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By Pingchao Ke

A crystalline polyferric sulfate (PFS) adsorbent was synthesized by oxidizing and precipitating ferrous ions under atmospheric conditions. The morphology, structure, composition and specific surface area (SSA) and adsorptive efficacy to As (III) of the adsorbent were characterized by SEM/EDS and TEM images, XRD patterns, FT-IR spectra, BET SSA analyses and adsorption experiments. The adsorbent presents as morphology of near-spherical aggregate and good crystallinity. A small amount of goethite co-precipitated with PFS in the case of the initial ferrous concentration of 1 mol/L and increased the SSA of the aggregates. The absorbent with co-precipitation of goethite showed good adsorption to As(III) and good filtering performance in the high As(III)-content solution of 10–100 mg/L under acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions (pH 2.09–9.01), and its maximal adsorption capacity and adsorption efficiency were 7911 μg/g and 96% separately. After Adsorption, the stability of the absorbents adsorbing As(III) were evaluated by TCLP tests, and the results indicated that the absorbents adsorbing As(III) were extremely stable, and the concentration of arsenic in all leaching solutions were less than 0.01 mg/L.

By M. Pakala, Z. Fan, Ray Y. Lin

Deposition of hard chromium coatings using electrodeposition is accompanied by emission of hexavalent chromium mists which is a carcinogenic. Hence alternative chromium deposition technologies are being investigated. Sputter deposition is a strong candidate to economically deposit hard chromium coatings in an environmentally friendly way. Chromium coatings of 2-3 µ m thickness were deposited on plain carbon steel coupons using RF magnetron sputter deposition. Depositions were carried out with 0 to 22 vol% nitrogen in the plasma. Structure of the coatings was studied using x-ray diffraction analysis With increasing nitrogen contents, formation of the two nitride phases was observed. The pure chromium phase was detected in coatings with up to 7% nitrogen in the sputtering gas. The solid solution of nitrogen in the pure Cr phase coating was identified by shifts of Cr x-ray diffraction peaks to higher d-spacing. The microhardness of the coatings deposited at a substrate temperature of 200°C showed an increase in hardness with increasing nitrogen content from 600 kgf/mm2 (5.9 GPa) at 0% nitrogen to I250 kgf/mm2 (I2.25 GPa) at 9.5 % nitrogen and a subsequent decrease in hardness to I 100 kgf/mm2 (11 GPa) beyond 9.5 % nitrogen in the sputtering gas. This corresponds to the formation of the hard Cr2N phase, at 9.5 % nitrogen, and CrN phase, at I5.7 % nitrogen. The reported bulk hardness values of Cr2N and CrN are I600 kgf/mm2 (I5.7 GPa) and I 100 kgf/mm2 (11 GPa) respectively. For pure Cr phase coatings, there is a slight increase in hardness for coatings deposited at 7. I % nitrogen from that without nitrogen in the sputtering gas. This could possibly result from the solid solution strengthening of the Cr lattice by nitrogen. For films deposited at 200°C, phases of the deposited films seem to be the overwhelming factor in controlling the microhardness.

Jan 1, 1998

By Paul S. Korinko, Simona E. Hunyadi Murph

To address a radiological contamination event, a materials and process project was initiated. During the course of this project, processes and materials were developed that successfully captured zinc vapors physically and chemically, respectively. However, the physical traps were placed in an undesirable area and it was determined that the chemically captured zinc reactions was reversible. Consequently, advanced nanomaterials are being developed to capture zinc vapors. The current state of the art of the science and engineering of these materials and their efficacy for zinc capture and retention is discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2015

By V. I. Lakshmanan

Crown ethers are gaining importance in separation technology specifically for rare earth elements (REE, La to Lu plus Y) and precious metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh and Ir) due to their specific binding ability, metal complex stability and high extraction efficiency. The selectivity of crown ethers in extraction of these metals depends on different factors, including the cavity diameter and nature of a donor atom of the crown ether, size and charge of the metal ion, diluents and counter ion. Demand for strategic REE and precious metals are consistently increasing in the world while the separation of these metals is most challenging tasks. In this paper, the use of crown ethers in separation of REE and precious metals, reaction mechanisms and simplified process flowsheets will be elucidated. New reagents with high selectivity for the separation of these metals are further expected to produce high purity metals.

