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By Shenghui Guo, Ying Lei, Wei Li, Jinhui Peng, Libo Zhang, Yu Li

"In this work, the Panzhihua low grade ilmenite and graphite were milled for 1, 2, 4 and 8 h firstly, then the temperature rising behavior of milled sample in microwave field were studied. The average heating rate of samples milled for 1, 2, 4, 8 h were 1.86, 4.08, 2.82, and 2.32 K/s; Before optimize the microwave reduction process, several experiments were conducted in order to confirm the parameters range. After milled for 4 or 8 h and reduced above 930 oC, the Fe metallization are higher than 90%; Then the optimization was investigated by using response surface methodology (RSM), the significance of predict model and each terms were analyzed, and the optimization parameters were given as: milling time is 4 h; reduction temperature is 1001 or 1070oC; the holding time is 37.5 or 26.9 min. Under these conditions, the Fe metallization given by predict model is 91 or 92 %.IntroductionThere is about 9.66 billion tons of Vanadic Titan-magnetite deposits in Panzhihua, China. In this reserve, there is about 8.73×108 t of TiO2, accounting for 90.54% of the Chinese reserves, and 35.17% of the international reserves and ranking first in the world. [1] Titanium mineral deposits are classified into Rock type and Placer type. Rock type is the igneous mineral, which have high content of FeO (Relative to Fe2O3) and gangue. The Panzhihua ilmenite is a typical rock type ilmenite ore. The higher contents of MgO, CaO, SiO2 and the complex mineralogy are making its direct reduction progressively more difficult."

Jan 1, 2011

By Marco V. Ginatta

Current world production, 60'000 ton/y, is exceedingly too small for titanium's extraordinary combination of favorable properties; it should be 1,000,000 ton/y (7% of stainless-steel). Prices that competitively sustain that sales volume are achievable only with electrolytic production, as it is for all other commercial nonferrous metals. But titanium does not have its commercial electrolytic plants yet, because of producers decisions and strategies, scientists works, industrial problems with chloride process, lack of consumers sponsors. Fluoride high temperature process has the advantages of aluminum electrolysis, plus other favorable characteristics specific to titanium and its feed material. One electrolytic titanium potroom replaces several different plants used for sponge production. Production of titanium ingots with zero defect is achieved. The solidified cathode rectangular slabs are suitable for direct rolling.

Jan 1, 2001

By P. J. Mackey

New and emerging, as well as proven technologies for the smelting of copper, nickel, lead and zinc are briefly reviewed. The number of new technologies available today is greater than at any time in the past, and interest and development activities remain high despite the economic dif-ficulties faced by the non-ferrous metallurgical industry. Part of the impetus is provided by the realization that only the most cost effective producers will remain competitive, and that new technology is one key to cost effectiveness. The commercially proven "new" copper smelting processes can now be considered to be conventional- technology, and are expected to dominate copper smelting for acme time. There is a growing. interest in continuous copper converting, although direct smelting and converting to copper in one vessel remains the- ideal. There is little activity in nickel smelting. After many years. of development, it appears that several new direct lead smelting processes will soon be a commercial reality. The electrolytic zinc process is expected to continue its dominance, although there is a renewed interest in pyrometallurgical approaches. One of the new zinc processes, and a molybdenum smelting process, illustrate the possibilities of using plasma technology in non-ferrous metallurgy. In the area of complex sulphides, there is perhaps less interest in the treatment of bulk con¬centrate, and more in the treatment of so-called dirty copper concentrates. Much of the technology ancillary to smelting has remained relatively unchanged, and more effort must be made to advance the technology in areas such as materials handling, gas cleaning and sulphur fixation, and energy recovery. More attention to engineering design is also needed. Escalating capital costs may make mini-smelters attractive, but imaginative technology and innovative engineering will be required to make them cost effective. Finally, a glimpse is offered of the smelter of the future.

