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By Robert Vidal

The performance of a laboratory-scale cell for the electrolysis of an aqueous chrome alum solution was studied. Electrode potentials, pH, and Eh were recorded. An optimum catholyte pH of about 2.5, consistent with information from the literature was observed. Values exceeding this range resulted in a precipitate formation and are detected by wavering cathode potentials. The role of anodically produced dichromate ions was investigated by chemical analysis. It was found that the steady state concentration of dichromate ions varies inversely with fluid flow from catholyte to anolyte. This concentration was also reduced with the use of precious metal coated titanium anodes.

Jan 1, 1994

By Viviane Tavares de Moraes, Denise Crocce Romano Espinosa, Jorge Alberto Soares Tenorio, Adriana Johanny Murcia Santanilla

"Increasing volumes of solid waste are generated worldwide, due to the continuous technological advances, the electronic scrap is part of these waste, requiring the study of recycling processes to stimulate this activity or the reuse of its components. The separation of nickel from sulphate leach solution, which also containing iron, zinc and aluminium was carried out using bis-(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (Cyanex 272) as extractant, in order to determinate the effects of pH and temperature. The number of stages required for extraction was also assessed. The results showed that the metal extraction increased with increasing pH. On the other hand, increasing temperature was not favorable for all metals. However, under conditions used in this paper the purification of solution containing nickel was possible.IntroductionIncrease in the demand of metals in the world for use in industry causes a great exploration of natural resources. One outcome of this is increased investigations for the recovery of metals from industrial wastes. Nickel is found in wastes, such as batteries and electric and electronic devices, this kind of waste becomes a significant source for metals recovery. Since nickel is also present in printed circuit boards, which are associated with electric and electronic equipment, it can be recovered from this kind of waste through different techniques. It is important to highlight that iron is generally associated with this scrap [1] and for its removal chemical precipitation is often used. On the other hand, the solvent extraction process is widely used for treatment of leach liquors, because it can be produce high purity solutions [2, 3]. This technique is based on the purification of solution using contact between a liquor leaching and the immiscible organic solution, which contains an extractant that promotes the desired metal transfer [4]."

Jan 1, 2012

By Guozhu Ye

Hydrometallurgical zinc recovery from EAF dust has several advantages compared to pyrometallurgical alternatives in terms of low temperature operation, lower energy consumption and higher flexibility. Many hydrometallurgical processes have been suggested and tested over the years without success. The main reasons are: -Low leaching yield of zinc due to the fact that a high fraction of ZnO in the EAF dust exists in the zinc ferrite structure which makes selective leaching of ZnO not possible -Many of the proposals could not handle the halide in the EAF dust To eliminate these two disadvantages, two zinc ferrite elimination concepts have been tested and developed in the REZIN project of the EU 5th Framework Programme. The two concepts for zinc ferrite elimination could be shortly described by the following chemical reactions: A. ZnOFe2O3 + 2CaO = Ca2Fe2O5 + ZnOfree B. ZnOFe2O3 + C = Femet + CO/CO2 + ZnOfree These two concepts were investigated in details in combination with a subsequent leaching step using the novel EZINC process for recovery of zinc from EAF dust. Leaching of pretreated samples has shown great increases of a zinc recovery yield. A zinc recovery of over 90 % could be reached, as compared to about 50 % for no-pretreated samples. This paper will describe the two concepts in details.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Chama, K. Nyirenda, J. Machona, P. W. Chishimba, S. Parirenyatwa, G. Kaluba, Y. R. S. Hara, D. M. Musowoya

Our study focuses on upgrading of copper and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo tailings, containing 2 wt% Cu and 0.5 wt% Co. Cobalt is in the complex iron silicate matrix such that its recovery by direct leaching is not possible. Two concentrating methods were employed in order to obtain copper and cobalt concentrates. Copper was concentrated via flotation and, at the optimal conditions its grade in the concentrate was 31.9 wt%. Cobalt was concentrated to 8.6 wt% b ycarbothermically reducing the flotation tailings with coal in a temperature range of 800–1050 °C and followed by magnetic separation. The reaction products were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The best carbothermic reduction temperature was found to be 950 °C due to maximum metallisation and less sintering between gangue and metallic/alloy phases.

