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By Kandipati Sreenivasarao

A promising method for removing heavy metal ions from dilute effluents is ion- or precipitate- flotation, in which a suitable collector is added to form hydrophobic metal-collector complexes or compounds that can be collected as foams. We have successfully removed Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(ll) from dilute solutions using sodium dodecylsulfate and ethanol as collector and frother respectively. However the process would not be economically viable unless the collector could be recycled, and the heavy metals recovered in a concentrated, preferably marketable, form from the foams. We investigated four different methods to decompose heavy metal-dodecylsulfate complexes, namely precipitation of hydroxides, precipitation of sulfides, chemical stripping, and electrolysis. We compare the performance of these methods. In each case the observed behavior is related to known thermodynamic data, and potential applications are discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

By Xirneng Zhu

The electrochemical behavior of Pittsburgh and Illinois coal pyrite in basic and neutral borate/sulfate solutions was investigated. In the transpassive region, aggressive oxidation of pyrite occurred. The reaction products in this region were Fe(III) oxide, sulfate ion and partially oxidized sulfur intermediates. The formation of sulfur and polysulfides was identified by in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The growth kinetics of the reaction product film, resulting from transpassive oxidation of coal pyrites, were studied using chronoamperometry measurement with both stationary and rotating disk electrodes. The reaction rate was well correlated by a paralinear rate equation. The effects of electrode rotation speed, solution pH and temperature were examined. The kinetics were compared to those for mineral pyrite.

Jan 1, 1994

By Charles W. Kenney

Mercury contamination of soil at an old chemical plant surrounded by a residential community and adjacent to a river has provided unique challenges for the current owner. Inorganic and organic mercury compounds had accumulated over the past 50 years to levels that require remediation. Hazen Research, Inc. conducted a multi-phased program to characterize contaminants and their occurrences, evaluate various treatment technologies, and demonstrate the selected technology at bench and pilot scales. A combined physical cleaning and chemical treatment was demonstrated to meet treatment goals for the site. This paper discusses the methods of process selection and results of the bench-and pilot-scale testing.

Jan 1, 2003

By Alan James Parker

Chalcopyrite can be converted to pure copper by the following five steps. An exothermic sulfation roast of chalcopyrite; leaching of cupric sulfate from the calcine with dilute acid; precipitation of Chevreul's salt and or other copper sulfites with ammonium sulfite or precipitation of crude copper by autoclaving ammonium sulfite and cupric sulfate at 150°C; dissolution of Chevreul's salt, or the crude copper, as cuprous sulfate, using acidic cupric sulfate in an acetonitrile-water solution as oxidant; precipitation of pure copper by thermal disproportionation of the cuprous sulfate solution. Acetonitrile and acidic cupric sulfate solution recycle. Advantages over conventional processes include lower cost, lower energy consumption as waste heat, sulfur removal as ammonium sulfate or gypsum, rather than as sulfur dioxide and rapid throughput. The net reaction is: 2 CuFeS2 + 4H20 + 15/2 02 + 8 NH3?2Cu + 4 (NR4)2 SO4 + Fe2O3

Jan 1, 1976

By Rodney T. Jones

DC arc furnaces were first used industrially for the reductive smelting of chromite fines to produce ferrochromium thirty years ago. Since then, they have been used for a variety of applications, including the smelting of ilmenite to produce titania slag and pig iron, the recovery of cobalt from non-ferrous smelter slags, and the smelting of nickel laterite ores to produce ferronickel. The power of these furnaces has increased from 12 MW to 72 MW for ferrochromium, and to 80 MW for ferronickel. The largest of these furnaces requires two electrodes to carry sufficient current to generate this much power. A review is presented of various DC arc furnaces in use, along with a discussion of the likely ways in which furnace power might be increased further in the future.

