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By Wenjun Duan, Qingbo Yu, Qin Qin, Junxiang Liu

In the study, the coke-oven gas (COG)-steam reforming process using hot blast furnace slag (BFS) as the heat carrier is explored for producing hydrogen and recovering high-grade waste heat of hot BFS. The method of the Gibbs energy minimization approach through Lagrange multiplier is adopted in the thermodynamic analysis of reforming process. The simulation is carried out to study the operation pressure, temperature and steam to carbon ratio (S/C) based on the chemical equilibrium calculations. The optimal operation conditions are determined to improve the yield and fraction of hydrogen in the COG-steam reforming process. The results suggest that the preferential operation conditions for COG-steam reforming process to produce hydrogen are achieved at 600ºC, 1.5MPa and S/C (5.0). Due to the CaO and other melts in BFS, CH4, CO and CO2 in COG are converted and removed efficiently, especially CO2. The hydrogen fraction reaches to 86.7% and its production is about 1.22mol with 1mol of the COG.

Jan 1, 2016

By Ian Masters, Saul B. Davies, David T. Gethin

The purpose of this model is to simulate and analyze the energy flows within a rotary aluminum recycling furnace, using the global properties of its main components, the gas, metal and refractory walls. The model will simulate a series of operations such as loading, heating and stirring which will constitute the processing of a batch. Each main component of the furnace is treated as a one-dimensional heat transfer medium, the thickness and area of each medium being calculated from the actual geometry of the furnace. The physical properties are taken as the weighted average of those for the various layers forming the medium. Incorporated into the model are elements describing the radiative exchange within the furnace, melting of the charge, and forced convection in the melt due to the rotation of the furnace. This approach has produced a model with a reasonable computing time that can be used to run a whole series of simulations for the prediction and comparison of the furnace performance under different operating conditions.

Jan 1, 2000

Accretions of dust on the walls of the offtakes from furnaces and in the waste heat boiler are a cause of significant operating and maintenance problems in non-ferrous smelters. The dust originates from entrained solids in the gas stream and vaporised species that condense during gas cooling. Control of dust formation is very important for minimising the formation of accretions and reducing the severity of environmental problems caused by toxic species, such as those containing arsenic, in the dust. The present paper discusses the formation of accretions and the condensation of dust in copper smelting from a thermodynamic viewpoint. Changes, in gas composition and the amounts and identities of the condensed species in the dust are calculated using computational thermodynamics. Interactions between dust species to form accretions are considered in the light of appropriate phase equilibria. The results show that the nature of the dust formed varies greatly, depending on the temperature and the amount of oxygen present during cooling. Control of the amount of oxygen is required if offtake and waste heat boiler accretion problems are to be minimised.

Jan 1, 2002

By Burkhard Seeger et al.

The oxidation of copper sulfides can be highly accelerated in the presence of nitrous gases (NOx) as reaction catalysts. Sulfur and sulfate are simultaneously produced in this highly exothermic reaction. This process, carried out in sulfuric acid medium, is performed at an approximately normal pressure and at a temperature of around 110 °C, in a closed container, adding either oxygen or air. The oxidation is automatically controlled through a computer. The process covers the following steps: Catalytic oxidation, filtration and crystallisation of the hot concentrated liquid, electrowinning, mother liquor treatment through jarosite formation, recovery of dissolved copper and zinc and regeneration of industrial water, and non-soluble residue treatment with extraction of sulfur and recovery of silver and gold. No combustibles are needed. No air is contaminated, and no waste water is produced. Solid residues are in a stable, non-toxic and non-corrosive state of equilibrium. Risk of accident is low. Investment costs are small compared to those of the comparable pyrometallurgical process, and production costs are competitive.

Jan 1, 1999

By Bruce W. Downing

MagPower has developed methods to control the detrimental formation of hydrogen that occurs in electrochemical reactions in numerous commercial applications such as the Magnesium-Air Fuel Cell, electrowinning, zinc alkaline batteries, hydrogen embrittlement, waste water/ metal recycling and coolants. The company?s approach to an alternative energy source is the development of an environmentally friendly non-toxic alternative power source that generates electricity through a combination of magnesium, oxygen and a saltwater electrolyte with MagPower?s patent pending hydrogen inhibitors. The magnesium-air technology has never reached the commercial stage due to its limiting power output caused by hydrogen generation. MagPowerhas solved this problem and has patents pending on its intellectual property; the Hydrogen Inhibitors and has developed several consumer power units for a variety of applications through licensing agreements. The company has also shown that the inhibitors have an impact on zinc electrowinning through laboratory test work where current efficiency was improved. This will significantly reduce power consumption and increase the efficiency of the electrowinning process, as well as reduce the potential acid mist hazards associated with electrowinning.

