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By Vinay Kumar

The present investigation describes R & D studies carried out for recovery of copper from the sulfate solution expected from the leaching of e-wastes in presence of minor constituents such as cadmium, zinc and nickel using solvent extraction process. In order to extract copper in continuous mode in mixer settler unit (MSU), basic studies have been made to optimize the experimental condition using 5%LIX84 in kerosene. Subsequently, the solvent extraction of copper was made in MSU maintaining leach solution flow rate 4.0 L/h and A/O ratio 1. The results showed complete extraction (~97%) of copper in three stages at A/O ratio 1 from the aqueous solution containing 1.98g/L Cu at pH 1.91 in presence of impurities. Loaded metal was completely stripped after scrubbing with 10% sulfuric acid in two stages. The stripped solution could be used for metal/ salt recovery by electrolysis/ crystallization.

Jan 1, 2010

By Elisa Alonso

Manufacturing firms that rely on finite resources have a stake in ensuring sustainable materials use. Higher material prices and uncertain material supply, consequences associated with scarcity, can be damaging to firms. Firms have a number of options to improve material sustainability including dematerialization, material substitution and recycling. However, these options require technological capability, capital investments and supply-chain infrastructure; firms may decide to make such investments only if material prices increase. Once decisions are made, the barriers and delays to implementing changes may harm firms. The impact of not reacting to changes in material supply on firms was examined for the case of different platinum-using industries. It was found that taking action is particularly important for firms when limited material availability leads to volatile market conditions. Industries can benefit especially if they ensure process flexibility and have options for changing their material use patterns.

Jan 1, 2010

By Natalya. N. Ankusheva

The problems of ore-bearing palaevolcanic structures in folded belts are actual because of their high productivity in nonferrous, ferrous and noble metals ores. Now relationships of location and conditions of formation for sulfide-massive and gold-bearing deposits are investigated very well in Urals. But carboniferous sulfide-barite mineralization, for example the barite veins in Arcaimsky palaevolcano are?nt studied enough now [3-5]. The purpose of this research is the studying of mineralogy and thermobarogeochemistry of barite from the hydrothermal veins. It will allow to determine the conditions of its formation and to compare it to the similar mineralization of others ore types.

Jan 1, 2006

By José R. Parga

In some parts of the Comarca Lagunera with population of about 2.5 million people, situated in the central part of northern México, chronic arsenic poisoning is endemic and severe adverse effects attributed to As exposure have been reported. Lifetime exposure to arsenic will develop classical symptoms of arsenic poisoning such as skin pigmentation changes, gastrointestinal disturbances and neurological changes. There are several methods available for removal of arsenic from well water in large conventional treatment plants, however a very promising electrochemical treatment technique that does not require the addition of chemicals or regeneration is Electrocoagulation (EC). The EC operating conditions are highly dependent on the chemistry of the aqueous medium, especially conductivity and pH. In this study, Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Transmission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (TMS) were used to characterize the solid products formed at iron electrodes during the EC process. This study will provide an introduction to the fundamental concepts of the EC method. Finally the results of this study suggest that the presence of maghemite and magnetite particles can be used to remove arsenic (III) and arsenic (V). In the field pilot plant scale study more than 99% removal of As species from groundwater is achieved.

Jan 1, 2005

By Gabrielle Gaustad

For aluminum, substitution of primary with secondary resources decreases energy consumption; this energy advantage creates a strong economic incentive to recycle. Several authors have raised concerns that the current sinks for secondary materials may soon be saturated, impeding subsequent expansion of recycling. This work combines dynamic material flow analysis with optimal batch planning models to quantify the significance and drivers of these pending limits under several scenarios, and thereby explore potential opportunities to increase recycling. An aluminum recycling system case was developed that includes containers and packaging, automotive, and construction products and scraps. The impacts on aggregate scrap utilization and materials cost are explored in the context of changing alloy demand and lifetime. Insights drawn from this specific case study could be applied to multi-stakeholder, systemic models.

