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By Michael P. Meisel

Solinox is a physical scrubbing process capable of removing a number of noxious materials from off-gasses, especially SO2, hydrocarbons, halo¬gens, heavy metals such as dust, etc. As these materials are dissolved physically, (not chemically bound), the solvent is absolutely stable and no by-products are formed in the scrubbing cycle. The process has been installed in three plants up to now, treating from approximately 30 MMSCFD to approximately 100 MMSCFD. These installations are in a non ferrous metal smelting operation, in a cellulose factory, and in a roasting process.

Jan 1, 1992

By W. John Rankin

The finite and non-renewable nature of mineral resources poses unique challenges for sustainability: How can mineral and material needs of society be satisfied indefinitely? How can the benefits of exploitation of minerals best be captured for present and future generations? How can the environmental problems caused by large scale mining and processing best be ameliorated? These issues are rarely addressed, or if so only incidentally, in traditional courses in geology, mining, metallurgy and materials yet addressing them will increasingly be a major role for professionals in the minerals and materials industry and related sectors and agencies. This paper describes a framework for examining these and other sustainability issues related to meeting future material needs from non-renewable resources. The framework may be useful for educational purposes, either as the basis of a dedicated subject or by including the elements of it throughout a traditional course in relevant subjects.

Jan 1, 2014

By Tang Chaobo

According to the principles of simultaneous chemical equilibrium and electronic charge neutrality, the system of Mg(II)-NH3-CO32--SO42--H2O at 25°C has been thermodynamically analyzed. And the rule of solubility of MgCO3(s) in the system is discovered, the high dissolution field of MgCO3(s) is discovered too. Furthermore, the solubility of MgCO3(s) is increased with the increase of the concentration of SO42-, but it is decreased first then increased with the increase of the concentration of all the CO32- and the total concentration of ammonia and ammonium, and decreased with the value of pH being higher. Those results will has important significance on prepare magnesium chemical products and other salts carbonate that are strict with the content of magnesium with carburization method.

Jan 1, 2006

By Jeaneth S. Benedetto

The physical and chemical processes developed for recovery of uranium and phosphor from phosphoro-uraniferous ore bodies consists of three basic steps: concentration of the phosphate bearing uranium by flotation, chemical dissolution of the concentrate by wet phosphoric acid and extraction of uranium by solvent. In this process two products are obtained: 1) uranium and 2) phosphoric acid. The purpose of this work was to develop technological know-how of phosphoric acid purification though an extraction of P2O5 by solvents. It was investigated by two lines of research. In the first one the uranium was extracted before the phosphoric acid purification. In the second, the phosphoric acid was extracted before uranium recovery. The comparison of the two processes is shown in this paper. Experimental work was developed on a laboratory scale to select and optimize the process variables. After the laboratory study, the research of extraction and stripping was continued on a pilot scale in pulsed perforated-plate columns in order to investigate the main operational and process conditions. The first phosphoric acid extraction experiments showed good results using a raffinate sample obtained from the uranium extraction process. It was possible to obtain a high purity phosphoric acid.

Jan 1, 2003

By Martin Fischer

A new method for the quantitative image analysis of complex microstructures in steel is presented. Microstructures in modern steel grades on the one hand become more and more complex while on the other hand the size of the constituents is scaled down ever further. For these reasons it is increasingly difficult or even impossible to access reliable quantitative information on ratios, shapes and spatial distributions of individual phases and constituents by utilising traditional metallographic analysis methods. The presented new analysis approach is object-based. Its basic processing units are so-called ?image objects? which reflect the pictured structures by merged groups of likely related pixels. By the use of image objects, information on shape, graphical texture and spatial distribution of the microstructural constituents can be processed. With these additional data available, it is possible to quantitatively analyse complex microstructures. This is demonstrated by the application of the method to SEM images of different multiphase steel grades. Because the analysis routine is fully automated, the analysis of large amounts of image data is possible and thereby the investigation of statistically relevant areas of microstructures.

Jan 1, 2009

By Gary K. Elliott

Many industrial processes generate hot waste gases which contain particulate pollutants. Conventional clean-up techniques suffer limitations either because collection efficiency is low or because the gas must be cooled before treatment. thereby increasing costs and preventing energy recovery. The application of increasingly stringent environmental legislation to the non- ferrous metallurgical industry Is presently illustrating these conventional technology limitations. Low density ceramic media allow filtration to take place at high temperatures and are now rapidly becoming accepted in many industries. This paper reviews experiences with a proprietary low density ceramic filter element, Cerafill. It includes consideration of the structure, composition. typical operating and case studies with particular reference to non-ferrous metallurgical furnace applications.

