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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 Tateo Usui

In the course of carbonization of coal under a rising temperature condition, volatile matter (V.M.) is released. The kind and amount of V.M. released depend on the kind of coal. Components of V.M. are tar, hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H4, C2H6, C3H8), CO, CO2 and H2, which are released in this order as a function of carbonization temperature. When the carbonization of coal under a rising temperature condition is interrupted at a certain temperature, TC, max, semi-coal-char with residual V.M. is obtained. If some optimum interruption-temperature is chosen, small but most suitable amount of V.M., namely H2, is retained. When the semi-coal-char thus obtained is heated again under the same rising temperature conditions but up to more than TC, max (1), the residual V.M. is released from just around TC, max (1). We propose novel iron ore agglomerate bearing such semi-coal-char with some strength. While simple iron ore agglomerate bearing coal char will start the reduction reaction as solid-solid reaction at somewhat higher temperature, the proposed one will start the reduction reaction as gas-solid reaction at somewhat lower temperature but a little higher than TC, max. Samples of semi-coal-char and novel iron ore agglomerate bearing such semi-coal-char have been prepared and evaluated.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. S. Moats

A considerable amount of research has been conducted to determine the causes of anode passivation. Chemical and electrochemical reactions that occur after passivation have received little attention. Chronopotentiometry, linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy have been used to elucidate three reactions that occur after passivation of commercial copper anodes. These involve the dissolution of silver and subsequent cementation and transformation of selenides, the oxidation of lead sulfate to lead oxide, and oxygen evolution. The amount of silver dissolution depends on the silver content of the anode, the time to passivation, and the molar ratio of Ag/(Se+Te). The oxidation of lead from PbSO4 to PbOx explains a potential plateau of oxygen evolution. Silver affects the duration of oxygen evolution on the PbOx. Anodes containing kupferglimmer display a characteristic oxygen evolution potential. It is believed that kupferglimmer provides a lower overpotential for oxygen evolution than the other slime phases or passivated surface.

Jan 1, 1999

By J. Wendt, P. R. Sahm, T. Uloth, M. Weck, F. Foertsch

"The FEM program systems CASTS (Computer Aided Solidification TechnologieS) (1) and FINELF (FINite ELement Frontal Solver) are used to optimize a thin walled die casting. After a short description of the programs it will be worked out how to use them not only for simulating solidification processes but also for optimizing the design of workpieces. The calculations will be done for an automobile's support bracket which is manufactured in a well known car factory in Stuttgart, FRG.IntroductionAt the Aachen Foundry Institute the software package CASTS was developped to simulate solidification of castings. In order to optimize the whole manufacturing process it does not appear sufficient any more to take into account only the specific aspects of casting. For instance one has to consider additionally the stress situation under service load. For this reason the Foundry Institute together with the Aachen WZL-Institute (Machine Tool Laboratory) and the car factory mentioned above started to probe into a first step in that direction. Figure 1 shows the support bracket which shall be optimized."

Jan 1, 1986

By R. K. F. Lam

Unacceptable levels of impurity were noted in high purity chromium melting. Analysis of recent melting data determined that oxygen content in chromium is the critical parameter. Thermodynamics studies identify zirconia to be the most stable oxide in the presence of liquid chromium, followed by alumina and silica. Iron oxide reacts readily with liquid Cr. A certain degree of chemical reaction between liquid chromium and oxides does occur, contamination by the crucible is therefore unavoidable. Equilibrium constants indicate that a chromium oxide addition decreases 'ceramic dissolution and reduces impurity contamination. Safe operating conditions with oxygen content between 1190 ppm and 2500 ppm were identified. Additions of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) of 161 grams and 264 grams to liquid chromium yielded acceptable levels of impurity, and oxygen content was respectively increased to 1624 ppm and 2 179 ppm. A new process of melting high purity chromium with chromium oxide addition for controlling the activity of Cr2O3 is recommended.

Jan 1, 1997

By Yuzo Hiroshige, Masayuki Kyoi, Tomonori Saeki, Masahide Okamoto, Toru H. Okabe, Yu Miyamoto, Tomohiko Akahori, Takeshi Nemoto

We report Hitachi's approach to establish the recycling process for rare-earth metals in magnet. We have developed a process to disassemble the used electric products to collect the magnets, a process to remove the surface plating film of the magnet, and processes to separate rare-earth metals from the magnet. All processes are operated without chemical solutions in order to minimize the environmental impact due to the waste water emission. For the disassemble process, we have developed an equipment to generate continuous shock on the electric products to loosen screws. A sand blast technique is applied for the plating removal process. Rare earth metals in the magnets are extracted by immersion of the magnets in molten magnesium. The extracted rare-earth metals are separated from Mg by evaporation of Mg. The overall yield of recovery is 86.8 %. The purity of the final rare-earth metal is 98.8 %.