Jan 1, 2010

By Alvear G. R. F. Flores

It is now 35 years since the organization of the first sulfide smelting conference in 1983. Since then, the smelting base metals industry has experienced several changes driven by the necessity to improve economic, operational and environmental performances and resource efficiency and meet the increasing market demand for metals. In this continuously challenging environment, it is relevant to recognize which are the main challenges that the industry will face in the coming years and critically address our preparedness to respond to them. This analysis have to consider not only the effort required from the fundamental research and technology aspects but also how these pillars interact with the drivers behind the base metals industry. This paper discusses some relevant aspects required to continue developing the base metal industry focusing on copper. Aspects such as the need to supporting the generation of fundamental metallurgical knowledge, acquisition and proper use of data with advanced analytics methods, technological innovation to develop sustainable process flowsheet are discussed with emphasis on efforts conducted by Aurubis.

By F. F. Aplan

Though over 100 minerals are known to contain the rare earth (RE) or lanthanide elements, only a few provide the bulk of the world's source of these elements. The principal RE-containing mineral, monazite [(Ce,La,Th,Y)PO4], is recovered by gravity, magnetic, electrostatic and flotation concentration methods, while the other important source mineral, bastnasite [CeFC03], is concentrated by flotation. The processing of the lesser important source minerals is discussed, as is the recovery of the lanthanides from apatite [Ca5(P04)3(F,OH)] where the rare earth elements are present from trace amounts to over 10% as the mixed oxides.

Jan 1, 1989

By Jilai Xue

Oxygen gas bubbles generate on anode during Pb electro-deposition process in PbSiF6-H2SiF6 aqueous solutions at room temperature. Cell voltage varies as the bubbles formed on the anodes surface. The bubble layer on the anode makes a voltage drop that consumes energy in the Pb process, which can be reduced by applying ultrasound on the anode. The effects of ultrasound frequency and anodic current density were investigated with ultrasound on and off, alternatively during the Pb electrode-position process. The removing of the gas bubbles were recorded in association with a drop in the cell voltage. The cell voltage can be lowered by 4% - 6% with ultrasound, which has potential for energy saving in Pb production.

Jan 1, 2010

By P. A. Mahanwar

Flyash were melt mixed with nylon 6 at a 30wt% concentration. TYZOR® TPT, a coupling agent, was used to facilitate the link between filler and matrix. The morphological characterization, using SEM, revealed sufficient matrix residue on the filler surfaces thus confirming the strong interfacial bonding between the filler and the matrix on treating. Tensile, impact and the flexural properties of the composites were also improved with the incorporation of coupling agent. As flyash particles tend to impart a grayish color to the plastic, TiO2 pigment was employed to make the formulations aesthetic. The pigment was added to the filled system in 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 wt/wt ratios. Scattering of incident light and spectral reflectance was higher for smaller particle size flyash. Moreover an increase in the scattering with increase in pigment concentration indicates better dispersion of the pigment, which again is due to the presence of coupling agent.

Jan 1, 2006

By Wen-Ming Chien

Keywords: AN-KN Phase Transition, Lattice Parameters of AN-KN, X-ray Diffraction The lattice parameters of the low and high temperature phase of KNO3-rich (in NH4NO3) solid solutions have been determined by the X-ray diffraction method. The low temperature single KNO3 phase (KN II) are from 92%-100% KNO3 in NH4NO3 composition range and from room temperature to 393 K showing in X-ray diffraction patterns. The high temperature KNO3 phase (KN I) showed very broad composition range between 20% to 100% KNO3. The lattice parameters of KNO3-rich (KN II and KN I) solid solutions have been calculated at different temperature range. The volumes of orthorhombic KN II phase decrease from 0.3208(3) to 0.3195(3) nm³ at the room temperature as the compositions increase from 95% to 100% KNO3. The lattice constants of the hexagonal KN I phase show that there is no significant change in a-direction when the temperature increases. Details X-ray results and lattice expansion equations during heating will be presented.

