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By Chuanfu Zhang, Jinliang Wang

"Brickless reaction shaft is the latest progress for flash smelting furnace. However, there are many factors influence the melting point of the freeze slag inside brickless reaction shaft, and their variational regularities are not obvious, thus, it is difficult for conventional methods to analyze accurately the complex data. In this research, the experiment data of slag melting point were processed based on optimal discrimination plane. For this method, two orthogonal vectors were firstly built up based on the Fisher's criterion, and then the experiment data were projected onto the two vectors, thus, two-dimensional feature vectors were extracted as criteria to determine the factors effect degree on the slag melting point. Results show that the CaO content is the greatest factor to the melting point of the freeze slag inside brickless reaction shaft, the content of Fe3O4, SiO2, Cu2 O and MgO is the second, and the FeO content is the last.IntroductionBrickless reaction shaft is the latest progress of flash smelting furnace reaction shaft. To research the influence factors on the slag melting point inside the brickless reaction shaft is significant to form freeze slag with compact structure, good heat insulation, certain intensity, appropriate thickness and reasonable distribution, to extend furnace life, to reduce energy consumption, and to promote safe production.However, due to the complex components, there are many factors influence the melting points of the freeze slag inside brickless reaction shaft, and their variational regularities are not obvious. Therefore, it is difficult for conventional methods, such as variance analysis, data fitting, etc., to analyze accurately the complex experiment data.Pattern recognition can easily classify information, even if there are many influencing factors. For pattern recognition, there are some sub-disciplines such as discriminant analysis, feature extraction, error estimation, cluster analysis (together sometimes called statistical pattern recognition), grammatical inference, parsing and matching (sometimes called syntactical and structural pattern recognition) [1, 2]."

Jan 1, 2012

By M. D. Bishop

Loss of organic solvent extraction circuits occurs through several accepted methods. Losses are commonly attributed to entrainment of the plant organic and evaporative loss of diluent. Evaporative losses of diluent have been estimated using various models or by considering all losses over and above entrainment to be due to evaporation. Other possible loss mechanisms are discussed and data on losses during weather conditions are presented. Accurate estimation of evaporative loss is vitally important to the industry due to both cost factors and environmental concerns. Data for and description of the Diffusive Flux Model are presented as an improved-method of estimating evaporative losses:

Jan 1, 1999

By V. Bojarevics, K. Pericleous

"A number of different methods have been developed for noncontact electromagnetic treatment of liquid metal and to investigate the melting/solidification processes. Applying AC magnetic field in terrestrial conditions, along with the buoyancy and thermo-capillary forces, results in turbulent flow. The use of a homogenous DC magnetic field allows damping both of the turbulence and the large scale flow at different rates leading to surprising results at some stages. The dynamic interaction of the turbulent flow with the oscillating interface needs to be accounted if it is required to levitate liquid metal of up to few kilograms without the contact to container walls. At the high values of magnetic field some oscillation modes are damped quickly, while others are modified with a considerable shift of the oscillating droplet frequencies and the damping constants from the non-magnetic case. Numerical models are used to investigate behavior of liquid metal suspended in high DC magnetic fields providing microgravity-like conditions with laminar viscosity and heat transfer to the surroundings.IntroductionSince the early Electro Magnetic (EM) levitation experiments [1] in AC magnetic field it became apparent that the levitated liquid metal is prone to oscillation and instability. The EM and electrostatic levitation experiments with liquid metal droplets show difficulties related to confinement stability and a need for complex correction functions to establish a correlation between the measurements and the droplet material properties [2,3]. Intense internal fluid flow is visually observed, apparently being in the turbulent regime for earthbound conditions."

