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By Richard D. Hagni

Microscopic examination of selected, representative, unweathered samples of Birmingham, Alabama, Silurian, sedimentary iron ores has fully revealed the nature of the phosphorous-bearing mineral grains. The grains are composed of carbonate-fluorapatite (collophane), range in size from 1 um to 2.25 mm, and exhibit varied types of intergrowth with hematite. Modal analyses conducted under cathodolumi-nescence have provided quantitative data on the a3undance of each of 15 types of phosphorous-bearing mineral grains and made it possible to assess the potential phosphorous liberation from four types of iron ore. The results indicate that 27% of the total phosphorous contained in the iron ores in the western part of the Birmingham district can be expected to be liberated by fine grinding; 60% for ores in the eastern part of the district.

Jan 1, 1982

By Kazuhiro Asai

Hitachi Refinery of Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd. installed a reverberatory type recycling fumace in 1978 in order to treat the industrial wastes which contain metal elements such as copper, gold and silver. Pyrite and industrial waste materials such as galvanizing sludge, hydroxide slime and dust are smelted. Sulfidized copper, iron and precious metals are transformed into matte and other metallic elements are oxidized into slag This copper matte is transported to Saganoseki smelter and copper and precious metals in the matte are recovered. Recently it is difficult to obtain pyrite economically because of the decrease of pyrite production. Therefore, a new treating process of the liquid waste has been investigated at Hitachi Refinery. In this process, the sulfide or sulfate from the liquid waste are smelted as a source of sulfur.

Jan 1, 1997

By Norihiro Murayama

Syntheses of zeolitic materials were carried out from coal fly ash by alkali hydrothermal treatment as part of the reuse and recycle technologies of coal ash, For the obtained zeolites, the cation exchange capacity and acid resistance, which are very important in the practical use of cation exchanger in aqueous solution, are investigated during this stufY, The cation exchange amounts of the NaP, CaP and K-CHA zeolites are measured for various cations such as K+, Na +, NH4+ Ca2+, Mg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+ and so on. The change in crystallization degree are researched as a function of pH. The simultaneous removal ability of NH4+ and PO43- in solution is examined for an example of the water purification with CaP zeolite. From these results, the characteristic and its mechanism of cation exchange are clarified for the various zeolitic materials obtained from coal fly ash.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. E. Dutrizac

Fracture-exposed surfaces of sphalerite samples having five different solid solution iron contents ranging from 0.0 wt% to 14.8 wt% Fe were leached for 15 to 120 s at 100°C in 0.3 M Fe(S04)1.5 -0.3 M H2S04 media. The reacted samples were examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which provides chemical state information on the first few nanometers of the solid surface. Surface compositions show that the leaching rate increases with increasing solid solution iron content of the sphalerite. Detailed evaluation of high resolution S2p spectra show that the leaching progresses via the formation of polysulphide species. Disulphide species were not detected in any of the experiments. Examination of the Zn2p and Fe2p spectra indicate little change in the chemical states of these elements over the duration of the experiments. Longer leaching times resulted in the generation of elemental sulphur. The ratios of elemental sulphur to dissolved ferrous ions and zinc suggest that less than 5% of the sulphide is oxidized to sulphate. Morphological studies showed that the elemental sulphur commonly formed at a few isolated sites, such as the grain boundaries. Furthermore, euhedral sulphur crystals were often identified. These observations suggest that at least part of the elemental sulphur forms via dissolved sulphide species which are oxidized in solution by ferric sulphate.

Jan 1, 2003

By Tan Pengfu

By using computer-aided techniques of equilibrium calculations for multicomponent and multiphase systems, a computer model has been developed to simulate QSL, KIVCET and Outokumpu flash lead smelting processes. A mathematical description is studied using two zones or three zones, namely smelting zone and slag reduction zone for QSL furnace, or offtake shaft zone, smelting shaft zone and electric furnace zone for KIVCET furnace. The amount of each component in lead, slag and gaseous phases under equilibrium is calculated by using the data of free energies of formation and activity coefficients. The predictions by the present computer model are compared with the known data from QSL-Plant at Korea Zinc Co. in Korea, KIVCET-Plant at Nuova Samim Co. in Italy and Outokumpu Co. in Finland. The agreements between the computer predictions and the known data are excellent, so that the present computer model can be used to monitor and optimize the actual industrial operations of direct lead smelting.