Jan 1, 2003

By N. L. Piret

Primary and secondary copper smelting dusts are being generated in varying quantities with very dissimilar characteristics due to the different compositions of feed materials and the type of process utilized. After categorizing the multitude of dust types, the criteria for on-site and off-site recycling of smelter dust in terms of type and concentrations of the accompanying elements are established. Thereby, consideration is given to the important aspects of: ? optimization of copper recovery ? quality of copper product ? valorization of accompanying elements ? elimination and disposal of deleterious impurities ? minimization of impact on operation ? effects on operating costs ? environmental impact of dust treatment on overall process Existing commercial, emerging and proposed copper smelting dusts, pyrometallurgical as well as hydrometallurgical, treatment schemes are reviewed and evaluated technically, economically and environmentally in an attempt to streamline the vast number of proposed options. Thereby, the high selectivity achievable in hydrometallurgical dust processing due to it being complementary to the smelting process is expected to be given increased consideration.

Jan 1, 1995

By Bernd Kopacek

"Nowadays more and more consumers substitute their conventional TV-sets and computer monitors by LCD panels. In the near future huge amounts of LCDs will start coming back to recycling. As LCDs with hazardous mercury backlight lamps are used an appropriate recycling technology has to be implemented.IntroductionLiquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are widely used in notebooks, organizers, mobile phones, pocket calculators, measuring and control instruments, electronic games, hand-held miniature TVs, audio-video equipment, large signboards, automotive displays and more and more also for PC monitors and TVs.According to a study from Stanford Resources (San Jose, California) the annual value of LCDproducts reached 35 billion EUR in 2002, about 30% of this within the European Union, representing a total area of 2,1 million m2 Liquid Crystal Displays. An annual increase rate of about 15% is estimated for the next years (up to 4,1 million m2 in 2005).As LCDs are already on the market for several years, larger quantities of the more than 2,5 billion LCDs are coming into their End-of-Life stage for treatment. In 2005 this figure will become even more dramatic - 40.000 tons of LCD-modules contained in 2 million tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or about 30% of total WEEE within EU. An amount which is representing 400 million EUR costs for incineration.Currently the only method used to deal with redundant LCD units is incineration or landfill. Both are expensive and causes emissions into the atmosphere (global warming) respectively water contamination (Class II) and difficulties in biodegradation. Up to now there is no recycling solution for LC-Displays available.As a consequence European Commission requests the disassembly of LCDs with an area bigger than 100 cm2 in the Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive) of February 13, 2003."

Jan 1, 2008

By Varadajan Seshadri

Keywords: torpedo car, kinetics, physical modeling A 1:6 torpedo car physical model was built to assess the optimum refining conditions for pig iron desulfurization in the torpedo car considering the industrial parameters used in the steel plant CSBM (Companhia Siderurgica Belgo-Mineira, João Monlevade, MG, Brazil). The refining practice in this plant is through injection of a CaO-CaF2-Mg powder in the pig iron melt. Similarity between the model and prototype were established through Froude and turbulent Reynolds criteria. Mixing times were evaluated by pulse tracer addition and the kinetics of metal/slag interactions were assessed from experiments investigating iodine transfer from kerosene to water. The influence of parameters such as level of metal, gas flow rate, lance penetration, lance orientation were also evaluated.

