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By P. C. Guillaume

Global plant modernizations or expansions cannot be considered in the same light as any other industrial investment project. Relationships between the partners, relationships and communications with the client, structure and organisation of the teamwork, schedule of the work, and a lot of other tasks and missions devoted to external contractors have to be defined considering one fundamental input: an operating plant. For an engineering company expert in processing, like UM Engineering, such a context requires a specific approach as well as specific procedures able to efficiently challenge the generated constraints. First of all, even if a detailed audit had been conducted at the beginning of the conceptual engineering phase, new elements will be discovered during the preparation and realization of the project, and must be continuously integrated. Consequently, a close proximity to the site is necessary. This is one reason why UM Engineering, most often, works in partnership with a local engineering company. The second important point for the client is that the operation must not be interrupted during the realization. In order to make that possible, UM Engineering has defined a specific project structure and organisation, integrating on a permanent basis the operators (the "users") in the project teams. This paper presents the way UM Engineering copes with this type of "multi-constraints" context with reference to the recent copper cellhouse modernization under realization for the CCR Refinery of Noranda Inc. in Canada.

Jan 1, 1999

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 Thomas Brynjulfsen, Merete Tangstad

"Manganese ore fines, generated during mining and transportation, can not 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 and subsequently increase the carbon and energy consumption of the process. In order to utilize manganese ore fines in the furnace they are agglomerated into sinter, pellet or briquettes. The agglomeration process will however change the reduction properties of the ore. In this work the melting and reduction properties of sinter has been investigated.The melting temperature and melting mechanisms has been studied. The mineralogy of the raw ores and agglomerated has been found using XRD, and the composition established using EPMA(WDS). The effect of adding fluxes such as dolomite and quartz has also been investigated.IntroductionManganese metal is produced in a submerged electric arc furnace or in blast furnaces. The reduction of manganese oxide in blast furnace has in the recent years become more unusual due to the high consumption of reducing carbon material[5]. Manganese metal for alloying in steel usually contains silicon and iron, and are therefore called ferro manganese and silicomanganese.During mining, transportation and handling the manganese ore is broken up into different size fractions. The larger lump are used directly in the electric arc furnace, but the finer materials can not be added without treatment. The fine ore can disrupt the flow of CO and CO2 gas through the burden, subsequently reducing the degree of pre-reduction. The fine fractions must therefore be agglomerated into larger lumps, in order to promote gas flow. This can be achieved through a number of different processes. The agglomerate used in this work has been sintered, which means that is has been partly molten and reduced, in order to create bigger lumps."

Jan 1, 2012

By V. A. Luganov

During the treatment of raw materials containing arsenic and antimony, problems in the distribution of these elements in the process products occur. In a number of cases in processing of copper-bearing materials, it is possible (or necessary) to obtain speiss. The purpose of the present research is to study the theoretical aspects and analyze the technological possibilities of producing copper-bearing speiss and the subsequent electrometallurgical processing with copper extraction as well as arsenic and antimony utilization. Copper arsenide (Cu3As) and copper antimonide (Cu3Sb) are the main components of the speiss. A thermodynamic analysis of the electrochemical oxidation of Cu3As and Cu3Sb, carried out using Pourbaix diagrams, showed that in a pH range from 0 to 2, oxidation potential 0.45-0.55V, ions of copper and arsenic and antimony trioxide are in the equilibrium. The kinetic study has shown, that with an increase in the polarization potential, the dissolution process changes from chemical to diffbsion control. An increase in temperature stabilizes the electrolysis process due to dissolution of arsenic trioxide forming on the anode. Electrolysis of speiss using a cathode diaphragm with the solution pH = 1-2, current density 150-200 A/m2 and temperature 60-70°C makes it possible to obtain cathode copper with a current efficiency of 95-96% and to remove the arsenic from the process during the electrolyte cleaning process. The arsenic content in the cathode copper did not surpass 0.002%. As the result of the research, a technological flowsheet for copper-lead speiss processing was developed. At the present time this technology is undergoing pilot testing.

