Search Documents

By J. E. Hoffman

The operation of the U .S Metals Refining Company, USMR Co. is defined below by the description of a variety of unit processes and operations the author encountered during his tenure with the operation, 1955 - 1978. The operations discussed include: sampling and sweating of radiators, processing of Indian Coin, treatment of insulated wire, baghouse and converter dust treatment, blast furnace and converter operation, the electric arc furnace, antimony control, selenium and tellurium products, electrolyte liberation with soluble anodes, and the precious metals refinery. These operations, although peripheral to the primary copper production circuit, were critical to the company's technological and economic base.

Jan 1, 2000

By Linda C. White

The use of red mud, a waste product of the ?Bayer? process for bauxite refining, was investigated for its arsenic removal effectiveness from aqueous solutions under various conditions. Red mud efficiently removed As(III) between a pH range of 7.6 and 9; and As(V) in the pH range between 5.5 and 6. Pre-washing of the red mud with salt water considerably improved its arsenic adsorption capabilities. With appropriate red mud dosage, the residual arsenic in solution was decreased below the regulated acceptable arsenic limit (0.1 mg/L) from aqueous industrial wastes. The arsenic adsorption followed first-order rate kinetics and fitted the Langmuir isotherm model. Results suggest that red mud is potentially a useful adsorbent for removal of arsenic from contaminated water or industrial waste solutions.

Jan 1, 2003

By Tiejun Chun, Marcus Emrich, Jian Pan, Deqing Zhu, Vinicius Mendes

"Joint projects of studies of hematite acid pellet have been implemented to develop technological solutions for using Vale hematite pellet feed in Chinese palletizing plant. Beneficial improvements on the pellets quality were achieved by adjusting the blends composition and using new technology of pre-treating the blended pellet feed with HPGR (High Pressure Grinding Roller) on rotary kiln pellet technology. The drop strength of green balls increased from 3.4 to 6.0 times from 0.5m height, at the same time, the bentonite dosage decreased from 1.5wt% to 0.7wt%. The compressive strength of roasted pellets reaches 2500 N/pellet. The reduction swelling index of roasted pellets is below 15%.IntroductionWith the fast development of steel industry in China, the production of pellets has been further expanded. Pellets are used as a high quality charge for blast furnace and the annual output is around 80Mt pellets [1]. According to the developmental trend, sinter will be replaced by pellets due to the larger environmental impact of sintering plants when compared to pelletizing plants. For example, the specific CO2 emission in sintering process is around 2.5 times higher than in pelletizing process. However, the steel industry of China has been confronted with a serious shortage of domestic pellet feed due to the low iron grade of Run-of-Mine ore despite of huge reserves of iron ores [2]. Therefore, more pellet feed, mainly hematite, has been imported to make pellets."

Jan 1, 2011

By Ryokichi Shimpo, Akio Fuwa

"The process-measurements of copper smelters in Japan were investigated for the summary of the latest technique and for the fundamental study of process control. The smelters investigated are those employing flash smelting furnace and P.S. converter, one reverberatory furnace and P.S. converter, and one continuous smelting converting furnace (M.I. process). Respective process is then considered, consisted of several reactors of different functions. The measurement methods were summarized in each reactor, including the measurement points. The methods of chemical analyses of the samples in each reactor were also investigated.IntroductionAn investigation on the process measurements, chemical analyses, and system control in copper smelters in Japan were carried out for understanding and summarizing the technique of the pyrometallurgical copper smelting operations. The typical seven processes in six copper smelters were investigated in the period from 1985 to 1987. The smelters investigated were Touyo Smelter of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Kosaka Smelter of Dowa Mining Co., Ltd., Saganoseki Smelter of Nippon Mining Co., Ltd., Tamano Smelter of Hibi Kyodo Smelting Co., Ltd., Ashio Smelter of Furukawa Co., Ltd. and Naoshima Smelter of Mitsubishi Metal Co., Ltd. They include five flash smelting furnace and P.S. converter systems, one Mitsubishi continuous smelting and converting process (M.I. process), and one reverberatory furnace and P.S. converter system.The investigation was performed by making inquiries about the measurements, chemical analyses, system control, and their future prospects to the engineers in each smelter and by summarizing up in each item. The system control and future prospects were summarized in another paper titled ""Process Control Scheme of Copper Smelting Processes in Japan and Future View."