Jan 1, 1992

By Gary K. Elliott

Many industrial processes generate hot waste gases which contain particulate pollutants. Conventional clean-up techniques suffer limitations either because collection efficiency is low or because the gas must be cooled before treatment. thereby increasing costs and preventing energy recovery. The application of increasingly stringent environmental legislation to the non-ferrous metallurgical industry is presently illustrating these conventional technology limitations. Low density ceramic media allow filtration to ta,ke place at 'high temperatures and are now rapidly becoming accepted In many industries. This paper reviews experiences with a proprietary low density ceramic filter element. CerafH. It includes consideration of the structure, composition. typical operating and case studies with particular reference to non-ferrous metallurgical furnace applications.

Jan 1, 1992

By Jin Liu

In the early 1990?s, Inco successfully installed two new flash furnaces as part of their SO2abatement project to reduce SO2 emissions from the Copper Cliff Smelter by 60%. The flash furnace off-gas is cooled and cleaned through two new Monsanto Dynawave gas cleaning systems that replaced the traditional venturi scrubbing system. It was discovered that the flash furnace production capacity is often limited by the capacity of the gas cleaning system. The key task is to eliminate pressure drop from the system. The froth column is responsible for by far the largest pressure drop in the gas cleaning system. Initially, the column was fitted with 22 plates. In 1994, both #1 and #2 froth columns were modified by reducing the number of plates in each column from 22 to 18 and increasing the interplate spacing on lower plates. With increasing demand for more throughput in the flash furnaces, further modifications on the froth columns were made in 2005. This paper describes these modifications and results together with some fundamental analysis of the froth column characteristics.

Jan 1, 2006

By A. V. Tarasov

The nonferrous metals industry has been a sector with one of the highest growth rates during the recent years. The prospects for the Russian metals industry during the period until 2010 are associated first of all with a growing domestic demand for its products. The technological level of the metallurgical operations in Russia is relatively low in comparison with industrially developed countries: the average energy requirement is higher by 20% to 30%; the amount of generated waste in the process of rolled products manufacture is twice as high; the average labor productivity is lower by 2.5 to 3.0 times; the overall negative environmental impact is twice as high. Improvement of the technological level of the nonferrous metals production under the conditions of market economy is possible by application of innovative technologies for the development of this sector. The main trends for development of the nonferrous metals sector are: - meeting of more stringent requirements to the quality of concentrates; - more complete recovery of associated elements as commercial-grade products; - development of continuous process lines based on autogenous, resource-saving and environmentally safe processes; - use of combined technologies, including pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and upgrading processes; - expansion of the fields of application for nonferrous metals and their alloys.

Jan 1, 2006

By Khosrow Nikkhah

Increasingly ion exchange systems are being included in design of hydrometallurgical plants for metal extraction or impurity removal. Because such systems operate sequentially and are based on resins that exchange one ion for another, store it temporarily and release it to a regenerating solution, the usual steady state heat and mass balancing tools and spreadsheets cannot be used to design them successfully. This paper outlines the role of dynamic simulation in design of ion exchange systems. Examples are given for use of dynamic simulation in design and investigation of equipment based on consideration of the effect of input criteria such as expected ion loading and elution profiles. The methodology for dynamic modeling using IDEAS in design of multi column ion exchange trains operating in parallel is presented. Results shown include the non-steady state distribution of extracted metal and limitations imposed on operating conditions. These conditions include proposed sequencing of columns for loading and elution cycles, loading, elution and recycle flow rates as well as size and choice of related ion exchange plant equipment.

Jan 1, 2003

By Pradip

The selective adsorption of chemisorbing fatty acids at high temperatures together with the addition of soda ash and lignin sulfonate as depressants is the key to the industrial processing of bastnaesite ores. This paper presents the results of a fundamental investigation that indicate that alkyl hydroxamates can be an alternative collector for the beneficiation of bastnaesite ores that contain barite and calcite as the principal gangue minerals. The primary mechanism for providing sites for the chemisorption of hydroxamate on bastnaesite appears to be through dissolution of cations, formation of the respective hydroxo complexes and readsorption at the interface.

