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By Dalene Joalet Steenkamp

Excavation of industrial-scale furnaces allows for the systematic study of reaction sequences by identifying the different reaction zones within the furnace. In 2013, Transalloys excavated a 48 MVA submerged arc furnace that was used for silicomanganese production using the ore-based route. The excavation method was reported elsewhere as was observations made in terms of refractory wear and modes of electrical energy dissipation prior to excavation. The paper presented here, reports on the process reaction zones observed during the excavation and subsequent phase chemical analyses of a number of process samples obtained during the excavation. The zones identified were a loose burden zone, a dry coke-bed zone, a wet coke-bed zone, a hard build-up zone, and an alloy zone. The results are compared to observations made in the excavation of an industrial-scale SAF and a pilot-scale SAF in Norway. The presence of the hard build-up zone below one of the electrodes and absence of a slag zone below all three electrodes are unique features of the SAF excavated at Transalloys.

By Alim Ullah

Process, quality and management control are necessary in order to produce DRI of required quality and at minimum cost. Although the characteristics of the two (2) principal inputs, that is, iron oxide feed and natural gas (for gas-based DRI plants) can affect the operation of a DRI plant significantly, they are outside the control of plant operators, at least in the short run. The quantity of reduction gas, its composition and reduction gas temperature are some of the key process variables. Statistical Process Control (SPC) can be used in a DRI plant to minimize the production of off-grade material and costs, as well as to improve the overall operation of the plant. One of the key quality variables to be measured and controlled is percent metallization, defined as FeM/FeT*100 where, FeM and FeT respectively are metallic iron and total iron in DRI. Control charts are used to monitor the quality of DRI produced and, when necessary, corrective actions are taken to bring the product back within the control limits. Management control can consist of essentially following how well the plant performs against some pre-established standards of parameters like daily production, downtime, consumption of material and energy, etc. In this respect, it is suggested that yield, defined as theoretical consumption/actual consumption of iron oxide feed, be used to monitor the consumption of feed material. Similarly, instead of using natural gas per ton of DRI produced, a better criterion would be efficiency, defined as theoretical natural gas consumption/actual natural gas consumption.

Jan 1, 2006

By Ryokichi Shimpo, Akio Fuwa

"In order to elucidate the present status of process-control technology, survey study has been made on the present process control schemes of representative copper smelting and converting processes in Japan. Conceptual control flow diagrams have been deduced and shown on respective functional reactors, i.e. drying, smelting, converting and fire-refining units, where the objective OUTPUT items are correlated to the INPUT variables through respective CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPSFuture view has been also discussed on several feasible and desirable improvement and refinement ~n measurements and control system for better copper smelting and converting operations.INTRODUCTIONIn other to seek for the better and efficient operation in copper smelting and converting process, survey study has been first conducted on the present process-control schemes of respective functional unit processes, i.e. drying, smelting, converting and refining unit processes, of representative copper production processes in Japan. Conceptual process flow chart of control scheme has been then deduced where output items are correlated to input items through the respective cause-and-effect relationships.After this survey study, future view has been discussed on the feasible and desirable improvement and refinement in the measurement and control system in these processes. Emphasis has been placed on the better and precise measurements of temperature, oxygen partial pressures in respective furnaces and end-point in converting and refining unit operations."

Jan 1, 1989

By Canterford JH

Current and future methods of data acquisition in hydrometallurgy are reviewed. Hydrometallurgical operations involve a wide range of chemical and physical processes for the recovery of metals and other products from ores and concentrates. Control of such operations requires information on the different liquid/solid and liquid/liquid mixtures being processed. Continuous. data acqui-sition for the liquid phases uses procedures already commercially exploited in other types of chemical plant. The major problem is the lack of robustness of measuring probes. Continuous analysis of the solid phases is much more difficult to-achieve because of the sampling and analytical techniques involved.

