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By Henry Salomon-De-Friedberg

Quebrada Blanca has had to overcome numerous challenges in achieving design throughput. The paper reviews how actual practice has evolved from the original design. The major challenges that were encountered from heap leaching to solvent extraction, the tankfarm and through to electro winning are discussed. The eventual solutions to some of the key issues are presented.

Jan 1, 1999

By O. C. Rojas

Improvements and modifications on lay out and process, from 1997 till 1998, are presented. Based on a Teniente Converter, started up 1993, a Strategic Development Plan was structured to increase the production efficiency and comply with the enviromental regulations, too. It considered the oxygen supplies to the Teniente Converter and Peirce Smith converters; reverberatory furnace shut down as a smelting unit; and the Teniente converter slag treatment through a combined process between a Slag Settler furnace and flotation. Also it included the off-gas handling and treatment.

Jan 1, 1999

By Theo Lehner

Nasty, according to the Collins Dictionary, comprises the adjectives: bad, critical, dangerous, dirty, odious, serious, severe, sickening, unpleasant etc. From this we may at first conclude that each individual smelter relying on its own specific business surrounding would have a special definition of its nasties. But common product standards and common metallurgy makes us experience common nasties. To get an idea of possible problem elements we start with the demands on the products: [ ]

Jan 1, 1994

By Henrique Hesse, Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider, Wolmar Alípio Severo Filho, Ezequiel Bavaresco, Rodrigo Klamt, Luciano Roni Silva Lara, Luciano Dornelles

Alkyd resins are used in surface treatment. They are product of the glycerolysis followed by polymerization. In the present work it was studied methods of alkyd resin production from crude glycerol compared with resin produced with pure glycerol. This glycerol corresponds to 10% of the final products in the biodiesel production. The crude glycerol was partially purified with neutralization, flotation and adsorption. The experiments were accomplished with temperature control, inert atmosphere and with several quantities of the substrate. For the products characterization physic-chemistry methods, infrared spectroscopy and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance were used. According to the observed results, the resins obtained with crude glycerol have presented similar properties of the classic alkyd resin produced with pure glycerol. The exploitation of the crude glycerol reduces the stages and costs of the process.

Jan 1, 2008

By V. Bhagavathy

This paper describes a method for the determination of traces of rare earths using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) after preconcentration of their oxine complexes onto activated carbon. Various parameters that influence adsorptive preconcentration of rare earths onto activated carbon viz. pH, amounts of activated carbon and oxine, time of stirring and aqueous phase volume were systematically studied. A numerical method based on simple least square procedure using fifth order polynomial with 25 consecutive values was developed for smoothing and differentiation of EDXRF data which was previously digitized and averaged. First order derivative EDXRF in conjunction with adsorptive preconcentration on activated carbon enables to determine as low as 10 ppb of each of individual rare earth elements.

Jan 1, 1989

By M. C. Nielson

The paper describes the design and operation of pulsed columns as replacements for conventional mixer/settlers. The advantages, which the columns offer, include a reduction in real estate for the plant, elimination of diluent evaporation, containment of noxious vapors and reduced crud formation. In addition to the description of operation, the paper presents the findings of laboratory tests of pulsed columns extracting copper from pregnant leach solutions and also delineates potential advantages of the pulsed column in copper solvent extraction.

Jan 1, 1999

By María Cristina Ruiz

In the processing of copper concentrates by the conventional smelting-converting technology, complying with the increasingly severity of environmental legislation in some countries has become difficult, mainly due to severe fugitive emissions of gases produced during the batch PS (Peirce-Smith) converting step. In this work, the results of an investigation on the pressure leaching with sulfuric acid and oxygen of white metal (produced in a Teniente Converter reactor) are discussed. The study was carried out at laboratory scale and the main variables studied were temperature, concentration of sulfuric acid and partial pressure of oxygen. The experimental results indicated that most of the sulfur in the white metal was oxidized to sulfate in the whole range of temperature studied (105ºC to 150 ºC). The concentration of sulfuric acid over 0.05 M, and oxygen partial pressure over 6 atm had little effect on the dissolution of copper from the white metal. On the other hand, temperature had the most significant effect on copper dissolution; below 130 ºC copper dissolution was incomplete after 5 hours of leaching while at 150 ºC the dissolution was complete in 90 minutes and 10 atm of partial pressure of oxygen

