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By Marc Verhaege

The effluent under investigation results from a catalic oxidation unit in which paraxylene is oxydised to terephtalic acid. The solution contains cobalt and manganese as their acetates in a concentration range of 0,4 - 1,2 g/I of cobalt and 0,8 - 2,4 g/l of manganese. Before being fed into the main waste stream treatment unit of the plant it is advisable to apply a petreatment step in which both metals are eliminated to a great extent from this effluent. Conventional treatment is done by precipitation of both metals either through pH increment with a base or by adding a suitable reagent producing insoluble species. The aim of this study was to look for a treatment (elimination of both metal species) in which no sludge or precipitate is formed.

Jan 1, 1995

By Randall M. Gennan

Generally sintering is focused on the bonding of particles at high temperatures; possibly with simultaneous densification. However, an important aspect of sintering occurs during heating at relatively low temperatures where polymer processing aids are removed via control of the atmosphere, heating rate, or hold time at intennediate temperatures. New insights into burnout processes show impact from the polymenype, particle size, amount of polymer, atmosphere, part geometry, and thermal profile. This presentation focuses on the key parameters to demonstrate improved mechanical property levels are available in traditional powder metallurgy alloys by proper selection of the processing polymer and proper care in its thermal extraction. The focus is on mechanical property, where gains up to 40% are demonstrated due 10 changes in the processing polymer. Further, atmosphere control during polymer burnout provides a benefit by allowing formation of desirable carbonitrides, giving strength levels over 3 GPa (over 400 kpsi). Insight is? gleaned from powder injection molding, where high polymer contents mandate proper processing control.

Jan 1, 1996

By Achilles J. B. Dutra, Carlos M. Juarez

"The use of thiourea as a gold leaching reagent has been extensively studied by many researchers, and it has proved to be promising for some cases as refractory ores. Otherwise, the recovery of gold from these solutions did not receive so much attention. In this paper the electrowinning of gold in acidic thiourea solutions was studied by voltarnmetry and chronopotentiometry. An adsorption step was detected prior to Au(I) reduction and the diffusion coefficients at 25°C for Au-TU complex and FD were found to be 1.00 x 10.5 cm2 S-I and 1.98 x 10-5 cm2 S-I respectively. At -0.350 V (SCE) a passivation probably due to TU adsorption was observed. For higher overpotentials hydrogen evolution was the main reaction.IntroductionThe use of acidic thiourea solutions for the extraction of gold and silver has shown to be a promising alternative to the traditional process of cyanidation, specially for certain refractory ores (1-3) and electronic scrap (4). In some cases, the industrial scale was reached (1,5). The thiourea leaching of precious metals presents advantages over cyanidation, as faster kinetics, lower toxicity and lower sensibility to base metals; however the costs due to high thiourea consumption impairs its use.The majority of the publications on thiourea processing of gold is on leaching. Many are review papers (5-7). Recently, the adsorption and desorption of the gold-thiourea complex on activated carbon and ion exchange resins have been studied (8-11).Little research has been done on the electrowinning of gold from acidic thiourea solutions, most of it has been carried on the seventies and beginning of the eighties in the former USSR (12-17) and concerned the eletrolytic extraction of gold in tridimensional cathode cells.The present paper concerns the cathodic behavior of the gold-thiourea complex in the presence of formamidine disulfide in order to provide information on the electrowinning of gold from solutions obtained directly from leaching or from an elution process."

Jan 1, 1997

By Giuseppe Bonifazi

Minerographic and petrochemical research was carried out on crude ore samples from the complex polymetallic Zn-Cu-Pb sulfide ores of , Sotiel in Huelva province west of Seville, Spain. A computerized image analysis system was used to define the structural and textural characteristics of the ore to obtain information on the degree of liberation of the different minerals (i.e. pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite). Techniques of digital multispectral image processing of reflected light microscopy images were used. Particular structures were identified by means of mineral associations and numerically quantified to obtain useful information for designing beneficiation processes.

