Search Documents

By Robert De Saro, Willis Bateman, Ramesh Jain

A Vertical Floatation Melter (VFM) has been developed (sponsored by DOE) which simultaneously decoats and melts organic laden scrap in a single unit. Scrap aluminum is fed into the top of the VFM where it falls through a cone. Hot gases flow upwards through the cone, imposing a variable drag force on the scrap. Equilibrium is reached in which the scrap weight equals the drag force and the scrap becomes suspended. The gases strip off and vaporize the organics. Next, the scrap reaches a liquid state, taking on a more aerodynamic teardrop shape, allowing it to fall into a holding furnace. Heat transfer coefficients are 10 times higher than that of a conventional furnace, allowing rapid melting at a low gas temperature. Typical energy use is well under 2,324 joules/g (1,000 Btu/lbm) with a metal yield from 92 to 98%. This paper reports on the operation and data of a 453 kg/hr (1,000 pph) pilot-scale VFM.

Jan 1, 2000

By C. R. Bennett

The first phase in the design, development and implementation of a comprehensive computational model of a copper stockpile leach process is presented. The model accounts for transport phenomena through the stockpile, reaction kinetics for the important mineral species, oxygen and bacterial effects on the leach reactions, plus heat, energy and acid balances for the overall leach process. The paper describes the formulation of the leach process model and its implementation in PHYSICA+, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software environment. The model draws on a number of phenomena to represent the competing physical and chemical features active in the process model. The phenomena are essentially represented by a three-phase (solid-liquid-gas) multi-component transport system; novel algorithms and procedures are required to solve the model equations, including a methodology for dealing with multiple chemical species with different reaction rates in ore represented by multiple particle size fractions. Some initial validation results and application simulations are shown to illustrate the potential of the model.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. Sakurai

The enlarged Mitsubishi process in Naoshima has been in steady operation since. May 1991. However, the sulfuric acid plants have been in operation for more than 30 years. The acid plants were modernized between 1999 and 2001 by renewing some of main equipment such as the drying tower and gas heat exchangers, and introducing new technology. At the same time, as an electric energy saving measure, the electric power consumption in the sulfuric acid plant was vastly improved by decreasing the volume of gas treated the installation of low temperature activity catalyst in the 1st pass of the converter and optimization of main gas blower runner. Furthermore, last year, the oxygen plant was replaced and enlarged, and anode production increased from 240,000 to 280,000 tonnes per year with an associated increase of sulfuric acid from 550,000 to 660,000 tonnes per year. This paper describes these recent improvements in the acid plant at Naoshima smelter.

Jan 1, 2002

By E. Burgos Cruz

The behaviour of S, N and P during refining of Fe-18 wt%Cr-10 wt%Ni with calcium carbide was investigated. The effects of the initial contents of C and N in the metal phase, as well as the supply method of calcium carbide to the melt on the removal degrees of S and P were evaluated. Heats were carried out at 1873K, in MgO crucibles, using a laboratory induction furnace. It was observed that simultaneously with S and P, N and O have also participated in the reactions. It seems that, in fact, O governs the behaviour of the other elements dissolved in the melt and that N is had to the removal of P with calcium carbide. It was also noticed that high C content in the metal phase have not altered the dephosphorization and desuffirization degrees, but that the supply of calcium carbide done by injection led to a lower dephosphorization degree than the one obtained by dumping it.

Jan 1, 1995

By B. R. Adams

This paper discusses the use of a reacting CFD model to determine chalcopyrite kinetics in a drop tube furnace and to predict the reaction of a chalcopyrite concentrate in the reaction shaft of an industrial smelter. Reacting CFD codes can be applied to determine the consequences of the interaction of gas with particles and therefore improve the ability to derive kinetic parameters that take into account the temperature and oxidation histories that different particles will see. This paper describes the application of such a model to derive improved kinetic parameters for the pyrolysis and oxidation of chalcopyrite. The reaction shaft model includes the effects of turbulent fluid mechanics, entrained flow mixing, turbulent particle dispersion, heterogeneous particle reactions, radiative and convective heat transfer, and' surface and bath deposition rates. Particle reaction and composition characteristics are predicted as a function of particle trajectory and deposition and are used to aid in evaluating shaft performance.

