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By V. I. Lakshmanan

Crown ethers are gaining importance in separation technology specifically for rare earth elements (REE, La to Lu plus Y) and precious metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh and Ir) due to their specific binding ability, metal complex stability and high extraction efficiency. The selectivity of crown ethers in extraction of these metals depends on different factors, including the cavity diameter and nature of a donor atom of the crown ether, size and charge of the metal ion, diluents and counter ion. Demand for strategic REE and precious metals are consistently increasing in the world while the separation of these metals is most challenging tasks. In this paper, the use of crown ethers in separation of REE and precious metals, reaction mechanisms and simplified process flowsheets will be elucidated. New reagents with high selectivity for the separation of these metals are further expected to produce high purity metals.

By G. Bjorling

After complete dissolution of chalcopyrite concentrate in sulphuric acid in presence of nitric acid the excess of the latter is expelled by a surplus of concentrate and the last traces of nitrate removed in the mother liquor after crystallization of the copper and iron sulphates. Zinc accumulates in the mother liquor from which it can be removed by solvent extraction of zinc sulphate as a pair of ions. After dissolution of the sulphate crystals in water the neutral solution is oxidized in an autoclave at 140°C where iron sulphate is thermally hydrolyzed; the iron-free solution is taken to copper electrowinning and the cell acid after partial evaporation recirculated with the mother liquor to the leaching circuit. Total recovery of copper is about 96%; other metals like zinc and iron are concentrated in industrially usable products. At a copper price of about 70 c/lb, the method appears to be profitable also in a small unit.

Jan 1, 1976

By Jennifer Murphy, Brad S. Schake, Karol Holmes, John R. FitzPatrick, Mike H. West

"The separation and purification of uranium from either nitric acid or hydrochloric acid media can be accomplished by using either solvent extraction or ion-exchange. Over the past two years at Los Alamos, emerging programs are focused on recapturing the expertise required to do limited, small-quantity processing of enriched uranium. During this period of time, we have been investigating ion-exchange as a method for extraction/purification of uranium from acidic media. In addition, waste stream polishing is associated with this effort in order to achieve more complete removal of the uranium prior to recycle of the acid. Extraction chromatography has been demonstrated to further polish the uranium from both nitric and hydrochloric acid media thus allowing for a more complete recovery of the actinide material and creation of less waste during the processing steps.We will discuss contact experiments for evaluation of eleven different resins for uranium removal from nitric acid, the evaluation (again by contact experiments) of uranium elution from the ion-exchange media by various chemicals, and small-scale experiments for the removal of 235U from nitric acid. Larger-scale (1 DO-gram) flow experiments, using depleted uranium, were done after the small-scale evaluation of the selected resin. A discussion is also included concerning the shortcomings of the contact experiments and how the flow experiments were modified in order to overcome these problems. We will also discuss the application of ion-exchange for some specific process needs at Los Alamos.Contact experiments were used to evaluate some commercially available solvent-impregnated resins in addition to evaluation of several resins of this type synthesized in our laboratory. These experiments involved both nitric and hydrochloric acid media. The data from these experiments will be used to determine the column size and amount of resin required to polish the waste stream produced by the ion-exchange process described above. Small-scale flow experiments will be described and data given on the mass balances achieved using this two step process.Future work for evaluation of new ion-exchange and solvent-impregnated resins as well as the search for new eluants will be discussed. Other future experiments for both processes, including large-scale experiments, will be discussed in detail."

Jan 1, 1996

By Balasivanadha Prabhu, Prasad P. Shanmugasundaram, Narayani Narasimhan

"The grain refinement and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminium alloy produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) have been analyzed in this present study. A innovative triple shear ECAP die was developed for the processing.It was observed that the grain refinement takes place for greater number of passes. It was also found that reducing the process temperature gives fine grain and high microhardness and hence improved propertiesIntroductionTechnological changes in manufacturing industries have depended heavily on development in materials processing and process technologies. Modem industries need high performance materials for severe service conditions. Hence, it is necessary to improve required material properties to achieve better performance and greater service life. As mechanical properties of the materials strong! y depend on grain size ( d) - Hall-Petch relationship [ 1-4], the ultrafine grained (UFG) materials offer superior mechanical properties based on the above relation.Synthesising massive nanocrystalline materials presents a challenge to basic research as well as to application-related processing efforts. Production of ultrafine gram microstructures in metals and alloys having different crystal structures but always an initially coarse microstructure using severe plastic deformation can significantly enhance the physical and mechanical properties of materials. Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) is an efficient method to induce ultra fine grained structure in materials by deforming it to large strains. Traditional techniques for introducing deformation of higher strains, such as forging, extrusion, drawing or rolling do have the inevitable limitation on required equipments of exerting enough load or pressure to cause uniform nanometer level grain refinement."

