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By John O. Marsden

The past fifteen years have seen a number of important developments in copper hydrometallurgy, including the commercial application of biological heap leaching of secondary (chalcocite-dominant) copper ores, the commercial demonstration of chalcopyrite concentrate leaching technology using pressure leaching and biological processes, and the application of novel configurations of solution extraction circuits. Significant emphasis is now being placed on the development of effective stockpile leaching practices for primary ores (chalcopyrite and bornite-dominant mineralization). Some of these developments have been highly successful, and will pave the way for further development and commercialization. Others have been less successful. These developments are reviewed in the context of the metal price cycle and trends for the future are identified.

Jan 1, 2006

By R. M. Luna-Sánchez

Electrochemical studies, particularly Evans? diagrams, have been employed in hydrometallurgy to simulate and explain the redox phenomena that take place at mineral and metal surfaces during operations such as leaching and cementation. However, despite their utility, in some cases, the combination of the cathodic and anodic branches, determined separately, does not reproduce the chemical environment present when both processes occur simultaneously on a specific surface. In the present paper, limitations of Evans? diagrams are analyzed through two examples: silver sulfide cyanidation and gold cementation on zinc. In both cases, the surface kinetics are sensitive to the local pH and cyanide levels. When the electrochemical oxidation of silver sulfide or the reduction of gold are performed in the absence of its corresponding redox reaction, the local pH obtained does not simulate the real situation and the combined reaction kinetics may be very different from those determined from the Evans? diagrams.

Jan 1, 2003

By M. A. Llavona

The study of the formation and components of copper patina and its conservation has assumed great importance. The changing environment has accelerated the processes of patinas degradation; thus, the exhaustive study of factors capable of affecting the patina formation, growth and durability has assumed great importance for the industrial activity of copper. The main components of the patina, oxides, chlorides, nitrates and sulfates, have been determined; the effect of physical, chemical and microbiological factors on patina formation, particularly the influence of acid rain, natural organic matter, particles and microorganisms have been defined. The effect of different electrolytic solutions that accelerate the formation of copper patinas has been determined, and a review of the state of knowledge of the formation and evolution of metal patinas has been made.

Jan 1, 1999

By Hiroyuki Matsuura

Treatment of electric arc furnace (EAF) dusts has become an important issue from the viewpoint of the environmental protection and recycling of variable resources because these dusts contain considerable amount of zinc and lead. A new recovery process of these metals has been proposed, in which the metals in the dusts react with waste polyvinyl chloride to form metal chlorides. Therefore, it is important to clarify the physicochemical properties and behaviors of zinc, lead and those chlorides and oxychlorides. In the present study, the kinetics of chlorination of ZnO, PbO and ZnFe2O4 mainly contained in the EAF dusts were investigated at 1023 K to 1273 K with Ar-O2-Cl2 gas. Based on these results, the selective chlorination and evaporation process of zinc and lead from the mixture of Fe2O3-ZnFe2O4-ZnO-PbO was examined and the high efficiency of selectivity has been demonstrated.

Jan 1, 2006

By A. Bruynesteyn

It is well known that most North American gold deposits are of a hydrothermal origin and therefore they are often associated with sulphide minerals such as pyrite and arsenopyrite. When the precious metals in such ores are held captive inside sulphide crystals, the ores are called refractory because they do not respond to treatment by direct cyanidation. In these cases, it is necessary to recover the contained precious metals using high temperature treatments such as smelting or roasting, or high pressure leaching processes to break down the sulphide crystal matrices and thus liberate the precious metals for subsequent extraction by cyanidation. Sulphidic gold ores containing arsenic and/or antimony are considerably more difficult to treat because, in addition to their refractory nature, the arsenic and antimony content also prohibits treatment by direct cyanidation or amalgamation. These ores must be milled and their sulphidic gold values concentrated by flotation. The resultant concentrates must then be roasted to break down the sulphides before cyanide treatment can be applied.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. E. Molnar