Jan 1, 2006

By J. E. Dutrizac

The behaviour of the lanthanide elements during the precipitation of sodium and potassium jarosites at 98oC from sulphate media was systematically investigated. The lower atomic weight lanthanide elements (La to Gd) are characterized by the limited solubility of their alkali-lanthanide sulphates, such as NaNd(SO4)2?H2O, which commonly contaminate the jarosite precipitates. Hence, single phase jarosite-type compounds were precipitated only from solutions containing <0.4 g/L of the La to Sm lanthanides. The sulphates of the heavier atomic weight lanthanide elements (Tb to Lu) have significantly higher solubilities such that solutions containing up to 10 g/L of the individual lanthanides could be investigated without the precipitation of alkali-lanthanide sulphate species. Even at the highest lanthanide concentrations, however, none of the jarosite precipitates incorporated more than 0.3 wt% of any of the lanthanide elements. Comparable levels of lanthanide incorporation were noted in both Na-jarosite and K-jarosite. Although the mass of the jarosite precipitate increased with increasing ferric sulphate concentration or with increasing pH, the extent of lanthanide incorporation was not significantly affected. Clearly, the trivalent lanthanide elements do not substitute extensively for trivalent iron in the jarosite structure. This behaviour likely reflects the significantly lower hydrolyzability and larger size of the trivalent lanthanide ions relative to ferric ions.

Jan 1, 2003

By Vinod K. Namilakonda

In situ synthesis of discontinuously reinforced aluminum alloy metal matrix composites was investigated. Aluminum alloy (A356: Al-7 wt% Si) was reinforced with dispersed AlN particles. Thermodynamic calculations were made for the composition determination of various phases formed during bubbling of NH3 gas into the Al alloy melts in the temperature range 1173-1473 K. Experiments were carried out for in situ production of AlN particles with the reaction between Al melt and NH3 gas in high temperature resistance furnace at 1473 K. The products were characterized using SEM, EDS and XRD. Effect of bubbling time of NH3 gas on the AlN formed in the composites was studied. The amount of AlN reinforcement in the Al alloy composites was observed to be in the range of 5 to 35 wt%. Good agreement was observed between the experimental and thermodynamic calculated data on the composition of AlN in Al alloy composites.

Jan 1, 2006

By Kaspar Tall, Dmitri Goljandin, Kristiina Vilsaar, Jaan Kers, Valdek Mikli, Lifeng Zhang, Riho Tarbe, Viktor Laurmaa, Mart Saarna, Priidu Peetsalu

In this paper, the mechanical milling of the Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) was carried out. First goal of the work was to examine the management of the WEEE, in particular the re-use of PCB. Firstly, recycling methods of PCBs were summarized. During the study mechanical separation methods (magnetic-, density- and air separaten), electrical, and chemical methods were examined. Secondly the optimal particle size for air-classification was determined. Several tests were carried out to find the most effective separation method for separation of different material groups from PCB scrap. The new air classification stand was developed for testing the separation of lightweight particles like tinfoil stripes and plastics. The test results showed sufficiently good separation of heavier Al and Cu. For milled materials characterization the SA, IA, laser diffraction analysis and SEM were used. The chemical composition of the PCB powders was studied by means of energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDS).

