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By S. S. Bogomolov

The relationship between the magnetic properties and micro- structures of Pr-Fe alloys rapidly quenched by melt-spinning and highly undercooled by containerless processing in the Cambridge drop-tube was studied. The maximum measured coercivity, Hc, of as-cast samples was 4450 Oe for Pr-2 wt.%Fe. However, rapid quenching or melt undercooling decreases coercivity for hypo- eutectic alloys (<10 wt.%Fe) and increases Hc for hyper-eutectic systems.

Jan 1, 1992

By John O. Marsden

The past fifteen years have seen a number of important developments in copper hydrometallurgy, including the commercial application of biological heap leaching of secondary (chalcocite-dominant) copper ores, the commercial demonstration of chalcopyrite concentrate leaching technology using pressure leaching and biological processes, and the application of novel configurations of solution extraction circuits. Significant emphasis is now being placed on the development of effective stockpile leaching practices for primary ores (chalcopyrite and bornite-dominant mineralization). Some of these developments have been highly successful, and will pave the way for further development and commercialization. Others have been less successful. These developments are reviewed in the context of the metal price cycle and trends for the future are identified.

Jan 1, 2006

By Scott Shuey

The processing of post-consumer materials is an area being addressed by many industries and multiple engineering disciplines. While metal scrap and high-value uniform waste streams tend to find their way back to their respective parent processes, the more complex and low-cost ubiquitous materials, such as Polyvinalchloride (PVC) and Polytetrafluorethane (PTFE), tend to show up in many processing streams. From a metallurgical perspective, pyrometallurgical processing of a mixed metal/organic/oxide waste material allows for the recovery of thermal energy in conjunction with the recovery of metal values. The evolution of halogenic acids during elevated temperature processing can create complications with both the materials of construction of the processing equipment as well as gas stream processing. The need for dust collection coupled with a high acid content, necessitation high-volume scrubbing, increases the costs associated with gas handling. Control of the halides through entrapment as a solid in-situ during processing would simplify downstream processing. Alkali-halide complexes are being evaluated by researchers at CSM for mixed metal/polymer waste material treatment, recovering halogens as salt complexes.

Jan 1, 2006

By Jouko Kallionen

Advanced Flotation Technology is the application driven design of flotation cells to achieve the optimum performance for each type and grind of flotation. This can be applied to roughers, scavengers, cleaners and specialty cells such as those to float hydrocyclone underflows in both primary and regrind circuits in order to reduce overgrinding. Standard, engineered, components are matched to provide mechanism design and cell dimensions for each case according to feed parameters and flotation type. Advances in process control have been achieved with high level controls and operator information data. This has gained a higher degree of understanding of cell operation and ore type being processed. Excellent results of this Advanced Flotation Technology in large scale porphyric copper ore have been achieved and designs through 7000 cu ft (200 m3) are currently available for high capacity concentrators. This paper will detail how flotation cells are more responsive to the exact requirements of the duty specified.

Jan 1, 1999

The physico-chemical principles of chloride hydrometallurgy are reviewed to rationalise the complex chemistry in chloride-based processes for metal sulphides in terms of the predicted Eh-log[Cl-] relationships, measured changes in activity of H+, Mz+, Cl- and solubility of Ag(I), Cu(I), Cu(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Au(III), Sb(III) and Bi(III). These changes reflect the nature of chemical speciation, competing effect of hydration/hydrolysis and chloro-complexation,composite effect of increasing acid and/or salt concentration and decreasing water activity. Rate data for the dissolution of PbS and ZnS in HCl containing Fe(III) or Cu(II) are compared and contrasted to highlight the effect of acid and chloride concentration, water activity, and the nature of oxidant. It is shown that LiCl, NaCl and HCl influence the kinetics of oxidative PbS leaching based on their effect on solubility of PbCl2 co-precipitated with elemental sulphur on the mineral surface. Evidence for the beneficial effect of Cu(II) in sulphide leaching is discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By R. Togashi, S. Kuramochi, T. Yamada

In 1972, the Akita Zinc Co., Ltd. commenced operations with an annual capacity of 86,000 tonnes of electrolytic zinc, and it has operated with an annual capacity of 156,000 t-Zn since 1974. The business surroundings for non-ferrous metals production have become more severe with the high Yen rate for the dollar and low domestic demand in the last few years. Consequently, the company tried to survive with some improvements and succeeded to reduce operating costs and to improve profitability as follows: 1) expansion of its production capacity to. 196,000 t-Zn annually, 2) saving man-power by the introduction of fully-automated machines for cathode handling in the cellhouse, 3) improvement of the hematite process by means of the recovery of rare-metals. These improvements made Akita Zinc a competitive refinery in the modern world. We have been trying to improve the operations more and more. One of the challenges is to purify the iron oxide made in the hematite process by applying an As removal process, which is coming into operation in the near future.

