Search Documents

By H. -P. Behrendt

Muldenhiütten Recycling und Umwelttechnik GmbH is a lead smelter with a very long tradition. The first reference to the existence of smelters on this site is given by a document of inheritance dated 1318. Originally run as a primary lead smelter, which was supplied with ores from the Freiberg mining district and from overseas, it was required to change it over to secondary raw materials due the abandonment of mining in the Freiberg area in 1968. Today, Muldenhüitten Recycling und Umwelttechnik GmbH has two production lines; lead production from secondary lead and waste incineration, which are closely connected and gain advantage from each other. Installations, improved technologies, and the highly skilled personnel have contributed to satisfy all demands for a production concerning quality and environment.

Jan 1, 2000

By N. Verbaan, E. Bourricaudy, M. Dry

"Starfield Resources is developing a novel circuit for the recovery of nickel, copper, cobalt, iron oxide, sulphuric acid and precious metals from the Ferguson Lake deposit in Nunavut, Canada. In this deposit, pentlandite is too finely disseminated in pyrrhotite for the production of a smelter-grade nickel concentrate at an acceptable nickel recovery, so established technology is not applicable and a novel chloride-based circuit is under development. The enabling aspect of this circuit is the hydrolysis of ferric chloride to hematite, releasing gaseous hydrochloric acid that is recycled. Conventional steps are used for separating and recovering the valuable metals from the chloride solution generated. This paper briefly outlines the circuit and presents the results of experimental work on the enabling steps, viz. the oxidation and hydrolysis of iron chloride to hematite and gaseous hydrochloric acid.IntroductionThe Ferguson Lake bulk sulphide ore body in Nunavut, Canada, owned by Starfield Resources Inc., contains significant amounts of base and precious metals but its mineralogy is such that it is not amenable to conventional processing. Pentlandite, for example, is too finely disseminated in pyrhhotite for even modem techniques such as fine grinding and improved flotation reagents to be effective [ 1] and extracting the value requires processing the entire bulk sulphide, including the pyrrhotite. To give the project a total green footprint, in terms of both carbon emissions and acid rock drainage, Starfield imposed the following requirements:• No reactive tailings to generate acid rock drainage.• No gaseous emissions other than normal atmospheric constituents.• No liquid effluents.• No regular consumption of fossil fuel.• High recoveries of all the valuable metals."

Jan 1, 2011

By Junji Shibata

Waste solution from the Ni non-electric plating process contains 4.0 kg/m3 Ni, 0.1 kglm3 Fe, 0.0 I kg/m3 Zn, 48 kg/m3 S042-, 98 kg/m3 HP032-and 31 kg/m3 laetic acid as a typical composition. Solvent extraction, cementation, ion exchange resin and precipitation methods are possible to use for the treatment of this kind of solution. In this study, solvent extraction of Ni was investigated using two kinds of extractants to clarify the relation between extraction percent and pH for various extractant mixtures. As Ni ion has an octahedral structure with ligands, the synergistic effect for Ni extraction is considered to take place in solvent extraction using two types of extractants. The investigation of the synergistic effect for Ni extraction was carried out in case of various extractant systems.

Jan 1, 2003

By V. Gel

An analysis of the operation of rotary tilting furnaces has indicated that they ensure better recoveries of metal when smelting lump scrap from aluminum slags, brass and bronze. On the other hand, processing of slags (concentrates obtained by mechanical upgrading) in pear-shaped furnaces results in much lower performance values as might be expected. At the Novgorod metallurgical plant a process for blister copper production in a rotary TROF converter (Outokumpu, Finland) has been introduced on a commercial basis. Smelting of brass and bronze scrap to produce blister copper is carried out using the technology developed in Russia and differing from the Outokumpu technology by the types of flux used and the blowing conditions in fuel burners and for melt oxidation, as well as by the design of gas removal system, the design of nozzles for melt blowing and the use of carbonaceous reductant (coal) for magnetite reduction in slags. Industrial-scale testing has demonstrated that by means of special techniques the 30-tonne converter productivity can be increased by 30% to 40% as compared with its rated productivity.