Jan 1, 2011

By K. B. Dotson

A common international safety and health management system was developed. Analysis of selected major safety and health management systems from around the world was conducted. Functional elements of selected systems were grouped to identify common elements and key differences. Common elements were subjected to qualitative judgments of equivalency and then reconciled. With few exceptions, differing elements were revised to achieve cultural neutrality. The resulting 98 system elements were organized according to the NOSA numbering and title scheme. System summaries were produced in Spanish and English. A pre-implementation self-assessment evaluated conformance in three distinct cultures. The consensus 98 element system was internally named the BHP Copper Five Star Safety System Performance Management Guidelines. Development of a common system within an organization with international operations can enhance the ability of the staff function to share resources, programs and subsystem improvements and thereby increasingly protect workers. Common systems can increase the level of management support by demonstrating increased compatibility of the safety and health management function with traditional business objectives. Safety professionals, industrial and occupational hygienists, business managers and the safety and health of workers will benefit from further development and articulation of common systems for safety and health management.

Jan 1, 1999

"The pyrometallurgical method of recycling car batteries suffers from a potential for air pollution violations, which prompts the desire for a viable hydrometallurgicaJ alternative. Several Processes have been proposed, including leach-electrowinning routes using HBF4 and/or HzSiF6 based electrolytes, along with anodes of PbO2 on inert substrates.A study has been carried out to evaluate the proposed systems, with the intention of demonstrating a six month life of an electrolyte-anode combination. The work, which focused on the use of HzSiF6, has indicated that there was no acceptable anode, and has lead to the development of a technique to produce smooth, glassy, adherent coatings on graphite, and to the development of an anode composed of a series of copper cored graphite rods.The paper will present results on leaching and electrowinning experiments, as well as the description of a flowsheet for a pilot plant that will be used to produce one tone per day of refined lead from spent battery paste."

Jan 1, 1997

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

By R. D. Prengaman

Lead usage in paint, anti-knock gasoline additives, pipes, seals, and solder has declined markedly over the past 30 years. Products utilizing the unique properties of lead and its ability to be recycled have survived and grown. These products include shielding, glass (particularly TV and computer screens), sheet for roofing, stabilizers for PVC, insoluble anodes for metal production, electronic solders and lead acid batteries. With the loss of markets many companies have decreased lead product development efforts. Much of the patent lead materials development is devoted to lead acid batteries. In the past 25 years, the automobile battery has been almost doubled in power and reduced in weight, leading to a nearly three-fold increase in performance. Corrosion-resistant lead alloys and improved battery designs have made battery lead usage more efficient. The same corrosion-resistant battery alloys are utilized to increase the life of electrowinning anodes. The challenge for lead product development is not only to maintain and improve the existing lead products, but also to develop the growing lead acid battery market for telecommunications, uninterruptive power sources, remote area power, hybrid and electric vehicles. Lead

Jan 1, 2000

By P. G. West-Sells

Recovery of gold from thiosulfate leachates can be accomplished by adsorption of the gold thiosulfate complex by a strong base resin. Two of the most significant impurities that can decrease this gold adsorption are tetrathionate and trithionate, which are produced as oxidation products of thiosulfate during gold leaching. This paper investigates gold adsorption on a strong base resin (Purolite A500C) as a function of the concentration of these impurities. It is shown that concentrations of tetrathionate and trithionate as low as 150 mg/L can decrease gold loading by an order of magnitude, and that of the two ions, tetrathionate has a stronger detrimental effect. The resin and solution gold concentration profiles were successfully fit using a Freundlich isotherm, which further shows the strong effect of tetrathionate. To counteract the decrease in gold adsorption by tetrathionate, a novel process was proposed. Sulfite was added to the solution to oxidize tetrathionate to trithionate, and a nitrogen blanket was added to ensure that no further oxidation of thiosulfate could take place. It is shown that by incorporating this process, gold adsorption was doubled from both synthetic and real gold thiosulfate leachates.

Jan 1, 2003

By Andrew A. Fyfe

The start-up and operating results obtained at Zia Technology Inc.&apos;s first commercial operating facility at Caldwell, Texas are described. The operation which stated in early 1991 is the first to employ the patented Inclined Rotary Reduction System (IRRS&apos;) with the associated &apos;all-metallic retort for the recovery of all metallics contained in EAF dust.