Mar 1, 2017

By Rauf Hurman Eric

In this review paper the effect of composition and temperature on electrical conductivity and viscosity of the slags encountered in electric smelting of PGM-containing sulfide concentrates is described along with their liquidus temperatures. Optimization of slag composition is attempted on the basis of opposite trends of viscosity and electrical conductivity. Metal losses to slag, matte-slag separation and matte settling are also discussed in conjunction with interfacial and surface tension concepts. The electrode immersed in the slag phase is the main factor in the design and operation of the furnace. The most important electrode parameters are the size and the positioning in the slag phase which are determined by the slag resistivity, furnace resistance, cell constant and power input. The flow of heat generated by the electrode current determines the energy distribution and furnace dimensions creating viscosity profiles within the slag phase which in turn affects the flow conditions. Thus the flow of slag is discussed together with furnace geometry, stirring action, buoyancy and electromagnetic effects and the action of the electric furnace as a settler is emphasized. A discussion on the design d production capacity of the furnace is provided which are based on considerations derived mainly from slag properties.

Jan 1, 2006

By Bernd Kos

The management of waste materials in the aluminum industry is as important as in other basic industries. Due to the high value of the-by products of the melting process and their toxic properties we took the challenge to develop a process technology to reduce the environmental impact and to help industry to get a better yield of their by products/raw materials. In melting operations metal losses due to oxidation are nearly unavoidable, the amount of such losses, however, can be controlled. Aluminum dross actually is a by product and any shop would like to get rid of it in the most economic way. This by product still contains up to 70% valuable metal! In the present work we describe possibilities to separate metal and residues for further processing. Recycling of metal concentrates, selling of dross and dumping of the residues have been the typical solutions up to now. But there are technologies available which are designed to reduce the waste to a minimum or even avoid it altogether. Such alternatives are processing of the dross into materials which can be reused in other industrial processes in order to avoid any dumping. This can be done by separating the metal and the residues by centrifuging and further use of the residues in the chemical or refractory industry. ECOCENT means economical and ecological recovery of aluminum by centrifuging of hot dross. This process, developed by FOCON Austria, is based on the idea of treating the hot dross as quick as possible in a single operation to avoid exothermic losses, intermediate storage and unnecessary handling as well as to save energy. In the ECOCENT process the hot dross is fed without any fluxing salt additions into a converter where the relevant parameters for separation, like temperature and viscosity, will be adjusted. Further big lumps of dross are ground into smaller pieces in order to improve the later separation of the metal. After homogenizing and adjusting the temperature, the hot dross is poured as quickly as possible into a centrifuge. In the ladle or alternatively the mould of the centrifuge the centrifugal forces are used for the separation of aluminum from aluminum oxide, the major constituents of dross. The separated pure metal can either be discharged liquid or as solidified aluminum ring. The design of the device for the production of liquid or solid metal is almost identical. As soon as the centrifuging is finished the liquid aluminum can be poured back into the furnace or can be used for ingot pouring. After the pouring of the metal the "dry" residues are removed just by turning the ladle. Alternatively the aluminum solidifies in the mould and is discharged as a compact ring. The separation of the residues from the aluminum ring is automatic. Due to the batchwise operation the composition of the metal is the same as in the skimmed furnace of origin. The complete treatment cycle needs about 40 minutes. The recovery rate of aluminum is better than 90% of pure metal. This technology is highly flexible by its nature and can easily accomodate various operational requirements. The consumption of energy is more than 50% lower compared to conventional dross processing as the ECOCENT process is using the inherent energy of the hot dross. These extremely good results are not dependent on the aluminum content of the dross even from very dry dross most of the metal can be recovered. The main advantages compared to conventional dross processing are the high recovery rate, the known analysis of the metal and the immediate reuse of the recovered aluminum. The high recovery rate and the pure metal result in a short amortization period. The compact ECOCENT unit needs a minimum of space since extensive handling can be avoided. The electronically controlled process needs no cooling water and is simple, safe and environmentally sound. The residues are free of fluxing salts, their content of metallic aluminum is low and the environmental problems are thus greatly reduced.

Jan 1, 1995

By Shaohua Ju, Feng Jiang, Jian Jian, Hongying Xia, Jinhui Peng, Libo Zhang

Microfluidic solvent extraction of zinc from sulfate solution was studied using di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid, D2EHPA, in sulfonated kerosene as diluent. The influence of different parameters on the extraction of zinc, such as flow rate, temperature, flow rate ratio, extraction concentration, and saponification ratio of extractant were investigated and the conventional and micro fluidic extraction were compared. Under the optimized conditions, micro fluidic extraction efficiency of zinc is up to 97.1%. It is better than that conventional extraction. Therefore, microfluidic solvent extraction can achieve high efficiency and low consumption of extraction process.