Jan 1, 2005

By Ko-ichiro Ohno

It is recently recognized that the iron reduction and melting as well as the slag separation of a composite of granular iron ore and coal are completed in a very short period of about IO minutes when the composite is rapidly heated up to approximately 1673K. These phenomena are expected to be applied to a new iron-making process. The mechanism of iron ore reduction and iron-slag separation during rapid heating has not yet been revealed and the fundamental research has just started. Carburization of the reduced iron is regarded as one of the most important steps in this process. In the present work, the composite was prepared from four kinds of coal or graphite as a carbon source and electrolytic iron powder as a completely reduced iron ore. The temperature at which the liquid formation and iron carburization occurred was monitored. Direct observation of smelting reduction behavior was made by a confocal laser-scanning microscope combined with the infrared image-heating furnace to clarify the effect of molten ash on iron carburization. It was found that the meltdown temperature of composite became lower as the melting temperature of coal ash decreased. From the observed result, it was presumed that the liquid slag would act as an important media for the carbon transfer from coal to iron. The carburization mechanism during the smelting reduction was estimated as follows. When slag containing iron oxide melted down and contacted carbon, iron oxide in the slag was reduced and the formation of the metallic iron particle as well as the its carburization occurred simultaneously at the slag-carbon interface. Carburized iron particle was carried from slag- carbon to slag-iron interfaces due to the slag convection flow caused by the difference of the interfacial tension between the carbon-slag and iron-slag interfaces. Carburization of reduced iron could proceed with a repeat of the above-mentioned process.

Jan 1, 2003

By Ko-ichiro Ohno

It is recently recognized that the iron reduction and melting as well as the slag separation of a composite of granular iron ore and coal are completed in a very short period of about 10 minutes when the composite is rapidly heated up to approximately 1673K. These phenomena are expected to be applied to a new iron-making process. The mechanism of iron ore reduction and iron-slag separation during rapid heating has not yet been revealed and the fundamental research has just started. Carburization of the reduced iron is regarded as one of the most important steps in this process. In the present work, the composite was prepared from four kinds of coal or graphite as a carbon source and electrolytic iron powder as a completely reduced iron ore. The temperature at which the liquid formation and iron carburization occurred was monitored. Direct observation of smelting reduction behavior was made by a confocal laser-scanning microscope combined with the infrared image-heating furnace to clarify the effect of molten ash on iron carburization. It was found that the meltdown temperature of composite became lower as the melting temperature of coal ash decreased. From the observed result, it was presumed that the liquid slag would act as an important media for the carbon transfer from coal to iron. The carburization mechanism during the smelting reduction was estimated as follows. When slag containing iron oxide melted down and contacted carbon, iron oxide in the slag was reduced and the formation of the metallic iron particle as well as the its carburization occurred simultaneously at the slag-carbon interface. Carburized iron particle was carried from slag-carbon to slag-iron interfaces due to the slag convection flow caused by the difference of the interfacial tension between the carbon-slag and iron-slag interfaces. Carburization of reduced iron could proceed with a repeat of the above-mentioned process.

Jan 1, 2003

By Baokuan Li, Qiang Wang, Zhu He

"A mathematical model has been developed to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), thermal, and solidified behavior in electroslag remelting process. Based on the finite volume method, a multiphase coupling MHD approach is employed to investigate the droplet formation as well as movement in molten slag under the action of an alternating current. The VOF formulation is adopted for interface tracking. The electrical potential method is adopted for the electric current and magnetic field. The Electromagnetic force and Joule heating are recalculated at each time step and then is implemented in the momentum and energy equations as a source term, respectively. Moreover, solidification of the metal is described by an enthalpy-based formulation, while the mushy zone is treated as a porous medium with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The model is used to investigate the effect of electrode tip shape on MHD, thermal, and solidified behavior and provide valuable information.IntroductionElectroslag remelting (ESR) process has been used widely to produce high-performance alloys dedicated to critical application, such as hot work tool steels, nickel base alloys, the manufacture of components in aerospace and landbased turbines, etc. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of ESR process including a consumable electrode, a molten slag pool, a liquid metal pool, a solidified ingot, and a water-cooled mold. Alternating or direct current flows from the electrode to the water-cooled baseplate through the high resistivity calcium-fluoride-based molten slag which result in Joule heating and Electromagnetic force (EMF). Part of the Joule heating melts the electrode and the droplets travel through the slag and accumulate the liquid metal pool. The electrode is continuously advanced into the slag as it melts to build up an ingot of improved structure and composition by controlled solidification and chemical refinement. The metallurgical properties of the remelted ingot are really related to the solidification structure, which strongly depends on magnetohydrodynamic, thermal, and solidified behavior in the molten slag, liquid metal pool, and mushy zone."