Jan 1, 2011

By Florian Kongoli

Slags and fluxes are important interchangeable dimensions of pyrometallurgical processes. They can increase the efficiency of the smelting, converting and refining processes and improve the quality of the final products. A good slag should have appropriate physicochemical properties such as low liquidus temperature, optimal viscosity, maximum ability to attract undesirable elements, minimum potential of attracting valuable elements, etc .. A good flux, on the other hand, when properly used, can considerably improve the physicochemical properties of the slag since by modifying its chemical composition it could decrease the liquidus temperature, improve viscosity etc.. Consequently, the choice of a good slag and the corresponding fluxing strategies has become indispensable in most of industrial processes. However, the properties of multicomponent slags as well as the effect of several fluxes are known only empirically and confusion exists in the literature and in the industrial practice. In today's reality of frequent changes in the composition of raw materials and that of the fluxes themselves, in the existing or new developing technologies, the quantification of the thermophysicochemical properties of multicomponent slags and the effect of fluxes becomes indispensable. This paper reviews some of the work carried out by the author's group during the last ten years on the quantification of the thermophysicochemical properties of multicomponent slags and on the effect of fluxes in several smelting and converting processes in close relation to their individual characteristics. Several examples have been given in order to demonstrate the fact that when taken outside the context some fluxes can become in fact anti-fluxes.

Jan 1, 2003

By Sabine Knott

The thermodynamic properties of four liquid ternary zinc alloys, Au-Sn-Zn, Ag-Sn-Zn, AI-Sn- Zn and Cu-In-Zn were measured with an electromotive force (emf) method at three or four cross-sections with an constant X:Sn or Cu-In ratio. At the Au-Sn-Zn and AI-Sn-Zn system calorimetric measurements were also carried out in order to compare the integral enthalpy of mixing from the direct measurements with the data of the emf measurements, which were derived by Gibbs-Duhem integration.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. G. Wiseman

The raw materials processed, highlights of technology used, and products produced at INCO's Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery in Ontario, Canada, are described in this paper. INCO's Bessemer matte separation process yields various nickel and copper products and intermediates. The latter presents the main supply of raw materials for the Refinery. Key features in the Refinery are Top Blown Rotary Converters and the INCO Pressure Carbonyl (IPC) process. Process improvements made since the commissioning of the Refinery in 1973 are also discussed. The Refinery produces a variety of nickel products, including nickel powders. Residue after carbonylation presents an important intermediate enriched in precious metals and cobalt that serves as feed to downstream operations for recovery of the residue's metal values. Also discussed are detection, measurement and control procedures which ensure safe operation.

Jan 1, 1988

By John R. FitzPatrick

The separation and purification of uranium from either nitric acid or hydrochloric acid media tan be accomplished by using either solvent extraction or ion-exchange. Over the past two years at Los Alamos, emerging programs are focused on recapturing the expertise required to do limited, small-quantity processing of enriched uranium. During this period of time, we have been investigating ion-exchange as a method for extraction/purification of uranium from acidic media. In addition, waste stream polishing is associated with this effort in order to achieve more complete removal of the uranium prior to recycle of the acid. Extraction chromatography has been demonstrated' to further polish the uranium from both nitric and hydrochloric acid media thus allowing for a more complete recovery of the actinide material and creation of less waste during the processing steps. We will discuss contact experiments for evaluation of eleven different resins for uranium removal from nitric acid, the evaluation (again by contact experiments) of uranium elution from the ion-exchange media by various chemicals, and small-scale experiments for the removal of 235U from nitric acid. Larger-scale (100-gram) flow experiments using depleted uranium, were done after the small-scale evaluation Of the selected resin. A discussion is also included concerning the shortcomings of the contact experiments and how the flow experiments were modified in order to overcome these problems. We will also discuss the application of ion-exchange for some specific process needs at Los Alamos Contact experiments were used to evaluate some commercially available solvent-impregnated resins in addition to evaluation of several resins of this type synthesized in our laboratory. These experiments' involved both nitric and hydrochloric acid media. The data from these experiments will be used to determine the column size and' amount of resin required to polish the waste stream produced by the ion-exchange process described above. Small-scale flow experiments will be described and data given on the mass balances achieved using this two step process. Future work for evaluation of new ion-exchange and solvent-impregnated resins as well as the search for new eluants will be discussed. Other future experiments for both processes, including large-scale experiments, will be discussed in detail.