Jan 1, 2012

By Hee Dong Jang, Hong Yong Sohn, Miguel Olivas-Martinez

"Tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS), a precursor of silica nanoparticles, is prepared from the waste silicon sludge, followed by the synthesis of silica nanoparticles from the TMOS by flame spray pyrolysis. A two-dimensional multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for the flame spray pyrolysis process (FSP) for the synthesis of silica nanoparticles has been developed. The model incorporates the governing turbulent equations of overall continuity, momentum, energy and species mass transport to represent the gas phase and the population balance model (PBM) to account for the silica nanoparticles. The model has been validated with experimental data in terms of gas temperature and average particle size. Introduction Silica (SiO2) nanoparticles are used in various industrial applications, such as catalyst, pigments, thin film substrates, electronic and thermal insulators, and humidity sensors [1]. They are also used as additives in plastics and rubbers to improve the mechanical properties of elastomers, and in liquid systems to improve their suspension behavior. These applications rely on the particle morphology, average particle size, particle size distribution, and phase composition [2]. Silica nanoparticles can be synthesized by wet chemical processes such as sol-gel methods and high-temperature processes such as flame spray pyrolysis (FSP). The FSP process provides a unique control of particle size and crystalline structure and it can also produce high-purity, thermally stable particles continuously with minimal further treatments. The sizes of the flame- made particles range from a few to several hundred nanometers, depending on the operating conditions [1]. The synthesis of silica nanoparticles from organic compounds that contain silicon by the FSP process is of interest because it generates no harmful by-products [1, 3]. Several compounds such as tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) can be used to synthesize silica nanoparticles, but most such compounds are expensive. Thus, it is desirable to prepare the precursor compounds from waste materials. In the present study, TEOS and TMOS synthesized from silicon sludge were used as precursors of silica nanoparticles [4]."

Jan 1, 2008

By Thomas Niehoff, Yin Qing, Wei Zhongling, Liu Yongguo, Zhang Deliang, Tang Le

The gold ore of Shandong Gold Mining (Xinhui) was a refractory ore, which contained multi metallic sulfides (ZnS and PbS etc.) and carbonaceous. The gold ore concentrate came into leaching process and thickener and zinc replacement to recover gold. In order to improve gold recovery, the GOLDOX™ hydrometallurgy process was studied in Shandong Gold (Xinhui) by bench scale and 6 month plant scale test supported by Linde Gas. It was shown that the process promoted the leaching kinetics and improved gold recovery. The residue grade reduced 0.22 g/t in average after oxygen was applied. This indicates an operating profit increase 850,000 yuan/a in the plant. It was setting a good example for similar gold mine plant and would promote the oxygen application in Chinese gold mining industry.

Jan 1, 2015

By Kurt Westerlund

Cooling of hot sticky gases with solids in a circulating fluidized bed called FLUXFLOW is described. Fluxflow is used for gas streams from metallurgical reactors, e.g., Isasmelt copper in Australia and TBRC for lead in Sweden. The features and potential of this technology in metallurgy and waste treatment ie described. The FluxfLow la a new, cost efficient high availability solution to treat hot sticky gases that has made new gas handling and heat recovery flow sheets available to the process industry.

Jan 1, 1994

By Shaohua Ju, Huang Chang-yuan, Lu Shuaidan, Peng Jin-hui, Wu Guoqin, Yaqian Wei, Zhang Li-bo

"The contrastive studies of microwave and conventional roasting copper residue from zinc hydrometallurgical was carried. The experimental results showed that the microwave roasting has the higher dechlorination rate in the same condition such as temperature, heat preservation time and atmosphere. When the samples with 100 mesh grain size, the Cl content turned from 14.27% to 1.33% and the dechlorination rate achieved over 90% at 400°C with 2h microwave roasting. And in the same conditions, the materials' dechlorination rate after conventional roasting just reached around 78%. The phase changes of the roasting process was investigated with X-ray diffraction analysis.IntroductionCl element can be accumulated gradually in the solution of Zinc hydrometallurgical system. When Cl content in electrolysis solution comes up to 100 mg/L, the stability of electrodeposits process would be severely affected [ 1]. It would not only accelerate the consumption of cathode and anode plate, elevate the power consumption, but also cause serious corrosion of device, increase production costs and lower the quality of electrolytic zinc [2]. Thus, C1- contained in the solution should be removed before electrodeposits."