Jan 1, 1985

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 Marlin D. Schutte, Graham M. Fraser, Paul M. Kubera, Ronald J. Weetman

Mixers play an important function in the operation of multi-phase reactors in the minerals processing industry. They must suspend solids, transfer oxygen, maintain pH and temperature uniformity, assist in heat transfer, and, in biological processes, avoid the development of excessive shear rates. The LIGHTNIN A315 impeller (Figure 1) effectively supersedes the older Rushton turbine (Figure 2) which has been classically employed in gas­Iiquid-solids applications such as bacterial oxidation, cyanide destruction, etc. Since a stirred tank reactor can be such a key part of the overall process, it is essential that the mixers be designed for long term reliable operation, both process and mechanical, to insure a high percentage of on-line availability. Mixers in gas-liquid-solids processes may experience extraordinary loading conditions which must be taken into account to guarantee a robust mechanical design. Given the recent trend towards the design of world-class process units with maximum capacity equipment, there is increased importance and emphasis on the integrated design of the complete agitation system -mixer, vessel, and structure -to insure trouble free, post­commissioning performance. This paper presents some of the considerations necessary to specify the process functions of the mixer in multiphase applications, as well as special considerations for the mechanical design of the integrated reactor system.

Jan 1, 1993

By Solange Kazue Utimura

As placas de circuito impresso (PCIs) dos resíduos eletroeletrônicos (REEEs) possuem diversos metais na composição. A recuperação desses metais tem incentivado as pesquisas inovadoras no seu processo de extração. Como alternativa de recuperação de metais das PCIs de forma sustentável optou-se pela biohidrometalurgia envolvendo a fase extração. O presente trabalho avalia a biolixiviação do cobre na presença de duas cepas bacterianas distintas em PCIs de REEEs provenientes de impressoras obsoletas. As PCIs foram caracterizadas mediante as técnicas analíticas de espectrometria ICP-OES e de fluorescência de Raios X (FRX) para determinar os elementos químicos presentes na amostra inicial. As cepas utilizadas na lixiviação bacteriana foram Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (AF) e Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (LF), cultivadas em meio de cultura T&K. Os ensaios de biolixiviação foram realizados em incubadora orbital, com velocidade de rotação de 170 rpm, temperatura de 30 oC, volume de inoculo de 10% (v/v) e densidade de polpa de 30g/L. A técnica empregada na concentração de cobre da solução após a biolixiviação foi a FRX. Foi possível determinar que a cepa AF apresentou uma extração de 100% de cobre em 8 dias em comparação com a LF na qual foi observado que a extração de cobre foi de 100% em 5 dias.

Oct 30, 2017

By Marcela Silva Araujo dos Santos

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar um método para a reciclagem de embalagens blister, preservando as propriedades de polímeros e também do metal. A metodologia consiste em quatro etapas: moagem, quarteamento de amostras, tratamento com solvente e separação em meio denso. A matéria prima dos ensaios é proveniente de descarte e rebarbas de produção da indústria farmacêutica. Os equipamentos utilizados são um moinho de facas e agitadores mecânicos. Durante o tratamento com solvente, acetato de etila, as placas de alumínio do blister se destacam dos fragmentos poliméricos e, o conjunto forma um emaranhado, que posteriormente é separado em meio denso salino.

Aug 16, 2017

By Natalie Chaves de Siqueira

Aços inoxidáveis austeníticos fundidos por centrifugação, da classe HP, são comumente utilizados na indústria de óleo e gás para a fabricação de tubos usados em fornos de reforma e pirólise. Essas ligas possuem uma elevada resistência à oxidação, elevada estabilidade térmica e elevada resistência à fluência em altas temperaturas, sendo esses requisitos necessários para aplicação nos fornos. Mudanças microestruturais, conhecidas como envelhecimento, podem ocorrer durante a operação, influenciado na resistência à fluência. Desta forma, a caracterização dos estados de envelhecimento de uma liga HP torna-se necessária para avaliar a sua vida remanescente. O objetivo deste estudo é caracterizar duas condições microestruturais de uma liga HP com a microscopia eletrônica de varredura e o ensaio não destrutivo de ultrassom. O processamento do sinal ultrassônico, utilizando a Transformada Rápida de Fourier (Fast Fourier Transform – FFT), foi realizado sobre o segundo eco de fundo do sinal ultrassônico, permitindo correlacionar a análise espectral do sinal com a microestrutura do aço HP. De acordo com a metodologia proposta, os dois estados de envelhecimento foram caracterizados através do processamento do sinal ultrassônico.

