Search Documents

By Sung-Joo Lee, Gi-Chon Han, Nam-Il Um, Hee-Chan Cho

"In Korea, almost all of bottom ash produced by coal power plants is disposed of in ash ponds. Ash storage areas comprise more than 80% of most coal power plant sites. This disposal method is causing environmental problems and a managerial burden for plant operators. In this study, investigations to develop a beneficiation process for separating coal pond ash into various products were undertaken. To improve efficiency of the separation, coal ash was separated by sizes and each size fraction was subject to various beneficiation processes. The separation process used were flotation (-200 mesh size), hindered settling (16x200) and tabling (16x200 and 8x16 mesh). The results showed that various marketable products, such as lightweight aggregate, sand, high-carbon fuel, could be recovered from coal pond ash using simple physical separation techniques.IntroductionDue to the increased use of coals every year, about fifty million ton of coals were used in 2007 alone. As a result, about 6 million tons of coal ash were generated. In Korea, the coal bottom ash is classified as a general industrial waste and is usually disposed of in ash ponds. The costs for this disposal method continue to increase due to rising costs of site management and development and more strict environmental regulation. Therefore, utilities are constantly looking for ways to increase utilization of coal ash. In this study, various beneficiation processes were evaluated to examine the possibility of separating coal pond ash into various products which can be used as aggregates and high-carbon fuel."

Jan 1, 2008

By Dan A. Mackie

Continuous leaching of precious metals ores in a vat is possible using a jigging technique. This patented method promises to be competitive with heap leaching, particularly in northern climates, difficult terrain, high precipiptation regions, and environmentally sensitive areas. The paper discusses test work to date, plans for pilot plant testing and basic economics

Jan 1, 1990

By Nobuhiro Ishikawa

The in-situ observation of the effect of impurities on the reduction process of iron oxides by C in TEM was carried out. A few wt% of CaO or AbO, was used as impurities in FeO was prepared. Some precipitates grew into the C layer expect for using 3.0wtCa. The reaction between FeO and carbon was much different from using pure FeO at about 800-1 lOOK. The rate of reaction became much slower including Ca and almost no reaction was happened with the concentration of CaO up to 3.0wt%. On the contrary, AbO, had ahuost no effect on the reaction. The results indicated that Ca suppressed the reaction and the effect of Al was much less. The precipitates which grew into C layer accompanied almost no Ca and AI. Only Fe was detected in the precipitates.

Jan 1, 2008

By Zuomei Jin

A laboratory study was conducted on the separation of Zn, Pb, Cu and Ag from a finely dissem-inated interlocked silver-rich multimetal sulphidc ore. These are often difficult to separate from each other by flotation. The thermodynamic calculations of Zn-S-O, Cu-S-O systems at different tem¬peratures were presented on predominance diagrams. Based on these diagrams the optimum temperature and gas composition were selected for roasting. The results of separating Zn, Cu from calcine by neutral leaching and acid leaching were found to be satisfactory. The distribution of silver in the roasting and leaching processes were tested. A flow sheet was proposed.

Jan 1, 1993

By Thomas Havlik

It is proposed to realise the direct leaching, during which will be generated elemental sulfur and not sulfate or sulfuric acid as end product, under conditions that sulfur will not cover the leaching surface and Hot hinder the leaching course. The following improvements have been considered: -use of organic sulfur solvents -ultra high-frequency leaching -ultrasonic leaching -use of surface detergents or surfactants in leaching processes -simultaneously crushing and leaching These proposals are under investigation and preliminary results are promising

Jan 1, 1996

By Ted H. Eyde

Natural Zeolites are a less expensive and in certain applications a superior alternative to organic ion exchange resins. Mining and metallurgical waste streams are difficult to treat because the effluents which contain potentially valuable heavy metals such as copper, lead, and silver are often highly acidic and contain significant quantities of suspended solids. Under rigorous operational conditions, certain natural zeolites can remove the metals, which if desired can be recovered by either elution or conventional smelting techniques. There are significant differences in cation exchange rate, selectivity and capacity as well as resistance to either high or low pH, blocking cations and tolerance to elevated or depressed temperature and pressure not only between different zeolite minerals but between the same mineral from different deposits. Applying natural zeolites to the treatment of mining and metallurgical waste streams depends on matching the specific zeolite to the effluent by characterization of the zeolite minerals.