Jan 1, 2006

By Kwan Soo Han

A thermodynamic model for predicting the distribution coefficients has been developed by taking into account the extraction mech-.ism and the chloride complexation when Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy and Ho for single component systems are extracted from acidic chloride solutions by di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid and 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester in kerosene, respectively. The model equation includes two constants, of which one corresponds to the apparent extraction equilibrium constant and the other is due to the variation of the activity coefficients of organic species. These values are determined from a few experimental data by the curve fitting method Then, the distribution coefficients under untried conditions have been predicted from only the initial data by iterative calculations. Bromley's formulation is used to estimate the activity coefficients of aqueous species and the interaction parameters for some rare earth chlorides are reported in terms of molality and molarity using data from Spedding et al. The validity of this method has been confirmed by excellent agreement between the experimental and the predicted distribution coefficients.

Jan 1, 1989

By L. Z. Villanueva

An investigation and evaluation has been performed to determine the potential utilization of electron beam irradiation technology for sulfur oxides removal from reduced-S02-strength metallurgical gases from copper smelters. These off-gases, though too weak to be converted to usable, concentrated: sulfuric acid by conventional means, are characterized by SO2 content higher than 2,000 ppm and a complex chemical composition, including high oxygen content and its generation occurring in a cyclical, fluctuating pattern. This work was based on information supplied by principal smelter companies in Chile. A laboratory facility with flow rate of 20 Nm3/h and equipped with an electron accelerator of beam energy 8.00 keV, has been used for testing. Influence on SO2 removal efficiency of operational parameters such as gas temperature, water vapor content, ammonia feed ratio and irradiation dose was established. The main conclusion of this work, from experimental laboratory tests as well as engineering studies, is that the Electron Beam Process (EBDS) is a cost-effective, simple and appropriate chemical process means for emission abatement. EBDS can, on a site-specific basis, adequately augment SO2 removal to upgrade overall abatement as required and in an optimal manner.

Jan 1, 1999

By T. Ikeda, M. Maeda, K. Mita

Galvanized steel sheet is the major product for the automobile industry. Therefore, automotive recycling results in zinc-containing scrap that should be remelted in EAFs. Naturally, the EAF dust is a very important source of zinc for zinc recycling processes. The thermodynamic properties of the Fe-Zn intermetallic compounds formed on the surface of galvanized steel sheet should be clarified to make clear the evaporation mechanism of zinc; however, there are few reports on these compounds because of difficulties in their synthesis. There are various intermetallic compounds in the Fe-Zn system. We synthesized them at about 673K. A specimen was examined chemically and X-ray diffraction was applied to ensure the formation of intermetallic compounds. Material containing two phases was placed in a Knudsen type effusion cell and the mass spectrum studied to evaluate the vapor pressure of zinc. The thermodynamic property of intermetallics was then evaluated through measured intensity.

Jan 1, 2000

By Y. Takasaki

For zinc hydrometallurgical extraction, reducing the electric power consumption of the electrowinning process is an important issue for energy savings. At the Zinc & Lead 2000 symposium, the authors suggested that by using the Pb-0.5%Ag-0.6%Ca alloy, the electrolysis energy can be decreased compared to the conventional Pb-0.9%Ag alloy. In this study, the corrosion behaviors of the Pb-Ag-Ca electrode in a sulfuric-acid electrolyte were investigated. Based on the results Or me Pb-0.5%Ag-0.6%Ca anode after 20 days of electrolysis, the bath voltage and the quantity of anode slime decreased compared to the Pb-I%Ag anode. Subsequently, beta-PbO2 on the electrode surface was detected by XRD and its peaks were sharper than the Pb-1 %Ag anode. Moreover, a dense beta-PbO2 layer on the 0.6%Ca a anode surface was observed. Therefore, it was suggested that the dense beta-PbO2 layer on the anode surface is one of the factors that leads to a lower bath voltage and decreasing quantity of anode slime.