Oct 30, 2017

By Sheyla Santana de Carvalho

O titânio processado por metalurgia do pó tem sido cada vez mais utilizado na fabricação de implantes cirúrgicos, ortopédicos e dentários, devido às características de biocompatibilidade e propriedades mecânicas do material obtidas por esta técnica. A componente cisalhante da deformação característica do processo de extrusão angular em canal (EAC) permite a consolidação das partículas pela junção de novas superfícies e o elevado grau de deformação obtido confere considerável refino dos grãos do material. No presente trabalho o material foi processado por metalurgia do pó seguido de extrusão angular em canal, enquanto a caracterização envolveu técnicas como microscopia ótica, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e ensaio de dureza. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo permitiram a caracterização da microestrutura, da dureza e da porosidade de compactados de titânio submetidos ao processo de extrusão angular em canal em temperatura da ordem de 375°C, com redução do tamanho de grão médio, de 30 µm para 1,32 µm no material processado por metalurgia do pó seguida por EAC e aumento da dureza, de 161 para 264 HV, respectivamente. A fração em área de poros, que atingia cerca de 4% no material apenas compactado foi reduzida para aproximadamente 0,8% no material submetido ao processo EAC.

Aug 7, 2018

By Samara Venina Simen de Azeredo Silva

Os compósitos produzidos a partir de Nitreto cúbico de Boro (cBN) são utilizados nos processos de usinagem de materiais ferrosos, tais como, peças fabricadas a partir de ligas ferrosas, ligas a base de níquel e materiais ferrosos com dureza de 45 HRc. Os compósitos a base de cBN são produzidos sinterizando cBN e seus ligantes sob condições de altas pressões e altas temperaturas (APAT). O presente trabalho tem como objetivo a caracterização microestrutural dos compósitos nanoestruturados de cBN, processados sob altas pressões e altas temperaturas, com parâmetros de pressão de 6,6 GPa e 1800oC e tempo de processamento cíclico e acíclico. Os compósitos produzidos foram testados na usinagem de aço 4140. Os resultados mostraram que uma melhor densificação e uma menor perda de massa dos compósitos durante a usinagem tem relação com os parâmetros de sinterização e com o tempo de processamento.

Aug 16, 2017

By Rosana Silva Xavier

Compósitos magneto-elétricos (ME) combinam fases magnetostrictivas e piezoelétricas e podem ser utilizados na geração de energia a partir de vibrações e campos magnéticos presentes no ambiente, sendo também aplicáveis em sensores de campo magnético e em redes de sensores sem fio. Neste trabalho, um compósito ME foi processado pelo método cerâmico com 15 vol% CoFe2O4 (ferrita de cobalto) como fase magnetostrictiva e 85 vol% BaTiO3 como fase piezoelétrica. É mostrada a relação entre os parâmetros de processamento/sinterização e a microestrutura do compósito ME, com três tipos diferentes de arranjo das fases: particulado (obtido por dois diferentes métodos) e em camadas. Foram compactadas pastilhas dos compósitos para sinterização nas temperaturas de 1.200ºC, 1.300ºC e 1.400ºC por 4h, sendo que ocorreu a fusão da pastilha sinterizada a 1.400ºC. As amostras sinterizadas foram observadas em microscópio eletrônico de varredura (MEV), onde foram analisadas as características de porosidade, tamanho de grão e a distribuição das fases na microestrutura. Foram realizadas também análises cristalográficas por difração de raios-X (DRX), de espectroscopia RAMAN e de espectroscopia de energia dispersiva (EDS). Foram relacionados os parâmetros de processamento utilizados com os resultados obtidos.