Jan 1, 1999

By Basak Anameric

Pig iron nugget process was developed by Kobe Steel as an environmentally friendlier, economical alternative to traditional blast furnace process. The process aimed to produce highly metallized, slag free pig iron nuggets throughout a single stage heat treatment, utilizing coal as a reducing ? carburizing agent. The objective of this work was to determine whether the pig iron nuggets produced at the laboratory conditions had comparable physical and chemical properties with the blast furnace pig iron. The physical and chemical properties of the pig iron nuggets were determined utilizing x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and apparent density measurements. The pig iron nuggets had similar chemical composition and apparent density values (6.7 ? 7 g/cm3) with blast furnace pig iron and they had microstructures similar to low carbon white cast iron. These properties make them a competitive alternative to blast furnace pig iron.

Jan 1, 2006

By O. I. Platonov

The experience that has been gained by MMC ?Norilsk Nickel? at its Trans-Polar Division (PD) operations since 1981 in the field of recovery of elemental sulfur from off-gas generated by the Vanyukov and flash smelting through its reduction by natural gas is briefly outlined in the present paper. The key challenge the operators treating off-gas originated from autogenous smelting are usually faced with is the presence of sulphur trioxide in it. Furthermore, air inflows along the entire gas flue increase oxygen concentration in off-gas, thus leading to over-consumption of the reducer (natural gas). Another issue attached to the methane technology is a low yield of hydrogen sulphide largely preventing efficient downstream Claus conversion of the gas. The new flowsheet for treatment of autogenous smelting off-gases including dry dust-cleaning followed by the gas reduction in homogenous reactor developed by OAO Gipronickel Institute on the basis of industrial-scale production of elemental sulfur in Norilsk is presented.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. de Visser, J. A. Davis

Since the mid 1970's, development of zinc electrowinning (EW) facilities has out-paced its counterparts in the copper and nickel electrowinning industries in the design of efficient, compact, and automated production plants. Recent advances in process automation have provided opportunities to increase current efficiency, productivity and cathode quality, while reducing the footprint of the plant and the number of operating personnel working on top of the cells. Usually, the practice has been to allow a totally contaminated building structure, combining the plant ventilation system with the process cooling air. As a result, facilities employing this practice are finding difficult to meet their process design criteria and the stringent labor and environmental requirements. This paper provides an overview of the problems and disadvantages associated with these older process designs. It also describes new developments in ventilation systems, particularly building design developments and cost savings that are possible when improved ventilation systems are introduced into efficient process operations. Lead-

Jan 1, 2000

By J. L. Bill

The capacity of the Mount Isa Mimes Limited Copper Smelter was expanded in 1998 from 180,000 tomes per year of anode copper to 265,000 tpy. It is based on the innovative Copper ISASMELT technology, which currently treats concentrate at up to 184 tph. Increasing lance-air oxygen enrichment increased the ISASMELT furnace feed rate from 102 to 184 tph. The increased feed rate was achieved without any modifications to the ISASMELT furnace. The first refractory campaign following the upgrade lasted for two years. Future campaign lives of four years or more--without water cooling-are possible. Other Copper ISASMELT furnaces are operating in the U.S.A., Belgium, and India, with additional smelters under construction in China and Germany. In addition, Lead ISASMELT furnaces are operating in the U.K. and Malaysia. The paper discusses the performance of the MIM Copper ISASMELT furnace and the Copper Smelter since the expansion, including operating data and refractory performance.

