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By J. Van Boven

The Hoboken plant has continued the program, started in 1973, for monitoring the impact of processes on the environment. Progressive improve¬ments including new installations and equipment have been commissioned resulting in reduced emissions of lead in air. The Hoboken Smelter now fully complies with regulation and observes a yearly mean value of less than 2 micrograms Pb per cubic meter of air in the vicinity of the plant. In addition a new central water-treatment installation permits the discharge of waste water to the River Schelde in accordance with present day regulations. Mention is made of methods used to measure the emissions and immissions at the plant. Results of modifications and new installations recently commissioned are discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By H. Cepin

Production of non-ferrous metals is still principally performed in shaft and flame fired furnaces. Electric furnaces increase metal recovery, reduce environmental burdens and decrease energy consumption compared to conventional processes. Because non-ferrous metals have low melting and boiling points and aggressive slags design of the furnace, energy input, and slag conductivity and composition are very important. Secondary materials are easily handled in electric furnaces. Since additional amounts of lead, zinc and tin will become available from secondary sources in the future, electric furnaces are expected to replace conventional smelting furnaces. The paper describes technical, electrical, and process designs of electric furnaces peculiar to the reduction of non-ferrous metals. Electric and various thermic furnace processes are compared.

Jan 1, 1990

By J. P. Rodier

Despite the good years that the non-ferrous business is now enjoying, one should not forget that in this business growth rates are low, fixed assets are high and prices are more cyclical than in other businesses. Increasing environmental concern puts the industry under pressure. Lead and zinc companies are now profitable and profitability in the next ten years will depend on size of units, location, and choice between new technology and upgrading current ones. Implementation of Metaleurope was a strategic move. It produced a company of sufficient size to achieve new steps in cost cutting and yet remain flexible enough to deal with rising variety of primary and secondary raw materials.

Jan 1, 1990

By Z. R. Llanos, W. G. Deering

Gulf Chemical and Metallurgical Corporation (GCMC) has been operating facility for treatment of spent catalysts in Freeport, Texas since 1974. Recently, GCMC expanded its operations with the addition of an electric furnace for the production of fused alumina and mixed alloys. GCMC and its affiliate Sadaci, started up a new pre-treatment facility in Ghent, Belgium in 1998. GCMC is also part owner of Bear Metallurgical Corporation, a major producer of ferroalloys in the United States. This paper reviews the processes at these facilities. Changes in the management of hydrotreating and hydrorefining spent catalysts are discussed in light of recently issued federal regulations that made the majority of spent catalysts a listed hazardous waste.

Jan 1, 2000

By David C. Lynch

The molecular form of trace elements in matte has been shown to depend on the chemical potential of sulfur and the propensity of the trace element to form a sulfide. Of the four trace elements (As, Sb, Bi and Pb) arsenic and lead behave nearly as opposites, with lead readily forming a sulfide while arsenic forms complexes with free copper and ion in the matte. Antimony and bismuth both display the dissolution characteristics as As and Pb, suggesting that these elements dissolve in matte in multiple forms of significant concentration. While in the present investigation the dissolution characteristics of all four trace elements are examined, the primary focus is on the multiple dissolution behavior of Sb and Bi.

Jan 1, 1995

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 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 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 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 Lucas Barbosa de Souza Martins, Frederico Muylaert Margem, Nathalia Carneiro Garcia Rosa, Sergio Neves Monteiro

"A natural banana fiber extracted from the plant pseudostem has shown values of density and mechanical strength with potential for uses in engineering applications such as automobile interior parts and floating components. Moreover, natural fibers can also be used as insulating materials in packaging and building panels. In this case some thermal properties are required. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the thermal behavior of the banana fiber by means of TGA, DTG and DSC analysis. The TGA curves revealed weight loss related to release of humidity and molecular structure decomposition. Peaks in the DTG curves indicated two intervals in temperature associated with different decomposition processes. The only endothermic DSC peak found was attributed to the lignocellulosic water of hydration being lost around 121°C.IntroductionIn recent times, environmental aspects related not only to pollution caused by non-degradable synthetic leftovers, specially polymeric wastes, but also to climate changes as a consequence of industrial activities, are motivating the use of natural materials. A particular case is fibrous composites, like the fiber grass composites. These synthetic materials, made from non-renewable polymers, are practically non-degradable and contribute to global warming by the CO2 emission associated with the energy required for the fabrication process. In spite of these environmental shortcomings, fiber materials are essential for the production of many items such as insulating chests, automobile cushion, construction panels, etc. An environmentally correct alternative to replace synthetic fibers composites is the naturally existing ones extracted from plants such as ramie and sisal. These have some environmental advantages of being renewable and degradable, these banana plant provide a negative contribution to C02 emission by absorbing greenhouse gas during the plant life cycle. Banana fibers have been used since long time in simple items such as ropes and rugs. Today they are used in engineering applications related insulation in building panels [2] and finish parts in automobile interior components [3]."

