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By M. Demuth, B. Holleis, M. Potesser, D. Spoljaric

"In 2005, Messer Group established a technology competence centre for metallurgy in Gumpoldskirchen (Austria), with the aim to develop oxygen burners which satisfy today's and upcoming standards of legislation as well as customer requirements. With the assistance of the Development Sponsorship Fund (FFF) of Austria, cooperation with the University of Leoben was agreed on. With the long term experience of the Gas-Warme-Institut ""GWI"" in Essen (Germany) and the University of Leoben, different new burners have been developed.The efficiency of industrial combustion processes can be increased in two ways (which can be seen in Figure 1 ), either by preheating the fuel and combustion air or by adding oxygen. Due to the high 79 % Nz ballast in air combustion, only low flame temperatures can be reached. This results in high heat loss in the exhaust gas, caused by the low combustion efficiency. Oxygen can be introduced into the combustion chamber using different techniques:• Oxygen fuel burners• Direct oxygen injection into the fuel air flame• Underlaying of the fuel air flame• Enrichment of the combustion airIn Figure 2, the theoretical flame temperature for the stoichiometrical combustion of natural gas is plotted as a function of oxygen enrichment. Therefore, it can be concluded that even low enrichment values produce higher flame temperatures and result in higher combustion efficiency."

Jan 1, 2012

By Xinhua Wang, Qiangqiang Wang, Yubin Li, Shusen Li, Lifeng Zhang

"Numerical simulation on the fluid flow in a Flow-Control Mold (FC-Mold) were performed. The motion of inclusions were calculated. With FC-Mold, the flow pattern and surface velocity become more symmetrical, and at higher casting speed the velocity of liquid steel in the top region of the mold was largely reduced with the highest velocity of the meniscus reducing from 0.65 mis to 0.4 mis, and the meniscus shape became flatter. With FC-Mold, more inclusions approached to the surface of the slab and the amount of inclusion in the center of mold became fewer. Larger inclusions were easier to remove, however, the EM filed of the FC-Mold could hardly improve the removal of inclusions from the molten steel.IntroductionElectromagnetic brake technology is an effective method to control the flow pattern within continuous casting mold, together with other casting parameters, nozzle design and mold geometry [1-5]. Due to the interaction between the applied magnetic flux and the conductive molten steel inside the mold cavity, a force is generated in the direction opposite to the jet flow, which can decelerate the high speed steel jet from the SEN ports. The potential benefits include fewer surface and internal defects, fewer inclusion especially at higher casting speed. However if used imperfectly, electromagnetic forces can have opposite effect [6]. Numerical models are the best tool to optimize electromagnetic flow control. In the current study, numerical simulation was performed to investigate the flow field in a continuous casting FC-Mold, and the effect of different operation parameters on the flow, surface level and velocity in FC-Mold were discussed."

Jan 1, 2013

By Y. Pokhvisnev, S. Vandariev, A. Yatshenko-Juk, V. Valavin, V. Romenets

The technology of the liquid-phase reduction process known as Romelt was developed in the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys in 1979. The pilot plant was constructed at the Novolipetsky Steel Works (Russia) in 1984. Investigations into processing zinc-containing blast oxygen furnace dust and slag from the Lead and Zinc Works at the pilot Romelt plant proved the perspective of using this technology for processing zinc and lead-containing materials. In this article, the description of Romelt technology, basic technological information of trials at the Romelt plant using zinc-containing materials, compositions of charging materials, metal, slag, gas and dust are presented. The influence of flue gas composition on the composition of zinccontaining dust is shown.

Jan 1, 2000

By Thomas Brynjulfsen, Merete Tangstad, Eli Ringdalen

Manganese ore fines cannot be added to the submerged arc furnace directly as they will prevent even gas flow through the burden. Low gas permeability in the burden will lower the degree of pre-reduction of ore subsequently increase the carbon and energy consumption of the process. In order to utilize manganese ore fines in the furnace, they are typically agglomerated into sinter. In this work, the melting and reduction properties of Gabonese sinter and Gabonese ore have been investigated in pilot scale experiments. Two experiments were conducted, one with 100% sinter as manganese source and one with 50/50 sinter and ore. Lime was used to achieve a charge basicity of 0.72 in both experiments. The composition of slag samples from the excavation of the furnace was established using EPMA(WDS), and the composition of the tapped slag and metal was found using XRF. It was found that while the coke-bed size would determine the tapped slag composition, the melting behavior of the Mn source would determine the mixing with lime.