Jan 1, 1999

By Milind Deo, Neale R. Neelameggham

The mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapor - called Soda [as in carbonated water] can be converted to easily stored transportation fuels. Earlier papers on Soda- fuel metallurgy noted that this conversion is endothermic requiring energy. Reduced state metallic elements - preferably the alkali, alkaline earth elements, or aluminum can act as oxygen carriers. Availability of such a combination in commonly land fille waste materials is shown. Plant based wastes which are normally composted form a better-controlled reagent. The energy required for the reaction can come from solar energy. This paper describes possible reactor designs, which can accommodate this conversion effectively using carbon dioxide recovered from flue gases.

Jan 1, 2008

By Robert E. Brown

Magnesium recycling has been used to recover both new scrap and old scrap. It was used extensively in Germany during WWII to expand the magnesium supply. There were a large number of magnesium recyclers in the US who got their start smelting old scrap, old airplanes and old waste dumps from the WWII build up. As the world magnesium industry dwindled, only a few companies were left that did magnesium recycling as a primary business. The sand foundries tended to recycle of their production scrap in their melting furnaces. Even the original die casters tended to put scrap directly back into melting furnaces at the die casting machines. As high purity alloys were developed and the use of die castings in automotive work increased, the tendency was to let the magnesium recyclers convert the scrap back to high quality ingot. Automotive use has grown because of the low density of magnesium. This property is the one of the biggest problems to overcome in shipping scrap. Gates and runners from die casting are very irregular shapes and it is very hard to load a truck with enough material to get a low shipping cost per pound. Recent new equipment companies have developed magnesium equipment that is specifically designed to recycle, refine and cast secondary magnesium metal. These melt cells are supplied as integrated units to magnesium casting sites. The cost and effectiveness of this approach will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2000

By Edgar Vidal

Beryllium metal and alloys have been crucial in the advancement of technologies in space exploration, transportation, national defense, communications, energy, safety and medicine, to name a few. Beryllium is one-third lighter than aluminum and six times stiffer than steel, with unique thermal properties. Demand for this metal is expected to continue to increase as new technologies emerge, hence its efficient and safe extraction needs to be addressed. Current extraction technologies are very complex and energy intensive, but at the same time yield excellent quality metal. In order to develop new or improve current extraction methods, a detailed analysis of current and past extraction technologies must be made. This work intends to compile and interpret most of the research, development and industrial practices used in the production of beryllium, and open the field for innovative extraction methods.

Jan 1, 2006

By David E. Jones

In any manufacturing process, the generation of secondary, associated or waste products along with the primary product is inevitable. Today there is great emphasis on the concept of waste minimisation. As part of that overall strategy, the search .for markets for these materials formally regarded as wastes, can mean the development of whole new industries. This paper examines some of the work necessary to develop recycling and markets for associated products with particular reference to iron and steelmaking slags.

Jan 1, 1994

By Robert L. Opila

Negative electrodes for alkaline nickel-metal hydride batteries composed of MmNi3.5Al0.8Co0.7, where Mm is misch metal, have been characterized electrochermically and using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The stability and rapid hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloy in KOH are attibuted to a surface film. The protective surface film is shown to consist of an porous, outer hydrated layer and a dense, inner oxide layer. In addition, metallic nickel and cobalt are found throughout the film, and are presumed to form a conductive, percolative network that permits rapid electron transfer from the bulk to the solution, allowing rapid electrochemical formation of atomic hydrogen.

Jan 1, 1997

By Q. Chen

The magnetic properties and phase evolution of Nd-lean and/or boron-rich melt- extracted ribbons of Nd98Fe90.2xBx, where x = 6 through 11, have been studied using XRD, DTA, TMA, and VSM. The off-stoichiometric Nd2Fe14B compositions cause additional phases to be present after crystallization and affect the magnetic properties obtained. The crystallization temperature of this alloy series rises with the increasing) boron content. In addition to Nd2Fe14B and a-Fe, Fe3B is detected. It is found that increasing the boron content reduces B, within this composition range. The magnetic properties are directly associated with the relative magnetic phase content in the samples.