Jan 1, 1998

By Amir Rehmat

The Institute of Gas Technology has developed a fluidized-bed process for recovering direct reduced iron from blast furnace flue dust a material currently considered to be a waste from the iron and steel industry. In the process, a portion of the carbon in the flue dust is combusted to supply energy for the endothermic reaction between carbon and steam. The reaction produces reducing gases comprised of carbon monoxide and hydrogen both of which react with iron oxides to produce reduced iron. Up to 95 percent of the iron oxides contained in the waste stream can be reduced to elemental iron. The vitiated reducing gases emanating from the process can be used as fuel in the plant. The yield of iron depends upon the quantity of iron oxide present in the flue dust and generally ranges from 20 to 30 percent of the waste stream. The investment cost estimated for a single processing train dedicated to one steel plant can be recovered in less than one year.

Jan 1, 1996

By Patrik Yrjas, Daniel Lindberg, Emil Vainio

Recovery of trace elements from different industrial waste streams is important in realizing the goals of the circular economy. Ash streams from waste combustion can contain high levels of both toxic and valuable trace elements. These elements can be separated during the combustion process based on volatilization and condensation, as well as being separated in post-combustion processes, through thermal or leaching treatment. In this study, an overview is given of the thermal methods for recovery of valuable elements from ash fractions derived from waste incineration. In addition, a case study is presented of the behaviour of ash-forming elements in combustion of MSW and demolition wood, with special focus on the elements Co, Cu, and Sb. In conclusion, it is shown that thermodynamic modeling of high temperature processes can be a useful tool to predict ash behavior both during combustion and in the post combustion treatment of the ash.

Mar 1, 2018

By Lu-ming Zhao, Li Zhao, Yu Wang

Mould flux is a vital functional material which is based on silicate including flux and framework material. The effects of magnetic field intensity and frequency on viscosity of mould flux were tested by rotational viscosity tester and a measurement device for electromagnetic characteristics of mould flux viscosity under high temperature conditions. The results show that: with the magnetic field intensity rising (0 –30 mT), the viscosity of mould flux increases by 1.3–1.8 P. With the frequency rising (6–12 Hz), the viscosity of mould flux is increased by 1.2–1.4 P. When the binary basicity is 1.08, the viscous flow activation energy increases with the increase of the magnetic field intensity and frequency. It can be the main reason for the increase of mould flux viscosity that the electromagnetic forces disrupt the ordered structure of mould flux and make the ion migration rate increase.

Mar 1, 2018

By H. V. R. von Rhaden

Systematic quantitative X-ray diffraction analyses performed on diamond-drill cores originating from the Aandenk formation at the Loraine Gold Mine, located in the Welkom goldfield, Orange Free State, South Africa, have revealed the presence of a number of phyllosilicate mineral assemblages which have not hitherto been reported from this region. Rectorite, a regularly interstratified 1:1 mica-montmorillonite "swelling clay", is found to occur together with paragonite, muscovite, pyrophyllite, kaolinite, and chlorite in highly-altered friable rocks. The presence of rectorite in mill feeds may have potentially serious implications with respect to gold recovery. Quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis for phyllosilicates can be used as an aid to correlation, and also to guide the widths of stopes in underground mining. Rectorite has a unique mode of origin, which is discussed.

Jan 1, 1991

By Wei-Tong Du, Yu Wang, Gang Wen

Carbon dioxide (CO2), a major component of the greenhouse gases, could be comprehensive utilized as a valuable resource to oxidize vanadium during the converter vanadium extraction process. The thermodynamic software, FactSage, was utilized to study the oxidation ability and theoretical cooling ability of using weak oxidant CO2 as coolant in vanadium-containing hot metal. Besides, experimental research on vanadium extraction in CO2 and O2 mixed blowing extracting process had been undertaken. The results indicated that the elements C, Si, V, Mn etc. could be oxidized by weak oxidant CO2, and the content of V2O3 in slag was approached to pure O2 blowing. Furthermore, CO2 had a remarkable cooling ability and the molten bath temperature kept on decreasing as CO2 blowing rate increases. This research has proved that CO2 and O2 mixed blowing in vanadium extraction process are effective.

