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By Jilai Xue, Jun Zhu, Liang Liu

"Separation removal of fluorite and calcite from scheelite is a difficult technical operation in current industrial practice with a heating process causing large energy consumption and high production costs. In this work, the floatation separation at room temperature were carried out using two types of skarn scheelite ores. The results showed that CaO and Na203 are better than NaOH as a regulator in pH value. In the rough floatation and first cleaning floatation, CaO (500g/t), Na203 (3000g/t) were used as a pH regulator, waterglass (4000g/t) was as a gangue depressant, oleic acid or sodium oleate were used as a collector. The degree of the obtained W03 concentrate was more than 65% (commercial product).IntroductionThe mainly gangue in scheelite are quartz, calcite, barite and some rare metal ores. There are three main types of scheelite for floatation: scheelite--quartz (silicate minerals) type, scheelite-calcite/ fluorite type, scheelite--calcite/fluorite/barite type. Generally speaking, scheelite--quartz type is separated easily, and others are difficult, on the contrary. The last two kinds of scheelite are always called scheelite--calcite/fluorite (barite) type, because there are similar floatation ability and floatation process between them. Scheelite, calcite and fluorite have same cation - Ca2+, it makes them have close floatation property [1]. Separation removal of fluorite and calcite from scheelite is a difficult technical operation in current industrial practice.The traditional separation method is a heating floatation process (Petrov's process) [2]. It can deal with many kinds of scheelite, and can be obtained stable quality ofW03 concentrate. On the other hand Petrov's process causes large energy consumption, high production costs and bad operational environments. Since 1980s, scheelite ambient temperature floatation has become the mainstream of study [3]. Nowadays more and more studies on scheelite floatation focus on complex reagent system [4, 5], rigid operating rules and at the same time development new regulator [1, 5]. Some research show there are new regulators can concentrate scheelite efficiently, but it may cause high costs, potential pollution and difficulty to spread. Oleic acid and sodium oleate used as collector have high adsorption capacity to scheelite, but same to calcite and fluorite[6]. So, it would not get ideal effect for separation of scheelite. In this work, the floatation separation at room temperature were carried out using two kinds of skarn scheelite ores. Calcium oxide and sodium carbonate was used as a pH value regulator, waterglass was used as a depressant and Oleic acid/sodium oleate was used as a collector. The result of experiment showed that the degree of the obtained W03 concentrate was more than 65% by one time ambient temperature roughing floatation, several times ambient temperature cleaning process."

Jan 1, 2014

The oxidation of zinc vapour plays a very important part in the operation of the Imperial Smelting Process. The kinetics of the reoxidation of zinc vapour by carbon dioxide and water vapour onto quartz and zinc oxide substrates is qualitatively understood and this pertains to the conditions found as the gases are being transferred from the furnace to the splash condenser. However, re-oxidation also occurs in the shaft of the furnace where the solid substrates are sinter and metallurgical coke. It was found that there was a threefold increase in the rate of oxidation on sinter, compared to quartz and a 30 to 300 increase in rate on the coke. This was attributed to the high surface area offered by these materials.

Jan 1, 2003

By Richard D. Hagni

An enhanced Interest in pyrometallurgical dusts has recently emerged due to increased world-wide environmental concerns. Mineralogical study of dusts samples from lead sinter plants. lead smelters, and secondary steel mill electric arc furnaces has shown that they can be readily studied by reflected light microscopy. These dusts typically are composed of small particles sufficiently large that their mineralogical identification and characterization can be conducted under the reflecting light microscope. Scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis (SEM-EDS) has been used to confirm optical identifications and chemical compositions. The sinter and blast furnace dusts at the Doe Run Smelter at Herculaneum, Missouri are commonly about 20-150 11m. They consist predominantly of galena, chalcopyrite, sinter. slag. coke. and particles. Dusts from remote sampling sites 112-1 mile from the lead smelter are composed of similar particles and abundant fine-grained particles, less than 10 um. of locally derived calcium-aluminum silicates. Electric arc furnace (EAF) dusts are mostly spherical and less than 10 11m. They consist predominantly of iron oxides (magnetite. franklinite. jacobsite and solid solutions of these spinels), zincite. and calcium-iron silicate glass, together with smaller amounts of hematite. sylvite. coke and metallic iron. Reflected light microscopy is rapid provides mineralogical data on individual grains within dust particles. and allows direct observations of textural intergrowths in pyrometallurgical dust particles.