Jan 1, 1996

By K. Adham

"Fluidized beds are utilized in a wide range of high-temperature applications throughout the metals and materials industry. Their main advantage is the fast and uniform heat and mass transfer between the hot combustion gases and the particulate solid feed. A further benefit can be the lowering of the processing plant's energy consumption, through heat recovery from the fluid bed processes used for solids heating. Here, the enhanced energy efficiency of fluidized systems is investigated and the modeling results are discussed for three configurations: the flash tube, the single bubbling bed and the multi-stage fluid bed. Key thermal design aspects of each system are identified based on results from process simulations, in order to benchmark their main operating features and overall energy efficiency. Suitability and applicability of each configuration is also discussed based on a number of process and material property considerations.IntroductionCombustion based heating of particulate solids is commonly done using three different types of fluidized beds. The flash tube (FT) is similar to a hot pneumatic transport system. The single-stage fluidized bed (FB) typically uses in-bed combustion. The multi-stage fluidized bed (MSFB) can have two or more stages stacked into a tower.Flash tube (FT) suspends the incoming solid charge in a high-velocity stream of hot combustion gases. To maintain the solids suspension in the FT, two parameters are required: high velocity for elutriation of the particles and adequate solid-to-gas ratio for avoiding high pressure drops and solids drop-out [l].The fluid bed (FB) works at much lower velocities than the flash tube. Therefore, most of the solids are not conveyed in the gas stream, but are only suspended in a liquid-like manner. At minimum fluidization velocity (Umr), the gas flow exerts just enough force on the solids to keep them suspended in place [2].Multi-stage fluid bed (MSFB) heats up the solids as they are transferred from an upper bed level to a lower one, counter-current to the rising flow of hot gases generated at the lowest stage. As the temperature and volumetric flow of the gases decrease from bottom to the top stage, smaller bed diameters can be used in the energy recovery stages [3]."

Jan 1, 2014

By S. Peng, Vaughan R. Voller

"Free boundary problems are a common occurrence in materials processing operations. An important example is the filling of material into molds. This paper looks at filling problems associated with polymer processing, in particular Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and Compression Molding. A general, single governing equation is developed which on numerical solution provides predictions for the position of the polymer front in the mold during filling. Both fixed and deforming finite element solutions are developed. Application to polymer filling test problems reveal that the fixed and deforming grid scheme are accurate and compare closely with each other.IntroductionProblems arising from the analysis of material processing operations often involve the tracking of a moving boundary, on which a balance conditions needs to be met, or the locating of a free surface that defines the solution domain. Material processing examples of so called ""free and moving boundary problems"" include; the tracking of solidification/melting fronts[l], the tracking of the metal/gas interface during the filling of a mold[2] and location and shape of a skull (freeze line) in a melting furnace[3].Computational solution of free and moving boundary problems usually fit into one of two classes, viz.1. Fixed grid scheme: In which the spatial domain is covered by a fixed grid (mesh) of node points and the solution uses an auxiliary variable (e.g. a local liquid fraction) to track the moving boundary or locate the free surface.2. Deforming grid scheme: In which the grid in the spatial domain is continuously deformed (or adapted in a steady state problem) such that a specified set of grid points lie on the moving boundary or the free surface.Details on the basic underlying features in these two classes of solution can be found in the excellent monograph by Crank [4]."