Jan 1, 1997

By Vânia L. L. Andrade

Igarapé Bahia Mine is located in Carajás area, northern Brazil. Currently Companhia Vale do Rio Doce operates there a CIP / heap leaching plant treating an oxide gold ore containing about 4 g Au /t and 0,2% Cu, which produces 11 t of gold per year. Recent geological survey has identified a signifcant copper-gold reserve underneath the oxide gold ore. The processing aspects of this copper-gold sulphide ore are described in this paper. It includes ore characterization studies, grinding and flotation tests, orebody variability assessment, flowsheet selection and preliminary economical evaluation Emphasis is given to studies aimed at depressing fluorine bearing minerals to achieve a clean and marketable flotation concentrate.

Jan 1, 1999

By Gerson de Araújo Filho

This paper shows the use of tires as fuel to be employed into blast furnaces. The tires can substitute coal or even charcoal in the blast furnaces tuyeres. The injection into tuyeres, besides the contribution for energy generation, can also produce gas for iron oxide reduction. The tires, as powder to be injected into blast furnaces, contributes for an environmental use of this waste, which helps to obtain a high value product as well. So, the advantage of using such material is that it is waste and has lower cost for preparation. The obtained results showed that the tires have good combustibility. This one was obtained in a model that simulates the same conditions occurring in the blast furnaces tuyeres; these used raw materiais include tires and mixtures of tires with coal or even with charcoal.

Jan 1, 2006

By Sundarrajm Suresh, Hrushikesh G. Pimpalgaonkar, Thiyagarajan Paramadayalan

In this paper, a model of a fuel cell system has been proposed to account for the membrane physics at the micro level which is coupled with the macroscopic flow and mass transport phenomena occurring in a single channel of a Polymer Electrode Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) system. We have developed a novel approach to model the catalyst layer electrochemical processes in a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) and coupled it with mass transport and fluid flow calculations at the channel level using STAR-CD commercial software. The predicted values of the cell voltage from this micro-macro model are validated with experimental data available in the literature. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to study the effect of the design and operating parameters such as catalyst loading and initial temperature on the overall performance of the PEMFC. The results indicate that the cell voltage increases at higher platinum catalyst loading and is also independent of the choice of initial cell temperature.

Jan 1, 2012

By Hiroshi Nakazawa

An acid mine drainage in abandoned Horobetsu mine in Hokkaido, Japan, contains arsenic and iron ions; total arsenic ca.10ppm, As(III) ca. 8.5ppm, total iron 379ppm, ferrous iron 266ppm, pH1.8. Arsenic occurs mostly as arsenite (As (III)) or arsenate (As (V)) in natural water. As(III) is more difficult to be remove than As(V), and it is necessary to oxidize As(III) to As(V) for effective removal. 5mL of the mine drainage or its filtrate through the membrane filter (pore size 0.45m) were added to arsenite solutions (pH1.8) with the concentration of 5ppm. After the incubation of 30 days, As(III) was oxidized completely with the addition of the mine drainage while the oxidation did not occur with the addition of filtrate, indicating the microbial oxidation of As(III). In this paper, we have investigated the microbial oxidation of As(III) in acid water below pH2.0.

Jan 1, 2006

By Xu Weihong

After being pre-treated, composite electro-deposits of semi-bright nickel/nano-SiO2 with bright nickel or with amorphous Ni-P alloy, and Composite electro-deposits of Zinc were prepared on Nd-Fe-B magnetic material. The effect of cathodic current density, nano-SiO2 concentration, stirring strength and surfactants on the corrosion resistance of electro-deposits were studied. In addition surface appearance and structure of the composite coatings were analyzed by SEM. The present investigation shows that the corrosion resistance of composite electro-deposits of semi-bright nickel/nano-SiO2 with amorphous Ni-P alloy was the best, the solution system of semi-bright nickel/nano-SiO2 with bright nickel was stable and its electro-deposits also had an excellent corrosion resistance, composite electro-deposits of Zinc not only had good corrosion resistance, but also low cost, thus making it an excellent electro-deposit for medium or low-class Nd-Fe-B magnetic material.