Jan 1, 1993

By Seshadri Seetharaman, Nurni N. Viswanathan, Haijuan Wang

"In order to make the stainless steel making process efficient and environment friendly, it is essential to minimize the loss of chromium to the slag phase. With a view to investigate the advantages of using CO2 to attain moderate oxygen partial pressures in the oxidant gas during the decarburizations of stainless steel, the present experiments were carried out to understand the oxidation kinetics of Fe-Cr alloys and Fe-V alloy with gas mixtures containing CO2. In the present work, the oxidation behavior of Fe-Cr and Fe-V was examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Various mixtures of O2 and CO2 were used as the oxidant gas and the oxidation rate was followed by the weight changes as a function of time.The experiments demonstrated that the oxidation rate is independent of temperature at present experimental situation, but has strongly related to the Cr-content of the alloy as well as the oxygen partial pressure in the oxidant gas mixture. The wetting of alumina by the iron drop and the change of the drop shape during the course of the oxidation were investigated by X-ray radiography."

Jan 1, 2010

This symposium is dedicated to the lifetime achievements of Professor H.Y. Sohn. It covers the scientific fields, processing routes and investigation techniques in which Prof. Sohn has worked during his career and is based in the equally important three topical areas: Principles, Technologies, and Industrial practice. Professor Sohn was General Chair of the very first TMS Fall Extraction and Processing Symposium in 1983 in San Francisco which led to the Annual such symposia as this International symposium. Furthermore, the theme of that symposium was sulfide smelting, which is also included in this symposium. [ ] Professor Sohn was born in a beautiful dynastic capital Kaesung, Korea on August 21, 1941. He received his B.S. degree in 1962 from Seoul National University, M.Sc. in 1966 from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B., Canada, and his Ph.D. degree in 1970 from theUniversity of California at Berkeley all in Chemical Engineering. After working as a Research Associate at the State University of New York at Buffalo and as a Research Engineer at Du Pont?s Engineering Technology Laboratory, Dr. Sohn joined the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Utah in 1974 and currently holds the ranks of Professor of Metallurgical Engineering and Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering.

Jan 1, 2006

By Luis Hoyos-Reyes, Jesus Gonzalez-Trejo, Adriana Cervantes-Clemente, Marco Gutierrez-Villegas, Manuel Palomar-Pardave, Cesar Real-Ramirez

Recent improvements on Peirce-Smith Converters (PSC) have combined numerical and physical simulations. However, most of the physical simulations have been carried out in cold-water models with only one tuyere. Several authors have proved that 2D numerical simulations do not reproduce the hydrodynamic behavior observed in physical simulations. On the other hand, most of the 3D numerical models have used a PSC thin slice with only one tuyere, but symmetric boundary conditions on the virtual walls have been imposed in order to reproduce the behavior of the whole converter. Therefore, there is no coincidence with the rigid walls of the physical models. The aim of this work is to quantify the effect of the virtual walls boundary conditions of a PSC thin slice and to determine the minimum number of tuyeres to characterize the fluid flow behavior of the entire converter.