Jan 1, 1989

By A. Siegmund, R. D. Prengaman

Lead anodes used in zinc electrowinning generally contain 0.5 - 1.0 % silver to reduce the rate of corrosion over the service life. For good quality zinc, the cathodes must contain less than 10 ppm lead. In order to reduce the lead contamination of the cathode, the lead anode must become coated with a protective layer of Pb02/Mn02. The formation of this layer may take as long as 30 - 60 days, during which time zinc production is substantially reduced and the cathodes are contaminated with lead. To improve the mechanical properties of Pb-Ag-anodes alloying elements such as calcium, strontium, barium and others are added. The production of cast lead-silver or lead-silver-calcium anodes often results in the formation of numerous holes, voids or laps in the anode surface that can initiate localized internal corrosion. Based on the experience as the major supplier of rolled anodes for copper electrowinning, RSR Technologies has developed an improved anode for zinc electrowinning. The anode consists of a rolled Pb- Ag-Ca-alloy with a controlled surface grain structure. It forms an adherent protective oxide coating within 2 - 3 days when placed in an electrowinning cell. The preferred calcium and silver contents of the alloy are 0.03 - 0.08 % and 0.3 - 0.4%, respectively. Rolling sheets significantly reduces the presence of internal porosity or laps. The lack of defects results in long anode life. The rolling also produces a uniform grain structure to which the corrosion product readily adheres, thus significantly reducing the conditioning period.

Jan 1, 2000

By Tina Maniatis

Applied Biosciences has developed a biological technology for removal of arsenic, nitrate, selenium, and other metals from mining and industrial waste waters.The ABMet® technology was implemented at a closed gold mine site in Canada for removing arsenic from tailings pond water. The system included six bioreactors that began treating water in the spring of 2004. Design criteria incorporated a maximum flow of 567 L/min (150 gallons per minute) and water temperatures ranging from 10°C to 15°C. Influent arsenic concentrations range from 0.5 mg/L to 1.5 mg/L. The ABMet® technology consistently removes arsenic to below detection limits (0.02 mg/L). Data from the full scale system will be presented, as well as regulatory requirements and site specific challenges. Keywords: Arsenic, Sulfate Reduction, Metal Sulfide Precipitate, Biological Water Treatment

Jan 1, 2005

By Deventer Johanna van

Ore bodies around the world are declining in grade, whilst increasing in complexity. The level of impurities relative to the valuable metal is steadily increasing, posing new challenges to existing operations. Ion exchange is widely used in the hydrometallurgical industry for both primary recovery of metals and the removal of impurities. The superior selectivity of ion exchange resins makes them exceptionally suitable for the removal of target impurities to very low levels, thereby saving operating costs, increasing the value of the final product and significantly improving revenue. The ion exchange process in these applications is very simple, using standard ion exchange equipment and acid regeneration. The process can be fully automated, requiring minimal operator interference and supervision Examples of impurities that are successfully removed via ion exchange include iron, antimony and bismuth from copper electrolyte. In the copper electrolysis process, antimony, bismuth and arsenic tend to form slimes which are dispersed in the electrolyte. These slimes contaminate the cathode and/or decrease the quality of the copper deposition. A special chelating resin was developed to remove antimony and bismuth, while at the same time ensuring minimal chloride leakage to the sulphate matrix. The work is described in more detail in this paper. Ion exchange is also used to remove copper, zinc and nickel from cobalt electrolyte. This paper addresses a few of these examples in more detail.