Jan 1, 2014

By Nobumasa Kemori

Six kinds of copper '90ncentrates. were treated individually in a ,pilot scale. Outokumpu flsah smelting furnace ~n order to study their ?flash smelting behavior with respect to oxygen efficiency and dust generation. The copper concentrates tested were selected from the more than twenty sources which are treated at the Sumitomo Toyo copper smelter, so as to provide a wide range of chemical composition in terms .of Cu, S,Fe, Pb + Zn + As, and Si~ content. Oxygen efficiency 'and dust generation rates obtained in 'the experiments ranged from 80% ,to 108% and 11% to 20%, respectively. Relationships between these results and experhnental conditions such as chemical and mineral composition of the copper concentrates, flux ratio, fuel consumption and so on are also discussed quantitatively in this paper.

Jan 1, 1998

By Robert A. Reiley

Under the traditional environmental paradigm, industry, stakeholders, and government impact the environment through production, consumption, and regulation. For more than twenty years, this paradigm has survived more or less unchallenged. Environmental action has followed a typical pattern: industry pollutes, the public clamors, government enacts legislation, and industry expenditures for pollution-control equipment soar. In the 1990's, many groups realize that command-and-control techniques may not be the most effective method of dealing with environmental issues in the new millennium. The need for regulatory reform became apparent in the 1980's after an accident at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. In addition, the prospects of an integrated European market and increased global trade sparked a need for common standards regarding the production of goods and services, which led to the adoption of the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 Quality Standards. These factors, and others, triggered the development of the Environmental Management System (EMS). Over the past decade, country-and industry- specific EMSs were developed. However, the IS0 realized the need for a single, internationally recognized standard that would be workable for any type organization. The goal of this standard is to promote economic competitiveness, remove trade barriers, and promote environmental protection. To this end, the IS0 14000 Standards were developed to provide business with a structure for managing environmental impacts. This article argues that a new paradigm has begun to transcend the old. Protection of the environment if shifting from "government drivers" to "market drivers". This shift means that industry and stakeholders, instead of government, are taking the lead to develop ways to protect the environment. This article also argues that government can use this new paradigm, in a time of declining budgets and regulatory reform, to continue to protect the environment through increased compliance monitoring and rigorous enforcement. Specifically, the IS0 14000 Standards can allow the government to reduce compliance costs, streamline permit and reporting requirements, and provide business with regulatory flexibility. Finally, this article argues that IS0 14000 will be central to the regulatory reform effort, because it can be internally implemented with little need for legislative intervention.

Jan 1, 1999

By E. A. Román

An ion exchange pilot plant, provided by Mesco Inc., was tested for antimony control in the electrolyte at three Chilean tankhouses for copper electrorefining: Chuquicamata, Potrerillos and Enami -Ventanas. The pilot plant, with a nominal extraction capacity of 1.2 kg Sb/day, worked connected to both experimental and commercial circuits, performing a total of 310 loading and elution cycles. An innovation in this process is the use of a chelating organic elution reagent, which presents some advantages over the traditional 6N HCI. This new eluent is amenable to continuous regeneration and recycling with high recovery efficiency. Antimony removal starting at initial, concentrations of 0.5 to 0.6 g/l of Sb down to steady concentrations of 0.1 to 0.0.6 g/l Sb, resulted in the production of High Grade copper cathodes with Sb contents below 0.1 ppm. Anodic slimes showed Sb contents below 1%.

Jan 1, 1999

By Chang Wei, Zhigan Deng, Yizhao WANG, Cunxiong Li, Gang Fan, Xingbin Li

During the process of hematite precipitation, the transformation of Na jarosite convert into hematite has been studied in a batch reactor at different temperatures, ranging from 170°C to 200°C with 3h of the retention time in the presence of 30g/L Fe ( ) and 4g/L Na+. The composition of precipitation was seriously depended on the temperature, at 170°C hematite and sodium jarosite are the reaction products of iron precipitate, with an increasing in reaction temperature the sodium, sulfur content in precipitated decreased and sulfur mainly exist in forms of SO4 2-, and when temperature over 200°C hematite was the only phase in product. An increasing temperature was not only beneficial to iron precipitation, also conducive to jarosite conversion to form high quality hematite precipitate.

Jan 1, 2016

By I. Hilerio

Chromium Nitride (CrN) thin films were deposited on AISI steel 316 substrates by means of the reactive magnetron sputtering method. CrN films were produced under two different conditions. In the first one, the substrate was heated by a DC source. For the second coating a negative substrate bias voltage was applied. X ray diffraction, quantitative energy dispersion and scanning electron microscope were employed to characterize the two different phases, their chemical composition as well as their microstructure. In addition, a microhardness test was carried out. The results show that a better phase formation of CrN thin films was achieved when a heating source was present (first case). Both coatings presented homogeneous surface. Their compositions show differences even when the gases flowing are the same in composition. Regarding to the hardness test results, there can be found a higher value when using a heating source.