Mar 1, 2018

By Qingsheng Liu

A new method of recycling aluminum dross for preparation Al-Si-Ti alloy was studied in this paper. This was carried out in two processes. first the aluminum doss was pretreated by leaching and calcining process, the fine purity and phase of the intermediate oxide powder up to electrolysis demands, then, could be obtained when aluminum dross after washing have been leached for 2h at 100? in 20% hydrochloric acid and calcined for 2h at 1200?, which was treated by cryoite-based molten salt electrolysis. Finally, the Al-Si-Ti alloy was successfully obtained through electrochemical co-deposition in the cathode shows a typical as-cast microstructure. This new recycling method can produce high quality alloy and may bring remarkable economic and social benefits.

Jan 1, 2010

By Felipe Daroch, Maria C. Ruiz, Rafael Padilla

Copper concentrates with high arsenic contents must be pretreated before conventional smelting to prevent environmental pollution with arsenic compounds. In this work, experimental results concerning the selective removal of arsenic and antimony from copper concentrates are presented. The process consists of an alkaline digestion using concentrated NaHS-NaOH solutions to transform the arsenic and antimony sulfides into soluble compounds. A water leaching follows the digestion to dissolve the arsenic and antimony, leaving clean copper sulfide solid residues. The laboratory scale tests were carried out using a copper–arsenic concentrate with 15.05% As and 1.42% Sb. The results showed that the most important digestion variables were temperature and concentrations of NaHS and NaOH. Over 97% of arsenic and 92% of antimony could be removed in 10 min of digestion using 8.9 M NaOH and 100% excess of NaHS at 80 °C. The subsequent water leaching was performed at 80°C for 20 min.

Jan 1, 2015

By V. Madhusudhan Rao

Fly ash is a finely divide non ? combustible material obtained as a by ? product of coal combustion. It is a major by ? product of coal based thermal power stations. Until recent past it was considered as a waste and highly polluting material. However its formation can only be minimized by using suitable technology in the boilers. In recent past it is found that Fly ash has many end uses and it has proven itself to be a potential construction material. But the suitability of fly ash for various applications largely depends on the amount of unburned carbon, which is turn depends on the firing method. Fly ash samples from various power plants existing in India using a fluidized bed method and pulverized bed were analyzed and a comparison of these two firing methods was carried. This paper deals with the compositional requirements for fly ash used for the fabrication of insulating doors using AAC (Aerated Autoclave Concrete) and the methods employed to make fly ash suitable for this purpose. It also includes the latest ?U? beam technology for effective fly ash recycle. If the by products of coal combustion from power plants like fly ash as the paper stresses are utilized properly, it is not an exaggeration to say that power generation is possible with absolutely zero cost.

Jan 1, 2006

By William Petruk

The behaviour of sphalerite during mineral beneficiation of base metal ores has been studied at CANMET and other institutes for at least 15 years by determining the liberations of sphalerite in mill products and calculating the recoveries of liberated and unliberated sphalerite in zinc concentrates. Sphalerite in base metal ores commonly occurs as layers and as interstitial material between pyrite. Layered sphalerite is generally liberated during primary grinding, but interstitial sphalerite requires re-grinding to achieve liberation. Around 95% of liberated sphalerite is generally recovered in zinc concentrates frau zinc circuit feeds. A series of tests was conducted on sphalerite in the ore of Brunswick Mining and smelting during a continuous fine tuning operation of the concentrator. It was found that a grind of 80% minus 37 micrometres was required to liberate the interstitial sphalerite. The fine grind increased Zn recoveries from 75% to 78-80%, but produced liberated slimed sphalerite which was lost. Since regrinding to a fine grain size is needed to obtain the desired sphalerite liberation, a method of recovering the slimed sphalerite is required.