By L. A. Neumeier

The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is investigating the feasibility of partitioning complex sulfide minerals to simpler sulfide .phases by sulfldation reactions. Such partitioning can afford opportunity to improve selective extraction of mineral constituents of value. This report describes initial research involving sulfidation partitioning of chalcopyrite concentrates. Small chalcopyrite samples were sulfidized with elemental sulfur in glass capsules sealed after evacuating and backfilling with helium, by heating for 1 to 24 h at specific temperatures in the range of 250° to 500° C. which extends from below to above the boiling point of sulfur (-445° C). Above the boiling point of sulfur, the overall reaction with adequate sulfur (13.9 wt pct of CuFeS2) is 5CuFeS2 + 4S g ? Cu5FeS6 + 4FeS2.

Jan 1, 1989

By Gerson de Araújo Filho

This paper shows the use of tires as fuel to be employed into blast furnaces. The tires can substitute coal or even charcoal in the blast furnaces tuyeres. The injection into tuyeres, besides the contribution for energy generation, can also produce gas for iron oxide reduction. The tires, as powder to be injected into blast furnaces, contributes for an environmental use of this waste, which helps to obtain a high value product as well. So, the advantage of using such material is that it is waste and has lower cost for preparation. The obtained results showed that the tires have good combustibility. This one was obtained in a model that simulates the same conditions occurring in the blast furnaces tuyeres; these used raw materiais include tires and mixtures of tires with coal or even with charcoal.

Jan 1, 2006

By Bryn Harris

Much has been written over the past twenty years on the removal and chemical stabilization of arsenic from metallurgical process solutions. This paper reviews again the latest developments in this field, and concludes as before that the high-iron arsenical ferrihydrites, together with the high temperature arsenic minerals, scorodite and Type II, remain as the best and most viable vehicles for industrial control and disposal. However, a cautionary note is introduced, in that chemical environments cannot be considered in isolation, and that cogniscence has to be taken of microbiological activity in determining the disposal method. Data are also presented on a survey of industrial practice, which shows that arsenical ferrihydrite is by far the most widely-practiced and accepted method used worldwide. Finally, the disaster in Bangladesh is briefly discussed with reference to lessons that the metallurgical community might learn from this.

Jan 1, 2003

By William Petruk

The development of automatic image analysers brought the application of image analysis into process mineralogy because the analysers can measure parameters more easily, quickly and accurately than by manual grain counting techniques, and can also collect data unobtainable by manual grain counting. Data from ore specimens and mill products are used to predict and to define the behaviour of minerals during processing. The analyses are generally performed on the basis of either surface areas or linear intercepts of grains in polished or thin sections, and the data are computer processed to give mineral quantities, liberations, size distributions, and characteristics of middling particles. For analysis, the minerals must be detectable and discriminatable from each other. An image editor is usually used when minerals are not easily discriminated. In addition BSE-8EM photographs have been used where the silicate minerals could not be discriminated from the mounting media. Methods of analysis, typical results, and their applications are discussed.

Jan 1, 1982

By Pengfu Tan

In order to understand and control the formation of dioxins and furans in iron ore sinter plants and to possibly avoid expensive end-of-pipe removal stages, thermodynamic calculations on the stability of PCDD/Fs have been combined with sinter process modeling by means of kinetic simulations and computational fluid dynamics. Three thermodynamic databases of PCDD/Fs, derived using the Group Additivity approach and two computational molecular modeling methods, MNDO and PM3, respectively, combined with the SGTE database have been used to model the PCDDIF formation and the PCDD/F isomer distributions in iron ore sintering. The results show very similar conditions for the PCDD/F formation using the different databases. Concerning the isomer distributions of toxic PCDD/Fs, the calculated data derived from the MNDO method showed optimum agreement with measured values from industrial furnaces. The thermodynamic calculations also proved that the isomer distributions found in combustion processes are equilibrium values, while the concentration ratio of PCDDs and PCDFs in the wind boxes does not represent an equilibrium state. A CFD model of iron ore sintering was developed including the kinetics of 15 relevant chemical reactions with the aim of describing the temperature fields and the gas flow patterns in the sintering bed. On the basis of these information and experimental observations reported in the literature possible pathways for the PCDD/F formation in sinter plants have been identified: PCDD/Fs are formed in the critical temperature region of 250 to 450°C below the combustion zone, are then carried downwards with the gas and condensed close to the bottom of the sinter bed. Transported to the discharge end with the solid mixture, they are again released into the gas phase when the flame front approaches the bottom. PCDD/Fs are also formed in the last wind boxes when the hot off-gases cool down and reach the critical temperature range. Consequently, methods to reduce the dioxin formation reactions are proposed including inhibitor addition to the sinter feed and off-gas quenching.