Aug 8, 2018

By Mónica Maria Jiménez Correa

A geração de resíduos sólidos tem se convertido em um problema para a sociedade. Milhões de toneladas de resíduos sólidos são produzidos diariamente no mundo causando numerosos problemas ambientais e sociais. Além disso, o acelerado consumo junto com o avanço tecnológico e o curto ciclo de vida dos produtos têm elevado a quantidade e complexidade dos resíduos sólidos descartados, tornando a situação ainda mais complicada. Nas últimas duas décadas, a indústria de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (EEE) tem acelerado sua produção vertiginosamente, tendo como resultado o subsequente aumento na geração de resíduos de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (REEE). Os REEE apresentam na sua composição materiais tóxicos e se descartados irregularmente, podem contaminar o meio ambiente e causar danos à saúde publica. Por outro lado, a sua reciclagem é um assunto que merece atenção especial, não só do ponto de vista de tratamento de resíduos, mas também do ponto de vista econômico. A fim de contribuir com a reciclagem e a diminuição dos resíduos sólidos, o presente trabalho pretende apresentar um estudo do processamento mecânico das placas mães de computadores descartados, visando recuperar o cobre, o níquel e o zinco presentes no resíduo.

Aug 7, 2018

By Leandro Augusto Justen Marzulo, Guilherme Lucio Abelha Mota, Otávio da Fonseca Martins Gomes, Gilson Alexandre Ostwald Pedro da Costa, Alexandre da Costa Sena, Felipe Schimith Batista

O presente trabalho desenvolveu uma solução, utilizando Hadoop e Map Reduce for C (MR4C), capaz de paralelizar a segmentação de fissuras em imagens de partículas minerais. Um conjunto de 221 imagens de tamanhos distintos de partículas de minério de cobre obtidas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura foi utilizado para os testes. A variação do número de nós de processamento apresentou um ganho do tempo de execução que escalou de forma quase que linear. O balanceamento de carga estática promoveu um speedup de 1,3. A solução proposta, quando comparada à implementação sequencial, considerando um cluster com 9 nós de processamento, atingiu um speedup de 19,1.

Oct 1, 2019

By Luís Carlos da Silva

Apresenta-se uma revisão das características e propriedades do nitreto cúbico de boro (cBN) bem como de diferentes tipos de processamento. A influência da adição de ligantes e a formação de compósitos com outras cerâmicas são também revistas. Finalmente, destaca-se a grande importância prática do cBN como cerâmica de elevada dureza na substituição do diamante em ferramentas de corte.

Oct 30, 2017

By P. D. Georgescu

Gold, like no other metal, has a fascinating and special place in the world. It is used in a range of every day applications essential to modern life. Gold has long been considered the most precious metal in the world. Gold is used mainly for making jewellery as well as for dentistry, adornments on building and artistic expression. For thousands of years it has been used as an ornament of kings, a currency and standard for global currencies, and more recently, in a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications. Gold?s many unique properties have secured in a central role in history and human development. Today, more often than not, gold is extracted from ores. It occurs in vein and alluvial deposits and is often separated from rocks and other minerals by mining and processing operations. Some of these processes cause environmental concern (cyanidation, amalgamation, roasting). Besides primary gold ore resources, a series of secondary resources can be taken into account and processed for gold and silver recovery. There are two main types of waste produced. The first type is process waste, which includes tailing consisting of processing residues and waste rock. The other type is refuse from other different processes and recyclable materials. Among other secondary resources and/or by-products containing precious metals, which have been studied some processes and technologies with low ecological impact are presented in this paper. Heaps and tailing ponds resulted from gold-bearing ore exploitation and processing, refractory gold-bearing pyrite concentrates, slag resulted from electrolytic slime melting, gold-bearing chlorous slime are taken into account. In order to establish environmental friendly technologies for precious metals recovery from these secondary resources, laboratory experiments have been carried out on a pilot scale and in some cases on semi-industrial scale by applying specific technological processes, namely hydro-gravitational concentration, bio-oxidation, non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (microwaves), solubilization without utilizing cyanide and gold recovery by ion-exchange resin. This paper presents the research results, technological principles as well as the possibilities of applying combined processes in order to treat different secondary gold-bearing resources.