By D. J. Chaiko

Aqueous biphasic extraction (ABE) processes offer the potential for low-cost, highly selective separations. This countercurrent extraction technique involves selective partitioning of either dissolved solutes or ultrafine particulates between two immiscible aqueous phases. The extraction systems that we have studied are generated by combining an aqueous salt solution with an aqueous polymer solution. We have examined a wide range of applications for ABE, including the treatment of solid and liquid nuclear wastes, decontamination of soils, and processing of mineral ores. We have also conducted fundamental studies of solution microstructure using small angle neutron scattering (SANS): In this chapter we review the physicochemical fundamentals of aqueous biphase formation and discuss the development and scaleup of ABE processes for environmental remediation.

Jan 1, 1996

By S. Niyomwas, T. Chanadee

The influence of flux CaO2–Al ratio on the Self propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS)-casting reaction products in WO3–Si–Al system has been investigated in this study. Incorporation of CaO2–Al amounting to 1–5 wt% of total charge has been found to be adequate to form WSi2 intermetallic with a maximum hard-W5Si3 secondary phase. The micro-hardness of tungsten silicides intermetallic product increased significantly with CaO2–Al ratio. The as-SHS-casting products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) technique.

Mar 1, 2017

By Hsing Kuang Lin

Ferric chloride leaching w.as applied to a complex sulfide ore from Tok, Alaska to dissolve zinc, lead, silver and copper. Gold in the leaching residue, as well as in the ore, is found to be refractory to the conventional cyanidation process. Roasting, pressure oxidation and elemental sulfur removal followed by cyanidation were tested to improve gold dissolution. Also tested were thiourea leaching and high-pressure cyanidation. The readsorption of dissolved gold by carbonaceous matter in the chloride leaching residue was analyzed. Based on the experimental results, factors causing difficulty of gold dissolution from the leaching residue are discussed.

Jan 1, 1989

By Yogeshwar Sahai

Submerged gas injection into melts contained in furnaces, ladles, or similar transfer vessels is commonly used in industrial practice. In this review paper, conditions leading to gas bubble formation at the nozzle are first summarized. The increasing gas injection rates and other conditions, such as nozzle size, lead to regimes which are commonly known as "bubbling" and "jetting". These are explained. The gas/melt interactions result in energy transfer to the melt. In recent years, a large number of researchers have investigated the relationships between the energy density and the mixing times. Their work is reviewed, and the mixing mechanisms is described. Finally, computational approaches of modeling submerged gas injection are briefly presented.

Jan 1, 1993

By M. Elbert Nigri

Radioactive wastewaters from nuclear source of electrical energy production need to be treated and disposed of properly. Sr, Ca, Mg and Ba are common elements in this effluent, which can cause incrustation in process equipments and being unsafe to human health (90Sr). Fixation of CO2 can be applied to remove the ions mentioned before and to provide a solution where CO2 is sequestered and the deleterious elements precipitated, becoming one of the possible steps to reuse the water into the process. Moreover, removal of several metals from distinct wastewater has been evaluated using bone char through adsorption. The chemical similarity between calcium and strontium makes the exchange of these two metals favorable in the hydroxyapatite structure contained in bone char. This paper evaluated the combined action of precipitation and adsorption process with injection of CO2 and bone char addition in simulated nuclear wastewater. Removal levels of 89.0% (Sr) and 83.3% (Ca) were obtained in the combined process. The presence of bone char as seed increased the precipitation kinetics, allowing a Sr removal of 85.2% in five minutes, higher than 75.3% obtained in absence of seeds. However, removal of 91.6% (Sr) and 89.8% (Ca) were obtained in absence of seeds at 24 h. Analysis of solids have evidenced that CO2 was consumed to precipitate the metals as carbonates, since the hydroxides are formed at higher pH’s.