Jan 1, 1991

By Linlin Wu, Marlen Bertram, Chris Bayliss, Bernard de Gelas, Samantha Jones, Kurt Buxmann

"Environmental management is one of the industry cornerstones of sustainable development. In order to understand fully the environmental aspects associated with the raw material acquisition, production, use, and end-of-life operations of aluminium products, the Aluminium Industry has developed an approach based on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology.Within this framework, the Primary Aluminium Industry has established a global Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data set. Inventory flows include inputs of raw materials, energy and water, emissions to air and water, and solid waste.This paper presents the latest LCI data update by the International Aluminium Institute for the year 2010, based on a survey of aluminium plants globally, including bauxite mining, alumina refining, anode production, electrolysis and casting. This update also includes some performance tracking based on the last LCI data collection in 2005, reflecting progress in efficiency and technology, as well as changes in the geographical location of the industry [2010 data pending]. IntroductionIn 2010 the Primary Aluminium Industry produced a total of 41 Mt of aluminium. The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) membership represents approximately 70% of total global production. The industry recognises the importance of co=itting to reducing the environmental impacts of producing primary aluminium, and the significance of working towards a more sustainable future. As part of this co=itment the IAI has developed an in depth Life Cycle Inventory programme, in which data is collected every five years, with supplementary key metrics collected annually.In 2003 the IAI released its first Report ""Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminium: Inventory Data for the Worldwide Primary Aluminium Industry"" based on the year 2000 with an update Report released in 2007, based on 2005 data.This paper presents the latest update for the year 2010 [2010 data pending]. It has been prepared with the same view of collecting all significant Life Cycle Inventory data (raw materials and energy use, air and water emissions and solid waste generated) associated with producing primary aluminium ingot from bauxite ore, with worldwide coverage. The intended purpose of the Inventory Report is to accurately characterize resource consumption and significant environmental aspects associated with the worldwide production of primary aluminium. It reflects the fuct that primary aluminium is a globally traded co=odity."

Jan 1, 2012

By Robert G. Robins

Precipitation of ferric arsenate is an effective method for removing arsenic(v) from hydrometallurgical process solutions. The solubility and stability of this compound. FeAs04.2H20, has received some attention in recent years and the reported solubilities of amorphous and crystalline material have varied considerably. This paper reviews previous studies and reports some recent work with a consistent model to explain the variable results. Free energy data for ferric arsenate and its associated dissolved complexes are presented.

Jan 1, 1990

By T. Fujita

The removal of phosphorus is essential 1n order to increase the recycling of steelmaking slags for their manganese, iron and lime contents. This study aims at establishing the phosphorus mineralogy and its distribution in steelmaking slags, the effect of slow cooling, and the methods of phosphorus removal. A series of steelmaking slag samples was prepared at different cooling rates, and the mineralogy, chemistry and grain size of the samples were investigated with SEM/EDS and x-ray diffraction. The test results using high gradient magnetic separation are discussed.

Jan 1, 1988

By Pengkai Wang, Huimin Lu, Xiaoxiang Zhang

"In this paper, it was studied an electrochemical reduction process of carbon dioxide in ionic liquids such as 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Bmim] PF6) as the electrolyte. The electrolysis experiments were carried out under current and potential controls. The cathode products contained carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, nanographites, and amorphous carbon. To establish the actual current and potential ranges, the electroreduction of carbon dioxide dissolved in the ionic liquid was studied by cyclic voltammetry on glass-carbon (GC) electrode at room temperature. The electrochemical mechanism of carbon dioxide electroreduction was studied for explanation of all obtained results. Carbon dioxide in ionic liquids was electroreduced, similar to metals oxides being electroreduced in molten salts.IntroductionGlobal warming caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has become one of the most concerning environment problems, so the solution to this greenhouse effect is very urgent. However, the carbon dioxide is also a cheap and abundant raw material that represents a potential source for the production of chemicals and fuels. Therefore, the development of the technologies that achieve simultaneous reduction and conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels is important. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is one of the effective approaches to transform CO2. Many investigations have been carried out on the electrochemical reduction of CO2 in both aqueous [1] and non-aqueous [2] electrolyte solutions with different electrodes. The solubility of CO2 in water is very low even under high pressure of CO2, and some investigators have brought focus into the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in organic solvents, because they dissolved much more CO2 than water did. However, the hazardous or toxic properties of organic solvents hinder their use."