Jan 1, 2015

By Ruiling DU, Jiazhi Zhang, Yong Zhao, Keng Wu

Reaction kinetics of metallurgical physical chemistry which was successfully applied in metallurgy (as ferrous metallurgy, non-ferrous metallurgy) became an important theoretical foundation for subject system of traditional metallurgy. Not only the research methods were very perfect, but also the independent structures and systems of it had been formed. One of the important tasks of metallurgical reaction engineering was the simulation of metallurgical process. And then, the mechanism of reaction process and the conversion time points of different control links should be obtained accurately. Therefore, the research methods and results of reaction kinetics in metallurgical physical chemistry were not very suitable for metallurgical reaction engineering. In order to provide the definite conditions of transmission, reaction kinetics parameters and the conversion time points of different control links for solving the transmission and reaction equations in metallurgical reaction engineering, a new method for researching kinetics mechanisms in metallurgical reaction engineering was proposed ,which was named stepwise attempt method. Then the comparison of results between the two methods and the further development of stepwise attempt method were discussed in this paper. As a new research method for reaction kinetics in metallurgical reaction engineering, stepwise attempt method could not only satisfy the development of metallurgical reaction engineering, but also provide necessary guarantees for establishing its independent subject system.

Jan 1, 2015

By H. Antrekowitsch

Nowadays, the pyrometallurgical treatment in copper smelters is the common process for the recycling of metals from the electronic scrap. Furthermore the European Directive on the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), increase the importance of electronic scrap recycling. Besides these a high amount of plastic and inert components in these materials leads to problems at the processing. An optimisation concerning the internal recovery and the high amount of plastic is necessary to reach the recycling quota of the European directive. The majority of the scrap is treated mechanically in order to separate in a first step plastics from metals, iron from nonferrous metals and harmful substances from valuable materials. But the quality of the different fraction often rather low and further treatment leads to higher costs. Therefore an interaction between mechanical treatment and metallurgical processing should be realised. The Christian Doppler Laboratory for Secondary Metallurgy of Nonferrous Metals at the Institute of Nonferrous Metallurgy at the University of Leoben carried out investigations concerning the optimisation of the metallurgical recycling and the treatment of the input materials especially of printed circuit boards.

Jan 1, 2006

By E. Daniel Baker

"The term ""oxide disseminated gold deposits"" refers to near surface, gold-bearing veins, faults, and shear zones that typically contain appreciable amounts of oxidized ore or gossanous material, resulting from oxidation of sulphides.The concept of oxide gold deposits underwent a dramatic change after the discovery of the Carlin gold mine in north-central Nevada in the early 1960's. Now the term implies large tonnage, low-grade bulk minable deposits that are processed by milling and/or heap leach methods.Oxide gold deposits may now be classified into two types: (1) primacy ores derived directly from the effects of hydrothermal alteration on host rocks, and (2) secondary oxide ores derived from the supergene oxidizing effects of circulating post-mineral meteoric waters on gold-bearing sulphides. Each type of deposit has unique diagnostic mineralogic and metallurgical characteristics that must be addressed to achieve successful exploration strategies and viable metallurgical exploitation.The author would like to thank the management of Newmont Metallurgical Services and Newmont Mining Company for allowing presentation of this paper. Thanks are due Sevkett Acar, Donald M. Hausen, Jerry R. Odekirk, and D. Erik Spiller for their critical review of the manuscript. Also, thanks are extended to all those cited and uncited whose hard work and dedication have led to the discovery and exploitation of near-surface oxide gold deposits. Our knowledge would be greatly limited without the dedication and research of many others."

Jan 1, 1997

By Xiaobing Yang, Abhishek Lahiri, Animesh Jha

"In the FFC-Cambridge process, the cathodic dissociation of oxide and CO/CO2 production on carbon anode is the basis for metal production in a CaCl2 bath. By using an inert intermetallic anode, the CO2 evolution can be eliminated altogether with acceleration in the electro-reduction kinetics. At present the process suffers from slow reduction kinetics of TiO2 to Ti metal, which can be enhanced significantly by the incorporation of alkali species in the TiO2 pellet at the cathode and in the CaCl2 bath in the presence of an intermetallic inert anode. Nearly full metallization with greater than 99% of Ti metal containing 1500 ppm of oxygen is possible to achieve in less than 16 hours of electro-reduction. Analyses of phase composition and the microstructures morphology in fully metallized pellets revealed the presence of localized solidified Ti layer, indicating that fast reduction process also involved formation of liquid phase as middle stage reaction. In addition, in situ creation of porosity and maintain higher current level during electrolysis process were two key factors to fully reduction of TiO2.IntroductionDuring cathodic dissociation of TiO2 in a CaCl2 bath and anodic evolution of CO2 on a carbon anode, which is the basis for the FFC Cambridge process [1], the rate of metallization slows down due to the formation of CaTiO3 at the reaction interface. Calcium and alkaline earth perovskites are known for their poor electrical conductivity which adversely affects the overall electro-reduction. One of the ways to increase the porosity is via the addition of polyethylene precursors in the pellet or by directly starting from perovskite [2, 3]. The experimental evidences shown in the literature confirm although the speed of reaction increases, but a complete or near complete metallization is not possible by enhancing the in-situ porosity alone, as the insulating perovskite is very slow to decompose under the equilibrium that prevails in the cell. Plethoric evidences on carbon anode show with the current decrease gradually, and finally stabilize at a very low value between 0.2 and 0.4 A, which is a testimony of the presence of perovskite insulating barrier in the current path. Our aim in this paper is to demonstrate the mechanism of enhanced electro-reduction when alkali ions are present in the oxide pellet at cathode and in the bath. We also show for the first time the use of an intermetallic anode for Ti-metal production using the FFC Cambridge process."