Jan 1, 2009

By B. C. F1intoff, R. G. Bradburn, E. Groiss

"The concentrator at Brenda Mines Ltd. treats a copper - molybdenum porphyry ore with current head grades of 0.185% Cu and 0.036% Mo. The consistently low head grades provided the driving force to explore methods of improving plant productivity. Computer based process control was recognized as one means of addressing this objective. Over the period from 1974 to 1982 a control system evolved which now extends to every area of the mill. Control strategies are built on elements of classical, modern and rudimentary expert control. In addition, the control system has often served as a catalyst for other technological developments. The economic returns associated with the system are very significant and it has played an important role in the mine's survival in times of poor metal markets. This paper presents an overview of the computer control system at Brenda.PreambleOne can scarcely avoid picking up a trade magazine or newspaper today without seeing some reference to technology and its potential impact on North American business. _A recurring theme is the need to apply technology to raise our standard of plant automation in the manufacturing and process industries. The general thesis of these articles has been concisely captured in the mutually exclusive set:AUTOMATE or EMIGRATE or EVAPORATEProcess control is one form of automation that has been successfully exploited by various sectors of these industries. In minerals and metal processing the wide scale adoption of process control technology has, until recently, been largely limited to a few companies - most of whom have a history in the area dating back to the early 1970’s. However, there is definitely an increased and much broader interest in process control as a technology which can improve performance, productivity and profit.The economic hardships that were visited on the mining industry in the early 1980's are not easily forgotten. It is the authors' conviction that the mining industry must move to implement proven technology, in particular process control, in order to be well postured for the next (inevitable) down cycle.In pursuing the technical and trade literature, one can discover a number of example of the successful utilization of process control systems in mining and related applications. In the text which follows, the authors describe the process control efforts undertaken in the Brenda Mines Ltd. concentrator."

Jan 1, 1989

By Yong Zhao, Yan-hui Sun

Behaviors and evolutions of MgO·Al2O3 in non-oriented silicon steel during calcium treatment were investigated by thermodynamic calculations and high-temperature experiments. MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were the main type of inclusions before calcium treatment, which is also confirmed by the stability diagram of MgO/MgO·Al2O3/Al2O3 from thermodynamic calculations. After calcium treatment, the majority of original MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were mainly modified to CaO-MgO-Al2O3 system inclusions, this would be beneficial to improve castability and product quality of silicon steel. But there was no modification happening to some MgO·Al2O3 spinels which were directly surrounded by CaS inclusions. The content of Al2O3 occasionally existed a sudden increase besides a common decrease in the product layer of CaO·MgO·Al2O3. Then the evolution mechanisms of MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were proposed in present work. Thus, Al/Mg atom ratio had a significant influence on the modification of MgO·Al2O3 spinel.

Jan 1, 2016

By Shujian Jia, Mingming Song, Gaoyang Song, Bo Song, Yuhou Yang

An innovative method is investigated to separate inclusion particles from liquid metal by super gravity. To make clear the characteristics of the inclusion separation, Al melt containing MgAl2O4 particles with diameters less than 150 μm has been treated under various super-gravity fields. The thickness of particle-accumulated layer formed at the bottom of the sample and the area fraction, number density and size of inclusions were measured. It is found that the thickness of the particle-accumulated layer decreases and the area fraction of particles at this location increases with the increase of super-gravity field. With the gravity coefficient G=500, time t=2 min, and temperature T=1023 K, it is hardly to find any solid particles in the upper and middle areas of the sample and the separation efficiency is up to 90%.