Jan 1, 2005

By Geysen. Daneel

Better slag valorization is part of improving the sustainability of steel, stainless steel and non- ferrous metal production processes. Besides, it can improve the sustainability of other products and production processes as well. A sound and well established slag valorization is beneficial for the overall economics, marketing and appreciation of the metallurgical process and its products. On 6-7 April 2009, the First International Slag Valorisation Symposium was held in Leuven, Belgium. This paper gives a brief summary of the symposium, providing an overview of slag valorization opportunities. The authors believe that high temperature process slags can have interesting applications and that within the next 10 to 20 years slags will need such valorization options in order to compete with other materials and get general support for further production. On the other hand, the authors also expect a higher demand for slags for the production of various materials. High temperature processes should anticipate on the growing opportunities for valorization of slags and increase the resilience of their process by better understanding slag processing, slag quality and material requirements. More interdisciplinary research efforts are required to reach this level of knowledge for the different high temperature processes. Such an interdisciplinary research platform was recently established at KULeuven, Belgium, named SMART-PRO2 (Sustainable Materialization of Residues from Thermal Processes into Products).

Jan 1, 2010

By Ji-He Wei

Keywords: stainless steel, AOD refining, side and top combined blowing, mixing characteristics, water modeling The fluid mixing characteristics in the bath during the side and top combined blowing AOD (argon-oxygen decarburization) refining process of stainless steel have preliminarily been studied on a water model unit of a 120 t AOD converter. The geometric similarity ratio between the model and its prototype (including the side tuyeres and the top lances) was 1:4. On the basis of the theoretical calculations for the parameters of the gas streams in the side tuyeres and the top lances, the gas blowing rates used for the model have more reasonably been determined. The influence of the tuyere number and position arrangement, and the gas flow rates for side and top blowing on the characteristics has been examined. The results demonstrated that the liquid in the bath underwent vigorous circulatory motion during gas blowing, without obvious dead zone in the bath, resulting in a well mixing effectiveness. The gas flow rate of the main tuyere had a governing role on the characteristics, a suitable increase in the gas flow rate of the subtuyere could improve mixing efficiency, and the gas jet from top lance could make the mixing time prolong. Corresponding to the oxygen top blowing rate specified by the technology, a roughly equivalent and good mixing effectiveness could be reached by using six side tuyeres with an angle of 27° between each tuyere, and five side tuyeres with an angular separation of 22.5° or 27° between each tuyere. The relationships of the mixing time with the gas blowing rates of main-tuyeres and sub-tuyeres and top lance, the angle between each tuyere, and the tuyere number have been obtained.

Jan 1, 2005

By Hebi Yin

A two-dimensional multi-scale solidification model was developed to study the heat transfer, fluid flow, and grain growth occurring in the molten pool during the laser engineered net shaping (LENS) process. This model coupled the finite element method to calculate mass, energy and momentum transport in the macroscale with the cellular automaton technique to calculate liquid/solid phase change at the microscale. The validation of the model was performed by comparing the simulation results with experimental data from previously published works, showing good agreement in temperature distribution and the dendrite morphology (size and shape). The simulation results showed that Marangoni convection, caused by the temperature gradient along the pool surface, played a critical role in determining the flow pattern in the molten pool and exerted influence on the pool size and shape. It was also found that columnar dendrites can be formed, with dendrite arm spacings as fine as a few microns due to the high cooling rate during the LENS process. In addition, the influence of fluid flow on the dendrite growth in the pool was discussed.

Jan 1, 2010

By Li Chen

A new process, i.e. Ball milling--Neural leaching--Oxidation calcinations--Chloridizing distillation--Hydrolysis, was designed to recover germanium from the vacuum furnace slag produced in Shaoguan smelter. The suitable process and operational parameters were determined for the practical production.