Jan 1, 2009

By Yuanpei LAN, Minren XU, Deliang NIU, Zhu WANG, Qingcai Liu, Shan Ren

Removal of gas is the major function of RH degasser. To optimize the RH refining craft in Chongqing Iron and Steel Co. Ltd, the degassing effect of RH degasser at different degrees of vacuum was investigated using a vacuum induction furnace. In addition, the effect of processing time on the gas content dissolved in molten steel was also studied. The results showed that degree of vacuum was one of the important factors that determined the degassing efficiency in RH refining process. High vacuum degree is helpful in the removal of gas, especially in the removal of [H] dissolved in molten steel. The processing time could be reduced from 25-30 min to 15 minutes and gas content could also meet the demand of RH refining

Jan 1, 2015

By Du Sichen, S. Seetharaman, J. A. Bustnes

"The present study deals with the kinetic studies of reduction of some selected transition metal tungstates with hydrogen. The measurements were carried out by the isothermal thermogravimetric method. Shallow powder beds were employed in order to avoid the effects due to transport phenomena affecting the reaction rate. In this way, the chemical reaction rates could be selectively studied. The experiments were carried out in the temperature range 873 - 1173 K. From the experimental data, the activation energies were evaluated and were found to be around 88 kJ / mol in the case of both iron as well as cobalt tungstates indicating the similarities in W-O bonds in both cases. The activation energies obtained are discussed in the light of the position of the transition metal in the periodic table as well as the thermodynamic stabilities of the various tungstates.IntroductionThe tungsten containing hard metals, characterized by high density, belong to a class of two-phase metal matrix composites. While these types of materials have traditionally found their applications within the defence industry as armour-piercing projectiles, counterbalance in helicopters and military aircrafts, outer casings of hand-grenades, etc., commercial applications for this class of alloys also exist, including radiation shields, penetrators for the oil industry, turbines for turbo-jet engines and a wide range of sports related parts. A possible route to the production of these alloys is to reduce the tungstates such as FeW04, Co W04 and NiW04 using a reductant like hydrogen or carbon monoxide. In order to have a better understanding of the processes involved in the production, it is important to have a knowledge of the reduction kinetics for these tungstates. According to the knowledge of the present authors, while the reduction ofNiW04 by hydrogen gas has been investigated earlier in the present laboratorypl no systematic reduction study has been carried out previously for the tungstates of iron, cobalt."

Jan 1, 1996

By J. R. Budden

The growth and oxidation characteristics of any bacterial culture are ultimately determined by the nature of the sample being treated. The most important parameters in the application of bio-oxidation are bacterial cell number, growth rates, oxygen uptake and rate of oxidation. Cells present in the solution of an established culture were counted directly using a microscope, related to a protein value, and then used to determine the total cell number (in solution and on the solids). Protein determination of total cells enabled the growth rates on slurry to be calculated. The cell number and culture growth is related to the iron and sulphide contents of the sample. To illustrate these considerations a moderately thermophilic culture was used to treat ore and concentrate samples obtained from Australian mines.

Jan 1, 1990

By A. V. Tarasov

In order to improve the efficiency of hydrometallurgical processing of pyrrhotite concentrates, an integrated set of research has been carried out to investigate the use of sulfur dioxide in individual unit operations and as a leaching agent in the autoclave process as a substitute for oxygen. Treating iron-containing raw materials for production of nonferrous metals are based on the selective reaction of SO2 with iron sulfides and oxides. Iron is dissolved as sulfate, which can be treated in a separate circuit to produce iron-containing pigments or it can be disposed of after neutralization. Nonferrous and precious metals contained in pyrrhotite concentrate do not react with sulfur dioxide and remain virtually completely in the solid phase, i.e. high-grade sulfide concentrate to be treated by hydro- or pyrometallurgical methods. Elemental sulfur formed in the process of leaching is separated from the pulp in granulated form as a result of the use of special surfactants. The process of sulfide concentrate leaching with the use of sulfur dioxide is conducted at temperatures above the sulfur melting point (119°C) with distributed feeding of surfactant and under a partial pressure of sulfur dioxide of up to 0.3 to 0.5 MPa.