Jan 1, 2015

By T. Asahina, M. Nakamura, M. Mabuchi, I. Shigematsu, M. Nakanishi, G. Yamauchi

"Commercial stainless steels (SUS304L and SUS430) were subjected to equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) at room temperature to a total strain of 2.3 to 9.2. For each type of stainless steel, it was shown that the sample processed by ECAE showed higher room temperature strength than the as-quenched sample. This is probably due to the heavily worked structure. On the other hand, both strength and elongation of the ECAE processed SUS430 were increased by annealing at 773K. It is likely that higher strength is attributed to both the heavily worked structure and fine substructures. It is also likely that higher elongation is attributed to the fine substructures. It is concluded that ECAE is available for improving the room temperature strength of commercial stainless steels.INTRODUCTIONEqual channel angular extrusion ( ECAE ) is a technique that provides the repetitive deformation and allows to high intensity of deformation. With this procedure, a sample is pressed through a channel that has an equal cross section but bent at an angle of ?> [1-2]. Shear strain is introduced when a sample passes through the bending point of the channel. Repetitive processing is feasible because the cross-sectional dimension of a sample has no change during processing. To date, many reports have described that ECAE is available for the fabrication of fine-grained materials [3-14]. On the other hand, an ECAE processed sample can achieve high intensity of deformation through repetitive deformation. According to the equation given by Segal [ 2 ], a strain of about 1 is introduced in each pass through die if the angle ? is 90 deg.It is well known that high tensile strength can be achieved in metallic materials through work hardening [15]. It is also known that metallic materials with fine grain size show high strength [16]. Hence, it is expected that ECAE is available for strengthening method in metallic materials. In the present paper, we will report the mechanical properties of stainless steels processed by ECAE. As samples, SUS304L austenite stainless steel and SUS430 ferritic stainless steel were chosen. Each alloy has a single-phase structure (fee or bee) and shows no phase transformation, so that transformation strengthening cannot be applied. Hence, a heavy cold work such as ECAE may be effective for strengthening of this stainless steel. Annealing was conducted for the ECAE processed SUS430 to vary its microstructure. Then, the effect of annealing on the strength of the ECAE processed SUS430 was also investigated."

Jan 1, 2000

By I. Ohnaka

Although many works have been reported on the semisolid casting, the mold filling behavior of semi-solid alloys has not been so well understood. This paper compares the physical and numerical simulation results on the mold filling behavior. Physical simulation was performed by using solid-water mixture. The numerical simulation was made under the assumption of one phase flow with an effective viscosity. It was found that the solid particles stabilize the flow greatly if the kaction solid exceeds about 0.4, because viscosity increases greatly. The overall flow behavior can be estimated by the numerical simulation. Interesting flow behavior was also found which can not be observed in the case of one phase flow and which is difficult to simulate by the one phase flow assumption.

Jan 1, 1997

By K. J. Murphy, A. R. Smith, A. P. Odorski

"The need for large quantities of oxygen for use in metallurgical processes was a major driving force in the commercialization of tonnage air separation plants. Oxygen, nitrogen and argon impact the quality, energy efficiency and environmental aspects of metals production. Cryogenic air separation processes have been used to supply most industrial requirements, however, newer technologies are available or under development to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's metallurgical processes. This paper reviews the technical features and state of development of adsorption, chemical, cryogenic and membrane technologies. The technologies are compared in terms of plant size, oxygen purity and pressure, nitrogen and argon co-production, product use pattern and back-up requirements. Computer control systems are described that optimize operation over varying load patterns and ambient conditions; substantially lowering energy consumption. IntroductionOxygen production totalled 390 billion cubic feet in 1987. Although current production is lower than the peak of 455 billion cubic feet reached in 1979, oxygen remains the fifth leading chemical product manufactured in the u.s. (1) Metals manufacturing and fabrication accounts for sixty percent of the oxygen consumed in the u.s. Oxygen use in the steel industry consists of air enrichment for conversion of iron ore, purification of the iron in basic oxygen or other furnaces, and for cutting and welding the finished steel product. Nonferrous ores are smelted in oxygen enriched atmospheres to reduce energy consumption and increase capture of sulfur compounds to meet environmental requirements. In the future oxygen usage is expected to become even more important in metals production as energy costs increase, environmental standards become more stringent, and as new coal based processes become commercialized. Oxygen usage per ton of metal in the new direct reduction processes can be up to ten times higher than traditional steel making."

Jan 1, 1988

By Angus Hellawell

The application of the common tangent principle to free energy - composition surfaces is considered. It is shown that the construction requires that single phase surfaces on either side of a two phase volume must always exhibit the same sign of curvature - contrary to that shown in many published phase diagrams. In general, these curvatures will be such that the surfaces are mutually concave towards the more stable phase. A number of examples are discussed.