Jan 1, 2003

By Cameron Harris

With the consolidation of the copper industry in the second half of the 20th century resulting in fewer plants treating ever increasing quantities and qualities of feed, the enormous flexibility of the Noranda Process gives it significant advantages over many competing technologies for the production of matte. Toll smelting, recycling, and secondaries treatment will become the cornerstone of profitable operations for all but the lucky few who have large captive mines associated with the smelter. Consequently, the ability to respond to changing market conditions without significant metallurgical or operational upsets will be of considerable commercial advantage. The inherent stability of this bath-smelting process leads to tight matte grade control, while the bath turbulence leads to rapid consumption of feeds with widely varying physical characteristics. Low capital and operating costs combined with a layout suitable for retrofit into existing converter aisles makes it a sensible choice for parts of the world still experiencing the aforementioned consolidation, which is essentially complete in fully developed economies such as the United States of America and the European Union. This paper will discuss features of the Noranda process compared with other technologies and its place in the future global copper production industry, which is set to become increasingly competitive and aggressive.

Jan 1, 2002

By F. Tanaka

In April 1999, a two-year campaign of the Mitsubishi furnaces was achieved at Naoshima Smelter; the present one is expected to be extended much longer. An overview of basic technology for decreasing refractory wear in the Mitsubishi Process is presented. One of the main features of the process is the use of top blowing lance technology which has a different effect on the furnace refractory than other conventional processes. The refractory wear of concern is hearth wear caused by top blown powder injection, wear of the side wall caused by splashing droplets, and wear of the bath level refractories caused by surface waves of melts in the furnace. These have been systematically investigated for many years. This paper describes the results of various model tests and their application to practical furnace design and operation.

Jan 1, 1999

By Antonio de Lucas, Juan Francisco Rodríguez, Ignacio Gracia, Mª Teresa García

"The amount of waste of Polystyrene (PS) foams is increasing in last years due to their use in insulation, protecting and, storing many different food products. Conventional methods of recycling such as crushing and shrinking by heated air or frictional heat have the disadvantages of molecular degradation, resulting in a reduction of the quality of the recycled polymer. Dissolution and shrinking with suitable solvents is one of the cheapest and more efficient ways of polystyrene recycling but in the process of the solvent recovery by distillation a certain degree of molecular degradation is produced. In this way, CO2 supercritical technology appears as an interesting alternative for the elimination of solvent. This work proposes a global process to polystyrene recycling in two steps: a polystyrene dissolution with a suitable “green” solvent followed by its elimination by supercritical tecnologhy. In order to develop a “green process” the constituents of essential oils, limonene, terpinene, cymene, and phellandrene, are selected as the most appropriated solvents. Introduction In the last years, disposal of the non-biodegradable plastic wastes has been recognized as a serious environmental problem. Recycling these wastes has great interest in order to prevent the environmental pollution and to preserve natural sources (1, 2, 3). Since the Polystyrene foams (PS) is one of the most used foam in isolation, protecting and food storage most of recycling work is concerned with this polyolefin (4). The two main alternatives for treating polymer wastes are energy recycling, where wastes are incinerated, and mechanical recycling (5). Environmental argumentations such as toxic emissions are building up a public resistance against incineration process (6). Mechanical recycling is a popular recovery path for manufacturers and is carried out on single-polymer waste streams. Any way, the market for recycled products can only be found if the quality is close to that of the original. Unfortunately the process of classification and further recovery of these wastes makes them often more expensive than virgin plastic (7, 8). Solvent extraction is one of the cheapest and more efficient ways for PS recycling. If it is done in house of waste producers the separation between plastics could be easy and effective and the transport costs would be eliminated."