Jan 1, 1983

By Yuanbing Ling

Keywords: Calcium sulfate, Sulfuric acid, Phase transformations, Thermodynamic analysis As part of a boarder research project, seeking the development of a cost-effective process for direct production of the high value material, -calcium sulfate hemihydrate, from sulfuric acid at atmospheric as opposed to elevated pressure conditions, the fundamental work presented here has been undertaken. This includes experimental monitoring of phase transformation reactions and thermodynamic analysis of the relationships among the various phases, namely, calcium sulfate dihydrate, hemihydrate and anhydrite in aqueous sulfuric acid solution at temperatures ranging from 20oC to boiling point.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. R. Goode

Up to one half of neodymium and praseodymium production, key ingredients in permanent magnets, is produced illegally. About 60% of cobalt production, critical in lithium-ion batteries and other applications, comes from central African states, and much of it is produced illegally. Tantalum, important in modern electronics, is also primarily sourced from central Africa and, again, much of it illegally. Illegal mineral production, as exemplified here, is often used to fund armed conflict. Furthermore, it is typically conducted with scant regard for human rights and environmental protection. It also leads to depressed prices which in turn limits the possibility of legitimate producers entering the market. Systems of traceability and provenance, along with cooperative supply chain participants can limit the production of illegitimate material and thereby improve conditions in the countries of origin and reduce downward pressure on prices.

By M. D. Strachan

Technical & Procurement Services Limited (TECHPRO) in Ashford, Kent, UK, have been appointed as Project Managers for the major rehabilitation of the Copper Smelting complex of Nkana Division, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited, (ZCCM) Zambia. In outline, the overall scope covers three main areas: a) Transfer and implementation of new technology into Zambia for the production of primary copper. b) Replacement of gas collection and gas treatment circuits to guarantee high quality feed to the acid plants. c) Completion of a number of minor projects in the copper smelter and associated utility plants to complement changes in the primary smelting technique. This paper describes the Project Management methodology and style used by TECHPRO to tackle typical problems that arise in retrofit projects of this type. Reference is made specific aspects of the smelter projects to illustrate solutions to the problems. The subjects. addressed highlight the complexities not only of having a -Client 5,000 miles from the Project Office, but also the difficulty of co-ordinating and controlling the performance of min sub-contractors who are also geographically distant.

Jan 1, 1991

By Larry M. Southwick

Steel mill electric arc furnace dust is a RCRA listed hazardous waste and its treatment and/or disposal are regulated by a complex set of rules. These regulations were originally established to encourage recovery and recycling of valuable components. For EAF dust, the more valuable constituents include zinc, lead, cadmium and iron. In fact, current trends are in the opposite direction, as the regulations have complicated the ability to commercialize new treatment technologies and created substantial roadblocks and liabilities for processors. As a result, almost half of the EAF dust generated in 1997 will be landfilled. The problems are compounded by difficult processing requirements, less than sterling examples of technology development and mechanical and operating problems. This paper explores some options to simplify the processing requirements and thereby easing difficulties in commercializing new technologies and expediting the recycling of recovered metals. Dust processing usually includes a simple step followed by two complicated steps. The simple step is fuming of heavy metals away from iron and other residues. The complex steps are (1) separating and purifying the heavy metals and (2) upgrading the iron residue. The first complex step can be simplified by producing an intermediate product that is amenable to processing by zinc refiners. This route benefits from the currently underutilized (by dust processors) resource offered by refiners, who have experience in and existing processes for separation and purification of zinc-based heavy metals. Various processes and their associated product options are reviewed and compared. Future directions for dust processing developments are suggested.