Jan 1, 2009

By Yichi Lu, Haydn N. G. Wadley, Douglas T. Queheillalt

"Using a 3-D ray tracing methodology combined with laser ultrasonically measured elastic constant data near the melting point, ultrasonic propagation in cylindrical single crystal bodies containing either a convex or a concave solid-liquid interface have been simulated and used to design new sensing concepts. Ray paths, wavefronts and time-of-flight (TOF) of rays that travel from a source to an arbitrarily positioned receiver have been calculated. Experimentally measured TOF data have been collected using laser generated/detected ultrasound on model systems with independently known interface shapes. Both numerically simulated data and experimental results have shown that the solidification (interfacial) region can be identified from ultrasonic transmission TOF data. Since convex and concave solid-liquid interfaces result in distinctively different TOF data. When TOF data collected in the diametral plane are used in a nonlinear least squares algorithm, the interface curvature has been successfully reconstructed and ultrasonic velocities of both the solid and liquid obtained. The reconstruction errors were found to be less than 5%.IntroductionMany of today's single crystal semiconductors are grown by variants of a vertical Bridgman technique in which a cylindrical ampoule of a molten semiconductor is translated through a thermal gradient, resulting in directional solidification and the growth of a single crystal, Fig. 1.1 It has long been recognized that during crystal growth the velocity and the shape of the solid-liquid interface, together with the local temperature gradient, control the mechanism of solidification (i.e. planar, cellular or dendritic), the likelihood of secondary grain nucleation/ twin formation (i.e. the loss of single crystallinity), solute (dopant) segregation, dislocation generation, etc. They thus determine the crystals' resulting quality.2-4 The solidification rate and the solid-liquid interface shape are also sensitive functions of the internal temperature gradient (both axial and radial) during solidification.5•6 This in turn is governed by the heat flux distribution incident upon the ampoule, the latent heat release at the interface, and heat transport (by a combination of conduction, buoyancy and surface tension driven convection, and radiation) within the ampoule. The solid-liquid interface's instantaneous position, velocity and shape during crystal growth are therefore difficult to predict and uncontrolled during growth, especially for those semiconductor materials with low thermal conductivity (e.g. CdTe).4-6 The development of technologies to non-invasively sense the interface position and shape throughout the vertical Bridgman crystal growth process has therefore become a key step toward developing a better understanding of the growth process, for enabling sensor-based process control, and thus ultimately for improving the yield and quality of difficult to grow semiconductor materials like CdTe."

Jan 1, 1997

By Robert E. Moore

Renewed interest in olivine refractories has led to efforts to characterize them employing modern techniques of experimentation and data analysis. Initial studies have focused on determination of physical and thermophysical properties. Special equipment for the determination of thermal shock resistance and creep behavior have been constructed. Optimal compositions for maximizing various properties are being identified using appropriate statistical techniques. The overall goal is to develop response surfaces for each of a selected group of engineering design and use properties. Development of ?olivine Refractories? in the United States The term "olivine refractories" is used here because it does appear that domestic deposits of this rock will be the focus of renewed interest and "olivinell is the preferred term in this country. There are extensive deposits of high quality olivines extending through parts of Georgia. North Carolina and in the state of Washington. The eastern olivines are much more localized and extensively altered compared to the western materials. The Washington olivines exist as massive rock deposits in the Twin Sisters mountain area northeast of Seattle and their inaccessi-bility has slowed efforts to develop them. The North Carolina olivines have been used in steel plant applications since the 1930's. Geologists use the term "olivine" to describe assemblages of ortho-silicates. 2RO.SiO2, wherein the RO may be MgO. FeO. MnO. etc. When the RO consists essentlally of MgO and FeO. the material is called dunite and. as such, is synonymous with "refractory olivine." Refractory olivines utilizing North Carolina materials were developed for brick products by Birch and Harvey in this country around the mid-1930's. (I) Their work was completely independent of that of V. M. Goldschmidt and co-workers who used massive dunites located in Denmark. (2) These deposits are currently being mined by A/S Olivine of Denmark for the manufacture of a rather complete line of brick shapes for use in steel-plant. glassplant. and cement kiln applications. Birch and Goldschmidt

Jan 1, 1982

By Zhitong Sui

Based on several case studies on the precipitating behavior of valuable nonferrous metal compounds (VNMC) in molten slags a green technology for the recovery of VNMC from molten slags was proposed. This technology involves three steps: (I) The selective enrichment of the dispersed VNMC into the designed mineral phase in the molten slag; (2) The selective coarsening of the designed mineral phase to a critical grain size in the molten slag; (3) The selective separation from tailing of the grown mineral phase in the solidified slag by dressing or hydrometallurgy processes. This is a clean and low cost technique and has a great capacity to deal with a large quantity of slags. The utilization of the recovered VNMC such as Titanium, Boron, Vanadium compounds was summarized as examples of application. It was confirmed by experiments that the precipitating behavior of the designed mineral phases like Perovskite(CaTiO3), Suanite(2MgO*B2O3) and Sincosite(CaOoV2O5*P2O5) in molten slags is obviously affected by operation factors such as temperature, chemical composition, heat-treatment, additives and so on. The precipitating kinetics and mechanism of the VNMC from molten slags during solidification processes were also investigated.