Jan 1, 1989

By Markus A. Reuter, Antoinette van Schaik

"Product design engineers select from a wide range of materials and combine them into multimaterial product designs. These include various materials (metals and non-metals) which are complexly integrated (e.g. welded, glued, alloyed, layered). The recycling/recovery rate of consumer products are determined by the different materials and alloys used, but also by the particle size and multi-material particle composition after shredding (combination of materials due to design). Eco-design (for recycling) and Design for Recycling (DfR) can only be conducted if the interconnectivity of material/metal in various unliberated materials is accounted for and its effect on material and energy recovery can be linked back to design. This paper will discuss the basic principles of these DfR models and it is shown how these tools (i) are linked Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software, (ii) affect conceptual design specifications of products, (iii) integrate the complex detail of the recycling system and recyclate quality and hence (iv) make recycling an integrated part of the product system. Furthermore, it is shown how these assessment tools and models can be applied for benchmarking of the recyclability and environmental damage created by the recycling of end-oflife consumer goods in order to e.g. (i) provide the (original) equipment manufacturer with knowledge and solutions to support product stewardship and Extended Producer Responsibility; (ii) create awareness of the consequences/benefits of design, products and recycling systems to manufacturer, designer, legislator, recycler etc.; and (iii) assist the consumer in their choice of consumer goods from an end-of-life point of view.IntroductionA first-principles basis is required in order to be able to simulate and predict the recycling/recovery behaviour of products facilitating Design for Recycling (DfR) and Eco- Design. This links recycling technology and the environmental consequences of recycling directly to product design."

Jan 1, 2008

By Anthony C. Mulligan

Metals have historically been used in mining since they offer an excellent combination of hardness, toughness and cost and can be fabricated to form a variety of shapes. However, for many applications the metals used today have limited performance in the environments in which they are needed. This is particularly true for geothermal environments where the brines are highly siliceous causing corrosion and accelerated wear of many components. Geothermal sources are increasingly being explored for their high thermal value as well as possible sources for future minerals. While advanced ceramics have historically been expensive to produce in comparison with metals, they offer significantly greater corrosion resistance and hardness and can improve the overall performance when used in selected ?problem? areas. One of the major drawbacks in the use of ceramics in high impact areas has been their brittle nature and propensity to fracture and spall (fail) when loaded. Recent advances in the fabrication of ceramics have combined hard (strong) ceramics with more ductile ceramics in a architecturally designed microstructure, thus allowing ceramics to perform well in these high impact regions. Additionally, ceramics are significantly more inert to corrosion from either alkaline or acidic environments and can typically be used for significantly longer periods in these environments than their metallic counterparts.

Jan 1, 2006

By Ravinder N. Reddy

Electrochemical capacitors are charge storage devices. They bridge the gap between dielectric capacitors and batteries in terms of energy and power density. Electrochemical capacitors are classified into two types, electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) and capacitors based on pseudocapacitance. In EDLC, charge is stored at the interface between electrode and electrolyte. Carbon is considered to be prime electrode material for EDLCs due to its many favorable characteristics. In this study carbon materials are derived from thermal decomposition of catechol- formaldehyde polymers and are studied as electrode material for electrochemical double layer capacitors. Carbon electrode surface is characterized using NOVA 1200 gas sorption analyzer. It is also characterized using XRD and SEM. Carbon electrodewaselectrochemically characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). A highest capacitance of 110 F/g was observed in 30 wt% H2SO4.

Jan 1, 2006

By F. E. Katrak

Rare earths markets by definition usually include not only the rare earth elements, but also yttrium. They can be subdivided into a very large light rare earth fraction (about 95 percent by weight of all rare earths consumed) consisting mainly of cerium and lanthanum and a smaller fraction (with much higher unit value) consisting of selected high-purity oxides or elements such as yttrium, europium, samarium, or neodymium. CRA estimates that the noncomnunist world market for all rare earths and yttrim was on the order of US$750 million in 1986. The main focus of this paper is on the principal uses for rare earths, some CRA-developed proprietary data on their consumption by region, and the selective nature of business opportunities in the rare earth markets. We also provide forecasts on the future trends in these markets.