Jan 1, 1998

"Many industrial processes involve materials that are subject to temperature change and thermal stress. Examples range from the casting of large metallic products to the cooling and reliability of small electronic components. Thermally induced stress is a major concern as it can lead to material damage and product failure. Material properties, thermal and mechanical, and process conditions such as the size and location of a feeder in metals casting, or the power dissipation in a computer chip, will govern the magnitude of these stresses. Temperature may also be influenced by fluid flow, for example, the airflow over a computer chip in a laptop will govern the rate of heat extraction, hence the temperature gradients in the chip and the evolving thermal stresses.This paper provides details on the governing equations for heat transfer (temperature) and solid mechanics (stress), their degree of coupling, and the numerical techniques used to solve them. Three examples are discussed to illustrate the use thermomechanical modelling. These also provide an insight into the degree of coupling required between the equations. The first example, involves thermal cycling of electronic components where a prescribed temperature field is applied. As temperature is known, this example only requires the solution of the stress equation. The second example also involves the modelling of an electronic component where the temperature field is also calculated. In both of these examples, the stress calculation is dependent on the temperature field, but the temperature calculation is not dependent of the solution of the stress equation (one-way coupling). The final example provides details on modelling the metals casting process. Both the temperature and stress equations are solved but, unlike the previous two examples, in this case the temperature field is dependent on the results from the stress calculation (two-way coupling)."

Jan 1, 2001

By C. A. Young

The remediation of cyanide (CN-) and nitrate (NO)-) anions in mine and agricultural waters by various photolytic methods has been reviewed and investigated. Photolytic methods such as direct photolysis, homogenous photolysis, and heterogeneous photocatalysis are briefly described and compared. Results and discussions show that each method has certain advantages and disadvantages. For each method, Eh-pH diagrams prove useful for determining reaction mechanisms. Preliminary results obtained for cyanide oxidation and nitrate reduction show that homogeneous photolysis can be superior due to faster kinetics than the other methods. The photolytic methods were individually, not simultaneously, tested and compared. Differences in concentrations of products were obtained and attributed to differences in photoconversion efficiencies and other inherent characteristics of .the photolytic methods. Various reaction mechanisms are proposed in accordance with the literature as well as measurements obtained from solution analysis using ion selective electrodes and ion chromatography .

Jan 1, 1995

By Zhi-xiang Cui

Effects of flux, vulcanizing agent and reductant on slag cleaning in new-type slag cleaning furnace (Φ3.6 × 8.1 m) were investigated under the conditions including smelting temperature of 1200 and 1250 °C, settling time of 30 and 60 min, and Fe/SiO2 of 1.7–1.9. The results show that addition of SiO2, B2O3 or CaF2 into original copper smelting slag can improve settling separation effect. Though no effect on copper recovery, addition of FeS can provide heat required by reaction with oxygen and reduce copper dissolution in spinel phase and slag. Copper content in discarded slag can be controlled at 0.26% under the optimum comprehensive conditions with ratio of oxygen to natural gas of 1.6.

By Dachun Liu, Baoqiang Xu, Bin Yang, Yong Deng, Heng Xiong, Xiumin Chen

"In this paper, vacuum distillation technology has been employed to study the possibility and regularity of separating copper and enriching lead, silver and other valuable metals from copper- based multi component alloys. The result of experiment indicated the practicability of vacuum distillation dealing with copper base complex multi-component alloy to separating lead and silver, when the vacuum distillation temperature was 1637K, distillation time was 60min; residual gas pressure was 20-30Pa, the removal rate of silver was 95.86%, of lead was 99.63%; the evaporation rate of copper was 0.745%. The removal rate of arsenic, antimony and tin respectively were 83.09%, 48.12% and 24.54%. Vacuum distillation method is applicable for dealing with the copper-based multi component alloys, silver and lead can realize effective recovery.IntroductionCopper generally go with lead mineral, therefore, to remove copper from lead becomes an inevitable link in lead smelting. Dross from removed copper usually contains lead, arsenic, antimony, tin and noble metal silver. In abroad, soda ash-iron dust is adopted to process copper dross of this kind. The outcomes of this process are lead matte, wet lead, scoria smoke dust etc[1~5] The dominant components of all the outcomes are copper and lead. Moreover, in the process of tin smelting, copper contained by-products are produced, such as, crude tin alloy, tin lead electrolytic anode slime and so on. Copper content of all the products are ranging from few percentages to several tens percentage. Those products, no matter merge into main producing process, or separate treatment cost losses of valuable metal. For one hand, the containing of copper of outcomes from pyrogenic attack is less than 50%, for the other hand, a lot of valuable metal need to be processed, which increase the cost of retrieve."