Jan 1, 2014

By H. P. Wang, E. M. Perry

"Analytical solutions for investigating the solidification of casting problems with initial superheat and natural boundary conditions have been derived using an integral method. There are two moving interfaces in the solution field, one for the phase change line and the other for the superheat line. Two coupled nonlinear differential equations, representing two moving layers, were calculated by the Runge-Kutta numerical integration scheme. The solutions are in terms of six dimensionless parameters: phase change number, two Biot numbers for interfaces, diffusivity ratio, and dimensionless superheat temperature and time. Parametric studies on these parameters have been conducted to provide generic information about this phase change problem. This analytical information is extremely useful for validating numerical solutions. A simplified I-D finite element model was constructed for the purpose of comparison. The excellent agreement between the analytical and finite element solutions has proven that they are mutually validated.This validated finite element modeling tool was then used for modeling an investment casting process of a super-alloy with a simple geometry: a two-step plate. The nonlinear latent heat release, a common property of alloy materials, was approximated by several piecewise linear segments. The transient temperature response of this 2-D finite element solution, including a metal/mold gap resistance, shows excellent agreement with experimental data.This fundamental work provides a solid basis for further work on the development of a process modeling tool for the complex investment casting process.IntroductionAt present, the investment casting process is used in a variety of industries. In the aircraft engine industry, in particular, investment casting is used to produce parts ranging from turbine blades to engine frames. Because a large single casting can replace many component parts that require machining, fabrication, and assembly, this one-piece casting approach becomes a very cost-effective manufacturing process.The main constraint in using this process for mass production is the long design-to-production lead time. The standard rigging design is still an art, based on the experience of casting experts, rather than on scientific methods. Many trials are often required before making a sound final casting. In order to .reduce the number of expensive casting trials, the development of computer-aided tooling technology is needed.The fundamental physics describing this manufacturing process can be simply described. They reduce to a solid/liquid phase change problem, with two parts - first, the thermal balance of the initial superheat temperature of the molten metal and the preheat temperature of the ceramic shell through heat conduction, and second, the energy release from the mold surface to the ambient by radiation."

Jan 1, 1986

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 Zhiqian Zhang, Chao Wu, Chao Li, Hongxu Li, Yu Chen, Xiangxin Hao

"In this paper, the life cycle assessment models for automobile lightweight materials including high-strength steel, aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy are developed by Gabi software. The evaluation models and evaluation indicators such as acidification effects, rich eutrophication effect, ozone layer depletion effects, global warming, resource consumption and formation of ozone potential were taken into account. It is shown that the effects of acidification and ozone formation are mainly derived from the run phase of high-strength steel and they have strong environmental impact load. While considering the entire life cycle with materials production phase and resource consumption, the aluminum and magnesium alloy appe art o have large r environmental load than high-strength steel. Base d on the evaluation, some optimization tips are proposed.IntroductionAs the increasing of car ownership, automobile has its two sides. One which is the convenient, efficient and fast traffic vehicle; the other is aggravating energy consumption, emissions and environmental pollution. The car industry faces heavy pressure with energy saving, safety and environmental protection. Nowadays, the main study ways for automotive energy-saving and environmental protection are power system improvement, alternative energy sources and technologies. For limitation of technique, development cycle and market share, the development of car is little progress at this stage and the application has been restricted. And another important way is the lightweight of vehicle. Usually there are three ways to get the lightweight automobile body structure, automobile body structure optimized design, using advanced body manufacturing technology, development and application of lightweight high strength body material.The life cycle assessment (LCA)[1lis commonly used to evaluate environmental factors and potential environmental impacts of products and services. As an environmental management tool of product-oriented, it becomes increasingly popular in industry. In this study, the concept of LCA and GaBi software was used to develop models for the three automotive lightweight materials, evaluate the environmental impact and make horizontal and vertical contrast by choosing variety of evaluation systems and indexes."

Jan 1, 2013

By T. Maruyama

The Tamano Smelter of Hibi Kyodo Smelting CO. ,Ltd. went into operation in 1972. The Flash Smelting Furnace that was originally adapted was equipped with electrodes that were attached to the settler substitute of the slag cleaning furnace. Later the development of our own original coke combustion technology was promoted and a new Tamano Type Flash Smelting Furnace (T-FSF), without electrodes, was put into operation in 1988. The technology of coke combustion and combustion the burner have continued to improve. As a result the copper losses in the slag have been reduced as well as a stable operation has been achieved. Furthermore, this has been accomplished while increasing the concentration feed and the matte grade The current objective is to continue to strive for high matte grade operation and to raise production efficiency while paying attention to the important subject of copper losses in the slag. In this report, the data related to the copper loss in the slag reduction are presented along with the influence of the thickness, settling time and coke. The recent operation conditions of the T- FSF are also presented.