Jan 1, 2012

By E. Yegan Erdem, Fiona M. Doyle, Alyssa A. Maich

"There is an expanding interest in synthesizing high quality magnetic nanoparticles, most notably for biomedical applications. Different processing routes have been reported for the synthesis of magnetite and maghemite. However, some ambiguity remains on their precise chemistry, intermediates, and final products, due to the structural similarity of maghemite and magnetite, and the relative ease of redox transitions during synthesis. Here we present the results of TEM, x-ray and electron diffraction, and SQUID studies aimed at characterizing the products from two different reaction systems, thereby clarifying the reaction chemistry. The first system hydrolyzed aqueous FeCh and FeCb chlorides with ammonia in a micro fluidic reactor at ambient temperature; although the reaction product displayed a uniform distribution, it included non-magnetic goethite and lepidocrocite. If the aqueous solutions contained dissolved oxygen, there appeared to be extensive oxidation of Fe(II). The second system thermally decomposed iron (III) acetylacetonate in ether. In prior studies, oleylamine has been reported to serve as both a reducing agent and capping ligand to control particle characteristics; however, our studies revealed little reduction, with maghemite dominating the reaction products.IntroductionMagnetite and maghemite nanoparticles are co=only used in ferrofluids, in medical applications, and in drug delivery. Superparamagnetic properties, along with low cytotoxicity, colloid stability and bioactive molecule conjugation capability, make these nanomagnets ideal for both in-vitro and in-vivo biomedical applications [1]. One of the major constraints on widespread adoption of nanoparticles for these applications is the amount needed. Typical batch synthesis methods produce polydispersed nanoparticles, which require further size selection procedures to isolate the mono disperse nanoparticle population needed for many applications. In order to maximize the yield of usable particles from a synthesis operation, the reaction conditions must be closely controlled. This requires full knowledge of how the reaction conditions control the various aspects of nanoparticle growth. Many methods have been used to synthesize iron oxides, including sonochemical reactions, mechanochemical synthesis, hydrolysis and thermal decomposition. This work examines the latter two methods, focusing on oxidation and reduction of iron."

Jan 1, 2012

By Veronica Escobar

This paper presents results from a two month pilot evaluation of EMEW® technology at CODELCO Radomiro Tomic, in Chile. A prime focus in the test programme was to assess the technology?s capabilities to recover high quality copper from the Radomiro Tomic electrowinning tank house bleed stream. The EMEW® cell developed by Electrometals Technologies Ltd. tolerates substantially higher levels of contaminants than those found in conventional tankhouse, operating at high current densities while maintaining high cathode copper quality all the way down to low copper concentrations. To maintain high copper purity in a copper electrowinning (or electro-refining) tank house, a continuous bleed of solution must be taken from the tank house inventory to prevent build-up of contaminants, and resulting degradation in cathode quality. In an SX-EW operation, this bleed stream is normally recycled back to the solvent extraction circuit, but is occasionally sent to the raffinate pond to re-enter the leach circuit. Return of the bleed stream to the solvent extraction circuit creates a continually recycling load of copper in solution, which may reduce overall plant capacity and expansion potential. Return to the leach circuit has a similar effect, and methods to reduce its impact are always under consideration. The use of the EMEW® technology allows for direct and efficient recovery of near 100% of the contained copper instead of recycling. Tests were run at ambient temperature on bleed electrolyte using current densities which varied between 250 and 1100 amps per square meter, with copper concentrations between 38 and 1 g/l. A profile of maximum allowable current density with respect to concentration was developed, showing that high grade copper can be obtained at all levels of concentrations tested, by choosing an appropriate current density and electrolyte flow rate. The results of this programme show that the recirculating bleed electrolyte from an SX-EW operation can be converted into an expansion in copper production at a comparatively low investment cost.

Jan 1, 2003

By Yukihito Sasaki

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. planned an expansion program for the Toyo smelter and refinery in order to increase the production capacity of electrolytic copper to 450,000 tpy in 2007. Regarding the flash smelting furnace, a drastic increase in the average concentrate smelting capacity from 2,300 tpd to 3,950 tpd was required to achieve the plan. It was necessary to examine the performance of the Sumitomo concentrate burner when the feed rate was considerably increased. The authors developed a mathematical model to describe the combustion phenomena in the Toyo flash smelting furnace. This model was developed incorporating the fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions of the copper concentrate and ancillary fuel. The copper concentrate was considered to mainly comprise chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). The reaction of CuFeS2 was assumed to consist of two steps, namely, the decomposition of CuFeS2 and the oxidation of the resulting pyrrhotite (FeS) and sulfur (S). The combustion phenomena in the furnace at the increased feed rate were predicted using this model. It was found that the Sumitomo burner was capable of enhancing the smelting capacity. This is attributed to the wide dispersion of the concentrate particles caused by an increase in the particle mass and a long residence time in the reaction shaft; this is due to the low temperature of the reaction air. However nonuniformity of the reaction in the reaction shaft was enhanced with the increased feed rate. In order to improve the nonuniformity of the reaction, an increase in oil-burner oxygen and an enlargement of the diameter of the dispersing cone were useful. By combining the expertise of the Toyo smelter staff and the calculation results, the concentrate smelting capacity of the Toyo smelter has been stably increased to 3,600 tpd thus far, and further improvements of the smelting performance are still being carried out.