Jan 1, 2013

By S. C. Sharma, M. Krishna, N. Sanmukha

"The oxidation behavior of an aluminium composite with 0, 2, 4, and 6% by weight of hematite at 200 to 500 °C has been investigated. Within the experimental temperature ranges a parabolic weight gain was observed. The, weight gain as a function of oxidation time becomes linear after an initial period on oxidation formation, an oxide scale was found whose morphology depends on temperature, cooling rate and sub-scale formation at the interface between the matrix and reinforcement. The presence of hematite particulate reinforcement has very little effect on the oxidation behavior. The interface oxidization rate was found to be higher than that of other regions. The, oxidation products were either metallic oxides or ceramic oxides. The exposure time of specimens to oxidation was 1000 minutes at various temperatures. In the present work key principles of alloy oxidation were discussed. Also the paper emphasizes various reactions taking ' place and the activation energies involved in the oxidation reactions.IntroductionMetal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced with ceramic particulate, whiskers, or fibers have received increasing attention due to their potentially high fracture toughness and strength 1-5. Particle reinforced Aluminium MMCs find potential application in several thermal environment, especially in the automobile engine parts, space applications, such as drive shafts, cylinders, pistons, and brake rotors6.With the exception of gold, no metal or alloy is stable at room temperature, they tend to form their respective oxides. Most of the metals in the solid or liquid state are morphologically unstable when exposed to air at higher temperatures. An investigation relating to the temperature profiles of the piston area in a diesel engine has shown that the temperature can reach as high as 500¬800 K in certain regions of the piston. As the piston and cylinder areas are exposed to high temperature environment, the MMCs should have sufficient stability on both mechanical and chemical strength (oxidation). Oxidation occurs at grain boundaries in alloys and at the interface of the particulate and matrix in MMCs, which usually enhances intergranular fracture, resulting in premature failure and severe brittleness 8-10. Therefore for high-temperature applications, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the oxidation behavior of aluminium MMCs."

Jan 1, 2000

By Robert E. (Bob) Brown

Magnesium was discovered by Davy in 1808. The production processes as they exist are not economically competitive with aluminum The electrolytic magnesium process is divided into two steps; one to make the MgCh feed and the other to apply large amounts of electric current to dissociate the feed into magnesium (450 g) and chlorine (1200 g). The production of fuJIy anhydrous, pure cell feed is a major problem Recently, there has been a growth of thermal processes, mainly the Pidgeon silicothermic production process using FeSi to reduce dolomite in horizontal retorts. Pechiney has a large vertical electrical furnace process that also uses FeSi to reduce calcined dolomite in a molten bath containing alumina. Work is proceeding to develop new or modified processes that will greatly improve magnesium production. The present methods and the research and R&D will be reviewed in this paper.

Jan 1, 2001

Cuspidine (3CaO?2SiO2?CaF2) is one of the most important compounds crystallized in mold flux films during casting in the continuous casting process of steel. The primary crystallization field of cuspidine has been experimentally developed in the CaO-SiOrCaF2-SiF4 system. The cuspidine-NaF binary and cuspidine-CaF2-NaF ternary systems have been also experimentally determined to study effects of addition of NaF on the primary field of cuspidine. In order to discuss its thermodynamic stability the standard Gibbs energy of formation of cuspidine has been determined by an electromotive force method using CaF2 as solid electrolyte and a transpiration method as follows: The chemical potential diagram and constituent activities for the CaO-Si02-CaF2 system have been evaluated based on the obtained thermodynamic data.