Jan 1, 2003

By James L. Whitlock

Biological treatment of mining and industrial effluents reached full scale commercialization around 1980. These proven, low cost, technologies have been limited in application due to a number of factors, including extended periods of time and cost required for pilot testing as compared to chemical treatment technologies, lack of biological expertise in metallurgical personnel, longer treatment periods in some cases, and performance failures based on improper application. Renewed interest in biological treatment technologies is being driven by permits with lower effluent concentration criteria, permits with bioassay evaluation, the need to remove thiocyanate, nitrates, sulfates and? other parameters. Chemical treatment processes, in general, have not been able to meet these present requirements, or require elaborate? combinations of processes, in terms of effluent quality and treatment economics. This paper addresses biologieal treatment of mining and industrial waste waters and selected recent advances in these technologies. The future looks very bright for application of these low capital and operating cost technologies,

Jan 1, 1998

The 15m high Inco flash furnace uptake was designed as a reaction chamber with the objective of destroying the H2S contained in the furnace off-gas by combustion with oxygen at about 1300°C. Until recently, the oxygen required for this purpose was injected through afterburners located at the bottom of the uptake. An undesirable side effect of this practice was the formation of build up accretions on the inside walls of the uptake. This buildup had a negative impact on both the furnace on line time and the control of the flash smelting process. In late 200 I, the afterburners were relocated to the roof of the uptake. As a result, about 80% of the uptake accretion buildup disappeared with obvious beneficial effects for the operation of the furnace. This paper discusses key flash smelting aspects that affect the operation of the flash furnace uptake such as the dusting rate, the formation of H2S in the freeboard of the furnace, and the impact of using coke to supply some of the heat required by the process. The mechanism of buildup formation and its dependence 'on uptake afterburners location are also examined. Prof. Yazawa's sulfide smelting thermodynamic relationships proved instrumental in understanding the conditions that influence the formation and the elimination of H2S and uptake buildup.

Jan 1, 2003

By Hua Hou, Xiaofeng Niu, Wei Liang

"The explicit finite difference (EFD) method is used for calculating the casting temperature field during solidification. Because the time step is limited, the computational efficiency of the EFD method is lower. In order to improve the computational efficiency, a fourth-order in space and second-order in time model based on the equivalent specific heat method and the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method is established. The degree of similarity between the simulation results and the experimental results is analyzed. The results show that the simulation results of this high order mathematical model are close to the experimental results.IntroductionThe 3D heat transfer equation of temperature field during solidification process is as the following: [1-3]."

Jan 1, 2013

By Guo Chen, Jin Chen, Jinhui Peng

In this study, the influences of the green evaluation variables on the characterization of microwave shaft furnaces were systematically investigated. These variables include: resource consumption, environment impact, production cost, processing time and quality of microwave shaft furnaces. A greenness evaluation index, evaluation system and evaluation model of microwave shaft furnaces were established. The analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation were applied to the evaluation process. Resource consumption and environment impact had a statistically significant effect on the green evaluation of microwave shaft furnaces. The results indicated that green evaluation techniques can be applied effectively and efficiently to the process manufacturing of microwave shaft furnaces.

Jan 1, 2015

By Hye-Sung Kim, Dong-Wha Kum, Gyeungho Kim

"Mechanical alloying is an effective way to finely distribute inert dispersoids in AI-TM (TM is a transition metal element) systems. It is considered that high melting point aluminides are formed by precipitation from the supersaturated aluminum matrix. The analysis is based on the fact that much higher content of TM than the solubility limit can be dissolved in alpha aluminum during the high energy ball milling. Nonetheless, the role of undissolved TM particles affecting the formation of aluminides is not suitably considered. In this paper, authors present experimental observation on the formation of Ab3Ti particles from mechanically alloyed AI-Ti alloys in the hyper-peritectic region. This study showed that, in the mechanically alloyed AI-20wt%Ti specimen, intermediate phase of cubic Ab3Ti and tetragonal AIz4Tis formed at 300 - 400°C and 400 - 500°C, respectively, before the MA-state reaches to the global equilibrium at higher temperatures. The formation behavior of Lh- Ab3Ti is interpreted by interdiffusion of Al and Ti in solid state based on the fact that large amount of nano-sized Ti particles exist in the milled powder. Present analysis indicated undissolved Ti particles of nanosize should have played an important role initiating the formation of Ab3Ti phase during annealing.IntroductionInterest in the hyper-peritectic AI-Ti alloys is based on industrial demand for high-modulus and high-temperature aluminum alloys. Earlier works on hyper-peritectic AI-Ti alloys with 4 to 12wt%Ti show that these alloys are strong at ambient temperature and maintain high strength above 300°C when titanium-trialuminide (e.g., Ab3Ti) is finely distributed in the aluminum matrix [1,2]. High melting point and high stiffness with low density of AbTi make the AI-Ti alloys strong with greater thermal stability while keeping weight savings as much as possible. Titanium in aluminum shares other merits of transition metal additions because Ti solubility in Al is low (i.e., 1.l5wt%Ti at 665°C and virtually zero below 400°C), and fine dispersion of Ab3Ti particles is readily accomplished and resists grain coarsening effectively."