Jan 1, 2009

By Gaifeng Xue, Lei Zhang, Xia Liu, Lina Wang, Pu Liu, Benquan Fu

"Experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of the integrated process with a three-dimensional electrode reactor combined with Fenton process for coking wastewater treatment. Effects of initial pH value, reaction time, H20 2 dosage, Fe2+ dosage on Total organic carbon (f OC) removal rate were investigated. The kinetics of degradation of TOC from coking wastewater by three-dimensional fluid bed electrode reactor combined with Fenton process was also studied. Experimental results shows that three-dimensional fluid bed electrode reactor combined with Fenton process had better synergic effect, average 17.4% TOC removal rate was improved within an hour. It was found that TOC degradation in coking wastewater followed a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetic model. The optimum degradation efficiencies of TOC were up to 60% as pH3.4, 3.5 mM ofFe2+ andl.2-1.8ml/L H20 2 in 90min reaction period. Furthermore, the integrated process showed a rapid reaction performance at a low temperature within a short reaction time and remained high efficiencies for TOC removal. Overall, the integrated process was proved feasible for coking wastewater treatment in practical applications.IntroductionCoking wastewater is generated from coal coking, coal gas purification, and by-product recovery processes of coking, which is composed of phenolic compounds, heterocyclic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ammonia, cyanide, polycyclic nitrogen-containing aromatics, acyclic compounds, etc. Most of these constituents are refractory, poor biodegradability, toxic and carcinogenic['-31. Currently, coking wastewater is usually treated by different forms of A/O biological nitrogen removal process as the primary treatment process, but the aforementioned processes are not efficient enough to meet the requirements from the National Discharge Standard in China (GB13456-1992). According to the continuous requirement on improving environmental protection for coking industry (revised 2008), increasing wastewater utilization ratio and reducing discharge of effluent in the coke industry has to be implemented for cleaner production and sustainable development. Therefore, advanced technologies need to be developed to treat coking wastewater and reutilize the product as industrial cooling water, which would be one of the best choices to achieve zero discharge of wastewater and reduce water consumption per ton of steel [4-51 . In this study, three-dimensional fluidized bed electrode reactor combined with Fenton process was adopted to advanced treatment of coking wastewater, and the effects of operating conditions, including H2O 2 dosage, Fe2+ dosage, initial pH, and reaction time on TOC removal rate, were investigated. Meantime, study of kinetics of reaction was estimated."

Jan 1, 2013

By Ann M. Hagni

Microscopic and sub-microscopic gold commonly occurs in the sulfides pyrite (FeS2) and arsenopyrite (FeAsS). To recover refractory gold from pyrite and arsenopyrite, these sulfides are roasted to create porosity and permeability prior to cyanide leaching. A new technique of adding Ca(OH)2 and roasting, lime roasting, is being tested fro retention of contaminant sulfur and arsenic and effectiveness of gold extraction. The lime roasting of pyrite at 500°C contains anhydrite (CaS04), oldhamite (CaS), calcium sulfite (CaS03), hematite (FenOs), magnetite (Fe304), and minor amoupts of pyrrhotite (Fel.,S) and pyrite. At 600°C, 650°C and 700°C the main constituents are anhydrite, oldhamite, and hematite. At 750°C, 800°C, and 850°C anhydrite and hematite are the predominant phases with minor oldhamite. The roasted arsenopyrite at 450°C contains arsenic sulfides, calcium sulfite, hematite, and minor oldhamite, magnetite, and pyrrhotite. At 650°C 700°C 750°C and 800°C, anhydrite, oldhamite, arsenic sulfides, and hematite are present. At 850°C, the same minerals are present with only minor oldhamite. The textures indicate excellent porosity and permeability at high temperatures. At lower temperatures, rims of low porosity and permeability surround many of the pyrite and arsenopyrite particles, and the complete oxidation process from pyrite to pyrrhotite to magnetite to hematite can be observed in individual particles. Additional process mineralogy techniques employed in this study are electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) and cathodoluminescence microscopy (CLM) in the determination of the calcium-sulfur- oxygen phases. Automated scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy was utilized to analyze particles for gold content. Reflected light microscopy (RLM) revealed arsenopyrite and pyrite encapsulated in quartz particles of the gold-bearing concentrate, gold roast calcine, and cyanide leach residue.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ann M. Hagni