Jan 1, 1994

By Yi Feng Shi

The ISASMELT process is a submerged lance smelting technology operating in smelters in Australia, the USA, Belgium, India, Germany, Malaysia and China. Further plants are under construction in Peru and Zambia. Initially developed at Mount Isa Mines, Australia, the technology is marketed by Xstrata Technology to companies around the world. Yunnan Copper Co. Ltd. (YCC) commissioned the first copper ISASMELT furnace in China in 2002. The plant quickly ramped up to design capacity and the first campaign lasted more than 2 years. Now into the second campaign, the furnace is exceeding the original design capacity and YCC has won numerous awards for its contribution to reducing emissions and energy consumption. YCC and Xstrata put great effort into managing the design, construction and commissioning of the smelter. Xstrata?s technology was combined with YCC?s novel management approach. This effort has been repaid in terms of the outstanding performance of the plant since startup. This paper updates the reader on the first few years? operation of the YCC ISASMELT plant and discusses the way in which the technology was transferred, leading to fast rampup and, as a result, enhanced profitability for the operators.

Jan 1, 2006

By Fathi Habashi

During the recovery of copper, nickel, zinc, and lead from their sulfide ores, large amounts of sulfur dioxide are generated. A fraction of this gas is captured and transformed into sulfuric acid and liquid SOl and the remainder is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous proposals were made to solve this problem. Hydrometallurgy offers the only valid solution by which elemental sulfur instead of sulfur dioxide can be produced. Sulfur can be easily stored, transported long distances, or transformed into S02 and H2S04 when desired.

Jan 1, 1996

By Yong J. Kim, J. M. Park

"Solid/melt interface shape during continuous casting process has a strong influence on the resulting microstructure of the ingot. The interface shape is primarily governed by the heat flow condition between the molten metal and mold (or container). The roll of the microstructural transition resulting from various solid/melt interface shapes is discussed using the Sn-22.6wt%Pb alloy. Three different types of mold such as cold mold, resistantly heated mold, and electromagnetically heated mold were used to generate those interfaces having different curvatures. Experimental measurements of complete temperature profile along the axis and surface of the ingot during downward continuous casting are presented to determine the solid/melt interface geometry. The results provide an explanation of the ingot property with emphasis on microstructure.IntroductionA large scale of continuous casting process of alloys often has a rather deep V channel type of solid/melt interface resulting from a limited heat flow condition. As a result, the deep V type solid/melt interface shape entraps defects such as pores and inclusions and also creates canter segregation. In order to reduce the defects concentration, electromagnetic stirring(EMS) mechanism has been applied to the melt in the channel[l]. Speith and Bungeroth introduced first experimental EMS device to the continuous caster in 1952.[2] Today, with wide ranges of benefit, a large variety of such technique is available. Electromagnetic field on the melt can be divided into three aspects. First, eddy current is induced on the metal surface by alternating magnetic field with high frequency, which results in heating the metal. Second, electromagnetic body force which is generated by the magnetic field and the eddy current reduces the melt pressure on mold or support the melt not to contact with the mold[3,4,5]. This force is used for electromagnetic casting process(EMC). Finally, it causes stirring in the melt. Many research efforts have been done on the EMC process to improve surface quality of slab[6] and control meniscus shape where three phases such as melt, solidified metal, and mold powder coexist[7,8]. However, the eddy current heating effect on the surface of the ingot was less considered. It is worth noting that induced eddy current on the surface of slab melts the solidified shell and thus changes the heat flow condition between the mold and melt. Mold heating effect was first proposed by A. Ohno[9] and its processing conditions were identified in details[ 10, 11]. The so-called Ohno process is based on the fact that by keeping the mold temperature slightly above the melting temperature of the liquid, no grain can be nucleated on the mold wall[12]."

Jan 1, 1998

By Jae R. Lee

Keywords: Self-propagating high temperature synthesis, AlN, Powder synthesis The particle size and shape effects of starting raw powders on the synthesis of aluminum nitride by self-propagating high temperature technique under high nitrogen pressure were investigated with various AlN diluents and Al reactants. It was found that the structure of beds of the starting raw particles largely affected the pore channels for nitrogen gas infiltration as well as the passages for combustion propagation before and during the reaction, resulting in the morphology and purity changes of the synthesized products. The AlN product of purity over 98% with about 30 microns was obtained.