Jan 1, 2014

By Roger Agnew

Sulphide ores mined by Inco Limited in the Sudbury District contain small quantities of cobalt. During beneficiation, cobalt distribution to various streams is similar to nickel. After smelting, nickel is selectively extracted by carbonyl refining and the cobalt remains in the carbonylation residue. This residue is processed in a specialized hydrometallurgical plant to produce precious metal residues, copper cathodes, and a nickel- cobalt carbonate intermediate product. The nickel-cobalt is shipped to Port Colborne where the cobalt is separated as cobaltic hydroxide and refined to metallic cobalt. This paper deals specifically with the recently constructed Electro Cobalt Refinery. The cobaltic hydroxide is dissolved and residual zinc, copper and nickel are removed by ion exchange and organics by a carbon column. The purified cobalt solution is fed to the electrowinning circuit where cobalt rounds are produced on stainless steel mandrels. In the design and construction of the refinery, special attention was directed to materials of construction both for the process equipment and the physical plant, operating control and flexibility, and the quality of the working environment. The end result is an efficient and clean operation which yields a product of excellent quality.

Jan 1, 1988

By Hao Rang

The article Is specially to Introduce the recovery process of Nb, Mn, P from slags and reutilization techniques of the remaining slags. Nb-Mn-Fe alloys which contain 14-16% Nb, 40-60% Mn can be obtained after using fire refining process of " Blast Furnace-Revolving Furnace-Electric Furnace -Electric Furnace, "meanwhile, phosphorous slags which the content of phosphorus pentoxide Is 29.21%. Further going through wet metallurgical processing and electrowinning technics to recover grading 99°o metallic manganese. Finally, phosphorous slags are grinded finely to be as phosporous fertilizers to be directly used for farmlands. Small particle size (0-8mm) rich slags are mixed with slight solid additions for balling directly, and taken Into blast furnace with blocky slags all together. The remaining tall slags are fully used as constructional materials, slags cement as well as a serial of wall materials, road materials, ground ornamental materials without burning operation and steam curing. The compressive strength range of those materials is up to 15-30 MPa. There is no more solid waste slags effluent In the full technical process.

Jan 1, 1994

By R. Boussaa, Y. Fautrelle, K. Zaidat, O. Budenkova, B. Saadi, X-D. Wang, L. Hachani, H. Ben Hadid

"Comparison of experimental data obtained in a benchmark experiment of solidification of a Sn-3%wt.Pb ingot and numerical results of two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations of the process is presented. The benchmark experiment consisted in solidifying a rectangular ingot of Sn-3%wt.Pb alloy using two heat exchangers. Conditions of solidification were thoroughly controlled due to six thermocouples embedded into each heat exchanger. Due to another array of thermocouples the evolution of the temperature field at a lateral wall of the crucible was registered during the whole experiment. A treatment of the temperature data provided an estimation of the velocity field in the experiment. Post-mortem analyses of the sample provided the pattern of macrostructure of the sample and qualitative segregations pattern. 2D and 3D numerical solidification models are developed to give the distribution of the solute in a solidified sample.IntroductionConvection, either natural or forced, plays a very important role during the solidification. Its intensity and flow pattern affect heat and mass transfer and, consequently, macrostructure and segregation in a solidified ingot [1-4]. The effect of buoyancy convection during solidification has been studied in many laboratory-scale experiments [5-6]. Due to these experiments a general comprehension of formation of various defects in the ingot has been achieved. However, mentioned studies were not consistent since alloys, solidification conditions and configurations were every time chosen arbitrary. That is why the role of each parameter characterizing solidification process remains unclear. Moreover, the question of reproducibility of defects under the same solidification conditions still exists. In addition, most of the experiments suffer from the insufficient knowledge of control parameters that makes difficult their use for validation of models for solidification. These parameters serve as boundary conditions for numerical modeling and their incomplete description leads unavoidably to the errors in simulations. This situation motivated us to develop a setup for benchmark solidification experiments and to perform a set of the solidification experiments which we reported in [7]. Here we presented a comparison between results obtained in a benchmark experiment of solidification of Sn-3%wtPb ingot and its numerical modeling, which was performed in two-dimensional and three-dimensional configurations."