By Zhengjie Chen, Wenhui Ma, Jijun Wu, Kuixian Wei

The gasification reactivity of PC (petroleum coke), strengthened by addition of different potassium carbonate proportions using different grinding medium, was investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Results showed that the gasification reactivity of PC not only increased with the increase of catalyst-loaded, but also showed the effective improvement by anhydrous alcohol. The PC was mixed with potassium carbonate [K2CO3] catalyst at 0.5%, 0.8%, 1.0% and 1.5%, and then ground wet with distilled water. The CO2-gasification rate of PC was only 77.35%, 80.55%, 84.07% and 85.88% under the gasification temperature 1100 °C and holding time 120 min, at different K2CO3 respectively. However, when the PC was ground in anhydrous alcohol at the same condition of catalyst-loading, the gasification rate of PC reached 95.43%, 96.63%, 95.50% and 95.61% at the holding time of 108 min, 101 min, 74 min and 35 min, respectively. It was shown by FTIR, SEM and EDX determinations that the anhydrous alcohol used as the grinding medium can further improve the gasification reactivity of PC when compared with the distilled water.

Jan 1, 2016

By Matthew John M. Krane, Patrick E. Krane

This study examines the operations of the Cowper stoves attached to an iron blast furnace from a Second Law perspective. The exergetic efficiency of a 3-stove system operating at cyclic steady state is determined using a model accounting for the thermal, mechanical, and chemical flow exergies of the top gas and blast air, as well as the thermal exergy stored and released in the stoves. The analysis covers the heating and mixing of blast gas in one on-blast stove, and the combustion of top gas and its use to heat two on-gas stoves. The effect of different cycle times, and blast furnace operating conditions on the exergetic efficiency of the cycle is examined, and the optimal cycle time for different blast temperatures found. In addition, a study of the combustion parameters quantifies the advantages of using enriched oxygen in the combustors.

Mar 1, 2018

By Francois Reizine

Infrared sensors will include scanning detectors and positioning sensors. The focus will be on 1, 2, and 4-color wavelength pyrometer systems which allow the accurate measurement of emissivity and, consequently, of the true temperature even in the presence of scale, slag, and fumes. Such sensors are being used in blast furnaces, BOF's, and galvanizing lines. Laser sensors will be presented using different principles of physics, mainly time-of-flight, pulsed infrared lasers for level measurement and dimensional measurement; triangulation lasers for width and thickness measurements; and laser Doppler velocimeters for velocity and length measurements, including mass flow, elongation, and tension control, cut-to-length applications. These sensors and systems are based on state-of-the-art technical developments to improve productivity and quality and reduce maintenance and downtime.

Jan 1, 2001

By Sue Xue, Carl C. Nesbitt

A project was completed which investigated the efficacy of recycling lead or lead monoxide from various fire assay wastes including crucibles, cupels and slag. The scope of the project was to determine optimal hydrometallurgical parameters so that direct separation and recovery of lead salts was economically feasible. A process was developed from the study which could use either acetic acid or nitric acid as a leachant, followed by several precipitation processes which could directly recover litharge (PbO) or other lead salts, such as lead carbonate or lead sulfate. The economics of the process is discussed. Analytical equipment such as the atomic absorption spectrophotometer and x-ray diffractometer supplied much of the information required for the study. However some novel analytical approaches using these instruments had to be developed to help in the determination of leaching kinetics and process quality control which are discussed.