Jan 1, 2003

By Zhang Qin

Dolomite is main impurity mineral in phosphate ores. In practice of phosphate ores production, the grade of concentrates is only containing P2O5 31-32%.In this study, even the increasing of floatation reagent consumption and decreasing of floatation recovery, economic performance is estimated high according to the decreasing of H2SO4 consumption in subsequent production of phosphate fertilizer and the increasing of products value. In floatation stage, influence factor include the synergism impacts of floatation collector, the stages, time, concentration of ore pulp, which were discussed respectively in this paper. Raw material is characterized by mineralogy, chemical analysis, the grain size analysis and milling test . The results show that the grade of concentration can reach to P2O5 36% by deeply de-magnesium oxide from phosphate ores by floatation , which yield a high added value.

Jan 1, 2009

By Ehsan Khajeh

In this study, the permeabilities of Al-15.5wt%Cu and Al-19.5wt%Cu have been determined by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations on 3D geometries of interdendritic channels obtained by X-ray microtomography (XMT). The samples for XMT were sectioned from different positions in directionally solidified cylinders in order to obtain a variety of microstructures for each composition. The flow has been solved using a 2nd-order accurate Finite Volume Method (FVM) approach. The effect of employing uniform or unstructured mesh on the calculated permeability has been studied. The Marching-cube triangulation method was necessary to extract accurate surfaces for unstructured volume meshing. Calculated values of permeability for this range of solid fractions show partial agreement with previous experiments. Observed deviations are attributed to the difficulties of experimental permeability measurements.

Jan 1, 2009

By K. Lillkung, O. Forsen, J. Aromaa

"The dissolution rates of Pt, Pd and Rh in 250 g/L NaCl solution were calculated from the current densities determined by polarization curves and potentiostatic measurements measured with wire electrodes at atmospheric pressure. The results achieved with the two methods were similar. The dissolution rates at the corrosion potential were in the order of few nanometers per hour. The polarization curves indicated that to achieve dissolution rates required for economical operation on an industrial scale, the samples need to be polarized to higher potentials. When polarized to higher potentials, the metal dissolution rates were in the order of micrometers per hour. As the Tafel slopes of the metal dissolution region are fairly steep, the potential affects the dissolution rate greatly. Based on the activation energies, the dissolution reactions were controlled by a charge transfer step.IntroductionPlatinum group metals (PGM) have some very unique properties such as their inertness, giving excellent corrosion resistance, and a high melting point. At the same time, these factors make the refining of these metals very challenging. The main applications where PGMs are used are different catalytic converters, mostly in automotive catalysts. The used catalysts are also an attractive secondary source of PGMs. The exact concentrations of PGMs in catalysts vary widely depending on the manufacturer, the age and the capacity of the catalyst. The concentration of Pt in a new catalytic converter range from 300 to 1000 ìg/g, Pd from 200 to 800 ìg/g and Rh from 50 to 100 ìg/g [1]. Precious metal catalysts usually consist of a coat of the metal supported on ã- alumina. The recovery of metals from automotive catalysts has received much attention during the last few years [1-3]. In the near future, the use of PGMs in fuel cells is predicted to increase the amount of secondary PGMs available [4]."