Jan 1, 2008

By Daniel Kim, Ari Rantala

Efficient on-line monitoring of electrolytic cell performance in copper electro-refining has been challenging due to the need for complex electrical measurement systems and the management of the enormous volume of data. Based on Kennecott Utah Copper's innovation Outotec has developed a novel and innovative electrolytic cell monitoring system called CellSense™ System. As the system is based on self-powering from bus bars, wireless communication, on-line adaptive modeling and easy to access information and alarming, traditional obstacles of electrolytic cell monitoring are eliminated. With cell voltage and electrolyte temperature measurements, CellSense System enables real-time cell performance discovery and early reaction to critical production or quality disturbances such as short-circuiting, flow blockages, cold cathodes or electrolyte temperature excursions. During the past few years the system has been delivered to over 3500 commercial cells. In this paper the largest CellSense™ System ever delivered and recently adapted by Kennecott Utah Copper with 1412 cells monitored on-line for high tankhouse performance, cathode quality and optimized operator work flow is presented. Early results and benefits are discussed.

Jan 1, 2012

By Samson Adeosun, Sanmbo Balogun, David Esezobor

"In a typical year, approximately 1.7 million tons of residues and wastes are expected from Ajaokuta integrated steel plant, Nigeria. They will be generated mainly from sinter plant, blast furnace (BF), and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) operations and during rolling and finishing. The residues and wastes include slag, dust, sludge and slurries from gas cleaning, waste water, mill scales and other associated scraps. In this paper concepts for the utilization of residues and wastes in Ajaokuta Steel Plant where no reclamation routines have been provided for in the first and second phases of its project implementation is designed. The paper analyses the sources of the iron oxide wastes and evaluates the quantities expected from the main production facilities of the plant which include the two 312 m2 capacity sintering machines, the two 2000 m3 blast furnaces and two 130-T BOF (of the 2nd phase expansion of the Steel Plant). A reclamation routine designed for Ajaokuta residues and wastes is presented.IntroductionIn the steel industry, approximately 550kg of residues per ton of crude steel arise from the production processes and from pollution control facilities [1- 4]. These residues consist of slag, dusts and sludge, mill scale, spent pickle liquor, and other iron bearing materials. The main by – products generated in the steel industry are listed in Table I.Although major progress has been made in the recycling and use of some of these residues, particularly flue dust, blast furnace and steel making slag, yet a significant quantity are land filled or stockpiled. These unsightly stockpiles occupy valuable real estate and may become a source of environmental pollution if not otherwise disposed. In any case, the dumping option has become quite costly. For instance, one ton of iron ore costs between 28 and 34 US dollar, whereas as much as $20 per ton of steel produced is required to meet environmental compliance obligation in the USA [5, 6]."

Jan 1, 2008

By K. Koike, N. Masuko, Y. Takasaki

At the Zinc & Lead'95 symposium, one of the authors presented several modifications of Pb-Ag-Ca alloy anodes for the zinc electrowinning process, and also, the behavior of some organic additives in the electrolyte. In this study, the mechanical properties of the electrode materials composed by Pb-0.5 wt% Ag-(0~0.8) wt% Ca were studied by the tensile and Vickers hardness methods. Furthermore, experimental research on the influence of rolling and annealing treatments on the electrolytic behavior and mechanical properties of these alloys was carried out. The tensile strengths of the annealed Pb-0.5 wt% Ag-(0.1-0.8) wt% Ca alloys were the same or higher than those of the as-cast Pb-0.9 wt% Ag alloy. The anode potential using the as-cast Pb-0.5 wt% Ag-0.6 wt% Ca alloy decreased compared to the as-cast Pb-0.9 wt% Ag alloy. Moreover, the annealed Pb-0.5 wt% Ag - 0.6 wt% Ca anode after rolling showed a lower anode potential than the as-cast Pb-0.5 wt% Ag - 0.6 wt% Ca anode.