Jan 1, 2006

By K. B. Dotson

A common international safety and health management system was developed. Analysis of selected major safety and health management systems from around the world was conducted. Functional elements of selected systems were grouped to identify common elements and key differences. Common elements were subjected to qualitative judgments of equivalency and then reconciled. With few exceptions, differing elements were revised to achieve cultural neutrality. The resulting 98 system elements were organized according to the NOSA numbering and title scheme. System summaries were produced in Spanish and English. A pre-implementation self-assessment evaluated conformance in three distinct cultures. The consensus 98 element system was internally named the BHP Copper Five Star Safety System Performance Management Guidelines. Development of a common system within an organization with international operations can enhance the ability of the staff function to share resources, programs and subsystem improvements and thereby increasingly protect workers. Common systems can increase the level of management support by demonstrating increased compatibility of the safety and health management function with traditional business objectives. Safety professionals, industrial and occupational hygienists, business managers and the safety and health of workers will benefit from further development and articulation of common systems for safety and health management.

Jan 1, 1999

By Nelson Collao I.

Loss of the organic phase from solvent extraction circuits is a major cost factor for SXEW operations. Recognized sources of loss include evaporation, entrainment, and biological degradation. The mechanisms for both entrainment and evaporative losses are well recognized. Biological degradation of the organic has not been as extensively evaluated as the other mechanisms but is a major source of loss. This paper discusses the impact of biological degradation on an operating plant, potential mechanisms for degradation, conditions under which biodegradation of plant organic can occur and plant conditions that may assist in promoting biodegradation.

Jan 1, 2003

By Sergio Neves Monteiro, Nuã Simonassi, Helvio Pessanha Guimarães Santafé Jr.

"Thermoset polymers, like the polyester, become harder with increasing temperature owing to molecular crosslink formation, which is a thermal benefit for composite matrix applications. Natural lignocellulosic fibers, however, have low thermal resistance and tend to degrade with increasing temperature. Therefore, the combination of a lignocellulosic fiber, as reinforcement, with a thermoset polymer, as the matrix, results in a composite material with complex thermal behavior. In the present work, a thermal analysis was conducted on polyester composites with different amounts of coir fibers. Both TGA and DTG curves were analyzed to determine the effect of the coir fiber on the thermal resistance of the composites. It was found that the coir fiber sensibly affects the thermal behavior of the polyester matrix for fiber amounts above 10% in volume. This effect is associated with an increase in thermal degradation.IntroductionIn recent years, there has been an increase application of natural fibers as reinforcement of polymer matrix composites in several industrial sectors, with special participation in automobile components [1-3]. Figure 1 illustrates the different components of a modem BMW sedan that are fabricated with lignocellulosic reinforced polymer composites."

Jan 1, 2012

By C. O. Bounds

The magnetic properties of (NdDy)15Fe78B6 sintered magnets have been evaluated using powder prepared by Inert gas atomization. The atomized powder had a particle size distribution from 1 to approximate 1000 microns. The as atomized powders have been sieved into, coarse, intermediate, and fine fractions; magnetic properties were evaluated for the as produced powder and each fraction. A B, of 11.7 kG, a Hci of 11.0 kOe and a BHmax of 32.5 MGOe was -obtained on a sintered magnet made from the as-atomized powder. The magnet made from coarse powder exhibited a slightly higher B, of 12.1 kG, while that from fine powder showed a decrease in B, to 11.2 kG. Hydrogen decrepitation has been utilized to study its effect on the magnetic properties. Finally, cast ingots with a definite columnar structure have also been used to compare the magnetic properties of magnets of the same nominal, composition but of different alloy preparation process. Hydrogen decrepitation does not appear to improve the magnetic properties of magnets made from thin cast ingots. However, it does show a significant improvement in the Hci of magnets made from the atomized powders. Possible causes for the differences in the magnetic properties on magnets made from each process have been discussed in the paper.

Jan 1, 1992

By Weyman Dunaway

This paper will present a description of the development and commissioning of the world?s most efficient process for manufacturing high purity aqueous zinc bromide. The method for making aqueous zinc bromide from metallic zinc and bromine comprises contacting zinc with bromine dissolved in a reaction solvent containing a metal halide salt. The reaction temperature is maintained at less than 60°C. The reaction solvent preferably comprises an alkali, alkaline earth, or transition metal halide; the halide salt preferably comprises a chloride or a bromide. One preferred method includes the step of recirculating the zinc bromide product stream back to the reaction vessel. The reaction vessel can be either a one stage or a multiple stage reactor. The resulting product stream is a high density aqueous zinc bromide solution. The process is so novel that Tetra Technologies, Inc. was awarded US Patent Number 6,036,937.

Jan 1, 2006