Jan 1, 2014

By Phillip A. Armstrong, Charles A. Lewinsohn, John H. Gordon

"This paper describes the opportunity offered by employing systems based on mixed conductive ceramics, in particular, ceramics conductive to oxygen ions and electrons, in reducing CO2 emissions from metallurgical production. Membranes based on these mixed conducting properties enable commercial viability of several attractive metallurgical processes. One of these processes utilizes modular, ceramic-membrane structures for the generation of pure oxygen, in tonnage quantity. The membrane-based systems offer significant capital savings and operating efficiencies in various metallurgical processes. The current status of this technology is summarized below.IntroductionCryogenic oxygen supply technology is currently the state-of-the-art for applications that require large quantities of oxygen (hundreds to thousands of tons per day). Cryogenic technology, however, requires substantial energy inputs and, hence, adds significant costs and emissions to processes. Furthermore, cryogenic oxygen supply technology is mature and there is relatively little potential for substantial capital cost reduction or efficiency improvement in coming decades. Non-cryogenic technologies offer a means to reduce the environmental footprint and cost of the oxygen supply facility in various applications.Ion Transport membranesCommercially available non-cryogenic air separation technologies, such as adsorption-based and polymeric membrane-based methods, do not afford the economies of scale that the cryogenic distillation enjoys. Therefore, industrial gas industry researchers began searching for alternatives to the relatively inactive and unselective polymeric membrane materials available. In the late 1980’s, Air Products began developing a new class of highly selective membrane materials with exceptionally high activity for oxygen transport. The materials constitute a class of oxide ceramics, and conduct both oxygen (as oxygen ions) and electrons in the same membrane, separating oxygen from air electrochemically. Numerous detailed process economics studies have shown that, based on these ion-transport membranes (ITM’s), the cost of oxygen can be reduced by approximately one-third relative to that obtained from state-of-the-art cryogenic oxygen supply technology, through a combination of capital cost savings and efficiency improvements. [1,2,3]"

Jan 1, 2008

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

By Stephan Mulch, Christian His, Patrick M. Stephan, Thibault Champion

"When fuel costs increase dramatically, waste to energy (WTE) conversion technologies become a good alternative to produce energy. The potential energy available in domestic wastes, in developed countries, could be upwards of 4% of their total energy needs. Due to low energy recovery and low level of treated domestic wastes in many countries, the energy coming from waste is generally less than 0.5% of the country needs.Domestic waste incineration can convert heat to electricity for industry and housing and allow waste volume reduction in countries where land fills are a scarce resource.There is a request to improve existing combustion technology by increasing energy recovery with better heat transfer in the boiler and also by increasing lining durability with more resistant materials and technologies.The knowledge of corrosion phenomena and material performance allows Saint-Gobain Group to develop and propose high performance refractory lining solutions.IntroductionThe interest in alternative energy has been growing dramatically in the two last decades due to several combined factors, such as global energy demand, fuels prices evolution (e.g. crude oil, Figure 1) or environmental and geopolitics factors"

Jan 1, 2008

By Wolfgang Koch, Bernd Friedrich, Ann-Kathrin Maurell-Lopez

Due to the high standards for silver in electronic uses, it is essential to control the behavior of the main impurities such as copper or palladium during electrolytic refining. In regard to palladium, it is indispensable to understand and manage its co-deposition behavior. The influence of electrolyte composition, current density, and acid concentration on Cu and Pd co-deposition during silver electrorefining is systematically investigated.

Mar 1, 2017

By Jose Carlos D’Abreu, Edelink Efrain Tinoco Falero, Mauricio Marcos Otaviano, Helio Marques Kohler

Nowadays the most important Direct Reduction - DR processes in shaft furnaces has to deal with carbon fines precipitation and DRI carburization issues. Based in a cooperative research program joining Catholic University (PUC-Rio) and SAMARCO Mining Co, a project dealing with pellets reduction and those two phenomena was established. This work analyzes kinetically the three reactions mentioned before, considering typical values for the operational variables temperature, flowrate, pressure and gas composition, parameters commonly used to control the DRI formation in the Reduction Zone - RZ of the shaft furnaces. From laboratories experimental results, the kinetic equations for those reactions were established and, using the superposition principle, generated a specific global kinetic model for the iron oxide reduction and the soot formation. Finally, using those experimental results and applying a planned statistical factorial analysis for the experiments, the numerical coefficients for each equation were calculated and the correlation factor determined for the proposed global kinetic equation.