Jan 1, 1996

By Xiao-hui Fan, Xu-ling Chen, Xiao-xian Huang, Gui-ming Yang

Grate-kiln-cooler is a predominant process of producing iron ore pellets in China. Since this process is of multi-variant, strong coupling and large hysteresis characteristics, a reliable performance monitoring is thus essential to ensure product quality and economic benefits. Aiming to efficiently monitor the pellet induration within this process, this study proposed an approach that combines statistical analysis and quality soft-measurement. Soft-measurement of pellet quality was accomplished based on the predicted time-temperature profile, and the soft-measured indices were on-line monitored using statistical control charts. Based on the proposed approach, a monitoring system for grate-kiln-cooler thermal process was developed for a domestic pelletizing plant. Running results demonstrate that our system can assist in the detection or diagnosis of abnormal thermal state and finally helps to stabilize the pellet production.

Jan 1, 2016

By T. Shibasaki

There is a strong demand in the photo industry to the higher quality of refined silver. Osaka Refinery produces about 27 mtpm of refined silver mainly from copper refinery slimes. Product quality is attained by controlling the impurity level in electrolyte. Copper is cemented with silver oxide and palladium is precipitated by a chelating agent. Both processes were operated previously in batchwise for treatment of bled out electrolyte, Recently these processes have been improved and made continuous to cope with the increased impurity.load. As a result the grade of fine silver has been maintained steadily at Pd < 3 ppm and Cu < 5 ppm.

Jan 1, 1989

By A. N. Aposhian

The electronics industry generates tin/lead bearing by-products that can be recycled for their metal value. This paper will cover the processes used to recycle these tin/lead bearing byproducts from the plating, circuit-board fabrication and assembly industries. Though these processes are well known to the companies who do the recycling, few outside the industry including the generators of the by-products, understand the processes or needs of the industry. This paper will give a broad overview of these processes, and describe the services provided by this industry. The paper will also touch upon the future of the recycling industry, including the legislative and environmental push for the elimination of lead from electronics.

Jan 1, 2000

By William James Middleton

The life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach can be an important tool for the quantification and evaluation of environmental impacts associated with metal production systems. At the conceptual phase of a new metals development project, LCA can: ? Aid project decision making by evaluating the environmental consequences of design decisions ? Support project permitting and reinforce site/process environmental impact assessment ? Allow environmental impact comparisons between alternate flow sheets For existing metals production systems, LCA has been used to aid targeted process improvements by monitoring recent historical trends in environmental performance, either through local or external (externalities) process improvements. This paper discusses the life- cycle assessment methodology, and its application as a supportive tool for environmental decision-making in process design and operation, and for site environmental impact assessment and permitting. Selected examples from a recent LCA performed on the Pressure Acid Leach Process for treating nickel Laterite ores are employed to demonstrate the usefulness of the tool.

Jan 1, 2004

By Claudio Toro, Alex Moyano, Rodrigo Díaz, Hugo Jara, Carlos Caballero, Pedro Morales, Leandro Guzmán

"During 2007, Codelco-Chile carried out industrial tests to validate the Continuous Converting Process in the Teniente Converter of the Codelco Norte smelter.For planning and starting up the tests, a predictive, analytical and dynamic model was developed to support operational decisions. The dynamic model was developed using the METSIM® platform and dynamic data exchange (DDE) to operate smoothly with MS Excel®. The main feature of this real-time model was the on/off-line ability to work and gather data from either the smelter’s PI system® or database, and simulate the operation with or without scheduled events and controls.The main model development aspects, which include thermodynamics, metallurgical and kinetic considerations, slag-type and on-line mass and heat balances of the process, as well as the successful validation of the model, are presented and discussed in the present paper."

Jan 1, 2009