Jan 1, 2005

By Yuanbo Zhang, Yongbin Yang, Guanghui Li, Zhengwei Yu, Yufeng Guo, Tao Jiang, Xiaohui Fan, Youming Hu

"Composite agglomeration process (CAP), as an innovative method for preparing blast furnace burden, was developed and has been put into operation in China. CAP is different from traditional agglomeration processes of iron-bearing materials involving sintering and pelletizing. Compared to the traditional agglomeration processes, CAP is characterized by several strengths such as permission of diverse iron-bearing materials in production, obvious improvement of permeability in the feed bed, decreasing the fuel consumption and remarkably increasing the productivity of sintering machine. Furthermore, the use of the composite agglomerates prepared with CAP is capable of obviating the negative effects caused by the differences in quality of sinter and pellets on the operation of blast furnaces. This paper mainly presents an overview of the principle and applications of CAP.Development Background and Principle of CAPhe traditional agglomeration processes including sintering and pelletizing have been the two predominant methods for preparing ironmaking burden from iron-bearing materials. Sintering is a way for agglomeration by heating the coarser fine ores (general granularity 0~10mm). The mechanical strength of irregular porous sinter is obtained by the solidification of molten phase at high temperature process. It has been shown that the production of high basicity sinter (R=1.8~2.2) is characterized by low energy consumption and high efficiency compared to low basicity sintering. Meantime, the finished high basicity sinter is characterized by good mechanical strength and metallurgical performance. Pelletizing is another way for agglomeration by firing wet green pellets, which are balled from the fine grained iron ores or concentrates. Based on the differences of chemical compositions, the finished pellets can be divided into acidic oxidized pellets, fluxed pellets, magnesium-bearing pellets, and so on. The acidic oxidized pellets are the dominant products of modern pelletizing."

Jan 1, 2012

By M. J. Adam

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating the partitioning of selected complex minerals into simple phases using sulfidation reactions. Successful partitioning of complex mineralogy to simple phases may afford an opportunity to improve selective extraction of mineral constituents of economic value. The research has shown that complex minerals, such as chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and pentlandite [(Fe,Ni)9Se]' may be partitioned to the simpler phases covellite (CuS) plus pyrite (FeS2) and vaesite (NiS2) plus pyrite (FeS2), respectively. Demonstrations of these reactions were verified through long-react ion-time (24 h or more) experiments, but basic rate investigations and modeling were not included in the previous research. This report describes research aimed at determining the rate at which the complex mineral CuFeS2 converts to the simple sulfides CuS plus FeS2. Small samples of CuFeS2 were blended with elemental S prior to thermal treating under an He atmosphere for time periods up to 4 h. Products from each treatment period were characterized using metallography, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results of the investigation revealed a rapid conversion of CuFeS2 to CuS plus FeS2 early in thermal treatment periods. As the reaction occurred, a CuS rimming of particles was observed which separated the reacting species (CuFeS2 and S) and caused a considerable decrease in transformation rate.

Jan 1, 1991

By Bruce W. Wessels

"Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition has been shown to be a highly versatile technique for the synthesis of complex oxides. High dielectric constant oxide thin films of SrTiO3, BaTiO3, Ba1-xSrxTiO3 and SrxBa1-xNb2O6 can be be be deposited at 800 ºC with this technique. The fluorine substituted B-diketonate precursors have been shown to be well-suited for the deposition of high quality, epitaxial thin films of these materials.IntroductionThere has been a resurgence of interest in thin film ferroelectric oxides as a result of the development of techniques to deposit high quality material. Both physical and chemical vapor deposition techniques have been realized. Of the chemical vapor deposition techniques, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has received the most interest for the deposition of ferroelectric oxide thin films. This results, in part, from the availability of a number of volatile metal-organic precursors.(l) Moreover, MOCVD offers the advantages of high growth rates, uniform coverage over large areas, conformability, abrupt interfaces and excellent epitaxial crystallinity. Of the metalorganic precursors, the B-diketonate complexes have played an important role especially in the deposition of ferroelectric oxides containing alkaline-earth metals such as BaTi03 and Ba1•XSrxTi03. For example, barium tetramethylheptanedionate Ba(thd)2 has been used in the preparation of BaTi03 by MOCVD.(2) These compounds, however, are not without their problems. Ba(dpm)2 has a relatively low volatility; and as a consequence, temperatures in excess of 180·C are required for volatilization. This leads to the necessity of a complex precursor delivery system to insure that the precursor does not condense before the reaction zone. Moreover, the Ba precursor tends to oligomerize leading to a decrease in vapor pressure as well as a problem with reproducibility. To counter these problems, novel liquid source and solid source precursor delivery systems have been developed. (3)(4)"