Jan 1, 2000

By Tabbetha A. Dobbins

We report studies concerning the time frame for catalytic reactions between NaAlH4 (sodium alanate) and TiCl3 during high energy milling. Spectral features in x-ray absorption spectra were analyzed for samples milled for various times (0 minutes, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 25 minutes, and 125 minutes). A structural transition from Ti3+ to Ti0 is observed within the first 5 minutes of milling. The Ti0 structure persists for samples milled for times longer than 5 minutes?even after those samples underwent a subsequent single hydrogen desorption/absorption cycle. Samples milled for less than 5 minutes retain Ti3+. For samples milled for 1 minute, the Ti-K edge position shifts from Ti3+ to Ti0 after a single desorption/absorption cycle. However, the first coordination sphere around the Ti0 absorber occurs at longer distances for 1 minute milled sample. These results hint at the formation of Ti0 pure metallic clusters upon desorption/adsorption cycling of 1 minute milled sample. Previously reported x-ray absorption spectroscopy studies have demonstrated the structural transition from Ti3+ (in TiCl3) to Ti0(determined to be TiAl3 found at the surface of the alanate powder). Aluminum deficiency on the NaAlH4 lattice is responsible for controlling hydrogen absorption capacity. These time-resolved spectroscopy studies suggest the possibility for controlling aluminum deficiency, while still maintaining titanium activation of the alanate powder, by manipulating the coordination environment of the titanium dopant during the first five minutes of high energy milling. Specifically, a possible approach to mitigating aluminum deficiency during doping would be to introduce an alternative species to which the to Ti3+ catalyst would form a metallic bond after the TiCl3 has attached at the surface of the sodium alanate powder and before the Ti3+ forms the TiAl3 intermetallic species.

Jan 1, 2006

By Jose Lara

SIDOR has developed a setup model for a roughing mill with edger that optimizes the position of the edger for a better control on the width, optimizes the efficiency of the mill for controlling of the profile of reductions and increments of the speed rolling and improves dimensional performance. This model consider as data entry, the number of passing, incoming and finish thickness and width, hardness and temperature of the material. The setup model is based on the equations of Ekelund for the width spread calculation and estimates of the rolling force. Additionally this model employ a Newton's algorithm for resolving the optimal position of the edger. The preset values calculated by setup model is the horizontal screw position, vertical screw position (edger), threading and rolling speed, some parameters calculated for the correction of ski. In the revamping of the roughing mill of hot rolling of SIDOR, C.A, carried out in January of 2005, it was implemented this setup model and the coefficients and parameters were adjusted for the first 15 days. Starting from there the values of preset, send to roughing mill are calculated by this setup model. The current indicators show an enhancement of 18% in the roughing mill effectiveness and a decrease about 37% in the mill stop by overload in the motors.

Jan 1, 2006

By Christian Hecker

An Eh-pH electrochemical sensor developed for on-line pH and redox potentials copper sulphide flotation process control was studied. The electrochemical sensor cell includes two metallic platinum electrodes, a metallic antimony electrode and a high impedance reference cell which are polarized with a potentiostat. For pH and redox potential determinations, the Sb and platinum electrode potentials are measured, respectively, against the polarized electrochemical reference system. The behaviour of this electrode configuration has been investigated in a laboratory scale. An electrochemical sensor device has been succesfully installed and checked in El Teninte Colon Concentrator's SAG line feeding the copper flotation rougher circuit.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. V. Tarasov