Jan 1, 1991

By A. V. Tarasov, V. M. Paretsky

"Based on theoretical and experimental studies into the specific features of the mechanism, kinetics, aerodynamics and heat transfer parameters of the flame-type oxidation of metal sulfides in a stream of technical-grade oxygen, a three-dimensional deterministic mathematical model of an oxygen-flame smelting furnace has been developed on the basis of the zonal method for computation of heat exchange. The model is presented in the form of equations taking into consideration the radiation component of the selective radiation, the convection component of mass transfer between the space and surface zones, heating of charge particles due to heat conductivity, accretions formation on a multi-layer refractory lining with inserted cooling elements. The adaptation of the model for a full-scale furnace has demonstrated the possibility for its use for computation of main smelting process parameters. Multifactor model investigations were conducted and the results obtained were applied using statistical methods for development of a simplified computational regression model describing the interrelation of the main output parameters: temperatures of flame, lining, slag and off-gas; heat fluxes to the lining; thickness of accretions; heat removed by cooling elements; copper content of matte. On the basis of this model, a block diagram of the algorithm was developed for control of the thermal conditions of the furnace, as well as the control algorithm itself.IntroductionThis paper presents the results of an integrated modeling and development of principles for control of copper smelting process using as an example the oxygen-flame smelting process (KFP) for treatment of sulfide concentrates at the Kovoguty Krompahy copper smelter (Slovakia) with a capacity of 20,000 tpy of copper."

Jan 1, 2001

By D. A. Robbins

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. of 1976 (RCRA) requires testing of waste materials as part of the determination of whether these materials are classified and managed as hazardous wastes. The adoption of one standard testing procedure and its application to all types of waste materials has stirred much controversy. In the center of this controversy is the appropriateness of this testing procedure in characterizing non-ferrous metal intermediates and slags. The authors have evaluated the relative availability of metals in several types of copper and lead slags as defined by various testing protocols. Also discussed is the relationship between the chemical character of the slag and the availability of metals to leaching and certain metallurgical practices that can influence metals availability.

Jan 1, 1983

By Suzanne Young

The effect of LiF additions on liqt.1id1.:1s temperature and electrical conductivity over a wide range of cryolite bath ratios (1.0 to 1.5 weight ratio) was investigated. Results did not agree with multi-regression equations reported by Dewing and Choudhary over the entire region. New regression equations were developed. Reasons? are given for the differences. The models are used to discuss the economic implications of LiF additions to Hali cell electrolytes.

Jan 1, 1985

By Shufeng Yang, Anping Dong, Yongfeng Chen, Jingshe Li, Lifeng Zhang, Liyuan Sun

"Instead of nickel-based stainless steel, a nitrogen-bearing stainless steel was produced to reduce the production cost stemming from the shortage of nickel recourses. Thermodynamic model to calculate the saturation nitrogen content in the stainless steel were developed and the model was validated by experimental measurement. The experiments were performed with a high temperature induction furnace. Nitrogen gas under constant pressure was injected into the crucible with a top lance by which the nitrogen was transferred to the molten stainless steel. The effects of chemical composition, temperature, superficial active elements and nitrogen-flow rate on transferring nitrogen to the steel were investigated and discussed.IntroductionWith the rapid production growth of stainless steels, nitrogen-bearing stainless steel has recently attracted more and more attention for their high strength and excellent corrosion resistance imparted by interstitial nitrogen without decreasing its toughness and ductility. Moreover, the addition of nitrogen to the stainless steel as a substitute for nickel leads a lower consumption of nickel, so significantly lowers the high production cost stemming from the shortage of nickel recourses. However, production of the nitrogen-bearing steel is difficult since nitrogen is a gas element and has a low solubility in the steel. So efficiently increasing the amount of nitrogen in steel continues to be one of the main concerns for the production of nitrogen-bearing steels.Currently there are some special processes to produce austenitic stainless steels with a very high N content, including pressurized electroslag remelting, counter-pressure casting, special induction melting and powder metallurgy, etc [1]. Special expensive vacuum system was required for these processes. Alloying nitrogen at a normal pressure can be performed by alloy addition or gas injection. Blowing nitrogen gas is a more economic and advisable method since the nitrogen-bearing alloy is quite expensive and contains high content of impurities. A number of investigations have been reported on the solubility of nitrogen gas in pure iron [2] but few in iron-based multi-component alloys such as stainless steel.In the current study, the effects of steel chemical composition, temperature, superficial active elements and nitrogen-flow rate on transferring nitrogen to the steel were experimentally investigated with a high temperature induction furnace."