Jan 1, 2013

By Hiroshi Hashimoto

For the application of sodium carbonate slag treatment to product high purity copper on an industrial scale, the counter-flow batch process that reduces the amount of utilized slag is proposed from the viewpoint of the post-treatment of slag. Based on the distribution ratios of several impurities between the slag and molten copper determined previously, the effectiveness of this process is discussed using a mathematical model and confirmed experimentally. According to the model, the slag consumption to remove Sb to a required level in case of the counter-flow batch process with 3 reactors is calculated to be around 30 % of that in the case of an ordinary batch process, where pure sodium carbonate is used as a slag at every stage.

Jan 1, 2003

By Hiroshi Hashimoto

For the application of sodium carbonate slag treatment to product high purity copper on an industrial scale, the counter-flow batch process that reduces the amount of utilized slag is proposed from the viewpoint of the post-treatment of slag. Based on the distribution ratios of several impurities between the slag and molten copper determined previously, the effectiveness of this process is discussed using a mathematical model and confirmed experimentally. According to the model, the slag consumption to remove Sb to a required level in case of the counter-flow batch process with 3 reactors is calculated to be around 30 % of that in the case of an ordinary batch process, where pure sodium carbonate is used as a slag at every stage.

Jan 1, 2003

By P. Hanniala, J. Sulanto

"The requirement for the reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions from copper smelters is becoming more and more important. Therefore, the most important question in smelting technology will be how to produce even, high strength SO2 gas in smelter and how to combine smelting and converting. The best sorution in certain cases is to eliminate converters totally.Outokumpu is already responding to this challenge. As a result of extensive research work, Outokumpu Oy has developed the Flash Smelting Process for direct smelting of blister copper from concentrates in one step.The newest process development is the Kennecott-Outokumpu Flash Converting process, where solidified copper matte is converted into blister copper. The production of low volume high SO2 content gases, separation of smelting and converting operations to allow increased on-line availability, and simplified process control are the major benefits of the process which translates to reduced smelter capital and operating costs.Also, it has been studied the use of the same Outokumpu furnace for smelting and converting alternately when the production capacity is low.In this paper, the developments and improvements of the Outokumpu Process are described from the operation and investment cost standpoints"

Jan 1, 1988

By C. M. Egert, S. Rajic

"We have developed a monolithic micro-spectrometer suitable for a variety of sensing applications including industrial process monitoring. The device consists of a solid structure with a volume less than 6 cubic centimeters. All optical components of the spectrometer including two aspheric mirrors, a diffraction grating, and entrance and exit surfaces are fabricated onto the surface of the structure. All light paths are internally contained within the structure. The result is a small, rugged spectroscopic sensor ideally suited for use as a process monitor. Due to its monolithic nature the device requires no post-fabrication alignment; nor can it be knocked out of alignment during use. Although many materials and thus wavelength regions were possible, the prototype device discussed here was produced in PMMA by precision diamond turning. However, lower cost manufacturing approaches involving injection molding are under development to produce an affordable sensor.Due to its rugged monolithic design, small footprint, and low cost the monolithic micro-spectrometer is ideally suited for distributed monitoring applications often required for industrial processes. It is expected that modified versions of this sensor designs will be required for specific applications so as to maximize the performance and resolution over the operating range. For example, the prototype device described here operates over a wavelength range of 500 nm to 1000 nm. The performance of this device as a real-time surface monitoring sensor will be discussed in detail. Our approach of using wavelength dependant scattering resulted in the reduction to practice of a miniature, monolithic, rugged, low-cost, micro-instrument in a sensor sized package. The process sensor applications community has been faced by the cost versus performance issue. Simple go/no-go sensors are typically inexpensive but they provide very limited and sometimes dubious data. Scaled down traditional instruments offer very good measurand information but are typically cost prohibitive, fragile, and still relatively large. This work will bridge the gap between these two extreme sensing alternatives."

