viscometer. The viscosity of the melt is calculated from the change in power input in the field coil by an immersed finger into the liquid steel to maintain a constant peak-to-peak amplitude of the sine wave of oscillator compared to the idle state. Nickel content in steel is varied from 3 wt% to 9 wt%. The dynamic viscosity (η) at 1600 °C for 3 wt% Ni is 3.73±0.14 mPas, for 6 wt% Ni 3.50±0.03 mPas, and for 9 wt% Ni 3.93±0.09 mPas. There is a kink from low to high nickel content in viscosity values of Fe-Cr-Mn-Ni alloys. This phenomenon can be explained by a change in coordination number in the melt, as reported for Fe-Ni binary system in literature. The availability of viscosity data delivers relevant input to model free fall atomization processes of FeCrMnNi alloys.

Jan 1, 2015