Jan 1, 2002

By Kim Fagerlund

A novel apparatus for studying refractory infiltration and dissolution/degradation under a temperature gradient was developed. To supersede conventional isothermal refractory testing, a new temperature gradient technique, based on a crucible equipped with a cooling element, has been developed to provide practical information on the penetration and dissolution of refractory materials under cooled conditions. This technique was adopted and applied to several refractory-slag systems. Commercially available magnesia chrome refractory bricks against a copper-containing calcium ferrite type of slag were tested and compared using both a conventional crucible test and the new temperature gradient method. The experiments were conducted at 1300-1420°C under a controlled atmosphere of nitrogen or air. It was noticed that the type of porosity has a significant effect on infiltration of magnesia chrome refractories. Furthemore, the copper-containing calcium ferrite slag caused a severe slag attack and refractory failure in some cases, due to its fluidity and corrosive nature.

Jan 1, 2002

By Pan Gu, Zhen Zhang, Jiang Diao, Bing Xie, Hongyi Li

Viscosities of FeO-SiO2-V2O3-CaO-P2O5 slags have been measured at the temperature range of 1673 K to 1773 K (1400°C to 1500°C). This investigated system represents the major components of basic vanadium slag that is an important intermediate product of a novel vanadium extracting process, in which removal of phosphorus and extraction of vanadium can be achieved from the vanadium-containing hot metal simultaneously. It was found that higher CaO/SiO2 ratio resulted in lower viscosity in the composition range of interest. Also, the viscosities increase with the increasing P2O5 concentration. The varying viscosities can be attributed to the modification in complexity and polymerization of the slag network. The variation of apparent activation energies are in tune with the viscosity measurements. The results of this work revealed the effect of CaO/SiO2 and P2O5 on the viscous properties of FeO-SiO2- V2O3-CaO-P2O5 slags and therefore provide the theoretical foundation for the control of the coupling de-P and V-extraction process.

Jan 1, 2016

By R. David Prenganan

RSR has developed a new environmentally superior process to recover lead as high purity electn:1o'i0!1 cathode from battery scrap. The process involves crushing the batteries, separating the lead bearing material from the plastic, ebonite and separators, and separating the active material (paste) from the metallic lead fraction. The paste is desulfurized using Na2C03 to convert the PbS04 to PbC03 and produce a sodium sulfate solution. The paste is further treated to decompose the PbO2 and PbC03 to Pbo. The PbO from the treated paste is easily leached, using H2SiF6 and electrown from solution using Pbo2?coated graphite anodes. The electrown lead has a purity exceeding 99.99%. RSR is in the final design stages of a plant to produce 36,000 tons per year of electrcwon cathode from battery paste in a new plant adjacent to the present Indianapolis refinery. This paper describes the work of a pilot facility operated in the early 1980's. The paper describes the patented process in detail and compares the newly designed environmentally clean electrolytic plant to present recycling plants.

Jan 1, 1990

By Chunyang Guan, Jilai Xue, Zengjie Wang, Qiaochu Liu

Molten salts electrolysis method to prepare Al-RE alloys has attracted increasing attention recently. CaCl2 and Na3AlF6 were the most often used melts for this purpose. In this work, Al-Sc alloys prepared by electrolytic deposition process in both CaCl2 and Na3AlF6 melts were investigated, respectively. It was found that Sc distributes almost uniformly and Sc contents increase with increasing current intensity in both melts. Current efficiency was measured for comparison among various current densities applied. The alloy products were analyzed using XRD and SEM, where the formation behaviors of Al-Sc intermetallics were investigated in details. The experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that Al3Sc and Al0.968Sc0.032 are the major precipitates in the Al-Sc alloys prepared by molten electrolysis. The results are useful for selection and optimization of the molten salts compositions and the parameters of electrolysis operation.

Jan 1, 2015

By Yuanbo Zhang, Yingming Chen, Zijian Su, Bingbing Liu, Jun Chen

Iron, tin-bearing tailings is a kind of hazardous solid waste generated from cassiterite dressing operation. It is difficult to utilize the tailings by present mineral processing methods due to the complex dissemination characteristics. In this study, a process of gas-based magnetizing roasting followed by magnetic separation was studied for separating and recovering iron from the tailings. The effects of roasting and magnetic separation parameters on the recovery of iron were systematically investigated. The optimum parameters were proposed as follows: CO/(CO+CO2) content of 5%, roasting temperature of 850 C, roasting time of 60 min, grinding particle size of 90% less than 45 μm and magnetic field intensity of 800 Gs. Under these conditions, the magnetic concentrate containing 68.5% Fe and 0.06% Sn was achieved, which can be used as high-quality raw materials for direct reduction iron production.