Jan 1, 2012

By M. M. Kim

Zn-27% Al was pressure infiltrated into a column of 20 micron diameter abrasive grade SiC particles to give billets with particle loading of 50 voli.une %. Some billets were heated to a temperature where they became semi-solid and diluted with liquid Zn-27% Al alloy to give billets with particle loadings of 12 and 16 volume %. Some of these billets were then extruded into wire with an area reduction of approximately 98%. Tensile properties of the as-cast billets were always inferior to those of the matrix alloys; however, the extruded composite samples showed at 37% improvement in ultimate tensile strength compared to their extruded conventional counterparts. The fracture surfaces of these samples are described.

Jan 1, 1990

By F. A. Steward

Copper is one of the trace minerals essential to life. It is added, usually in the form of copper sulfate, to virtually all formulated feedstuffs and to dietary supplements fed to animals on forage. Over the past five years, an improved inorganic copper source trademarked Micronutrients TBCC™, has been developed, tested and commercially introduced. TBCC is a crystalline form of basic copper chloride. Synthesis is accomplished in a continuous neutralization I crystallization process. In current commercial production, the primary sources of copper currently used as feedstocks are the etching solutions used to manufacture electronic printed wiring boards. These solutions have traditionally been managed as hazardous wastes, but their use to manufacture TBCC™ exempts them from regulation as wastes under the "Use/Reuse" provisions of RCRA. Research conducted over five years at multiple universities has shown that animals are healthier when fed this source of copper and that vitamin losses in feed are reduced by its use.

Jan 1, 2000

By M. Jahazi, P. P. Bhattacharjee, K. Chadha

The present work investigated the effect of strain reversal during high pressure torsion on the evolution of microstructure, texture and hardness properties of two different materials with different dynamic recovery behavior, namely, high purity (99%) Aluminum (2N-Al) and Aluminum-Magnesium (Al-2.5%Mg) alloy. In the two aluminum alloys subjected to different routes, the evolution of the ultrafine structure followed same trend. At lower strain level, sub grains with prominent LAGBs network were observed and at higher strains, ultrafine equiaxed grains separated by HAGBs were observed throughout the disk. The texture evolution in monotonically and strain reversal processed 2N-Al and Al-2.5%Mg showed presence of typical torsion texture components at different strain levels. The strength of the components was observed to follow different trends depending on the processing routes.

Jan 1, 2015

By D. M. Fermino, C. G. Bastos Andrade, V. F. Justo, F. R. Valenzuela-Diaz, M. G. S. Valenzuela, C. Volzone

The present paper presents the study of light green smectite clay, from Paraiba, Brazil, submitted to mild acid attack under moderated conditions. Usually, clays are subjected to treatment with strong inorganic acids at temperatures near the boiling point and at high acid concentrations and then, widely used as bleaching agents. The treatment occurred under bellow boiling temperature and at short times of reaction (90°C, reaction times of 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours in close reactor, concentration of the aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid 1.5 M, clay/acid solution ratio of 1g/10mL). The purpose of these attacks is to reduce the concentration of impurities providing color, with minimal change in the clay minerals structure, aiming at use in products of high value such as cosmetics and polymer/clay nanocomposites. The raw clay and the attacked samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), cation exchange capacity (CEC), stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS).

Jan 1, 2015

By Y. Y. Sheng

Plume flows created by gas injection into liquid metals have been studied extensively, however the dynamics of bubbles within the plume have not received adequate attention, particularly for large, irregular bubbles, characteristic of the processing of liquid metals. The present model uses a combined Eulerian-Lagrangian approach in which an estimated void fraction distribution is used to calculate the liquid flow field with a conventional Eulerian scheme. The trajectories of bubbles are then computed in a Lagrangian manner using the estimated flow field, and experimentally measured information on bubble drag coefficients', lateral migration due to lateral lift forces and interaction with turbulent eddies, and variation in bubble size due to break-up. Turbulence in the two-phase zone is modeled with a modified k-e model with extra source terms to account for the second phase which have been recently determined by the present authors. The computed void fraction and turbulent liquid flow field distributions are in good agreement with experimental measurements.