Jan 1, 2000

By Huang Chao

The thermodynamics analysis on reducing-matting smelting of sulfide ore of lead, antimony and bismuth which use ferric oxide as sulfur fixed agent is first analyzed. Due to the analysis of reaction mechanism, ferric oxide is first reduced to ferrous oxide, then ferrous oxide produce reducing-matting reaction with sulfide ore and reducing agent as reaction equation: MeS+FeO+CO=Me+FeS+CO2. The reaction thermodynamic calculation shows that the reducing-matting reactions of lead sulfide, antimony sulfide, Jamesonite, and bismuth sulfide are feasible, but is infeasible for zinc sulfide. These conclusion provide a feasible method for solve the pollution which produced in the smelting of sulfide ore of lead, antimony and bismuth.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. K. Kawatra

A growing concern for pyrometallurgical operations is the generation of airborne particulates. These particulates can be generated by combustion processes, or by materials handling. Regulation of these particles by the EPA has become progressively more stringent, first for particulates finer than 10 micrometers (PM10), which are particles fine enough to be inhaled into the lungs. Then, restrictions were introduced on emissions of particles finer than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), which are fine enough to become embedded in lung tissues. The next stage of regulations is likely to be ?nanoparticulates,? particles finer than 100 nanometers, which are in a size range where their very high surface area leads to enhanced reactivity. While all of the health effects due to nanoparticulates have not yet been determined, there have been enough studies to indicate that there is a problem, and restrictions on nanoparticulate emissions are only a matter of time. In this paper, it will be demonstrated that dry handling, comminution, and combustion sources represent a significant concern for both PM and nanoparticulate emissions. In regards to dry handling, the effects of utilizing effective dust suppressants on PM and nanoparticulate emissions will be explored.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. A. Gerdel

In carboxylate collector flotation of bastnasite from other semisoluble salt type minerals such as barite various modifiers must be added in order to achieve selective flotation. One such modifier is a lignin sulfonate. It may function in part by acting as a sequestrant for metal ions present, preventing autoactivation in the system by metal ions derived from the minerals themselves. It also functions as a depressant for both bastnasite and barite, chemisorbing on both. However, it is shown that the lignin sulfonate functions as a much stronger depressant for barite than for bastnasite. It is suggested that the; strong depressing action on barite is related to a good fit of the sulfonate into the barite structure.

Jan 1, 1989

By W. John Rankin

Professionals, technical and non-technical, working in the mineral and metal commodity industries need to understand the concept of sustainability and its implications for the industry. Undergraduate courses have not done this well in the past. Much has been written in this field, and there have been great advances in understanding. However, much of what has been published is superficial and sometimes misleading, and there is as yet no coherent, single account that can serve as an introduction or overview for mineral industry graduates. This paper presents an outline which can guide readers in developing an understanding of the topic and its relevance to their work. Key references are provided, particularly those accessible on the internet, which will serve to introduce the reader to the important principles and understandings. The guide should also be useful to academics preparing students to work in the minerals and metal production sectors.

Jan 1, 2010

By R. Menge, N. Basin, M. Sibony, J. Lecadet, S. Schmidt

In 1996, Metaleurop replaced its conventional sintering and blast furnace lead smelting activity in Nordenham, Germany by Sirosmelt/Ausmelt technology. Following some alterations to the process and the equipment, the bath smelting plant reached its design capacity for the treatment of lead concentrates, lead sulphate paste from spent batteries, secondaries and internal by-products. A reliable metallurgical process has been established, and thus higher process stability has been achieved, increasing simultaneously the refractory life. Nevertheless, improvements are needed to control the process with a better automation system and reliable expert-systems, because of the intensity of the smelting process. The introduction of the Sirosmelt process for the pyrometallurgical production of lead instead of the prior conventional process has also demonstrated the following advantages: reduced emissions of heavy metals and gaseous compounds, reduction of the specific energy consumption, minimization of residues and a reduction of staff and maintenance costs. The environmental performance of the plant meets the requirements of the German regulations.