Jan 1, 2016

By Yun Guo, Min-Min Lin, Bing Xie, Hong-Yi Li

The extraction of vanadium from vanadium-containing APV-precipitated wastewater by W/O microemulsion system was studied. In the N263/n-heptane/isoamyl alcohol/NaCl microemulsion system, N263 played double functions of cationic surfactant and extractant to form microemulsion in n-heptane, and isoamyl alcohol was added in the microemulsion as a cosurfactant. The extraction of vanadium by W/O microemulsion systems effectively accelerated the extraction and improved the extractatability because of the enormous increase in the micro-interfacial surface area. Due to ion association with extractant, vanadium was extracted into the microemulsion phase. The influence of different parameters on the extraction ratio (E%) were investigated, including the volume ratio of aqueous phase to microemulsion, surfactant concentration, pH value of the feed solutions, cosurfactant concentration, extraction time as well as temperature. In optimum conditions, the extraction ratio (E%) can reach 97.2%.

Mar 1, 2018

By Andrzej Warczok

Liquid slags produced in smelting of copper concentrates contain copper in a dissolved form as well as mechanically entrained inclusions of copper matte. Coalescence and sedimentation of inclusions during slag cleaning plays a key role in copper recovery. Liquid matte inclusion in a molten slag presents a system of metallic conductor in an ionic solution. Constant electric field induces migration of the matte droplet along the current lines. Additional phenomena occur in a system under crossed electric and magnetic fields. Electromagnetic buoyancy force acting on the inclusion affects its settling rate. Electromagnetic buoyancy force of insulating and metal spheres has been measured in a liquid synthetic slag. It was found that depolarisation of the metal sphere, related to the electrode reactions occurring in the surface, plays an important role in the determination of the direction and magnitude of the electromagnetic force. On the basis of the existing theories and results of measurements a mathematical model describing the behaviour of metallic inclusions in the liquid slag under the influence of crossed electric and magnetic fields was developed. Simulation of behaviour of copper matte inclusions under crossed fields showed trajectory of motion in a liquid slag as a function of the slag properties and the inclusion size.

Jan 1, 2003

By Bhagyadhar Bhoi, Chitta Ranjan Mishra, Hara Prasanna Mishra

"In the Sukinda Valley of Orissa, India, the total quantity of nickel ore reserves comprising of both lateritic and chromite over burden(COB) have been estimated at around 231 million tonnes containing 0.3 to 0.9% Ni. While mining of one tonne of Chromite ore, around 6-7 tonnes of chromite over burden are removed. These overburden materials are disposed as waste materials, which causes lot of environmental hazards and ecological imbalance. India imports a large amount of nickel and ferro-nickel to meet its growing demands in various sectors. For import substitutions, efforts have been made to produced ferro-nickel from the lean deposits of nickel bearing lateritic ores/ chromite over burden materials by reduction roasting followed by magnetic separation and then the nickel rich magnetic fraction is smelted to produce ferro-nickel. It has been possible to produce ferro-nickel of grade varying from 4-25% nickel.IntroductionDuring mining of chromite ore, large quantities of overburden materials are being generated. The materials amount to approximately 10 million tones per year contain around 0.3-0.9% Ni, 0.02-0.06% Co, 20-50% Fe and 4-9% Cr2O3 depending upon the location and the depth of the mine. These materials presently do not find any application for the extraction of nickel due to lack of a suitable technology. The materials are also unsuitable for ferro-nickel making because of their very high iron to nickel ratio. The country is seriously looking for a suitable technology to utilize these resources as its entire domestic requirements of nickel is met though imports. In this connection, a systematic approach has been made at the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar to develop a process for ferro-nickel making from this indigenous resource."