Jan 1, 1989

By Robert D. Boiler, Bill Wilkie

"There is a wide choice of different types of woven filter media for hundreds of different filtration applications. Factors such as type of fiber, synthetic polymers used, weave style, fabric finishes and fabrication techniques all play an important part in selecting the best choice for a specific type of filter and process application. The purpose of this paper is to offer some basic knowledge of these factors and how they can impact the performance of a filter, the life of the media and the overall cost of operation through case studies of actual plant filtration applications.IntroductionThe use of woven filter cloth in liquid/solid separation applications is generally well known. Woven filter cloth, by the nature of the weaving process, offers unique consistency and repeatability when compared to some other filter media such as needled felts, papers, sintered structures and knitted cloth. This unique consistency and repeatability is particularly applicable to woven filter cloth produced using monofilament fibers. These fibers are consistent in shape and form the basis for a woven cloth with predictable pore size and throughput characteristics. Woven filter cloth can be used in most wet filtration applications. Typical examples are the separation of chemical and pharmaceutical solids from process liquors, waste stream solids capture, liquid foods clarification, mining separations, and polymer filtration.EnvironmentOne of the first considerations is the environmental demand of the given process. Though it is tempting to look immediately at the particles in a filtration process, it is often better to consider some of the more basic needs of the system. There are numerous materials available, both synthetic and wire cloth. Each has its own unique set of properties."

Jan 1, 2012

By Cesar O. Gomez

A procedure has been developed for mounting at random particles of mineral samples to be characterized using image analysis. The procedure is based on the generation of a random distribution of sample particles in particles of a diluent material. and the embedding of this particle mixture in an epoxy resin without disturbing the initial distribution. Two materials with atomic number similar to that of the epoxy resin were successfully used as diluents: activated charcoal and graphite. The proportion of diluent material to be mixed with the sample to have a large number of mineral particles in the field of view while keeping the occurrence of touching particles at an acceptable level was determined empirically. The randomization achieved with the procedure developed in this work was tested using as samples known mixtures of silica and pyrite particles of the same sieve class. The agreement obtained between the mass ratio of minerals used in the preparation of a particular specimen and that resulting from image analysis demonstrates that the procedure developed is successful in producing a specimen where the embedded particles are randomly distributed.

Jan 1, 1988

By Freddy Syvertsen, Ali Riza Tarakcilar, Engin Tan, Derya Dispinar

"It has been shown that the disturbance of the advancing liquid front in the mould cavity may lead to surface entrained defects known as bifilms. These defects can deteriorate the mechanical properties significantly. The developments in the simulation of castings aid many casters. It is quick and economical. Therefore in this work, the aim was targeted to optimise the mould filling of a tensile test pattern design that is used for aluminium alloys. Several different designs, gatings and runner systems were investigated with Vulcan Casting Simulation Software. In addition to the achievement of non-turbulent and quiescent mould filling; other parameters such as temperature profile, porosity and feeding were investigated to optimise the process.IntroductionConsiderable effort has gone into understanding and controlling defects that are formed in aluminium and its alloys during casting. The conventional approach was the elimination of porosity by eliminating hydrogen in the melt simply due to the following reaction:"

Jan 1, 2012

By Thomas A. Post

The methodology of determining the optimum SX pumper-mixer system based on bench top, pilot, or small-scale solvent extraction systems, is demonstrated. The design of small-scale SX-plants is different than a full-scale plant. The difference is explained here. The use of dimensionless parameters Nh, Nq, and Np that describe the head, flow and power of the pumper is shown and how to use them for the scale-up. Additional data is required to determine the optimum operating range. Applications of this methodology were used to design well known currently operating SX plants. The emphasis on the optimization of hydraulic efficiency will be shown on examples, including how the hydraulic efficiency is affected when the throughput of the system goes beyond the design. Designs of all sizes of equipment will be shown which optimize the hydraulic efficiency.

Jan 1, 2003

By S. Motoiu

Data acquisition is widely used for controlling flash smelting furnaces. A Romanian smelter from which a large amount of data can be collected uses such a technique. A computer program was developed for interpretation of the data. Inputs to the program are the process data files. Abnormal data are identified using standard statistical techniques; they can be edited if necessary. The following methods can be used for the analysis: linear correlation (single or multiple), polynomial correlation or comparison of two average values. Time variation graphs and histograms can be displayed. The random balance method was used for determination of significant parameters influencing the process performance. Not all process parameters are recorded, and some of them are not even measured. The software can compute some of these parameters such as: air flow rate required and the oxygen content of the gas: exiting the reaction tower. The software was used for the interpretation of a large amount of process data. The analysis showed that the process did not operate properly at some times.

Jan 1, 1999