Jan 1, 1994

By Yanhui Liu, Xuewei Lv, Pingsheng Lai, Chenguang Bai

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of slag basicity on the Si content in stainless steel master alloys prepared by smelting reduction of Fe-Ni-Cr sinters. Theoretical analysis focusing on the gas, slag and alloy phases of the smelting reduction process at 1600°C was carried out by thermodynamic calculation software----FactSage, showing that the increase of CaO within the slag can result in the decrease of Si within the master alloy. Experiments were also carried out in vacuum melting furnace at 1600°C , and chemical analysis method was used to detect Si content in the alloys. When the MgO content is 9.00%, the experimental results were consistent with the calculated values. However, when the MgO content rises up to 14%, the content of Si in the alloy reaches the maximum when SiO2 equals to 22.81%.

Jan 1, 2016

By A. Siegmund, Gerhard Martin

The recycling of metal containing scrap is a common practice in the industry and has a long tradition. . In rec~nt years, this philosophy has been transferred to organic materials, in particular to thermoplastic polymers. BSB . Recycling GmbH, a company with a long experience in the treatment and recovery of lead from battery scrap,· had recognized this exploitation at an early stage and challenged it by a consequent continuation of the idea to recycle materials other than metals without degradation and maintaining the quality. These efforts resulted in an economic and environmentally acceptable solution producing high quality polypropylene compounds at BSB beside lead and lead alloys from battery scrap. The raw material fair the production of polypropylene compounds is shredded plastics from the separated casings of spent lead-acid batteries. The production of polypropylene with specific physical and mechanical properties is carried out by the accurate dosing of organic as well as inorganic additives. The result of the procedure is a novel product group "Seculene PP", a registered trademark of BSB Recycling GrnbH.

Jan 1, 2000

By Brommerm Tracey, Britt Elin Gihleengen, Elsa Olivetti, Hans Ole Riddervold, Randolph Kirchain, Geir Øyen

"Compositional uncertainty in secondary materials and variable processing conditions inhibits secondary material utilization in the production of aluminum alloys. Efforts to implement optimization models that direct batch planning have limited industrial presence due to factors such as the insensitivity of these optimization models to dynamic plant circumstances. This paper describes a chance constrained model formulation that generates lower cost, robust batch plans with significant flexibility towards changes in processing conditions. The principal attribute of the chance constrained formulation is its inherent mitigation of risk by diversifying the batch plan. This paper compares aluminum remelter batch planning using the chance constrained formulation with a traditional deterministic model and a manual batch planner. With the expectation that volatile material prices, restricted scrap material availability, and pressure by consumers and legislation for increased recycled raw material input will continue in the future, batch planning tools that inherently diversify a production portfolio will become increasingly advantageous for industrial aluminum remelters.IntroductionAluminum remelters must develop strategies to incorporate lower cost secondary materials into finished alloys to remain competitive amidst increasingly demanding market and regulatory conditions. Determining the optimal combination of incoming raw materials to produce an alloy that meets compositional specifications presents remelters with a complex problem that has driven the development of computational tools commonly referred to as batch planning or blending algorithms. The ubiquity of the ingredient or raw material blending problem in production has motivated ongoing development of batch planning algorithms since the classic nut-mix problem in the 1950's [1]. The most common model formulation for industrial aluminum remelters are deterministic, linear optimization programs [2]. These blending problems determine the optimal combination of raw materials by minimizing cost subject to constraints around demand, availability, and compositional specification. Despite extensive research and moderate computational requirements, batch planning algorithms are inconsistently used in industry. Insufficient incorporation of the complexity of real world remelting conditions into these models provides an obstacle for their implementation [3]. For example, many batch planning algorithms do not explicitly incorporate the impact of compositional variation of the raw materials on overall batch cost. Additionally, they do not allow for endogenous specification of tolerance to error in batch planning, so provide little flexibility where a batch planner would like to incorporate materials of greater uncertainty. Incomplete accounting for quality variability undervalues secondary materials leading to overly conservative use [ 4, 5]."

Jan 1, 2011