Jan 1, 2000

By Xiangjun Zuo, Lifeng Zhang

"Printed Wiring Board (PWB) is a platform upon which microelectronic components such as semiconductor chips and capacitors are mounted. It is also called printed circuit board (PCB). In the PWBs, the organic substances are approximately 72%. The main composition of organic substances in PWBs is ethoxyline resin bromide or ethoxyline resin chlorinate. Depending on the different application and design of the PWB, various metals may be used in the manufacturing process, including precious metals such as copper, lead, silver, gold, platinum, and toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium, barium, gallium, cadmium, lead, bismuth. The current paper reviewed the recycling process for waste PWB materials, including mechanical recycling, combustion for energy recovery and different pyrolysis processes, such as vacuum pyrolysis, atmospheric inert pyrolysi and flux pyrolysis process, and hydrometallurgical recycling process.Backgrounds of Electronic ScrapsProduction and use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), such as TV sets, computers, mobile phones and many other daily-life items, have dramatically increased over past decades, while the lifespan of many products becomes shorter"". The rapid innovation in technology in past decades has resulted in availability of cheaper and better electronic products in the market. Thus the production of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is also increasing, with estimates of 20-50 million tons per year being generated worldwide2), and it is a problem that governments and policy makers have to handle W). WEEE is also called ""E-wastes"" or ""E-scraps"". From the points of view of recycling and the valuable materials in the used EEE, ""E-scrap"" is more appropriate than ""E-waste"" since the used EEE are not real wastes to be dumped but had much benefit to recycle. In the US, it was estimated that over 315 million computers between 1997 and 2004 and 185 million computers between 2004 and 2007 would become obsolete 5). E-scrap is the fastest-growing part of the U.S. garbage stream 6). It is estimated that only 20% of the E-scrap generated within the US is currently collected and treated, with as much as 80% being unaccounted for7)."

Jan 1, 2011

By Bora Derin, Adnan Aydin, Onuralp Yucel, Hakan Morcali

"The steelmaking industry which uses electric arc furnaces (EAF) generates approximately 250.000 tons of EAF flue dusts annually in Turkey. These flue dusts contain valuable metals such as zinc, iron and lead. For example, if these flue dusts can be treated efficiently, disposal problems certainly decreases and annually almost 40.000-75.000 tons of zinc can be recovered. In this study, powder and pellet forms of EAF flue dusts taken from a steel mill were carbothermally treated in a temperature controlled pilot scale rotary furnace via carbothermal reduction in order to investigate the reduction behavior of Zn and Pb. Temperature (900-1000 and 1100 °C) and time (0-90 minutes) were selected as reaction parameters. The chemical analysis was performed for the sample residues.IntroductionTurkey’s steel production reached to 23.3 million tons in 2006. There are three integrated steel plants of which capacities vary from 0.7 to 3 million tons per year and seventeen EAF steel plants of which capacities vary from 0.06 to 2 million tons per year [1]. When it is considered that more than 74 % of the Turkish steel production is produced by EAF method and approximately 10 - 15 kg of dust is formed per ton of steel during this process, the amount of annual generated EAF dust may be estimated at approximately 0.25 million tons. EAF dust which contains valuable metals such as zinc, lead, iron, cadmium, and chromium, is considered as hazardous waste product in steelmaking industry. If these flue dusts can be treated efficiently, not only the disposal problems certainly decrease, but also annually almost 40.000-75.000 tons of zinc can be recovered. Many studies which exist on recovering of the valuable metals from EAF dust, propose and practice many hydro-metallurgical and pyro-metallurgical treatments [2- 7]. In this study a laboratory scale work were performed to investigate reduction behavior of zinc and lead in EAF dust by carbothermal process in a rotary furnace."

Jan 1, 2008

By Liping Li

A comprehensive three-dimensional two-phase mathematical model was developed to represent a channel type reactor with intense bottom gas agitation. Tracer dispersion and particle tracing methods were used to conduct the analysis based on the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Different operational parameters, such is gas volume flow rate. bubbler separation aspect ratios and liquid Input flow rates, were investigated for the purpose of reactor optimization. The numerical calculations were compared with experimental results obtained at the University of Missouri and a good general agreement was observed. Relatively low longitudinal mixing was observed characterizing the system as a "plug-flow" type reactor, in contrast to the intense vertical mixing, under the conditions investigated. Some general mixing characteristics are also discussed In connection to the behavior of other metallurgical reactors.