Jan 1, 2011

By Tobias Dubberstein, Hans-Peter Heller

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

Jan 1, 2015

By B. Yawney

A copper-nickel sulfide concentrate was leached in water at about 2000C under oxygen pressures of about 0.35 MPa. Oxidation of sulfide to sulfate was virtually complete in about 30 minutes, resulting in greater than 95% copper and 98% nickel extractions. Leaching temperature was shown to be the most important factor affecting metal extractions. Measured rates of oxygen consumption were used to develop batch kinetic data. Mini-plant continuous pressure leaching tests agreed with batch leach results. A proposed overall flowsheet is briefly examined.

Jan 1, 1976

By Jason M. Porter, Douglas L. Porter, David L. Olson, Travis W. Koenig, Van S. Blackwood, Brajendra Mishra, Robert D. Mariani

"Traditional alloy theory models have been applied relative to the three solid phases of uranium: alpha (orthorhombic), beta (tetragonal), and mainly gamma (body centered cubic)[l]. The Darken-Gurry and Miedema models, with modifications based on concepts of Waber, Gschneidner, and Brewer have been used to predict the behavior of four types of solutes: 1) Transition associated with alloying in and containment of the uranium fuel 2) Transuranic elements in the uranium 3) Rare earth fragmentation elements (lanthanides) 4) Transition metals and other fragmentation elements. Using these solute map criteria, elemental behavior have been predicted as highly soluble, marginally soluble, or immiscible (intermetallic phase formers) and have been used to compare solute effects during uranium phase transformations. The overlapping of these solute maps are convenient first approximation tools for predicting alloy behavior.IntroductionAn investigation is in progress to determine the role of various solute elements on size and shape of the 'Y phase field range for uranium to optimize the burning and material processing of nuclear fuel is in progress. Traditional alloy theory models based on correlations to elemental electronic and crystal properties are used to predict solubility and micro structural formation. The effectiveness of this model is based on microstructure property correlations. Darken and Gurry, and Miedema models, with modifications based on concepts of Waber, Gschneidner, and Brewer, models have been used to describe solute solubility with respect to uranium based the on correlation between elemental electronic structure and uranium phases. The alpha (orthorhombic), beta (tetragonal), and gamma (body centered cubic) phases have different solubilities for specific alloy additions as a function of temperature. Using the method of Waber, ellipse diagrams classified those solutes that should have broad solubility in the allotropes of uranium[2]. The predictive diagrams are made from four different correlations:"

Jan 1, 2012

By Wen Liangying, Zou Chong, Tan Xiuqin, Bai Chenguang, Zhang Shengfu

"Eight typical metallurgical byproducts containing iron were selected based on the effect of the chemical composition, particle size, additives on the burnout degree of pulverized coal. Effect of three typical byproducts including fine iron ore, BOF dust and BOF sludge on combustion reactivity and combustion efficiency were investigated using TG-DSC method. The results indicated that the three additives have obvious catalytic effects on pulverized coal. By comparison, the relative active sequence of byproducts to the catalytic combustion can be described as follows: BOF dust>BOF sludge>fine iron ore. Moreover, adding BOF dust as component of additives also shows significant catalytic effects on combustion efficiency during rapid heating process.IntroductionChina is the largest producer in the world with an annual output reaching over 6 billion tons. Solid wastes arising from iron and steel making increases the environment pressure in recently years. For instance, annual output of dust during the production of iron and steel making in China reach up to 5 million tons, which is close to 8%~15% of the amount of steel [1]. Another characteristic of these byproducts is they are finer particle which are just harder to deal with. Since some of solid wastes, including dusts, scales, and sludge, usually contain high iron content, sintering plants have traditionally been used to recycle byproducts in integrated steel plants in China. However these byproducts also have noticeable effects on sinter quality, sinter strength and productivity and, therefore, waste recycling is limited depending on the analysis of the waste materials [2]. Another method which is pre-treatment of byproducts in pelletizing process, increases of energy consumption and production cost. In addition, metallurgical byproducts often contain heavy metals and alkalis. For these reasons, recycling rate of the byproducts in China is very low. Therefore, how to recycle the byproducts in iron and steel making process is an important subject."