Jan 1, 1993

By Pekka Parvinen, Saija Luukkanen, Pentti Pirkonen, Väinö Hintikka, Hannu Sekki

In the study was developed a new method for the treatment soils contaminated by polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and dibenzofuran. The method is based on attrition of soil so that the contaminants absorbed on the particle surfaces are liberated with the fine fraction formed in the attrition process. Same the attrition process produces active surface which can absorb the free contaminants. Before starting the remediation process must be decided the limit value under which the residual concentration must lie. Then in the laboratory is performed an experiment in the base of which is determined the grain size level; material under which much be removed together with the contaminant. In the real sample has been found that after the attrition the limit value 0.5 ng/g (I-TEQ) is obtained when the fine under 0.1mm fraction (20% of the original soils amount) is removed together with the contaminants 96% (original level 10 ng/g; 100%).

Jan 1, 2008

By Dan Wang, Yuanbo Zhang, Guihong Han, Guanghui Li, Tao Jiang, Yanfang Huang

"Hematite concentrates are characterized by bad high-temperature reactivity and poor balling index, which restrict their large-scale application in the production of oxidized pellets. An organic additive, namely MHA, was authorized and used as binder recently in China. Compared with bentonite, the effects of MHA on compressive strength of hematite pellets at various firing conditions were investigated in this study. Experimental results showed the compressive strengths of preheated pellets with different binders were increased with increasing the preheating temperature and time. The compressive strength of preheated pellets with MHA binder was lower than that of pellets with bentonite, which can be ascribed to the high porosity of pellets with MHA binder. However, the compressive strength of roasted pellets with MHA binder was higher than that of pellets with bentonite. The compressive strength of finished pellets balled with MHA binder 1.0 wt% could meet the operation requirements of grate-kiln process.IntroductionHematite concentrates are characterized by bad high-temperature reactivity and poor balling index, which can lead to the appearance of those problems with increasing the energy consumption, shortening the useful life of equipment, and finally increasing the operation cost of oxidized pellets plants [1-2]. Some investigations have been conducted based on improving the pelletizing technique of hematite concentrates, such as pretreatment of raw materials [3-7], optimization of ore proportioning [8], addition of solid fuels [9-16], and so on. Employing high pressure grinding roller for the treatment of hematite concentrates revealed that the mechanical strength of wet green pellets could be improved. However, the mechanical strength of fired pellets was not improved obviously [7]. Huang, et al., pointed out that the preheating and roasting temperature may be decreased and the compressive strength of fired pellets could be increased by blending a certain proportion of magnetite concentrates with hematite [8]. Nevertheless, there are a variety of magnetite ores different in physical and chemical properties in China, resulting in the instability operation [17]."

Jan 1, 2012

By Liu Zhonghua

Hydrogen reduction of cobalt sulfide (Co9S8) was experimentally investigated in the temperature range 813-1053 K. The results revealed that the reaction kinetics can be described by the shrinking core mod¬el in chemical control regime at low temperatures, it is of first order with respect to hydrogen concentration, and the reaction activation energy is 67.4 kJ/mol. The SEM second electron images of the samples before and after experiments showed that the swelling of the sample above 973 K is due to the formation of metallic cobalt whiskers.

Jan 1, 1992

By C. B. Piazzarollo

Red Ceramic materials are widely used in Civil Construction in Tropical Countries. However, these materials have high porosity and low mechanical strength. Thus, in order to improve these properties, recycle mineral wastes was incorporated into clay from Campos - RJ, ornamental rock waste, from the gneisses cutting of Cachoeiro - ES, 150 km from Campos. After the addition of up 10% of waste in clay mass, ceramic pieces were produced and subjected to the tests of porosity (P) and flexural strength (FS). The test material contains 53.3% clay and 67% waste slit. The X-ray diffraction identified the presence of kaolinite, quartz and feldspar for the clay and, for the waste, quartz and orthoclase. The results of FS and P showed that the residue influenced, positively, the ceramic piece, with strength gains especially from 920º up to 960°C.