Jan 1, 2015

By Wellington Pereira Inácio, Fernando Wypych, Sergio Neves Monteiro, Artur Camposo Pereira, Rafael Marangoni

"The efficiency by which an applied load is transmitted from the matrix to reinforcing fibers in a composite depends on the fiber/matrix adhesion strength. This is determined as the interfacial shear strength, IFSS, which may be measured by means of pullout tests that measure the force needed to pull a single fiber out of a block of material simulating the composite matrix. Different techniques are used to perform pullout tests. The objective of this work was to characterize the IFSS of sisal fibers embedded in epoxy matrix through the determination of the critical length pullout curves. As the main results, a relatively small critical length was found for the sisal fiber/epoxy pullout specimens, corresponding to a weaker IFSS. This was compared to other results applying different pullout techniques. Scanning electron microscopy observation identified the mechanism responsible for the weak sisal fiber adhesion to the epoxy matrix.IntroductionSynthetic fiber reinforced composites is today one of the most successful class of materials with increasing industrial applications from house appliances to large airplanes like the modem Airbus 380. However, environmental issues are revealing serious drawbacks related to the fabrication, use and post-use discard of these composites. For instance, the thermoset polymer composite reinforced with E-glass fiber, known as ""fiberglass"" has an energy-intensive fabrication associated with a surplus emission of C02, which is responsible for global warming [1]. Moreover, the glass fiber is considered toxic and also causes long term pollution after being discarded."

Jan 1, 2011

By Zhang Chuanfu

Keywords: modified coprecipitation method, Ni-Co alloy powders, solid-solution oxalate, growth mechanism Homogeneous solid-solution oxalates of Ni2+ and Co2+ ions were synthesized by modified coprecipitation method and the composition and morphology of the fibrous solid-solution oxalates precursor were characterized by XRD, IR, DTA/TG and SEM analysis. The effects of feeding methods, pH values, precipitation temperature, reactant concentration, addition surfactant, alcohol washing and drying process on the morphology and dispersion of the precursor were investigated in detail. The experimental results showed that the coprecipitated powders have characteristics that are different from those of the mechanical mixtures with the same stoichiometry. Based on the observations of precursors growth and SEM morphology of the precursor, the oriented attachment was proposed for the well-aligned growth of the fibrous Ni-Co alloy precursor particles.

Jan 1, 2005

By Hongfa Hu, Stavros A. Argyropoulos, Stephan Ferenczy

"Physical as well as mathematical modeling was carried out to investigate the exothermic mass transfer in liquid metal systems. In these systems, the exothermicity induces unique heat, mass and momentum transfer phenomena. Moreover, these phenomena are deeply coupled and they are further complicated by the presence of a moving boundary.In the physical model used, ice cylinders were immersed into sulfuric acid solutions, because the intermixing of ice with sulfuric acid is very exothermic. In this low temperature system, velocity and temperature measurements in the sulfuric acid were made as well as measurements of the ice melting in the sulfuric acid.The mathematical model developed solved simultaneously the heat, mass and momentum equations numerically, utilizing the control-volume finite difference approach. The enthalpy method was adopted to track the moving boundary. Predictions made by the mathematical model were in close agreement with the results obtained by the physical model.The results from the mathematical model were further validated with experiments involving high temperature liquid metals. Specifically, data were obtained in an experimental setup involving (a) dipping silicon cylinders into high carbon liquid iron and (b) dipping nickel cylinders into liquid aluminum. Results from these experimental studies supported the predictions of the mathematical model."

Jan 1, 1999

By J. D. Ecuyer, L&apos

he microstructure of galvanneal coatings formed on extra low carbon and interstitial free steel substrates has been characterized using electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) and x-ray diffraction. The coatings are found to consist of a mixture of gamma, delta and zeta phases, of which delta is the main constituent. The amounts of each phase influences the powdering resistance of the coating which was evaluated using reverse Olsen testing and 60" bending. For the three heat input conditions considered, IF coatings were always found to contain a significant amount of gamma and only those which retained zeta phase on the surface exhibited a satisfactory powdering resistance. In much the same way, ELC coatings with relatively thick gamma layers performed satisfactorily only when some zeta was retained. It was also found, however, that coatings with minimal zeta and gamma had an excellent powdering resistance. The latter coatings were produced under galvannealing conditions of lower relative heat input. These results indicate that in addition to the zinc bath composition, coating weight and galvanneal thermal cycle, the base steel chemistry also has an effect on the coating microstructure. Knowledge and control of all aspects of galvannealing is therefore essential to consistently produce acceptable coatings.

Jan 1, 1992