Jan 1, 1990

By Hiroyuki Sano

Elimination of heavy metals from the incineration fly ash by the chlorination volatilization method had been already developed and the effectiveness of this method was confirmed by the present authors. In this study, this method was applied to the elimination of heavy metals, mainly lead, from the incineration bottom ash. Since the fly ash contains a large amount of chloride, heavy metals in the fly ash are easily chlorinated. On the other hand, the addition of the chlorination agent is a key point for applying this method to the bottom ash, because it hardly contains chloride. The effects of various variables such as a kind of chlorination agent, adding quantity of it and temperature on the elimination ratio were investigated and the harmlessness of the residual ash was evaluated. The preferable condition was proposed from the recyclability of the bottom ash.

Jan 1, 2006

By Patrick M. Eduafo, Brajendra Mishra, Mark L. Strauss

Direct acid leaching of rare earth metals (REMs) from waste lamp phosphors is non-selective, leading to co-dissolution of impurities mainly calcium, phosphorus, silicon, iron and zinc. Calcining the phosphor powder at different temperatures followed by leaching with HCl isn’t efficient for the extraction of all the chief rare earths especially cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La) and terbium (Tb). Therefore, multi-stage leaching operations are required for the separation of the REMs in phosphor dust. This paper will outline a new process for extracting Ce, La, Tb, Eu and Y from waste fluorescent lamps using a three-stage leaching and separation process. A flowsheet has been developed which shows this process is selective and efficient.

Jan 1, 2015

By Dachun Liu, Wenlong Jiang, Baoqiang Xu, Yongnian Dai, Bin Yang

"In the traditional method for refining of indium, glycerin-KI and glycerin-NH4Cl are used as electrolytes to remove Cd and Tl by electrolytic refining, which produces In with a purity of 99.995%. Large quantities of polluted industrial waste water are the result. It is calculated that the saturated vapor pressure of Cd and Tl are between 1-200 Pa, which is much larger than the vapor pressure of In. Thus, the study of removing Cd and Tl was carried out over the temperature range between 700-950 °C and pressures between 1-15 Pa. After vacuum distillation the contents of Cd and Tl in crude indium could sharply fall below 1 ppm..IntroductionIndium is a is a pale blue and silver white metal, and has high ductility [1-2]. Pure indium is generally used as a raw material to produce semiconductor compounds, fluorescent material and ITO targets [3]. Sublimation, zone melting and electrolytic refining are major methods to produce pure indium from crude indium. Electrolytic refining is the main method to product pure indium at present. High productive efficiency, simplicity of operation and short cycle of production are major advantages. However, glycerin-KI and glycerin-NH4Cl are used to remove Cd and Tl in electrolysis method. Large quantities of polluted industrial waste water are the result[4]."

Jan 1, 2012

By František Molnar, Zsolt Szentirmai, Juraj Schmiedl, Felix Sekula

"Hydrometallurgical nickel production in Sered Nickel Plant (Slovakia) that treated roasted Albanian ore left behind a considerable amount of the solid leaching residue. About 6 million tons of this fine-powder residue containing approximately 52 wt.% of iron in the form of oxides is to the present day stored in a stockpile. However, its iron content makes it a potentially interesting secondary raw material for iron production. This secondary raw material is not, unfortunately, suitable for direct treatment in iron and steelmaking processes.This paper presents results of the laboratory tests of pyrometallurgical method of processing of the leaching residue by its roasting and subsequent refining melting. The objective of the selective reducing agglomeration roasting was to reduce iron oxides and to simultaneously avoid reduction of chromium oxides and silica. Refining melting is carried out in an inert atmosphere. The products of melting are technically pure iron and slag.IntroductionThe leaching residue stockpiled on waste dump near already non-existing Nickel Plant Sered, Slovakia, is considered to be one of the most important environmental burdens in this country. The 40-years of an on-going effort focused on finding the methods for extracting metals and thus remove the waste dump have not been successful [1,4,5,6]. From the literature survey it is evident that past investigations have been following three main routes:1.Removal of chromium by mineral processing methods prior to its metallurgical treatment to achieve final chromium concentrations below 0.3 wt.%.2.Pelletization of solid leaching residue and its subsequent reduction in blast furnace and steelmaking plant and simultaneous removal of chromium.3.Pelletization of solid leaching residue followed by metallurgical processing of preliminary reduced semi-product in electric arc furnace (EAF) accompanied by partial reduction of chromium."