Jan 1, 2003

By Robert L. Stephens

"It can be argued that one of the most important property of any material is cost, since this property detennines the applications for which a material can be considered. Despite growing demand and production for commodity metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and tin, the cost of these metals has been steadily decreasing in real terms. The only way that metal miners and producers can remain financially viable in the long term is by continuing to lower their cost curve through the implementation of new metals production technologies. This paper reviews technological developments in the production of copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and tin that have or threaten to redefine the cost curves for these metals.DisclaimerThe opinions expressed in this paper the author's, and are not necessarily those held by the author's employer, Cominco Ltd.IntroductionThis meeting will discuss many novel technologies and processes for producing metals and materials with specific properties that will enhance the applications ranges for the material or will allow entirely new applications to be developed. However, in every real-world case, the cost of the new material or process is an important property that determines which applications the material or process can be used in. Other properties that are important depend on the applications.A recent press report (1) discussing the potential replacement of aluminum radiators with copper radiators in pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles provides an interesting example to reinforce the importance of cost in materials selection. In this case, the displacement of aluminum by copper is being considered because of the more favorable heat dissipation characteristics of copper. Heat dissipation has become more important due to the development of hotter-burning V-8 and V-6 engines. For this application, engineers also consider cost, weight, size, durability, and manufacturing process. The report stated that the development by the International Copper Association (ICA) of the ""CuproBraze"" manufacturing process for heat transfer products was an important development. This technology produces 845 radiators that weigh less, are more uniform in quality, and are potentially more compact. They are also expected to cost less in high production quantities than copper units produced in the past, last three to four times longer than soldered copper radiators, and the process also eliminates the use of lead solder from the manufacturing process."

Jan 1, 2000

By G. D. Sandrock

The science and technology of roan temperature rechargeable metal hydrides began about 1969 with the discoveries that the intermetallic Compounds LaNi5 and TiFe could be, conveniently hydrided and dehydrided at roan temperature and modest H2 pressures. Subsequently, this lead to the development of a broad family of REE-containing AB5 hydrides and numerous applications that make use of the extraordinary H2-absorption and reaction-heat properties of these materials. Some of the applications include H2 storage, compression and separation, as well as heat pumping, heat to mechanical energy conversion and electric energy storage. This paper briefly reviews the fundamental phenomenology of metal hydrides, the history of the use of REE's in rechargeable metal hydrides, the practical engineering properties of these materials and the applications that have evolved around them. The rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery, a new vial alternative to NiCd cells, stands at the forefront of the applications.

Jan 1, 1992

By Taufiq Hidayat

Accurate description of complex phase equilibria provide the foundations for the improvement of non-ferrous pyrometallurgical smelting and recycling processes. Recent advances in microanalysis and experimental techniques enable accurate phase equilibria characterisation. Quantitative microanalytical techniques including Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis and Laser Ablation ICP-MS enable the concentrations of major and minor elements present in different phases in samples to be accurately measured providing data that cannot be obtained using bulk chemical analysis techniques. High-temperature equilibration experiments coupled with the subsequent analysis of elementary reactions at micro- and macro-scales ensure the attainment of equilibrium conditions, and therefore, ensure true phase equilibria information is obtained. Examples of the application of the improved methodology on the investigation of phase equilibria of low-order and complex, multi-component gas/slag/matte/metal/solids Cu2O–PbO–ZnO–Al2O3–CaO–MgO– FeO–Fe2O3–SiO2–S systems and the distribution of minor element are provided. The experimental study is closely integrated with thermodynamic database development for the above system. Example of implementation of the research outcomes into industrial operations is demonstrated.