Jan 1, 2006

By Tarasankar DebRoy

Professor Robertson’s recognized research on metallurgical thermodynamics and kinetics for over 40 years facilitated the emergence of rigorous quantitative understanding of many complex metallurgical processes. The author had the opportunity to work with Professor Robertson on liquid metals in the 1970s. This paper is intended to review the advances in the quantitative understanding of welding processes and weld metal attributes in recent decades. Over this period, phenomenological models have been developed to better understand and control various welding processes and the structure and properties of welded materials. Numerical models and animations of melting, solidification and the evolution of micro and macro-structural features will be presented to critically examine their impact on the practice of welding and the underlying science.

Jan 1, 2014

By Ronald J. McGregor

An overview or precious metals project development and start-up, which emphasizes the process decision. Logic which determines process flowsheet, project economics, and training required to train new operators for start-up. The process decision required to successfully develop a precious metals project requires a blending of test data, environmental considerations and operations experience. Decisions to use Merrill-Crowe or carbon adsorption/ electrowinning/replating, fixed pad or multi-use pad {in heap leach) are dependent not only on technology but also on ability to train new operators. The market for experienced operators is acutely depleted and almost all new operators will have to be "home grown". Experience from the Brewer project in South Carolina as well as other projects put together in the West will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1989

By C. A. Landolt

Inco pioneered the use of tonnage oxygen in non ferrous metallurgy when it commissioned the first industrial oxygen f1ash smelting process for the treatment of copper concentrates in the ear 1y fifties. This techno logica1 innovation was followed by other applications of technical oxygen. Inco is currently implementjng a Sulfur Dioxide Abatement Program designed to reduce SO2 emissions from the smelter by 60% in 1994. The new flowsheet includes new equipment for the oxygen flash smelting of Cu-Ni concentrates and for flash conversion of chalcocite. Oxygen smelting and converting technology will lead to a substantial decrease in use of fossil fuels and to generation of high strength S02 off gases suitable for efficient fixation in a new acid plant.

Jan 1, 1992

By C. A. Landolt

Inco pioneered the use of tonnage oxygen in non ferrous metallurgy when it commissioned the first .industrial oxygen flash smelting process for the treatment of copper concentrates in the early fifties. This technological innovation was followed by other applications of technical oxygen. Inco is currently implementing a Sulfur Dioxide Abatement Program designed to reduce S02 emissions from the smelter by 60% in 1994. The new flowsheet includes new equipment for the oxygen flash smelting of Cu-Ni concentrates and for flash conversion of chalcocite. Oxygen smelting and converting technology will lead to a substantial decrease in use of fossil fuels and to generation of high strength S02 off gases suitable for efficient fixation in a new acid plant.

Jan 1, 1992

By R. Gordon Bloomquist

The economic benefits of the co-production of minerals from geothermal brines far exceeds the potential revenue stream from the sale of marketable by-products such as silica, zinc, manganese, lithium and a number of rare earths. Extraction of silica can avoid scaling problems often associated with many geothermal power projects and may allow for additional power production through the use of bottoming cycles or the use of the brine in direct use applications now impractical due to scaling problems. An additional benefit of silica removal is the opportunity to use the geothermal brine as a source of water for enhanced evaporative cooling ? a technique that can significantly improve the summer power output from binary power plants employing air cooling for condensing the working fluid.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. H. Meza

La Caridad copper smelter is located in the magnificent but rugged Sierra Madre Mountains. This project presents unusual challenges that require the utmost in detailed analysis and planning. The smelter, owned by Mexicana de Cobre, S.A. de C.V., has an annual production capacity of 225,000 metric tons of copper and 600,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid. It utilizes only the Flash Smelting process. This project will expand the annual production capacity to 270,000 metric tons of copper and 1,000,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid. Offgases from the Flash Furnace and the Teniente Converter will be sent to a mixing chamber, from which it will be led to two sulfuric acid plants. This project will then produce a high quality sulfuric acid.

Jan 1, 1995

Aluminum has experienced significant growth in automotive applications over the last decade as a result of its properties and performance attributes. Looking to the future, the opportunities for continued growth in powertrain and suspension applications plus light weighting of body structures offer the potential for considerable further growth. This represents a growing "energy bank" of aluminum that will become available for recycling at the end of these vehicles' lives. Today, around 90% of the aluminum is recovered and recycled from scrapped vehicles because of its high value relative to other materials. The future growth offers opportunity for new technology and practices, to maximize scrap quality and recycling application. This paper will review the demand for these new technologies and practices and will discuss industry activities being pursued in this area.

Jan 1, 2000