Jan 1, 1996

By Jianhui Wu, Jing Zhan, Chuanfu Zhang, Zhijian Wang, Chu-ping Xia

"A novel technology about interactive roast of complex bismuth sulfide ore with low grade and Pyrolusite was put forward using the low-grade bismuth sulfide ore and pyrolusite as raw materials. The predominance diagram of Bi-Mn-S-O system was drawn by thermodynamic calculations. Stable coexistence area ofBizO3 and MnSO4 and its control condition was obtained. The interactive roast conditions including roasting temperature, roasting time, the ratio of n(MnO2)/n(S), ventilation rate and so on are investigated systematically. The results show that the sulfur-retained ratio reaches about 98%, in which formation rate of MnSO4 was 94.04%, most of the residual sulfur in the ore exist in the form of BhsO32(SO4)10 in the roasting products The optimum roasting conditions were as follows: roasting temperature of 650°C, roasting time of2h, 1.4 for n(MnO2)/n(S) and 140L/h for ventilation rate.IntroductionBismuth is a ""green"" rare metal with the characteristics of safe, nontoxic and low melting point[l].The use of bismuth and its oxides is extending from traditional fields such as pigment, fusible alloy, bismuth class of drugs and metallurgical additives to the high-tech fields such as semiconductor, high-temperature superconducting materials and nuclear power and so on. Bismuth is one of the precious advantageous resources in China which owns the most abundant bismuth resources in the world. Bismuth metallurgical process is divided into the pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy [2-4]. Hydrometallurgy for bismuth is mainly used for the processing oflow-grade complex bismuth ore, whose key steps are oxidative leaching process of the bismuth sulfide ore by strong oxidants(FeCb, Clz, HNO2 etc) in hydrochloric acid system. Therefore, the corrosion of strong oxidants, high demand for equipments and poor operating environment are its inherent disadvantages. Pyrometallurgy for bismuth is mainly used for the processing of high-grade bismuth raw materials or concentrate, which is the main method for bismuth metallurgy at present."

Jan 1, 2013

By Pieter Steeneklm, Mazi’ Rejaee

"EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe automotive industry's search for increased fuel efficiency through component weight reduction has driven the growth in consumption of magnesium metal in the form of die cast alloys. This trend, which began in North America and should soon accelerate in Europe, will require enhanced recycling services since each tonne of metal used for die cast parts production produces about 500 kg of scrap.Currently, the European die cast market is plagued by very high tolling prices for scrap recycling due to lack of competition and high transport costs due to the distances between the scrap generator and the recycling facility. This situation clearly increases the cost of magnesium die cast components and reduces magnesium's competitiveness with other materials. The challenge for the magnesium industry in the short term is to provide cost ·effective recycling solutions for the die cast industry. In addition effective recycling, in the medium to long term, is needed for the anticipated large volumes of secondary or used scrap that will become available as the die cast components reach the end of their life cycle. This paper will present The Antheus Integrated Magnesium Project as a Novel approach addressing some of the key recycling related issues facing the magnesium industry, in particular the die casters. The paper outlines the many advantages of an integrated magnesium metal park, in an overall goal of increasing magnesium metal's competitiveness."

Jan 1, 2000

By Robert F. Jenkins, King G. Robertson

This paper presents a practical approach for utilizing a computer model to determine the mass balance for a typical UBC recycling complex - starting with raw materials input, through scrap preparation, delacquering, melting, alloy adjustment and casting. This model is especially concerned with metal unit losses throughout the recycling complex with emphasis on metal losses at the melting furnace. The model also addresses the application of hardener alloys, metallurgical salts, chlorine for demagging, and reagents for acid gas emissions control. Other issues addressed are dross generation, acid gas emissions and dirt and fines to landfill. One benefit of the model is the conversion of annual production objectives to hourly production rates and resource requirements taking into account production schedules, maintenance downtime, and operations inefficiencies.

Jan 1, 2000

By I. Hilario, D.Y. Medina, V.J. Cortés, J.D. Muñoz

The process of Tribofinishing is investigated as a memns to reacha state of quality for the surface teated. During the said process there occurs mass transferat the interface of the piece to be treated and the abrasive charge (abrasive plus additives). This stiuation is studied for Titanium as a possibility for application in prosthesis. With these results is intended to produce a model of the mass transfer that would allow having further control of the process.

Jan 1, 2012

By T. Lezhava

For the purification of quarry waters from copper and their further utilization a three-sectional electrochemical reactor is constructed providing the extraction of 90-95% copper as a self-loosing powder from the quarry water running as a steady flow. Four variations of the integrated processing of quarry water are developed and their relative technical and economical parameters are calculated. The detailed technological scheme is given for the variant that is the most profitable for Georgia.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Kawamura, H. Inoue, Y. Maeda, H. Ohike

Kosaka smelter is a copper smelter located in Akita Prefecture in the northern part of Japan. It has treated complex sulfide concentrates for a long time. Recently, in addition to metal production from ores, the company has been working on the recycling of metals by using this metallurgical technology. Metals recovered are primarily gold, silver, palladium, copper and lead from copper scraps, electronic board scraps, silver oxide batteries, spent lead acid batteries, semiconductor chips, cellular phones, and automotive emissions catalyst. In particular, electronic board scraps and cellular phones can be valuable raw materials. These electronic scraps are fed into the flash smelting furnace after size reduction in a shredder that was introduced in 1999. Due to the growing demand for personal computers and cellular phones, the amount of electronic board scraps available for recycling increased. At present, these secondary materials are good raw materials for Kosaka smelter since the smelter is already used to dealing with complex raw materials. The recycled metals account for up between 5 and 20 percent of the total production at Kosaka Smelter. In particular, over 90 percent of the palladium in the secondary materials can be recovered.

Jan 1, 2000