Jan 1, 2015

By Chikabumi Yamauchi, Mitsuru Tanahashi, Tsuyoshi Taniguchi, Nobuo Furuta, Toshiharu Fujisawa

"It is essential to clarify the equilibrium relations among nonmetallic inclusions of the Mn0-SiO2-CrOx system and molten stainless steel in order to control non-metallic inclusions formed by the deoxidation of stainless steel with silicon. In the present study, the phase equilibria of the MnO-SiO2-CrOx system were measured by conducting the following experiments under controlled oxygen partial pressure, Po2, at 1873 K:1) Phase equilibria of the MnO-Cr20 3 binary system were measured for Po2 = 2 x 10-6 ~2 x 102 Pa.2) Phase equilibria of the MnO-SiO2-CrOx ternary system were measured for Po2 = 2 X 10-6 Pa.Based on the results, the phase diagram of this ternary system was established under the condition of the Si-deoxidation process of stainless steel (Po2 = 2 x 10-6 Pa and T = 1873 K).IntroductionAt the deoxidation stage in steelmaking process, generally multiple deoxidizers participate in deoxidation reactions, and the composition of deoxidation products ""non-metallic inclusions"" greatly varies depending on deoxidizing efoments and their contents. In order to control non-metallic inclusions formed by the refining process of steel, it is essential to clarify the equilibrium relations among non-metallic inclusions and molten steel.Especially, during the refining process of stainless steel, nonmetallic inclusions in molten steel seem to- change as follows. After the oxidation refining, Mn-chromite is formed in molten steel as non-metallic inclusion. By the deoxidation with silicon addition (mainly less than 1 mass%), Mn-chromite inclusions are changed their compositions to Mn-silicate. Segawa et al.[l] have reported the effect of amount of silicon addition on composition and mass ratio· of non-metallic inclusions during the Sideoxidation process of 18Cr-8Ni stainless steel at 1873 K, as shown in Figuri; L At higher silicon content than 0.5 mass%, only Mn-silicate was identified as non-metallic inclusion. On the other hand, at lower silicon content, both of Mn-chromite (MnO Cr2O 3) and Mn-silicate were identified. However, the thermodynamic and the kinetic analyses of the above-mentioned Sicdeoxidation process have not been made due to lack in the thermodynamic data for the non-metallic inclusions· of the MnO-SiO2-CrOx system, such as the phase diagrams, the activities of the components, and the free energy of intermediate compounds. In relation to the phase diagram of this system, those of the MnO-SiO2 [2] and the SiO2-Cr2O 3 [3] binary systems have been only reported"

Jan 1, 2000

By Ole Rud Bendixen

Topsoe has developed a Wet gas Sulphuric Acid (WSA) process which effectively recovers SO2 in off-gases from non-ferrous smelters and roosters. The product is concentrated sulphuric acid of typically more than 96 wt% irrespective of SO, concentration in off-gas. The process does not generate any waste products or waste water and does not use any absorbents or other chemicals. In the process, up to 99.3% of the SO2 is converted catalytically into SO3, which reacts with water in the gas, hereby forming gaseous sulphuric acid. The acid is condensed in a WSA condenser of proprietary design. Excellent heat economy and practically no sensitivity to the water balance mean that no extra sulphur burning is required at any S02 concentration, The process is especially well suited for treating off-gases where the SO2 content is lower than approx. 5-6%, and it is a good alternative to a complete renovation of a smelter. However, also off-gas from flash smelter may be treated. The process has found good use in both molybdenum and lead roosters. An example from a molybdenum roaster in Chile shows that 97-98wt% acid is produced from a 2.3 % S02 gas. This plant is situated in the outskirts of Santiago and represented a major local source of SO2. The plan was started in May 1993.

Jan 1, 1996

By E. Gutierrez-Miravete

A computational method for the simulation of mold filling processes is described. The method is based on the representation of the flowing or deforming medium as a collection of mutually interacting parcels of material. Instantaneous positions of individual material parcels are calculated by numerical integration of the dynamic equations, subject to appropriate initial and boundary conditions. So far, the method has been used to produce qualitative simulations of some flowing and deforming systems encountered in mold filling technology, and our findings are summarized herein. In all cases, individual material particle motions can be followed in detail, allowing critical examination of potentially problematic mold design features.

Jan 1, 1992