Jan 1, 1991

By Leonel Contreras

The gas treatment system, MALIGAS (in Spanish MAnejo y Llmpieza de GASes which means handling and cleaning of gas), is part of the Codelco-Chile Potrerillos Smelter decontamination plan; which includes the newly designed system for the cooling and cleaning of the gas generated from a Teniente Converter and four Peirce Smith Converters. The gas generated in the process is captured by water cooled hoods and mixed with air. Then the gas enters a cooling pre-chamber which utilizes a water cooled screen to capture and remove the coarse and semi-fused particles. At this stage; the gas loses a portion of its heat with temperature falling below 608°C which is a necessary condition to avoid damage to the pipes, ducts and other metallic structure of the gas handling system. The gas is further cooled at the Radiation Cooler to a temperature ranging between 315 and 380°C. The gas is conditioned to avoid damage to the electrostatic precipitators that are designed to clean the gas by removing significant amount of dusts from the: gas stream. This gas stream is currently discharged to the stack, however, it will be treated in a sulfuric acid plant that is currently under construction and is scheduled for commissioning during the second half of 1999. The gas handing and cleaning system has been operated without any significant interruptions. Minimal emissions of SO2 and dusts in the work place are noted. The system requires minimum maintenance. The key to the high availability of the system is due to the good, performance of he Radiation Cooler, which efficiently cools the gas before entering the electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). This enables the ESPs to remove the dusts efficiently.

Jan 1, 1999

By A. Elizabet Serna

The weak acid is a by product obtained in a pre-treatment of gases from a copper smelter prior to sulfuric acid manufacture and the main components of this weak acid are: sulfuric acid. copper, arsenic. antimony, bismuth and iron. Usually, this effluent is neutralized with lime and the solid residues are stored in a landfill as a hazardous waste. This work was directed at determining the optimal conditions to recover copper from weak acid using a cementation process before the neutralization of the effluent. The variables investigated are: Effluent temperature, iron scrap amount and acid concentration versus reaction time. The results of these experiments show that the cementation process of copper and the co-cementation of impurities such as arsenic, antimony and bismuth were in accord with the theory of the electrode potentials.

Jan 1, 1996

By Joseph Sofra

It has become increasingly evident that sustainable metals production in the 21st century requires producers to balance the needs of cost effective, high value production with that of responsible plant operation. This is becoming more difficult as lower grade and more complex feed materials, including recycled scrap and residues, are being processed to reduce production costs and decrease exposure to primary metal market fluctuations. One particular facet of the metals industry facing these challenges in the 21st century are copper producers, The recent steady decline in the copper price has seen the industry cut expenditure, tighten control on income streams and focus on high returns on capital investment. For these reasons copper producers are looking towards flexible technologies that can deliver high value products, with minimal environmental impact at low capital and low sustainable operating costs. Ausmelt's Top Submerged Lancing (TSL) technology for copper production is a low cost, proven technology for the processing of both primary and secondary copper materials. Both the smelting and converting operations introduce significant advantages in environmental performance, improved process efficiencies and high rates of metal recovery, Ausmelt has made significant gains in the past 4 years in establishing a strong market position for its copper technology, New installations in China, South Africa and India as well as existing operations in Zimbabwe and China have demonstrated its effectiveness. This paper reviews the application of Ausmelt Technology for both smelting and converting of primary and secondary sources, It discusses Ausmelt's design and implementation philosophy, and how this philosophy meshes with the needs of the end user.

Jan 1, 2003

By K. G. F. Janssens

In the process of annealing a deformed metal the microstructure changes due to concurrent recrystallization, grain growth and precipitation. It is common knowledge that all three of these microstructural transformations show a strong dependence on each other, and that an overall model must take the relevant interactions into account. Aiming at the development of an approach which is useful in the more general case, a computational model is being developed which allows the prediction of the three dimensional grain topology and orientation distribution function of any metal submitted to subsequent deformation and annealing, taking into account concurrent recrystallization, grain growth and precipitation and starting from a statistical representation of the deformed microstructure. In this contribution a case study is presented which illustrates the potential and limits of the state of the art in the field. Keywords: Microstructure Evolution Modeling, Irregular Cellular Automata, Deformation, Precipitation, Recrystallization, Grain Growth

Jan 1, 2003