A number of flowsheets have been designed and operated, or are currently being considered, to extract copper from leach solutions having much more copper than the 4 g/L levels typically found in heap leach liquors. Dealing with these solutions has required that the envelope for ?normal? copper solvent extraction be pushed beyond the usually considered limits. Others have published information on flowsheets to recover copper from leach liquors containing over 25 g/L copper. Secondary solvent extraction circuits are often required to attain satisfactory overall recoveries. This paper reviews some of the issues faced in three pilot plant circuits that were operated by SGS Lakefield Research to produce cathode copper from solutions containing 8 to 20 g/L Cu. The primary objective was to maximize copper extraction using one solvent extraction circuit. The role of feed acidity and the disposition of impurities such as iron and chloride are considered. The challenges of running short SX piloting campaigns are discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By Martin Brueggemann

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

Jan 1, 2006

By R. D. Prengaman

Lead usage in paint, anti-knock gasoline additives, pipes, seals, and solder has declined markedly over the past 30 years. Products utilizing the unique properties of lead and its ability to be recycled have survived and grown. These products include shielding, glass (particularly TV and computer screens), sheet for roofing, stabilizers for PVC, insoluble anodes for metal production, electronic solders and lead acid batteries. With the loss of markets many companies have decreased lead product development efforts. Much of the patent lead materials development is devoted to lead acid batteries. In the past 25 years, the automobile battery has been almost doubled in power and reduced in weight, leading to a nearly three-fold increase in performance. Corrosion-resistant lead alloys and improved battery designs have made battery lead usage more efficient. The same corrosion-resistant battery alloys are utilized to increase the life of electrowinning anodes. The challenge for lead product development is not only to maintain and improve the existing lead products, but also to develop the growing lead acid battery market for telecommunications, uninterruptive power sources, remote area power, hybrid and electric vehicles. Lead

Jan 1, 2000

By Daniel Gauthier, Patrick Sharrock, Cedric Verwilghen, Gilles Flamant, Ange Nzihou, Jocelyn Ramaroson

Clean processes are needed to dispose of many wastes. The incineration of 1 ton of municipal solid waste generates 6000 Nm3 of combustion gases contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants. Gas scrubbing processes are required to clean incineration fumes in order not to transfer pollution to the atmosphere. We are investigating the use of Hydroxylapatite (Ca-HA) particles for use as sorbent for the removal of volatile heavy metals. We have carried out the synthesis of Ca-HA by two precipitation methods from solution and obtained solids with specific surface areas reaching more than 100 m2/g. Preliminary adsorption experiments were conducted in a horizontal furnace by mixing Ca-HA with 5% by weight of cadmium chloride in solid state. The mixture was heated to 600°C under air atmosphere during 6 hours. Chemical analysis of the solids confirmed that 85 % of the cadmium was retained in the solid phase. Such laboratory results showed that Ca-HA is capable of adsorbing cadmium chloride vapors, and pilot scale studies confirmed cadmium abatement in an industrial context.

Jan 1, 2008

Korea has about 68 hundreds million tons of limestone's reserves. Still, high-Ca2+ limestone containing more than 52% calcium oxide makes up for about 12% only; hence the need for securing and effectively developing limestone. The best solution is to manufacture precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The synthesis of PCC using high-Ca2+ limestone has several advantages including the efficient development of resources and easing the import dependence on PCC. The first step is the selection of suitable limestone for the synthesis of PCC. In this study, formation age was decided as the primary key point, with its effect on calcination, hydration, and synthesis of aragonite investigated. Results showed that the yield of aragonite increased when newer limestone was used. On the other hand, neither the activity and bulk density of quicklime nor the particle size of aragonite was affected by the formation age, although special values were registered following each formation age. Moreover, the bulk density of quicklime and particle size of aragonite tended to increase with decreasing activity. This result is different from that of the other experiment. Therefore, a suitable method for measuring the activity of quicklime for use in the manufacture of PCC must be established.