Jan 1, 2012

By Erwin Flender, Preben N. Hansen, Peter R. Sahm

"Until now FDM-Techniques have been widely used for Modeling Solidification Processes in Castings. Often a rigid, regular type of enmeshment (cubes, , --) have been used. This has the advantage of low CPU-costs, but the disadvantage of a zig-zag presentation of the interface between the casting and the mold. The last point is the reason why FEM-Techniques, giving the possibility of a true presentation of the shape in the enmeshment, are increasingly used. The disadvantage is the high CPU-costs. In this paper, a technique is presented, which uses the FDM-Mesh with the zig-zag presentation of shape and ADI-Algorithms to calculate temperatures and gradients. The new idea is that the calculated parameters are not presented related to the mesh in which they are calculated, but displayed using the true shape of the casting. Such an advantage of both low CPU-costs and shape correct presentation of the calculated results are achieved. IntroductionThe main reason for using a regular type of enmeshment is that it gives the possibility, via ADI-Algorithms, of obtaining a very fast FDM-Technique. The technique presented by P.R. Sahm and P. N. Hansen (1984), and also used by E. Flender (1985), is numerically so stable that average time steps, at least 200 times larger than the limit given by the explicit FDM-Technique, can be applied. To obtain reasonably good results, average time steps in the range of 20 to 50 times the explicit limit seems to be applicable. It should be pointed out,however, that FDM-Techniques can be used on arbitrary nets, the disadvantages being the same as for the FEM-Techniques. This has, among others, been discussed by P.R. Sahm and P.N. Hansen (1984)."

Jan 1, 1986

By W. F. Drinkard

Many in the environmental movement have focused on this element. But, nothing they or anyone does will change the amount of arsenic in the world. This report is on actual commercial plants that we developed and operated to recover or stabilize arsenic values from metallurgical dusts from gold and copper pyro operations and arsenical gold bearing ores. When they were available gold and copper values were recovered. Our experience in arsenic extends over thirty years. My first corporation, Mineral Research & Development Corporation was the first in North America to manufacture the then new CCA (copper-chrome-arsenic) wood preservatives. This class of wood preservatives proved to be so effective that it made wood into an entirely new material of construction. It is not uncommon for wood properly treated with arsenical CCA preservatives to last for thirty; forty, and sixty years. Over a hundred years have been projected in some field tests. Hundreds of thousands of trees have been saved. Millions more trees would have been saved had environmentalists not decided that their arsenic phobia was more important than trees. There are several variations of CCA. The most popular is CCA-C. Its formula is: CrO3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.5% CuO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.5% As2O5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.0% Until recent restrictions were placed on the consumption of arsenical wood preservatives, annual consumption in North America was about 150,000,000 lbs./yr. About 64,500,000 of arsenic as the pentoxide was safely consumed this way. World CCA consumption has been about double the above figures or 300,000,000 lbs. as 100% CCA and 129,000,000 lbs/yr as As2O5. Close to 100% of all the arsenic used in wood preservatives is derived from gold or copper processing. The valence of arsenic required for CCA wood preservatives and many other markets is the same valence that is required for stabilization. The economic challenge is how to get there. We have built and operated eleven plants to oxidize arsenic trioxide to its pentavalent form. Most of these have been classic in that they used a common oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid to achieve this.

Jan 1, 2005

By H. Y. Sohn, S. PalDey

"A new chemical synthesis process for the preparation of intermetallic compounds has been developed. It involves the vapor-phase reduction of mixtures of constituent metal chlorides by magnesium vapor to produce intermetallic compounds in the form of fine powder. The advantages of the process include (a) the use of inexpensive raw materials, (b) low reaction temperatures, and (c) products in the form of fine particles. Titanium and nickel aluminides were prepared by this method. The effect of AlCl/TiCl3 partial pressure ratio on the formation of different titanium aluminides was studied. A two-phase mixture containing 80 mol % of TiAl and 20 mol % of TiA13 formed at an AlC13/TiC13 ratio of 10. The amount of TiA13 was maximized to 72 mol% at an AlC13/TiC13 ratio of 16. The maximum conversion of the limiting chloride TiCl3 was 94 % . In the case of nickel aluminides, NiAI, NiAl3, and Ni2Al3 were formed by reducing mixtures of NiC12 and A1Cl3 vapors. The effect of the partial pressure ratios AlCl3/NiC12 and Mg/NiC12 on the formation of nickel aluminides was studied. The maximum content of NiAl obtained was 98 mol % . At the AlC13/NiC12 ratio of 19, a two-phase mixture of 17 mol% of NiAl and 83 mol% of NiA13 was produced. The product particles were very fine in the size range of 0.05 to 0.2 µm.A. IntroductionIntermetallic compounds are attracting much attention [1]. Titanium and nickel aluminides have attracted a great deal of attention from the aerospace as well as automobile industries because of their potential for high-temperature application (e.g., low density, good oxidation resistance, and high-temperature strength retention [2, 3]). Gamma TiAl and two-phase (TiAl and Ti3Al) alloys [4] are used for gas turbine engine rotational components as well as automobile exhaust valves. TiAl3 is one of the most extensively investigated aluminum-rich intermetallics. Nickel aluminides are attractive because of their low densities, relatively high melting point and good high-temperature strength properties. For example, Ni3Al shows increasing rather than decreasing yield strength with increasing temperature [5]."