Jan 1, 1997

By S. Motoiu

Data acquisition is widely used for controlling flash smelting furnaces. A Romanian smelter from which a large amount of data can be collected uses such a technique. A computer program was developed for interpretation of the data. Inputs to the program are the process data files. Abnormal data are identified using standard statistical techniques; they can be edited if necessary. The following methods can be used for the analysis: linear correlation (single or multiple), polynomial correlation or comparison of two average values. Time variation graphs and histograms can be displayed. The random balance method was used for determination of significant parameters influencing the process performance. Not all process parameters are recorded, and some of them are not even measured. The software can compute some of these parameters such as: air flow rate required and the oxygen content of the gas: exiting the reaction tower. The software was used for the interpretation of a large amount of process data. The analysis showed that the process did not operate properly at some times.

Jan 1, 1999

By Sergio Demetrio

Based on the current reality of the copper smelters industry, besides the advances that have been and are expected for the next few years, the authors present a futurist vision of the processing of copper concentrates and copper smelters in the years 2000. Outlined new development strategies and ways of improvement in this business, including research, development and management of the works that today posses characteristics of a profitable operation, as well as the changes expected with respect to the entry of new actors and the creation of new products The authors finally bet for small or tailor-made smelters with ad hoc technology for their raw materials and few units to coordinate -devoted to specific concentrates using high technology and low manpower. Considering the in-situ hydrometallurgical route, as well as the pyrometallurgical route in works or conversion facilities that buy or process white metal and produce copper and other metals associated with this such as gold and silver, besides sulfuric acid, plants which should be strategically located in zones with high sulfuric acid price to make this a product which contributes to the profitability of the business.

Jan 1, 1999

By Steve Naruk

Microscopic point-count analyses, although time-consuming, provide detailed mineralogical information which is not obtainable by any other means. Such information can be invaluable for evaluating mill circuit behavior. In comparing two months of operation of a Cu-Pb-Zn sulfide flotation circuit, chemical analyses show that higher copper recoveries and concentrate grades were obtained from lower grade ore, but they provide no explanation of how the improvements were obtained. Quantitative micro-scopic analyses, on the other hand, show the following: 1. There was no change in the identity of the Cu-bearing minerals. 2. Increased copper recovery was achieved primarily by increased recovery of chalcopyrite middling particles. 3. The increased recovery of chalcopyrite middling particles also increased the amount of gangue entrained as locked particles. 4. Increased rejection of free gangue particles, particularly those finer than 25 microns in size, resulted in a net decrease in gangue content.

Jan 1, 1981

By Yue Gong, ChuanJie Cai, Jing Chen, Shaobo Zheng, Huigai Li

"MnS-AlN duplex precipitates were successfully extracted from electrical steel slabs by means of non-aqueous solution electrolysis. The three-dimensional duplex morphology became visible using emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) JSM-6700F and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The precipitation sequence of MnS and AlN in the hot process can be predicted via the three-dimensional duplex morphology. Thermodynamic calculations were carried out on account of the chemical compositions of the steel studied in this paper. The results verified that AlN nucleated on MnS, which precipitated earlier during cooling process of electrical steel. Based on the results, the material compositions and rolling temperature can be adjusted to modify their precipitation timing and morphology. This is conducive to the growth of MnS-AlN duplex precipitates and reducing the obstacles to grain growth. Finally the magnetic property of electrical steel would be improved.IntroductionElectrical steel is a kind of ferrosilicon soft magnetic alloys with extremely low carbon content. It is mainly used in the manufacture of motors, generators, transformers and varieties of teleco=unications equipment. Non-oriented electrical steel requires isotropic high magnetic induction and low iron loss [l, 2]. Precipitates in steel have a great influence on its performance [3]. On the one hand, the indirect effect of precipitates on magnetic properties is to restrict grain growth in high temperature annealing process. On the other hand, the direct effect is pinning of domain wall motion, which leads to increased hysteresis loss."