Jan 1, 1992

By Shaik Jeelani, Esperidiana A. B. Moura, Vijaya K. Rangari, Roberta A. Lima, Rene R. Oliveira

This work present the preparation and characterization of biodegradable nanocomposites based on aliphatic-aromatic copolyester (PBAT)/polylatic acid (PLA) blend reinforced by TiO2 nanoparticle. The biodegradable polymeric nanocomposites were prepared by melting extrusion process using a twin-screw extruder machine. The influence of the TiO2 nanoparticle addition on mechanical and thermal properties of PBAT/PLA blend was investigated by tensile and impact tests, SEM, DSC and XRD analysis and the correlation between properties was discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By Andrey Tarasov, Erki Unn, Valery Paretsky

"The stability of the markets of energy resources and labor in countries of the Baltic Sea Region including Estonia is determined to a significant degree by the use of combustible shales as fuel and their distillation resulting in generation of up to 70% of non-recyclable waste. The objective of this business plan is to substantiate the investments for establishment of a new facility in Estonia for waste-less and environmentally safe processing of fossil minerals and man-made products generated in the shale industry, as well as other hazardous wastes. The proposed facility will use a basically new waste processing technology developed in Russia - i.e., processing in sparged molten slag This technology eliminates any release of harmful pollutants to the environment and a facility using this technology does not require, therefore, any sanitary protection zone.IntroductionIn the Baltic region, and first of all in Estonia and some other European territories, there are large natural deposits of combustible shale, which due to the lack of other own resources of energy and hydrocarbons for the chemical industry is burned and distilled with low technical and economic efficiency generating large amounts of toxic and highly toxic wastes and intermediate products. Currently, the penalties for disposal of such wastes have grown to such an extent that shale burning and distillation might become unprofitable. This might result in suspension of the given operations, which in turn will affect in an adverse way the markets of energy resources and labor market in those countries. Furthermore, in addition to the “shale problem”, Estonia, similarly to most member countries of the European Union, faces the challange of environmentally safe processing of highly toxic wastes, such as municipal solid wastes, oilpolluted materials, medical wastes and infected materials, spent rubber tires, etc. These wastes are at present stored or processed with release of a significant quantities of extremely toxic cancerogenic substances (dioxins, furans) or collected and exported for treatment at an extremely high cost and with a loss of valuable components contained in these types of waste and often with return of supper toxic processing products."

Jan 1, 2008

By M. I. Zinigrad

A model of an ideal associated solution is presented. This model takes into account the existence of complexes of various compositions, sizes and geometries and allows calculating thermodynamic properties and phase diagrams of binary alloys. The model has been used formerly to calculate thermodynamic parameters and the position of the liquidus line for binary eutectic systems and also those having a stable compound in the solid phase. In all the cases the model parameters were not adjusted rather estimated from melting temperatures of the components. The recent studies dealt with the influence of arbitrary-stoichiometry associates on the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of liquid alloys. The application of the model to eutectic systems and systems having an unlimited solubility in solid and liquid states close to liquidus has been considered. It was shown that if the difference in melting temperatures of the components was small, different types of fusibility diagrams were possible: eutectic diagrams, cigar-shaped diagrams or diagrams with upper or lower azeotropic points. Peritectic transformations could take place when the difference in melting temperatures of the components was large. The present work is devoted to calculation of phase diagrams and thermodynamic properties of binary systems on the basis of chrome.

Jan 1, 2006

By A. N. Aposhian

The electronics industry generates tin/lead bearing by-products that can be recycled for their metal value. This paper will cover the processes used to recycle these tin/lead bearing byproducts from the plating, circuit-board fabrication and assembly industries. Though these processes are well known to the companies who do the recycling, few outside the industry including the generators of the by-products, understand the processes or needs of the industry. This paper will give a broad overview of these processes, and describe the services provided by this industry. The paper will also touch upon the future of the recycling industry, including the legislative and environmental push for the elimination of lead from electronics.

Jan 1, 2000