Jan 1, 1999

By Adam Powell, Salvador Barriga, Matthew Earlam

"The inert anode is a key enabling technology for dramatic energy and emissions reduction in extractive metallurgy. In molten salts, the materials challenge is nearly insurmountable: the anode must conduct electrons at high temperature in a pure oxygen and molten salt environment. A solid electrolyte, e.g. zirconia, between the salt and anode removes the molten salt stability constraint, and can act as a container for a liquid metal anode. This can be liquid silver for oxygen-generating inert anodes, or several metals for natural gas-fueled anodes; it is possible to switch between these modes. The solid electrolyte brings several other benefits: it eliminates molten salt contamination of the anode gas, creates a reducing environment enabling low-cost steel vessels, increases current efficiency, and eliminates carbon contamination of the product. New developments presented here, including current collector and low-cost anode designs, amplify these benefits for producing aluminum, magnesium, rare-earths, and other metals.IntroductionReactive metals such as magnesium, aluminum and rare-earths play increasing roles in efficient transportation and clean energy. In response to new fuel economy standards, automotive OEMs are planning large increases in use of aluminum and magnesium to reduce vehicle weight. Rareearth permanent magnet motors and generators exhibit better power-to-weight and efficiency than induction motors and other designs, making this today's primary motor technology for hybrid and electric vehicles, and for wind turbines. Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries with lanthanum are dominant in hybrids. In 2011, transportation comprised 28.6 out of 103.1 EJ of US energy consumption [1] and 1,845 out of 5,471 million metric tonnes (MMT = 109 kg) CO2e of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1], creating big targets for economy-wide reductions.Unfortunately processes for making reactive metals for these applications are very inefficient and heavily-polluting. In primary aluminum production, Hall-Heroult cell electricity use [2] is more than double the reaction enthalpy due to heat losses through frozen cryolite side-walls and anode gases, graphite anode plants add significant energy use and GHG emissions [2] (see Table 1). Magnesium is even worse: silicothermic reduction by the Pidgeon process in China produces about 85% of the world's magnesium using coal or coke gas [3]. Chloride electrolysis begins with high-purity MgO and requires carbochlorination or hydrochlorination and costly chloride dehydration [4]—rendered unnecessary for aluminum by the Hall-Heroult cell. Production of neodymium and lanthanum with graphite anodes leads to inconsistent carbon content: small cells make 1 kg batches for analysis, sorting and sale by carbon content, with very high labor and analysis costs. And vertical electrodes give no incentive to reduce anode effect: some reports indicate that China's rare-earth metal industry emits more CF4 and C2F6—with global warming potential (GWP) 6500 and 9200 times CO2 respectively—than China's aluminum industry [5]."

Jan 1, 2014

By R. Singh, C. Gong, J. Chaudhry

"Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is an ideal technique for the deposition of conducting and non-conducting oxide based thin film materials. In this paper we have presented a study of photo assisted MOCVD for the low temperature deposition of a number of oxide based advanced materials. We have used incoherent light sources as the source of optical and thermal energy in our MOCVD system. The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and ultraviolet (UV) photons can enhance the surface reaction of the absorbed molecules through the perturbation of the electronic state of binding between the absorbed molecules and the solid surface. Unlike plasma process, no surface damage is expected and high quality materials have been deposited. At a given substrate temperature, the performance of deposited film depends on the lamp configuration.INTRODUCTIONMetalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has become the standard manufacturing technique for the deposition of large area thin films of compound semiconductors. l.(.w-cost, high crystalline quality, atomically clean and sharp interfaces, atomic layer epitaxy, high throughput rates and potential for direct writing are some attractive features of MOCVD. Due to a number of potential advantages mentioned above, MOCVD is considered as an ideal technique for the deposition of various electronic and optical materials for a wide variety of applications. Rapid isothermal processing based on incoherent radiation as the source of optical and thermal energy is emerging as the key low thermal budget (integral of processing time and temperature) processing technique for the fabrication of current and next generation of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices and circuits [1]. In this paper we have demonstrated that the design of the lamp assembly plays an important role in determining the properties of the materials deposited by RIP assisted MOCVD. We have studied the growth rates, structural properties and electrical properties of Y2O3/Si structure. At a given substrate temperature, best results are obtained for the lamp assembly that provides maximum number of VUV and UV photons."

Jan 1, 1994

By H. K. Fouad, L. A. Guirguis

The starting mill strip solution· for this study· is an ammonium uranyl tricarbonate solution of pH 8.2 containing 20g uranium/liter, after a DEPA/TOPO extraction process from sulfuric acid leaching liquor. To the first portion of the concentrated acidified strip solution, hydrofuoric acid is added at 95°C in reduced condition to obtain uranium tetrafluoride. The second portion of the uranyl carbonate strip is subjected to a precipitation step by admixing 0.3 volume of non-solvent precipitating agent such as acetone per volume of uranium. ·Uranium oxide (U30 8) is obtained from this precipitate by calcination for half an hour at 800°C in air. The third portion of the strip solution is neutralized to a pH 6.5 with sulfuric acid to precipitate iron and other contaminants. The solution is further acidified to a pH 1.85 with continuous air bubbling to remove CO2, followed by H2Ch precipitation at pH 3.5 to obtain uranyl peroxide. The latter is reduced by stannous chloride to obtain uranium trioxide dihydrate UO3. 2H20. Identifications, characterization· and purity of these products are carried out by complete chemical analyses, Scanning electron microscope study, tap density determination, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopic investigations. The achieved results agreed well with that of the published data for these nuclear grade purity products.