Jan 1, 2011

By E. O. Ávila-Davila, F. R. Barrientos-Hernández, I. A. Lira -Hernández, Miguel Pérez-Labra, M. Reyes-Pérez, J. Antonio Romero-Serrano

Slag from smelting reduction processes were characterized by chemical analysis, XRD, SEM-EDS and XRF. The results revealed Ag concentrations of 362 g/t of slag, the slag mineralogical characterization by XRD and SEM-EDS showed mineralogical species oxidized complex containing Pb, Zn, Ca, Si, Fe, As, S in its structure, silver was found in globules associated lead in the slag and the furutobeite specie. The leaching study was conducted to evaluate process variables such as NaCN concentration: from 7.8x10-3M - 1.26x10-1M, temperature: 25-50°C, particle size: +140 mesh to -400 mesh, stirring speed of 750 rpm - 900 rpm. All studies were performed with a NaOH concentration of 0.2 M. The optimal values of silver recovery encountered in conditions of 7.8x10-3M NaCN, agitation rate of 750 rpm, temperature of 35°C and with a treatment time of 240 min. We also observed that a particle size -400 mesh will have optimum recoveries compared to +140 mesh, +200, +270 and +325.

Jan 1, 2015

By Xinzhong Deng, Naixiang Feng, Kejia Liu, Jianping Peng, Yaowu Wang, Yi Zhang, Yuezhong Di

Low-carbon Ti2O3 was prepared by carbonthermal reduction of the mixture of titanium dioxide and activated carbon at vacuum condition. The kinetics and phase evolution of Ti2O3 formation process were investigated through X-ray diffraction and gravimetric analysis. The only intermediate phase detected is Ti3O5. The reduction time was reduced sharply to 4 h when temperature was raised to 1300 °C. The best molar ratio of activated carbon and TiO2 is 0.6–1. At this condition, the content of Ti2O3 in slag is up to 95.63% and the content of the carbon element is below 0.004%, which meets the requirements for the further preparation of metal Ti by FFC Cambridge process. At the same time, the microstructure of Ti2O3 generated presented porosity, which would promote the electro-deoxidation process extremely.

Mar 1, 2017

By Jingwei Lou, Bing Li, Suzhen Li, Miao Shen, Jianguo Yu

"As a main impurity in primary lithium metal, magnesium is difficult to remove because of the very close relative volatility of the two metals. Electrochemical refining provides a possibility to completely remove Mg in the LiCl-KCl melt prior to Li reduction. MgCl2 reduction processes in LiCl-KCl- MgCl2 melt were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry. Then potentiostatic electrolysis was carried out and Mg (II) ion was reduced onto a liquid lead cathode from the LiCl-KCl-MgCl2 melt at the Mg deposition potential. The results show that Mg ( II ) is reduced in one step with two-electron transfer. The reduction potential of Mg ( II ) was well defined. The reduction of Mg( II) results in Li ( I ) underpotential deposition at 0.2V more negative potential than that of Mg( II) reduction. Therefore, in order to prevent Li ( I ) from codeposition with Mg, accurately controlling Mg ( II) reduction potential during the potentiostatic electrolysis was necessary. Ninety three to 99 % removal rate of MgCl2 was achieved after 8-12 h electrolysis when liquid lead was used as cathode.IntroductionMetallic Li has been widely used in batteries, light weight alloys and in fusion reactors because of its excellent properties. Currently, the only way in industry to produce metallic Li is by electrowinning from molten LiCl-KCl at about 450 °C [l-5]. LiCl-KCl is the only electrolyte used, because they presents a lower eutectic temperature and KCl shows a slightly higher theoretical decomposition voltage than LiCl, as shown in Table l .The produced metallic Li generally contains 1-2 wt% impurities including Na, K, Al, Ca, Mg, Si, etc. [6l, which are derived from the corresponding metal chloride compounds or metal oxide compounds existing in the LiCl and/or KCl raw materials. These impurities have to be removed by subsequent vacuum distillation at high temperatures to meet the requirements for metal Li purity in the final products. Separation of Mg from Li by vacuum distillation is difficult because their relative volatilities are very close, as shown in Table 2."

Jan 1, 2011