Jan 1, 2006

By Adam Powell, David Dussault

"Electric Field-Enhanced Smelting and Refining is a process for driving the reaction between carbon in hot metal and iron oxide in slag, for example, in a steelmaking reactor. This process involves inserting electrodes into the slag and metal phases, such that the overall reaction FeO + C -> Fe + CO is separated into two half-cell reactions: Fe2+ + 2e· -> Fe at the cathode in the slag, and C + O 2 • -> CO + 2e· at the anodic slag-metal interface. Without the electrodes, the reaction is very slow, but with electrodes, the additional surface area available to the ferrous ions for reduction accelerates the reaction even without any applied bias. When a bias is applied to the electrodes, the electric field across the slag further accelerates the overall reaction.With or without applied bias, the process is first-order in the ferrous ion concentration, and limited by ferrous ion transport to the cathode. To complicate matters, as the liquid iron is reduced at the cathode, the Mullins-Sekerka instability leads to formation of dendrite-like liquid iron fingers which grow into the slag. Because of this, the design of the cathode can have a significant effect on the overall process kinetics, and understanding of the dynamics of these fingers and of their effect on mass transfer is necessary for the intelligent design of the overall process and the cathode in particular.Toward this end, a detailed mesoscopic two-phase slag-metal model is presented here which describes multi component diffusion in the slag and fluid flow in both phases in the vicinity of the cathode. Diffusion in the slag is driven by chemical and electrical potentials. The phase boundary is modeled as a diffuse interface using a phase field approach. Because this electrochemical reaction occurs at high-temperature, the kinetics of charge transfer and adsorption through the double layer are fast relative to transport, permitting the use of simple linear reaction kinetics. This also eliminates the need to discretize the double layer, with the result that charge neutrality may be assumed everywhere in the domain. Introducing electric field dependence of the gradient potential and well height coefficients in the free energy function allows the model to capture electrocapillarity at the interface."

Jan 1, 2001

By Gennady I. Gulyayev

A mathematical model of plastic deformation occurring in cold plug drawing of mother tubes with initial cross-sectional wall thickness variations (CSWTV) has been developed. The main provision of the model is that eccentricity em is of such value that projection of all forces acting upon the plug in the deformation zone along the axis perpendicular to the drawing axis equals to zero. Calculations have proven that with other conditions being equal increase in the die cone angle and the deformation cycle number reduces CSWTV. Theoretical findings were confirmed by practical results. Keywords: cold, drawing, plug, die cone, plastic deformation.

Jan 1, 2003

By T. C. Goel, A. Venna, R. G. Mendiratta

"Processing of ferrites has gained tremendous importance in recent times to meet the high performance demands on ferrites in keeping with the fast emerging· technologies. The quality of ferrite powders has strong influence on ·the performance of final device. Fabrication· of high performing ferrite components requires starting ferrite powders of precise stoichiometry, purity and microstructure. It is difficult to obtain these attributes by the conventional ceramic method. The key to obtaining quality powders lies in the· solution techniques. With this in view soft ferrites have been prepared by a wet chemical process, known as the citrate precursor method, which involves the formation of citrate complexes of the constituent cations. The advantages of this process are the ease of preparation and close control of composition, homogeneity, purity and particle size. Electrical and magnetic measurements on lithium ferrites have shown resistivity higher by more than two orders of magnitude compared to that observed for samples prepared by the conventional ceramic method, and low magnetic losses, making the ferrites specially suitable for high frequency applications.IntroductionProperties of ferrites are known to be sensitive to .their processing technique. A small deviation in the compositional stoichiometry of the ferrite affects its properties greatly. Soft ferrites such as Ni-Zn, Mn-Zn and Mg-Mn. are well known ferrites covering wide-ranging applications [1,2]. Lithiiim ferrites have also assumed technological importance for microwave applications and are potential substitutes for the expensive garnets [3]. Lithium ferrites are often doped with zinc to tailor the saturation magnetization required at high frequencies. Lithium and lithium-zinc ferrites, however, present difficulty to processing due to the volatile nature of both the cation components, namely Li and Zn. These ions are volatile at temperatures > 1000°C which makes their processing difficult. One of the main considerations of high frequency performance of ferrites is the high eddy current losses which prevent the interaction of the magnetic field with the ferrite component and hence impair device performance. These losses can be reduced by having a material of high resistivity. Electrical conductivity in lithium ferrite has been attributed to electron hopping [4] between the two vaience states of iron, Fe2+ <=> Fe3+, on octahedral sites. Maintaining the + 3 valence state of otahedral- Fe ions is thus a prerequisite for achieving high resistivity. The resistivity of ferrites is normally found to be low when processed by the conventional solid-state or the ceramic method [5]. This is attributed to (a) extensive ball-milling employed in the method to mix the component oxides results in non-stoichiometric compositions due to introduction of additional Fe ions on abrasion of steel balls during milling, (b) high processing temperatures involved which result in significant volatilization of Li and Zn ions creating thereby oxygen non-stoichiometry which results in reduction of Fe3 + to Fe2 +, (c) large and non-uniform grain sizes. In the present work, preparation of Li and Li-Zn ferrites by a non-conventional method known as a citrate precursor method [6, 7] which requires lower processing temperatures and duration is reported. The method gives stoichiometric compositions on account of homogeneous atomic-scale mixing of the constituent cations via the formation of metal-citrate complexes mixed in solution state. The method is also capable of giving small grain size which aids the oxidation ofFe2+ ions."