Jan 1, 2006

The reduction of zinc from slags by a molten, carbon-saturated bath was examined in a laboratory study under conditions of continuous slag feeding. The results show that it is possible to reduce the bulk of the zinc from the slag before there is a net reduction of iron. However, the recovery of zinc was not as high as in batch tests performed in an earlier study. Lead in the slag was reduced simultaneously with the zinc to very low levels and was volatilised. Copper in the slag was reduced and dissolved in the alloy. An attempt was made to identify potentially commercial ways of treating zinc slags using an iron bath. The approaches that appear to have the greatest potential are reduction in a batch process using electrical heating and reduction in a continuous process with co- or countercurrent flow of the slag and alloy. In the latter the alloy would be prepared in a separate furnace before being contacted with the slag. The purpose of this would be to superheat and carburise the alloy so that no additional heat or reductant would have to be supplied in the slag-alloy reactor

Jul 1, 1991

By Z. R. Llanos

This paper presents a review of industrial and experimental processes for the recovery of molybdenum, vanadium, nickel, cobalt and aluminum from spent hydrotreating or hydrodesulfurization catalysts. Numerous processes have been developed in a laboratory and pilot scale. However, worldwide, there are only four well established commercial facilities currently in operation. The installed capacity of these facilities exceeds the availability of spent catalysts and may be sufficient to assimilate future increases of spent catalysts. Despite liability risks; significant quantities of spent catalysts are still being landfilled. Changing regulations that may affect the future handling and disposal of spent catalysts are also reviewed.

Jan 1, 1995

By D. Dimitriadis, T. Polglase, M. M. Botz, W. Phillips, R. Jenny

Cyanidation processes for the extraction of gold or silver frequently involve the processing of sulfurcontaining solids that react with cyanide to form thiocyanate. The formation of thiocyanate is an undesired side reaction, and in many cases thiocyanate formation results in a prohibitively high cyanide consumption. With the increasing number of gold and silver mining projects that involve the processing of sulfide ores or concentrates or that utilize a biological sulfur oxidation process, more attention is being focused on minimizing thiocyanate formation and in treating solutions to eliminate toxicity associated with thiocyanate. Though not yet commercially applied, there are several processes available to recover cyanide from thiocyanate to reduce tailings toxicity and to allow the reuse of cyanide otherwise lost to thiocyanate formation. This paper presents an overview of processes available for recovering cyanide from thiocyanate along with estimated operating costs for the processes. Pilot testing data suggests that in some cases cyanide can be recovered from thiocyanate for approximately the same cost as newly purchased cyanide.

Jan 1, 2002

By Ronald C. Severson

Crystals of native gold occur in placer-type deposits. Gold, as a pure metal, is the most malleable metal known; therefore, delicate gold crystal forms should not survive mechanical transport and concentration processes involved in placer formation. To test the hypothesis that the crystalline gold is currently forming in place, two active gold-placer operations and an unmineralized background area in Alaska were examined. At these sites, rock outcrops, soil profiles, and native vegetation were sampled. At one sampling site, the soil was panned and yielded crystalline gold, as well as the more common rounded nuggets. The plants and soils were analyzed for their major, minor, and trace-element contents, especially gold. Two procedures, one a simple demineralized water leach and the other a partial digestion with acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide, were also used to extract gold and various anions from soils. The water-extractable gold ranged from <0.02 to 15.0 ppb Au in the extracting solution. This represents as much as a 104 enrichment in gold over average river water. This extractable gold is probably available to the native vegetation. Gold concentrations in the unashed dry plants from the two placer sites ranged between 0.4 and 106 ppb compared to a background range of <1 to <4 ppb Au. The presence of dissolved organic matter in the soils is thought to be responsible for the dissolution, transportation, and precipitation of gold in these placer soils, and this process is presently active in these soil profiles.

Jan 1, 2013