Jan 1, 2003

By Shuai Wang, Gang-hua Fu, Lu Yang, Yu-feng Guo, Tao Jiang

The fluorine-bearing iron concentrate is one of the refractory raw materials for pelletization, which is mainly used in Baotou iron and steel company with lots of problems, such as narrow roasting temperature range and low compressive strength of products. According to its specific character, the effects of roasting temperature, time on the compressive strength and microstructure of pellets were researched. The results show that low melting substances formed during the roasting was the dominant reason of those problems. High melting substances were added in the roasting to investigate their effects on the roasting properties of fluorine-bearing iron concentrate pellets. Low melting substances were reduced when chromite was added. The compressive strength of products was 3100N/P when the 2% chromite was added at the roasting temperature of 1150 ºC, which was increased 700 N/P compared with the pellets without chromite, and the roasting temperature range was expanded by 170 ºC.

Jan 1, 2016

By Tao Xuea

Gold frequently occurs in nature in the form of a gold-silver alloy. Thus, investigation of the electrochemical behavior of gold-silver alloys in cyanide solution has practical significance. In this paper, the potentiodynamic method is used to determine the anodic polarization curves of gold-silver alloys (Au-10% Ag and Au-50% Ag) in cyanide solutions. To facilitate the interpretation of the results, complementary experiments conducted in NaOH solution in the absence of cyanide are also reported. The results for the Au-Ag alloys are compared with the polarization behavior of pure gold and pure silver. With the aid of potential-pH diagrams for the Au- and Ag-CN-H20 systems and electrochemical kinetics concepts, the dissolution mechanism of gold-silver alloys, the effect of the presence of silver on the cyanidation of gold, as well as the factors which control the anodic reaction rate are clarified.

Jan 1, 1998

By Anastasia Alksnis

Pyrrhotite is an iron deficient, low nickel content sulfide mineral that is commonly associated with pentlandite, a nickel-rich sulfide; and are both main components of the nickel ore mined in Sudbury. Pyrrhotite tailings generated in the concentration of Ni ores are stored in tailing reservoirs and presents serious environmental risks including acid mine drainage. This study investigated the potential of converting pyrrhotite into a valuable resource through the use of fluidized bed roasting, in which the mineral will be oxidized to produce iron oxide and SO2 gas. These products can then be used to create iron for high-grade steel and elemental sulfur. Thermogravimetric analysis of Sudbury pyrrhotite was performed to study the oxidation kinetics, supporting the feasibility of this process. Further, energy and materials balance was carried out to establish the basic parameters of a possible roasting process.

By Faustino G. Prado

In the, quest for an economical and environmentally friendly reclamation of metallurgical dusts generated during pyrometallurgical operations, our goal has been the separation and recovery of most of the components, as well as the complete recycle of all the reagents. Effluents have been avoided, within acceptable economic parameters. This presentation, which can be applied to a large spectrum of dusts and other residual-materials-, has focused on the dusts generated by the operation of Secondary Copper Smelters. Those dusts show a wide range of components, including zinc, lead-, copper, cadmium, tin, chlorine and-alkalies. Our present work deals with the use of ammonium salts in the separation and recovery of-the above mentioned elements in a marketable form. Most of the chemistry and techniques involved have teen already confirmed in commercial scale operations. Others have gone through pilot scale tests or bench scale tests. The recycle of reagents has also been- confirmed at the same operating levels. A preliminary evaluation indicates that the chosen route, in addition to a viable economy, offers a complete and safe reclamation within the most strict environmental regulations.