Jan 1, 2012

By Mark Kruzynski, Srinivas Garimella, James T. Wiswall

"A flue gas recirculation (FGR) system for a combustion fired aluminum melting furnace is experimentally investigated. The FGR system flows combustion air in a turbulent jet within the flue gas stream, and the turbulent jet flow is collected in a tube at a distance from the jet exit. Entrainment of the flue gases as well as heat transfer between the flue gases and the jet occurs over the length of the exposed jet. Heat transfer between the flue gases and the jet, and the amount of flue gas entrained into the jet (derived from temperature, flow rate and oxygen fraction measurements) were measured as a function of nozzle exit velocity and the distance between the nozzle exit and collection tube. In addition to flue gas entrainment, a fuel savings of up to 7%, due to heat transfer over the length of the jet, was projected from the measurements obtained.IntroductionFlue gas recirculation can be applied to aluminum melting furnaces to control combustion temperature. When coupled with a device to improve furnace efficiency by recovering heat from the furnace exhaust, flue gas recirculation provides a control technique that is integral to achieving the goals of reducing fuel consumption, increasing product yield, increasing the longevity of infrastructure, and reducing pollutant emissions. In particular, combustion temperature control can help reduce reactivity of the products of combustion with the molten metal surface and furnace refractory materials. Combustion temperature control can also help improve the life of heat exchangers used to recover energy lost to the environment in the flue gases, and reduce NOx formation in the combustion process. Flue gas recirculation can also dilute oxygen used in oxy-fuel combustion to reduce reactivity.Flue gas recirculation has been used since the 1970s to control flame temperatures in the automotive industry [1-3] and has successfully reduced NOx emissions. Many different flue gas recirculation approaches for high temperature melting such as melting aluminum and glass have been patented since the 1980s [4-12]. There has also been academic interest to determine the fundamental performance characteristics of flue gas recirculation in high temperature furnaces and in combustion [13-15]."

Jan 1, 2014

By V. B. Chernyavsky, Ladokhin S. V.

Equipment and continuous casting technology for the production of small diameter copper rods and tubes are described. Industrial copper wastes, such as scrap and shavings, were used as the charge. An electron-beam installation for rod and tube production includes a crucible with an electromagnetic stirring system and a pouring hole in its bottom, a bottomless mold, .and a special cooling system, which includes an oil and water cooling devices. For the first time in the electron-beam technology, rods of 8 mm and 14 mm diameter mm tubes of 14 mm external diameter and 7 mm internal diameter were produced through continuous casting by pulling them out of the vacuum chamder into the atmosphere with depressurizing the vacuum chamber. The production capacity of a single strand continuous casting machine was 200 mm/tnin for rod casting and 150 mm/min for tube casting.

Jan 1, 2000

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 Ian Baker, Xavier Pierron

"Iron aluminides hold great promise for intermediate temperature applications (to ~ 600°C) because of their excellent oxidation and sulphidation resistance and good strength. However, they have poor low temperature ductility, a feature which is exacerbated by water-containing environments. This paper presents an overview of the effects of environment on the ductility of iron aluminides, including the effects of iron aluminum ratio; ternary alloying additions, particularly boron; strain rate; and temperature. The mechanisms involved in water-induced embrittlement are discussed.IntroductionOver the last few years, it has became increasingly evident that the ductility and fracture toughness of many intermetallic compounds, particularly aluminides, are reduced dramatically if they are mechanically tested in either air or in hydrogen-containing atmospheres (1-5). For FeAI and Fe3AI, it has been shown that water vapor, for example in air at room temperature, can form atomic hydrogen by reacting with the Al atoms (1, 2). As a result in iron aluminides, the environmental embrittlement process is quite similar to traditional hydrogen embrittlement. This can be easily demonstrated by either testing an iron aluminide in an environment free of the deleterious species or by testing at high strain rates, both of which result in greater ductility. The purpose of this paper is to review recent progress in understanding environmental embrittlement in FeAI and Fe3AI, and to consider possible environmental embrittlement mechanisms. Greater understanding of this phenomenon will lead ultimately to remedies to this problem which is a major reason for preventing the practical application of these materials. First, some background on the iron-rich aluminides."

Jan 1, 1996

By John Demol

Monazite, a rare earth and thorium phosphate mineral, is one of the major minerals processed for extraction of rare earths. Industry practice for treating monazite concentrates is to use either a sulfuric acid bake or caustic conversion route. In the sulfuric acid bake, monazite concentrate is mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid and roasted. The rare earth phosphate mineral is converted to rare earth sulfate which dissolves in a subsequent water leach. As the bake temperature increases above 300 °C, thorium becomes less soluble. Although acid baking is practised in industry, the bake reactions are not well understood. A combination of chemical analysis, XRD and SEM-EDS was used to identify reaction processes occurring during sulfuric acid baking of a 93 wt% monazite concentrate between 200 °C and 800 °C. The effects of these reactions on the leachability of the rare earths, thorium and phosphate were also examined.