Jan 1, 2006

By Robert W. Bartlett

Hazardous metal contaminants in liquid and solid wastes and from ground spills are important environmental problems in many metallurgical production operations. Acid rock drainage, from mines and huge quantities of permeable mine waste, is probably the most ubiquitous example. Fixing mine waste contaminants in situ has been practiced, using sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) and organic reagents as electron donors to create anaerobic conditions and precipitate metal sulfides. Aqueous solutions of sugar and alcohol have been percolated into mine wastes with good results. However, maintaining anaerobic conditions permanently is unlikely, as these solutions are eventually washed out of solid waste and contaminated ground by inflow of either groundwater or meteoric water, allowing re-oxidation from entering air. Emulsions of inexpensive, non-aqueous organic microdroplets dispersed in water provide earth wettablility equal to aqueous solutions and easy percolation into both the ground and mine waste. Subsequent breakdown of the O/W emulsion provides permanent retention of the organic phase, attached to earth particles, that secures lasting anaerobic conditions, precipitates metals as sulfides and prevents re-oxidation of these sulfides. This process and its optimization are described, including experiments with sand-filled columns representing a vertical section through solid waste. Results of organic and metal retention in solid waste are provided from analyses of acid mine water drainage before and after waste treatment.

Jan 1, 2006

By Ana Bohé

Nowadays, Gas-solid processes are widely used in the industry. The chloration and carbochlorination of metallic compounds are some of this kind of non catalitic heterogeneous reactions. In particular those related with extractive metallurgy of refractory elements (Zr, Ti, Nb, Ta, RE, etc). The development of materials to be used in reactors at elevated temperatures and with high corrosion performance, enhance the application of this kind of processes. Although they are currently carried out in the production of many comodities, the mechanism of most of them are yet not well understood. The present work is a deep discussion on the most important aspects to take into account for determining the mechanism of gas- solid reaction, and those criteria fulfil in this analysis were applied to chlorination and carbochlorination examples. The microstructural characteristic of solids, the mass and heat transfer phenomenon, the adsorption and desorption of gaseous species on active surface, surface diffusion processes and chemical elementary steps, which are the mainly contributions to the mechanism of these reactions were analysed. Furthermore, the effect of them on the reactivity of solids and the control step of the reactions were determined. The application of catalitic mathematical models to this kind of reaction and the modification for the better interpretation of experimental results is also undertaken. The most appropriate experimental procedures for following these reactions and the microstructural characterization techniques needed to be use in each case, there limits and applicability are also indicated.

Jan 1, 2006

By Mingzhou Li, Lin Wu, Changren Tong, Fengli Yang, Shaohua Yang

"According to characteristics of Tm, Yb and Lu enriched oxides composition and problems in its traditional extraction separation process, the computer simulation of a optimized fuzzy extraction separation process, in which three products with high purity(>99.99%) could be obtained at same time, was carried out. Distributing Curves of every element in both organic and aqueous phases were worked out. Distribution rules of rare earth elements in every stage of the optimized extraction process were studied. The computation results of economical and technical index showed the consumption of the acid and base chemical reagents in the optimized process would be saved more than 30%.IntroductionFor the solvent extraction separation process of rare earths, countercurrent extraction process was widespread in the industrial practice. Normally, rare earth ions were extracted by the saponificated extractant and transferred into the organic phase, where the acidic extractant was saponificated by the base firstly. Then, the loaded rare earth ions were stripped from the organic phase into the aqueous phase by the acid. Therefore, the acid and the base were the main consumptions in the process, and the equilibrium acid of the stripped rare earth solution was one of the main pollution resources. Meanwhile, for the heavy rare earths, such as Tm, Yb and Lu, stripping was more difficult, and the equilibrium acidity of the stripped rare earth solution was higher, so the acid consumption increased greatly."

Jan 1, 2012

By Sergio Sanchez-Segado, Yuan Zhang, Animesh Jha, Ahmad Fahmi Ruzaidi

Niobium and tantalum are considered critical materials because the increasing demand in the energy sector which is reliant on limited abundance of these two metals in minerals. Traditionally, niobium and tantalum mineralsare digested using hydrofluoric acid at moderate temperatures, producing oxy-fluorides which are separated by solvent extraction, involving the use ofhazardous chemicals. The increasing environmental pressures are forcing the industry to search for alternative low carbon processing methods. In this paper alkali roasting based separation and beneficiation, which is not well understood in the literature, is proposed, for which the kinetics and thermodynamic equilibria for the formation of sodium tantalate and niobate with sodium hydroxide are analyzedat the temperature range of 400ºC to 700ºC. The apparent activation energy of formation,changes from 31.0±0.8 to 22.3±1.2 kJ mol-1 and from 23.8±1.2 to110.2±12.8 kJ mol-1, for tantalate and niobate, respectively. The reaction mechanism is examined on the basis of the analysis of reaction products using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF).