Jan 1, 2008

By Wilson Acchar, Fernando Barcelos, Luis Carlos Pereira

"Porous ceramics have been extensively investigated as structural materials for flow of fluids in many applications, such as filters for molten metals, water purification and hot gases, thermal protection systems and heat exchangers. This class of material must have two special features: high permeability and mechanical strength. However, these parameters are influenced in different ways by the processing method and the consequent cellular structure. In this work two different types of commercial ceramic filter materials are investigated. Characterization included the evaluation of the strength values as well as the permeability behavior and microstructural analyzes of the surface fracture. The results indicate that the strength values are strong dependent on the filament defects.IntroductionCeramic materials with a cellular structure have been extensively investigated as structural materials for flow of fluids applications [1-3]. Microstructural aspects such as morphology, size of the cell and the degree of interconnectedness are mainly parameters that influence the properties of these porous materials [4-6]. The most used industrial process to produce cellular ceramics for filter application is the polymeric sponge replication method. This technique consists in dipping the polymer foam into slurry containing an appropriate binder and the necessary ceramic materials, followed by a heating treatment [2,5].Mechanical properties of cellular ceramics depend basically on cell size, degree of interconnectedness and density [1,2,5,8,9]. Materials used as filters required a good strength and also permeability values. These properties are inversely proportional to each other. Higher porosity increases permeability values but decreases the strength values [1,2,5]. The objective of this work is to study the strength resistance of a commercial porous ceramic material (10, 20 and 30 ppi) based on silicon carbide."

Jan 1, 2012

By Rina Kim

There are many factors which affect the gold cyanidation mechanism— mineral composition, free cyanide and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, heavy metal additions, etc. This study combines electrochemistry and surface analysis methods to examine the effectiveness of the above factors on gold cyanidation process. Three gold ore samples were used in this study. Sample 1 was a pyrite concentrate, contained mercury and silver. Sample 2 also contained sulfide minerals, including galena. Sample 3 contained pyrite with sphalerite and galena. In the case of samples 1 and 2, the presence of heavy metals enhanced gold cyanidation kinetics, though the addition of higher DO was not effective on improving the kinetics. Sample 3 showed an opposite behavior: the kinetics was not enhanced by galena, because of its relatively small amount, however, the use of higher DO made improvement in the gold leaching kinetics, likely caused by iron species generated by pyrite oxidation.

By Jae-Woo Ahn

Waste acids containing phosphoric, acetic, nitric and hydrofluoric acid were produced during the etching process of liquid crystal display and semiconductor manufacture. In recent years, the attention on the treatment of industrial waste acids has been increased considerably according to the reinforcement of the environmental regulations as well as the implementation of the economic considerations about the waste acids. Fundamental studies on the separation and regeneration of the mixed waste acids were conducted using Cyanex 923, Tri-octyle phosphate and 2-Ethylhexyl alcohol as an extractant by solvent extraction. It is considered that the extraction of liquid crystal display waste acids with Cyanex 923 and Tri-octyle phosphate, semiconductor waste acids with 2-Ethylhexylalcohol is applicable for the separation and recovery of acid. Finally, the acceptable recycling process from the multi-component waste etching acids was proposed.

Jan 1, 2006

By Shun Myung Shin, Dong Hyo Yang

Cobalt is recovered from square type of spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) containing 5~20 % Co, 5~7 % Li, 5~10 % Ni, 15% organic chemicals, and 7% plastics together with Cu, Al, Fe, and Mn. The waste LIB was prepared by physical treatment. After screening, the crushed LIBs were separated to +8 mesh, -8/+16 mesh, and -16 mesh powder. Among these, -16 mesh powder was selected for leaching. The leaching test was investigated at 2 M H2SO4, 6 vol.% H2O2, reaction temperature 60 ?, agitation speed 300 rpm, solid/liquid ratio 50 g/ 500 ml, reaction time 1 h. The leaching efficiency of cobalt was more than 99 % and its concentration was 24.9 g/L. For removing of impurities such as copper, iron, and aluminum in the leaching solution before cobalt solvent extraction, the impurities were eliminated by pH control with alkali solution. For selective extraction of cobalt, the aqueous phase removed impurities was equilibrated with different volumes of 0.4 M Cyanex 272 saponified of 50 %. Extraction efficiency of cobalt was about 80 % at first step. Separation coefficient (ßCo/Li) of cobalt and lithium extractions was 206.5. Over 9.0 % of pure cobalt sulfate solution was obtained after stripping with H2SO4 solution.

Jan 1, 2008

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