Jan 1, 2000

By J. Szekely, S. Rhee

"A mathematical formulation has been presented to describe heat and fluid flow phenomena in CVD operations. In the statement of the problem, which included consideration of plasma enhanced CVD systems, emphasis was placed on identifying the parameters which play a key role in determining the rate and the spatial uniformity of the deposition process. This was done both through the appropriate dimensionless groups and by presenting an extensive set of computed results. The main conclusions that may be drawn from this work are that the deposition rate will be inherently non-uniform for atmospheric CVD systems; this may be somewhat ameliorated by inclining the susceptor or changing the vessel contours. Operation at greatly redeced pressures and for PECVD systems will give a much more spatially uniform deposition rate.1. INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, there has been a growing interest in chemical vapor deposition techniques for the preparation of thin films for semiconductor, photovoltaic applications and for coatings in general, as evidenced by numerous journal articles and symposium proceedings devoted to this topic (1-6). An interesting variant of this technique is to perform the deposition in a plasma or glow discharge at low pressures because this technology obviates the need for the thermal decomposition of the precursor at the substrate surface and permits operation at greatly reduced temperatures (7-10).By far, the largest portion of the reported work dealing with both these aspects of the technology has been concerned with the characterization of the deposit, quite properly so. However, in more recent times it has been realized that the transport aspects of these processes are also deserving of attention because the understanding of heat flow, fluid flow and diffusional phenomena may provide the key to the solution of problems associated with obtaining uniform deposits and the proper scaling of laboratory measurements in order to design industrial CVD systems."

Jan 1, 1986

By F. H. A. Abdalla

A process is described for the recovery of valuable nonferrous metals from steelmaking dust by suiphatizing roasting using ammonium sulphate. Maximum recoveries of soluble metal sulphates achieved at optimum conditions were> 99.0 %. Selective metal separation of the soluble sulphates in the leached liquors were performed either by controlling the roasting temperature or by adjustment the pH values of the leached liquor ranging from 3.6-6.2. Either pure zinc oxide orland tin oxide could be obtained at optimum conditions, and the products were evaluated chemically and by X-ray analyses. The residues rich in iron oxide can be removed and recycled. The mechanism of sulphatizing roasting process was considered. A general flow-sheet for the overall process of treatment the steel making dust to recover its valuable nonferrous metals was suggested, which ca be applied for other nonferrous bearing materials.

Jan 1, 1996

By Jian-guang Yang, Lei Jie, Si-yao Peng, Jian-ying Yang

A new membrane electrolysis process for bismuth recovery from bismuthinite concentrate was introduced. Under the conditions of temperature 70 degrees C, acidity 3 mol/L, solid liquid ratio 1:4 and 1.1 times stoichiometry sodium chlorate dosage for 1.5 h oxidation leaching, more than 98.5% bismuth can be leached from bismuthinite concentrate. The resultant leach solution was subjected to membrane electrolysis. Under the conditions of NaCl concentration 300 g/L and pH 7 in anolyte, bismuth ions concentration 80 g/L and HCl concentration 3 mol/L in catholyte, heteropole distance 6 cm, temperature 40 degrees C and current density 200 A/m2, a flat deposited bismuth plate can be obtained after 24 h electrolysis, and the bismuth purity was more than 99%. The current efficiency of cathode was 97.88%. Chemical component analysis results showed that the average convert efficiency of the sodium chlorate was 52.77% and the average oxidizing efficiency of chloride ion was 69.78%, and the resultant anolyte generated in anode compartment could be fully reused as oxidant for leaching bismuthinite concentrate again.

Mar 1, 2017

By Michael G. Mayer

Since its invention in 1859 various designs of lead batteries have evolved to meet commercial needs for traction applications and standby power. In recent years major developments have taken place in lead alloys and the chemistry and mechanical design of industrial lead batteries. These are reviewed in relation to their commercial application together with the new type of maintenance free gas re-combination lead-acid batteries which are opening so many new markets for lead.

Jan 1, 1990