Microscopic and sub-microscopic gold commonly occurs in the sulfides pyrite (FeS2) and arsenopyrite (FeAsS). To recover refractory gold from pyrite and arsenopyrite, these sulfides are roasted to create porosity and permeability prior to cyanide leaching. A new technique of adding Ca(OH)2 and roasting. lime roasting. is being tested for retention of contaminant sulfur and arsenic and effectiveness of gold extraction. The lime roasting of pyrite at 500°C contains anhydrite (CaS04). oldhamite (CaS). calcium sulfite (CaS03). hematite (Fe2O:J), magnetite (Fe304). and minor amounts of pyrrhotite (Fe1.xS) and pyrite. At 600°C. 650°C and 700°C. the main constituents are anhydrite. oldhamite. and hematite. At 750°C. 800°C. and 850°C. anhydrite and hematite are the predominant phases with minor oldhamite. The roasted arsenopyrite at 450°C contains arsenic sulfides. calcium sulfite. hematite. and minor oldhamite. magnetite. and pyrrhotite. At 650°C. 700°C, 750°C. and 800°C, anhydrite, oldhamite. arsenic sulfides, and hematite are present. At 850°C. the same minerals are present with only minor oldhamite. The textures indicate excellent porosity and permeability at high temperatures. At lower temperatures, rims of low porosity and permeability surround many of the pyrite and arsenopyrite particles, and the complete oxidation process from pyrite to pyrrhotite to magnetite to hematite can be observed in individual particles. Additional process mineralogy techniques employed in this study are electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) and cathodoluminescence microscopy (CIM) in the determination of the calcium-sulfur-oxygen phases. Automated scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy was utilized to analyze particles for gold content. Reflected light microscopy (RIM) revealed arsenopyrite and pyrite encapsulated in quartz particles of the gold-bearing concentrate, gold roast calcine, and cyanide leach residue.

Jan 1, 1991

By Michael E. Stout

M.A. Industries, Inc. has developed and is now offering on a commercially available basis, complete systems to recover and recycle lead from spent SLI batteries. The system begins with the breaking and separation of the component parts of the batteries and subsequent treatment of the effluent water produced by this operation. The recyclable materials recovered from this process are metallic lead, lead paste and polypropylene. The lead paste is introduced into a process to convert it from a lead sulfate to a lead carbonate. The process also regenerates the salt solutions into reusable carbonate. The lead carbonate is then leached into an acid bath where it is later recovered by a proprietary electrolytic process. The metallic lead is recovered in a short rotary furnace producing metal for further refining and alloying. The polypropylene is further washed and then introduced to a reclaim extruder along with the proper modifiers and additives. The resulting resin can then be sold on the open market to injection molding processors. This complete system greatly reduces the amount of waste to be disposed of and completely complies with all applicable EPA guidelines.

Jan 1, 1993

By V. Baltazar

The behaviour of arsenic and antimony during copper electrorefining was studied in order to identify the conditions under which good quality copper cathodes could be produced from anodes with high levels of these impurities. Examination of the effect of current density over the range 21 to 37 mA/cm2 indicated that the relative amounts of As and Sb entering the electrolyte affected the onset of passivation. When the ratio of As/Sb entering the electrolyte was greater than 2, the anodes showed no sign of passivation even at the highest current density; when the ratio was less than 2, the anodes passivated at 37 mA/cm2. Cathode analyses showed that anodes with an As/Sb dissolution ratio less than 2.0 tend to produce cathodes of inferior quality even at normal current densities (25.7 mA/cm2). The criterion of a minimum As/Sb dissolution ratio of 2.0, and mathematical correlations for the distribution of As and Sb between the electrolyte and slime developed in a previous study, allow the calculation of the maximum allowable Sb level in en anode for a given As concentration. Analyses of plant data at the CCR Division of Noranda Inc. for the last four years of operation have demonstrated that the use of this as a quality control tool has allowed the quality of copper cathodes to be maintained despite a significant increase in the average Sb levels in anode receipts.

Jan 1, 1987

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