By Jean-François Boulanger

The production of rare earth elements from ore usually consists of three steps; the separation of a concentrate of REE bearing minerals; the cracking of the REE minerals to liberate the REE into an aqueous solution and separation of REE into individual elements. This paper describes the results of laboratory tests conducted on a carbonate-rich REE ore containing bastnaesite and monazite. The tests cover the whole processing sequence of beneficiation, preparation of the REE solution using a caustic leach followed by acid leach to break monazite and bastnaesite and liberate REE into an aqueous solution and the partial separation of the REE using solvent extraction. Details on the product quality and process performances (recovery and impurities removal) are given for each studied step. The paper also discusses the economic advantage of separating the REE rather than producing a mixed REO product to be sold to a refinery for REE separation. A mini-pilot plant version of the process is currently planned.

By Wen Chen, Xinghua Liu, Zeyou Peng, Qiulin Wang

"Limonite is a collective for iron hydroxide argillaceous materials. It is very difficult to be treated due to the wide variation in specific gravity and magnetism and the high argillization rate in the course of grinding and beneficiation. The iron ore in Huangmei, Hubei, China is the typical representative of limonite. If the limonite is processed using conventional physical beneficiation methods (e.g. magnetic separation, gravity separation, flocculation-desliming-flotation, or a combined process of the three), it can only be obtained an iron concentrate grade of 51.98% and an iron metal recovery of 86.64%. However, the technique of flash magnetic roasting-magnetic separation can improve the concentrate grade to 61.03%, iron recovery to 91.17%. This paper describes the tests of recovering limonite by flash magnetic roasting in detail.IntroductionLimonite (mFe2O3, nH2O)[1] is a general designation for hydrous iron hydroxides and argillaceous matters. Limonite is hard to be separated because of its complicated geneses, comparatively weak magnetism, nonuniform grain size and being easily slimed during grinding. So most small and medium enterprises sell deslimed limonite product which was dealt with just by simple methods of washing, magnetic separation or gravity separation and so on. In recent years with the iron ore prices soaring, significant progress was made in mineral processing research of limonite. Laboratory research and industrial test results showed that flocculation-desliming-flotation process and roasting-magnetic separation process are the two best methods to recover limonite till now. To compare these two methods, roasting-magnetic separation process is superior to flocculation-desliming-flotation process in aspects of beneficiation indexes and industrial stability."

Jan 1, 2012

By Run Huang, Xuewei Lv, Songli Liu, Chenguang Bai

"Titanium alloy was prepared from titania-bearing blast furnace slag (Ti-BF slag) by aluminothermic process in an induction furnace. The effects of aluminum amount on the titanium silicon yield and titanium recovery ratio were studied. The phase transformation and chemical composition of the prepared alloy were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) respectively. It was found that the mass fraction of silicon and aluminum increased with increasing the aluminum amount, however, the mass fraction of titanium increased first and then decreased with increasing the aluminum amount. Furthermore, both the titanium alloy yield and titanium recovery ratio increased with the increase of aluminum amount. The main phases of the alloy were TixSiy and AlTi3. The titanium alloy samples prepared in various conditions had a composition (wt.%): 38–50% Ti, 29-34% Si, 4-11 Al%, 1.6-2.2 Mn%.IntroductionPanzhihua and Xichang regions in the southwest of China are rich in vanadium-titanium magnetite containing iron, vanadium, titanium and gangue. According to the characteristics of the resource, iron and vanadium are successfully recovered with a blast furnace process and a converter process. However, most content of titanium are entered in the blast furnace slag with TiO2 22% -26% and metallic Fe 2%–6% called Ti-BF slag. Due to the dispersed distribution of Ti in various fine grained mineral phases with a complex combination between Ca, Al and Si, it is difficult to recover the Ti components[1]. This slag is generated at a current rate of 3.6 million tons per year, which adds to the existing 70 million tons of slag produced so far[2]. The slag has had to be piled as large as the mountains, which not only waste of resources but also cause a pollution of the environment. Therefore, the study of integrated utilizing Ti-BF slag has become very significant."

Jan 1, 2012