By William Petruk

A fully automatic image analysis system that consists of a microprobe, an energy dispersive x-ray analyzer, and an image analyzer was developed at CANME:I' to determine mineral behaviour that affects beneficiation. The interlacing between the instruments permits automatic identification and characterization of minerals in samples of unbroken ore pieces and of mill products. Different types of information are obtained for minerals in samples of unbroken ore pieces than in samples of mill products, and are used differently. For unbroken ore pieces size distributions are determined for discrete mineral grains to predict a grind at which they might be liberated, and other measurements are Irade to predict the percentage of mineral that occurs as nonrecoverable grains. For mill products the minerals are analysed to determine percentages that (1) are free, (2) are likely to be recovered in concentrates, (3) are likely to be lost to tailings, and (4) could be liberated with regrinding. The image analysis data for mill products are processed by a mineral-metals balance program to determine the distributions of free and unliberated mineral grains at each point in a concentrator, pilot plant or bench test. For samples containing trace minerals, such as gold, an automatic search technique is used to scan the entire area of the polished section for the trace mineral grains. The identified trace mineral grains are characterized with regard to size, liberation, and other properties.

Jan 1, 1988

By Pengfu Tan

A thermo-chemical model of the copper P-S converter and a viscosity model for the converter slag have been developed to predict the behavior of magnetite in the converter slag, amounts of slag and matte, compositions of slag and matte, volume of the bath, bath temperature, slag blow endpoint determination, SEMTECH OPC signals, and the viscosity of converter slags. The predictions of bath temperature, slag and matte compositions, and magnetite content in the slag have been validated by the industrial data. The effects of fluxing strategy, returns and skim charges, oxygen enrichment, and temperature on the magnetite formation in the slag have been predicted and discussed. The effect of oxygen potential, SiO2/Fe in slag, detection of slag blow endpoint, and temperature on Fe3O4 content in converter slag, slag viscosity, liquidus temperature of converter slag and skimming operation has been modeled and discussed as well. Some applications of the industrial operations have been presented.

Jan 1, 2009

By G. K. Ruhlandt, C. W. Kim

"A 3-D Finite Element Method program called ""SOLCAST"" has been developed to simulate the casting solidification process. Using the temperature recovery method to evaluate the latent heat of fusion and applying a new combination of the time integration scheme, SOLCAST reduces the computational time significantly compared to an existing commercial FEM program, and produces accurate results comparable to experimental casting results. Prediction of casting shrinkage porosity for A390 aluminum alloy will also be discussed. To make this FEM program useful for foundry engineers, this program was connected to a commercial pre- and post-processor.IntroductionBecause of recently increased competition, foundrymen must produce high quality castings more economically. Therefore, casting solidification analysis prior to casting production is an attractive way to reduce costs and development time.Although the actual casting solidification process is a very complicated phenomena, foundrymen could predict where shrinkage defects would occur based on a transient conduction heat transfer analysis that includes the liberation of latent heat. A numerical analysis is generally required to solve the heat diffusion equation with the latent heat diffusion term, because casting shapes are very complicated and pure materials are rarely used.Different numerical methods have been applied to the casting solidification analysis 1. Among them, a finite difference method 2 and a finite element method (FEM)3 are most commonly used.Each simulation method has one or more basic difficulties which are different for each method. These difficulties are:(1) Modeling casting shapes on a computer.(2) Time consuming computation.(3) Uncertain material properties."

Jan 1, 1986

By F. Robert Hubbard

IMCO Recycling Inc. has developed a new, patented technology for the production of fertilizer, K-SOIL?, as a by-product of its aluminum recycling operations. This new technology can substitute for conventional technology which now results in a saltcake residue that is placed in 'landfills. Four years of research and development work by IMCO culminated in a U. S. patent issued April 5, 1994. As part of the technology development effort, IMCO engaged the services of a nationally renowned research organization and a prominent university. These two organizations have conducted in-depth agronomy studies In the laboratory, greenhouse, and the field. Results have shown K-SOIL? to be performance equivalent, on a nutrient content basis, to conventional potash fertilizer. The first field applications on commercial farms were made in the spring of 1994. K-SOIL? is a potassium-bearIng, granular solid which may find use in fertilizer blends, direct application, and other forms of fertilizer products. The overall benefit of this new technology is to create a useful by-product rather than generate a useless residue and, thereby, reduce or eliminate the amount of salt cake now placed in landfills. As such, It is a significant, step toward IMCO's ultimate goal of complete recycle.

Jan 1, 1995