Jan 1, 2005

By Qingsheng Liu

A new method of recycling aluminum dross for preparation Al-Si-Ti alloy was studied in this paper. This was carried out in two processes. first the aluminum doss was pretreated by leaching and calcining process, the fine purity and phase of the intermediate oxide powder up to electrolysis demands, then, could be obtained when aluminum dross after washing have been leached for 2h at 100? in 20% hydrochloric acid and calcined for 2h at 1200?, which was treated by cryoite-based molten salt electrolysis. Finally, the Al-Si-Ti alloy was successfully obtained through electrochemical co-deposition in the cathode shows a typical as-cast microstructure. This new recycling method can produce high quality alloy and may bring remarkable economic and social benefits.

Jan 1, 2010

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 Juliana Gutiérrez-Paredes

Keywords: Slag, chromium oxide, recovery, stainless steel Experimental and theoretical work was performed to estimate the effect of slag basicity and amount of reducing agents on the reduction of chromium oxide from the slag which interacted with molten steel at 1600°C. The slag system contained CaO, MgO, SiO2, CaF2 and Cr2O3 together with Fe-alloys (Fe-Si and Fe-Si-Mg). The CaF2 and MgO contents in the slags were 10 mass % each; Cr2O3 was 25%. The amount of the ferroalloys ranged from 12.5 to 50 g per 100 g of slag. The (CaO+MgO)/SiO2 ratio was held at 1 and 2. The Cr yield was determined using both Fe-alloys as reducing agents. Some estimations were made to determine the theoretical effect of temperature, slag basicity, (CaO+MgO)/SiO2, and amount of reducing agents in the slag on the chromium recovery. The FACT (Facility for the Analysis of Chemical Thermodynamics) computational package is used to determine the equilibrium between the slag and molten steel.

Jan 1, 2005

By Ailton da Silva Ferreira

Thermoset polymers, like the polyester, become harder with increasing temperature owing to molecular crosslink formation, which is a thermal benefit for composite matrix applications. Natural lignocellulosic fibers, however, have low thermal resistance and tend to degrade with increasing temperature. Therefore, the combination of a lignocellulosic fiber, as reinforcement, with a thermoset polymer, as the matrix, results in a composite material with complex thermal behavior. In the present work, a thermal analysis was conducted on polyester composites with different amounts of curaua fibers. Both TGA and DTG curves were analyzed to determine the effect of the curaua fiber on the thermal resistance of the composites. It was found that the curaua fiber sensibly affects the thermal behavior of the polyester matrix for fiber amounts above 10% in volume. This effect is associated with an increase in thermal degradation.

Jan 1, 2010

By Karel Van Acker

The automotive is a sector where energy consumption during the use phase prevails over the production and the end-of-life phase. Therefore, a lot of research and innovations at replacing classical steel parts by lighter materials like light metals and polymer composites. While composites are very attractive for the use phase of cars, their introduction suffers from the limited end-of-life options for composite structures. An extensive life cycle analysis for a reference car design has been conducted to study the effects of replacement of conventional steel structures by lightweight carbon fibre composite alternatives. The study also takes second order effects in the design of the car into account. The opportunities and treats of the trend towards more intensive use of carbon-fibre composites in car design are identified. A discussion on the potential of other types of composites for the automotive in terms of sustainability considerations is added.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. Hochenhofer

Keywords: desulfurization, mathematical model, slag reaction To produce ferroalloys like ferro-nickel for alloying purposes in a quality that meets the requirements of today?s steel industry, refining processes like desulfurization and dephosphorization are indispensable. The performance of desulfurization-treatment by slag reaction depends on various parameters, such as: sulfide capacity and viscosity of the slag, sulfur distribution between metal and slag, activity of sulfur in melt and movement of melt. Within this work, the combined influences of these parameters on the desulfurization of a ferro-nickel alloy were examined. As a basis for this examination, a mathematical model, based on data from plant trials, was created. This model demonstrates the relationship between desulfurization rate and initial values of the above mentioned parameters. With this model the relevant parameters were evaluated and assessed concerning their influence on desulfurization.

Jan 1, 2005