Jan 1, 1995

By George Oprea, Tom Troczynski, Joe A. Rigby, Waiman Lo

The refractory lining of the tuyere line in Peirce Smith converters have usually much shorter life in service than the rest of the lining, above or below it. There are already recognized chemical, thermal and mechanical factors which contribute to the wear of the lining. Our study presents the experimental results on microstructural changes occurring on these tuyere line bricks in a nickelcopper converter. The experimental bricks, after use at the tuyere line, were investigated using SEM/EDS and XRD techniques, to identify the mineralogical changes due to interactions with the nickel-copper matte or fayalite type slag at the process temperatures. The microstructural changes were correlated with physical and mechanical properties of the brick before and after use and a wear mechanism was suggested. Although the matte does not theoretically react with the mineralogical components of the brick, a partial oxidation of the Ni-Cu sulphides was identified using a line analysis by SEM/EDS in the densified layer at the hot face, which allows for mineralogical changes at the matte-refractory interfaces, with a high probability of microcrack formation due to the thermal cycling during use. These microcracks were also identified to open through inter-granular fractures parallel to the hot face, which appeared to be the main cause of lost lining during use. The reactions between the fayalite slag and refractory brick could eventually play a role in chemical dissolution of the brick only in the superficial layer at the hot face, as no slag components were identified deep into the brick.

Jan 1, 2009

By Baozhong Zhao

Laboratory experiments have been conducted on the removal of As, Sb and Bi from molten copper by SF 6 injection. The results showed that the impurities can be removed by SF6 injection in the? sequence of Sb >As >,Bi and the rate of Bi removal is affected significantly by the concentration levels of As and Sb in the copper melt. Analysis of the experimental data indicates that the impurity removal process is under chemical reaction control rather than by mass transfer of impurity through the molten copper phase. On the basis of experimental results, a kinetic model was developed and the order of chemical reaction and the volumetric chemical reaction rate coefficients of impurity removal were determined.

Jan 1, 1996

By Tuula Mäkinen

One of the latest applications of the Outokumpu Flash Smelting Technology is the direct smelting ,of nickel concentrates to metallised low-iron nickel mattes. Compared to the conventional nickel smelting, the new DON process needs a lower number of smelting vessels resulting in considerable economic and environmental benefits. Fundamentals of smelting nickel concentrates in one stage to low-iron mattes are presented. Properties of nickel. smelting slags with an emphasis of the slag fluidity at high MgO-levels are also discussed. Conditions prevailing in DON mattes at high oxidation degrees are presented as well as their influence on the behaviour of such mattes in the settler and on tapping the furnace. Distributions of elements in the direct smelting are presented and compared with the conventional process. A further comparison is made with pilot-plant data and the industrial scale.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. E. Dutrizac

The mineral forms of silver, lead and cadmium in the zinc concentrates and the various roaster products made by the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Inc. have been elucidated. In the concentrates, all three elements occur mainly in sulphide form, either in solid solution in the principal ore minerals or as discrete mineral grains. During roasting, Ag, Pb and Cd are preferentially concentrated in the hot cyclone and ESP dusts of the roaster train. Silver is converted to <0.5 µm grains of silver metal and to Ag2S04 which dissolves in or impregnates silicates. Lead is converted to Pb-bearing silicates or to PbS04 and PbO which are present either as tiny free grains in ZnO or as an intergrowth with lead silicate. Lead is also a minor constituent of the ferrite phase. Cadmium occurs mostly as cadmium-bearing zno and ZnFe2o4 , but a significant amount also reports as Cd-bearing silicates or zinc sulphate.

Jan 1, 1990

By William Petruk

The Kidd Creek base metal deposit near Timmins, Ontario contains around 0.15 wt% Sn, mainly as cassiterite. The cassiterite occurs largely as inclusions in sphalerite, with 85% being in grains smaller than 18.5 micrometres in diameter. Concentrates and tails from the company&apos;s Cu, Pb and Zn circuits were studied to determine the liberations and recoveries of cassiterite in the products. The ore had been ground to about 65.% minus 44 micranetres in diameter (-325 mesh); 55% of the cassiterite was liberated. About 92% of the liberated cassiterite and 70% of the unliberated cassiterite were in the concentrator tails, and 20% of the unliberated cassiterite in the zinc concentrate. The company had attempted to recover the cassiterite from the concentrator tails by gravitational methods but recoveries were low. The grain size of the cassiterite in the gravity Sn concentrate was similar to the grain size of the liberated cassiterite in the concentrator tails. Research on flotation of the fine grained cassiterite from Kidd Creek ore has been conducted,

Jan 1, 1990