Jan 1, 1998

By Dao Su, Ganghua Fu, Xuling Chen, Yufeng Guo, Min Gan, Tao Jiang, Xiaohui Fan

"The sinter quantity and quality of limonite in the magnetite and hematite sintering models were studied and compared. For the sintering of magnetite, the results showed that the increase of limonite improved the permeability of sinter mixture, increased the sinter quantity and quality. The sinter strength and productivity were decreased when the proportion of limonite exceeded 50%. The appropriate proportion of limonite was 40%-50%. For the sintering of hematite, the sinter quantity and quality were first maintained at the same level thereafter declined, more obviously when the proportion of limonite exceeded 40%. The amount of calcium ferrite increased whose shape changed from acicular to leaflike and block gradually with the proportion of limonite increased from 0% to 80%.IntroductionWith the fierce competition of domestic and overseas iron markets in the twenty-first century, cheap ores such as limonite are used to be sintering raw materials to cut the costs of sinter and pig iron for steel making, and boosts the competitiveness of steel companies [1, 2]. In addition, as the reserve volume of hematite of high grade is reducing year by year, the usage amount of limonite in sintering are expanding in major domestic and international sintering plant [3, 4]. Sintering can be divided into two types, majoring in concentrates and fine ores, according to the different types of raw materials. The sintering characteristics of limonite in the two types above have been studied and compared in this paper, which makes a significant sense for the research of limonite sintering properties and guidance of ore proportioning in sintering plants."

Jan 1, 2012

By Tetsuya Uda, Sakae Shirayama

"With the aim of producing nickel (Ni) metal directly from acidic aqueous solution containing cobalt (Co) and other impurities, selective reduction of Ni was examined. As a preliminary experiment, sodium hypophosphite monohydrate (NaH2PO2·H2O) was selected as a reductant, and reacted with aqueous solution containing 0.1 mol L-1 nickel sulfate (NiSO4·6H2O) and 0 ~ 0.05 mol L-1 cobalt sulfate (CoSO4·7H2O) for 3 hours at 90 °C. As a result, it was revealed that Ni was selectively reduced and separated from Co in the acidic region (pH= 4.8). In this study, differences of reduction behavior between Ni and Co were investigated, and the feasibility of Ni I Co separation by the selective reduction of Ni was discussed.IntroductionEfficient Ni condensation and separation from Co are essential in nickel hydrometallurgical processes. Currently, the hydrometallurgical production of Ni from oxide ore is mainly carried out by acid leaching at elevated temperature, followed by the removal of impurities using neutralization, and condensation of Ni and Co into intermediate products such as hydroxides and sulfides. Then, the intermediate product is dissolved in acid aqueous solutions, and Ni I Co separation is conducted by solvent extraction. Finally, Ni and Co are recovered by electro-winning. This complicated process consumes large amounts of alkali, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and organic solution in a multiple-staged process'. To reduce the consumption of these chemicals, it is important to recover Ni more efficiently from acidic aqueous solution containing impurities."

Jan 1, 2014