Jan 1, 2000

By Martin Brueggemann

The Tyrone copper solution extraction and electrowinning plant was the first such facility built by Phelps Dodge Mining Company in 1984. Over the next 20 years, the aqueous flow rate capacity of the plant has been expanded from the original design of 12,000 gallons per minute (gpm) to 34,000 gpm to meet production goals in the face of declining copper grades in the leach solutions. The ability to process higher aqueous flow rates through existing equipment comes at the expense of increased organic loss through entrainment to raffinate. These losses of organic (diluent and extraction reagents) can account for up to 10 percent of the plant?s total operating costs. With the recent dramatic price increase of petroleum-based products, these operating costs due to losses are sure to increase. This paper will discuss recent improvements at the Tyrone SXEW plant that have resulted in a 40 percent reduction of organic losses. These improvements include picket fence modifications, new fence materials, organic recovery systems, and operational practices within the solution extraction process.

Jan 1, 2006

By Alim Ullah

Process, quality and management control are necessary in order to produce DRI of required quality and at minimum cost. Although the characteristics of the two (2) principal inputs, that is, iron oxide feed and natural gas (for gas-based DRI plants) can affect the operation of a DRI plant significantly, they are outside the control of plant operators, at least in the short run. The quantity of reduction gas, its composition and reduction gas temperature are some of the key process variables. Statistical Process Control (SPC) can be used in a DRI plant to minimize the production of off-grade material and costs, as well as to improve the overall operation of the plant. One of the key quality variables to be measured and controlled is percent metallization, defined as FeM/FeT*100 where, FeM and FeT respectively are metallic iron and total iron in DRI. Control charts are used to monitor the quality of DRI produced and, when necessary, corrective actions are taken to bring the product back within the control limits. Management control can consist of essentially following how well the plant performs against some pre-established standards of parameters like daily production, downtime, consumption of material and energy, etc. In this respect, it is suggested that yield, defined as theoretical consumption/actual consumption of iron oxide feed, be used to monitor the consumption of feed material. Similarly, instead of using natural gas per ton of DRI produced, a better criterion would be efficiency, defined as theoretical natural gas consumption/actual natural gas consumption.

Jan 1, 2006

By Carlos Ortiz

The Huelva Flash Smelting Furnace was commissioned in September 1975. The Smelter and the Acid Plant were expanded in 1995 to their present capacity of 300,000 tpa new copper equivalent and one million tonnes of concentrate per year. During these years of operational experience, most of the initial practices have been reviewed, process control has drastically improved and main process equipment has been modernised. The fourth Flash Furnace campaign lasted 9 years (1995-2004) during which 8 million tonnes of concentrate were smelted. Increasing sulphur content in concentrates and new environmental requirements imply new challenges for smelters to keep production and operation costs down. This paper is an overview of the modifications and improvements carried out in the 2007 general shutdown in Smelter and Acid Plants. Al

Jan 1, 2008

During electrowinning of nickel chloride, hydrochloric acid was regenerated instead of chlorine in a two membrane cell, by segregating the chloride catholyte with an anion exchange membrane, and the sulphate anolyte with a cation exchange membrane from the middle electrolyte (ampholyte) compartment. Successful operation of such a cell depends on controlling chloride leakage through the cation exchange membrane to the anolyte. Small amounts of chlorine gas could be detected in the oxygen evolved at the anode. In this paper, the chloride. leakage as a function of various types of cation exchange membrane and different composition of the anolyte is reported and discussed. Ag+ was added to the anolyte to eliminate chloride leakage to the anode. The cell voltage, electrode potential and voltage drop over the membrane as a function of current density has also been investigated.

Jan 1, 1996