Jan 1, 2013

By F. Patisson

One of the major issues with multiparticle reactors is to handle their multiscale aspect. For modeling, it usually comes to coupling a reactor model (describing the phenomena at the macroscopic scale) with a so-called grain model (simulating the behavior of a single grain or a particle). An interesting approach proposed by H.Y. Sohn (1978) is to use the law of additive reaction times in order to calculate, approximately but analytically, the reaction rate of a particle in the reactor model. Its great advantage, compared to a numerical grain model, is to drastically reduce the computation time, particularly in the case of complex reactor models. This is the approach we retained for modeling the moving bed furnace, a counter-current gas-solid reactor used in the nuclear fuel-making route for producing uranium tetrafluoride from uranium trioxide. The numerical model we developed is 2-dimensional, steady-state and based on the finite volume method. It describes solid and gas flow, convective, conductive and radiative heat transfers, and six chemical reactions involved in the process. The law of additive reaction times is used to calculate analytically the rate of the three principal gas-solid reactions at every discrete point in the reactor. We have demonstrated the validity of this approach by comparing its results with those calculated from a numerical grain model. Also detailed in the paper are the main results of the moving bed furnace model itself and the possibilities of optimizing the process revealed by the calculations.

Jan 1, 2006

By C. A. Landolt

Inco pioneered the use of tonnage oxygen in non ferrous metallurgy when it commissioned the first industrial oxygen f1ash smelting process for the treatment of copper concentrates in the ear 1y fifties. This techno logica1 innovation was followed by other applications of technical oxygen. Inco is currently implementjng a Sulfur Dioxide Abatement Program designed to reduce SO2 emissions from the smelter by 60% in 1994. The new flowsheet includes new equipment for the oxygen flash smelting of Cu-Ni concentrates and for flash conversion of chalcocite. Oxygen smelting and converting technology will lead to a substantial decrease in use of fossil fuels and to generation of high strength S02 off gases suitable for efficient fixation in a new acid plant.

Jan 1, 1992

By C. A. Landolt

Inco pioneered the use of tonnage oxygen in non ferrous metallurgy when it commissioned the first .industrial oxygen flash smelting process for the treatment of copper concentrates in the early fifties. This technological innovation was followed by other applications of technical oxygen. Inco is currently implementing a Sulfur Dioxide Abatement Program designed to reduce S02 emissions from the smelter by 60% in 1994. The new flowsheet includes new equipment for the oxygen flash smelting of Cu-Ni concentrates and for flash conversion of chalcocite. Oxygen smelting and converting technology will lead to a substantial decrease in use of fossil fuels and to generation of high strength S02 off gases suitable for efficient fixation in a new acid plant.

Jan 1, 1992

By N. E. Ablesimov

Electron probe X-ray microanalyser of a coating deposited with "Elitron¬22A" electrospark alloying (ESA) set (anode - Cr, base-catode - chrome vanadium steel) has shown that the zone of phase forming can be divided into three parts: the coating itself, diffusion zone and a thermal affection zone in the base material. Waves of iron and chrome concentrations have been found in the diffusion zone. The authors interprete them as a phenomenon of substance self-organizing in the 30 pill deep diffusion zone, characterized by a change of compositions during the transfer of material from the coating to the base: coating - 20 µm (FeCr2), diffusion zone - 30 µm (Fe3Cr, FeCr, Fe4Cr, Fe2Cr), base - steel (Fe - 87 %, Cr - 12 %, V - I %). This ESA phenomen has been noted for the first time. It may be relative to the phenomenon of periodic formation of secondary products during the mutual diffusion of reacting substances in the case of a one-way reaction. Similar regular structures may appear in the diffusion zone during ESA of vanadium steels with vanadium, manganese steels with manganese and so on.

Jan 1, 1999

By Fumito Tanaka

The Mitsubishi Process is the sole pyrometallurgical process for the continuous production of blister copper from copper concentrates. Continuous converting originates from the application of the proven technology of a lime-ferrite slag (CaO-FeOX-Cu2O) on the Converting Furnace (C-furnace). Recent improvements on the C-furnace operation have included increasing the processing of recycled materials and the investigation of alternative fluxing agents. However, some minor oxides adversely affect C-furnace operation, with respect to magnetite behavior of the slag, with the most significant impact having been observed with the silica content of the slag. This paper will quantify the impact of silica on the lime-based slag, and discusses the controls that have been identified to sustain continuous converting operation.

Jan 1, 2005