Jan 1, 2015

By Ruth Marlene Campomanes Santana, Michel Tieccher, Marcondes Mafacioli Pacheco, Juliano Urach

"IntroductionThe gaseous emissions of fuel burning by mobile sources are responsible for incidence and increase of many lung and cardiovascular diseases (Braga et al., 2007). These implications can watch in morbity as much as mortality, even when the levels of pollution are considerate restrained or lower. (Leite et al., 2002).Sample of mobile sources exhausts contain not only particles directly shaped by burning, but also secondary particles that results of reaction between other compounds (Burtscher, 2004).One of the principal pollutants produced by combustion process with major toxicity and raiser of adverse effects to health is the particulate material. In its constitution there are fine and ultrafine particles that can to extend deep portion of breath system, break epithelial barrier and reach the interstitial of lungs and then, to unleash inflammatory process (Arbex, 2004).The Particulate Material is employed to define a mixture of solid particles and liquid drops suspense in atmosphere. Queiroz et al. (2007) declare that this material can be divided in two types separated by size interval that together, represent the major class of disperse particles: the fine particles type of 2,5 µm de (breath particulate) and the type of earthliness particles, major than 2,5 µm to 10 µm (inhale particle). The difference of size between the particles influences on the physics and chemistry properties. They affirm that exist correlation between size of particle and heavy metals; how many lower was the dimension of particulate materials, major is the concentration of heavy metals.The inhale particulate (MP10) that is object of present study can exhibit in your composition sulfates, nitrates, amoniacal, marine salt (NaCl), soil elements (Al, Ca, Fe, Si, Ti), metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and water (Queiroz et al., 2007).Recent studies have exhibit strong relation between daily levels of particulate material inhale (MP10) with diameter until 10 µm and others pollutants and one infinity of effects to health that go since total mortality of population, sicken for specific causes until congenital bad formation or even difficult win weight by the fern during gestation (Gouveia et al., 2006)."

Jan 1, 2008

By Hong Yong Sohn

On the occasion of this symposium in my name, I reflect upon the contributions of my academic mentors and early associates who helped shape my professional career. I was fortunate to have these people around me during my graduate work and at the start of my professional career. In forming my view of the technical field and career, they represented academia, research institutions, industry, and different parts of the world.

Jan 1, 2006

By Hong Yong Sohn

On the occasion of this symposium in my name, I reflect upon the contributions of my academic mentors and early associates who helped shape my professional career. I was fortunate to have these people around me during my graduate work and at the start of my professional career. In forming my view of the technical field and career, they represented academia, research institutions, industry, and different parts of the world.

Jan 1, 2006

By Wenshan Zhang

This paper described the present status of China electrolytic manganese industrial production. Electrochemical reactions on cathode and anode, the major technological process, technical requirements on the production and technical index and quality control of the products and the ways of increasing current efficiency during Manganese electrolytic process have been expatiated.

Jan 1, 2006

By L. A. Kazanbayev

The Chelyabinsk Electrolytic Zinc Plant (CEZP) was commissioned in 1935. Over the elapsed years the Plant capacity has been increased from 10 thousand tons of zinc (1935) to 150 thousand tons of zinc (2005). The paper describes the Plant main achievements in production updating for the last 10 years.

Jan 1, 2006

By Simon Lekakh

Direct reduction of Cu,Ni,W,VandMo oxides from various industrial wastes the melting of iron and steel in different furnaces was studied by thermodynamic computation and experimental methods. Thermodynamics was used to compute the final partition of the alloying additions between iron-carbon melts and oxides contained in the slag. It was shown that the sequence of the reduction reactions depended on the melt composition as well as temperature. Kinetic factors limited recovery in induction melting, while experimentally measured final partition coefficients were close to equilibrium during EAF melting. The possibility of the partial substitution of expensive ferroalloys, by different industrial wastes containing nonferrous oxides, was evaluated in foundry and mini-mill conditions.

Jan 1, 2006