In order to improve technical, economic and environmental performance of hydrometallurgical processing of intermediate products containing copper and nickel, the Gintsvetmet Institute and the IMET Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have conducted studies into the efficiency of the use of alternating current of industrial frequency on processes applied for hydrochemical leaching of various copper- and nickel-containing materials. It has been found that: 1.Imposition of alternating current over the process of leaching of softly reduced nickel oxide with recycled copper sulfate solutions resulted in an increase by 20 to 30% of the rate of the copper cementation process and reduced by 20% its activation energy. At the same time, the recoveries of nickel, cobalt and iron to the leach solution increased up to 82.2%, 78.5% and 57.1%, respectively, and that of copper to the cement precipitate up to 74%. Optimal process conditions have been identified with respect to the current density, electrode material, copper concentration in solutions and the process temperature. 2.In the process of hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching of nickel and copper sulfides, the grain size, the phase form of sulfides, the solution composition (H2SO4, Cl?, Cu2+, Fe3+)and the current amperage had an effect on the nickel recovery to the solution, which reached 90%, while the degree of copper transfer to solution did not exceed 20%. The process of hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching of nickel and copper sulfides with an addition of Cl? made it possible to selectively recover nickel into the leach solution along with concentrating copper in the leach residue. 3.When subjecting samples of commercial-grade magnetic fractions of converter matte to sulfuric acid leaching, the imposition of electric current, the concentrations of sulfuric acid and chloride ion in the solution and the duration of the reaction process had an effect on the process. The nickel recovery was 85% and that of cobalt and iron was 95% and the recoveries reached 97.5%, 98.3% and 99.8% as a result of repeated treatment of the primary residue under similar process conditions. Up to 75% of copper, 75% of sulfur and 99.0-99.5% of palladium was concentrated in the solid reach residues. The experimental data obtained indicates that the use of AC for hydroelectrochemical sulfuric acid leaching for separation of copper- and nickel-containing intermediate products has favorable prospects.

Jan 1, 2003

By Dengfu Chen, Yunwei Huang, Mujun Long, Kui Lv, Pei Xu, Lin Bai

The surface temperature of continuous casting slab in the secondary cooling zone is a key parameter of production control. However, the accuracy of radiation temperature measurement of high temperature casting slab is greatly affected by the environmental factors, such as water vapor, spray, water film and other participational medias during continuous casting process. In this paper, the radiation characteristics of water vapor and its influences to radiation temperature measurement of continuous casting slab were investigated. Based on the database HITRAN 2004 and the measuring principle of monochrome thermometer & colorimetric thermometer, the measuring errors under different operating infrared spectral wavelength were compared. Results showed that spectral region with wavelength nearby 1.0μm or 1.6μm would be the optimum for high temperature infrared thermometer used under the conditions with moist steam, water spray and water film at the secondary cooling zone in steel continuous casting.

Jan 1, 2016

By W. F. Drinkard

Many in the environmental movement have focused on this element. But, nothing they or anyone does will change the amount of arsenic in the world. This report is on actual commercial plants that we developed and operated to recover or stabilize arsenic values from metallurgical dusts from gold and copper pyro operations and arsenical gold bearing ores. When they were available gold and copper values were recovered. Our experience in arsenic extends over thirty years. My first corporation, Mineral Research & Development Corporation was the first in North America to manufacture the then new CCA (copper-chrome-arsenic) wood preservatives. This class of wood preservatives proved to be so effective that it made wood into an entirely new material of construction. It is not uncommon for wood properly treated with arsenical CCA preservatives to last for thirty; forty, and sixty years. Over a hundred years have been projected in some field tests. Hundreds of thousands of trees have been saved. Millions more trees would have been saved had environmentalists not decided that their arsenic phobia was more important than trees. There are several variations of CCA. The most popular is CCA-C. Its formula is: CrO3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.5% CuO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.5% As2O5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.0% Until recent restrictions were placed on the consumption of arsenical wood preservatives, annual consumption in North America was about 150,000,000 lbs./yr. About 64,500,000 of arsenic as the pentoxide was safely consumed this way. World CCA consumption has been about double the above figures or 300,000,000 lbs. as 100% CCA and 129,000,000 lbs/yr as As2O5. Close to 100% of all the arsenic used in wood preservatives is derived from gold or copper processing. The valence of arsenic required for CCA wood preservatives and many other markets is the same valence that is required for stabilization. The economic challenge is how to get there. We have built and operated eleven plants to oxidize arsenic trioxide to its pentavalent form. Most of these have been classic in that they used a common oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid to achieve this.

Jan 1, 2005