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By Yong Zhao, Yan-hui Sun

Behaviors and evolutions of MgO·Al2O3 in non-oriented silicon steel during calcium treatment were investigated by thermodynamic calculations and high-temperature experiments. MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were the main type of inclusions before calcium treatment, which is also confirmed by the stability diagram of MgO/MgO·Al2O3/Al2O3 from thermodynamic calculations. After calcium treatment, the majority of original MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were mainly modified to CaO-MgO-Al2O3 system inclusions, this would be beneficial to improve castability and product quality of silicon steel. But there was no modification happening to some MgO·Al2O3 spinels which were directly surrounded by CaS inclusions. The content of Al2O3 occasionally existed a sudden increase besides a common decrease in the product layer of CaO·MgO·Al2O3. Then the evolution mechanisms of MgO·Al2O3 inclusions were proposed in present work. Thus, Al/Mg atom ratio had a significant influence on the modification of MgO·Al2O3 spinel.

Jan 1, 2016

By Donald O. Voit

A BASIC language program has been written that simulates the performance of an integrated solvent extraction circuit consisting of an extractor, a reflux fed scrubber, and a stripper. The program is designed to simulate the performance of a circuit having an aqueous feed containing each of the lanthanides as well as yttrium. The Kremser equation is used to determine the separation occuring in each section of the circuit. The required input variables are the feed composition, the separation factors, the light key extraction factors and extractor feed zone distribution coefficient, the number of stages, and the reflux ratios. The program calculates the composition of the streams at each node in the circuit, the total loading, and the remaining distribution coefficients. User interaction with the program is essential. The program has no capability to determine if the calculated values are consistent with various real restraints. Knowledge of the physical, chemical, and equilibrium behavior is essential to successfully utilize the program. The number of iterations required to achieve steady-state provides insight to the circuit response times. With suitable supervision the program can be used as a simulator for operator training.

Jan 1, 1989

By Mikiya Tanaka

Keywords: Solvent extraction, nickel, electroless plating, accelerating effect With the increasing importance of electroless nickel plating technology in many fields such as the electronic and automobile industries, the treatment of spent baths is becoming a serious problem. Although the spent baths are currently treated by a conventional precipitation method, a method with no sludge generation is desired. Previously, we proposed the solvent extraction recovery of nickel from the spent baths by means of solvent extraction using LIX84I as the extractant. However, a problem of this method was that the extraction and stripping of nickel were not fast enough to achieve high efficiencies when the continuous extractor was used. We have overcome this difficulty by finding that the addition of an acidic organophosphorous reagent in small amount into the organic phase markedly promotes the extraction and stripping rates of the nickel. Shaking-out tests using a separatory funnel at 240 spm revealed that the time to reach the equilibria is more than 60 min with only 20 vol% LIX84I, but is reduced to 10 min and 2.5 min by adding 2 vol% DP8R, respectively, during the extraction and the stripping with sulfuric acid.

Jan 1, 2004

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 B. C. Tripathy

The effects of alkali metal ions Li+, Na+, K+and transition metal ions Cr3+ and Mo6+ on the cathodic current efficiency, deposit quality, crystallographic orientations, deposit morphology and polarisation behaviour of the cathode during nickel electrocrystallisation on stainless steel substrate from aqueous sulphate solutions containing boric acid were investigated. The alkali metal ions had virtually no effect on the cathodic current efficiency, deposit quality, crystallographic orientations, deposit morphology and cathodic polarisation. On the other hand, there were significant variations in the current efficiency and deposit characteristics when Cr3+or Mo6+ were present in the electrolyte. Current efficiency decreased by more than 10% even at lower concentrations (> 100 mg/L). Similarly purity of the deposits was affected by the presence of either of the metal ions. In the presence of Cr3+, there was progressive shifting of the nucleation potential of nickel towards more negative values, whereas, in the case of Mo6+the nucleation potential shifted initially towards positive values in the concentration range 2-40 mg/L, but then towards negative values when its concentration exceeded 40 mg/L.

Jan 1, 2003

By Kenshi Kawabata, Mitsuji Ueda, Junko Umeda, Katsuyoshi Kondoh, Kantarou Kaneko

Solid-state recycling process of in-house scraps of machined magnesium (Mg) alloy wastes has been established to directly produce wrought materials via the repetitively plastic deformation by Roll-compaction (RCP) and the conventional hot extrusion. The coarse chips, wasted in machining AMX602 (Mg-6Al-0.2Mn-2Ca) cast billets used for the gate bar used in Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) of the high-way system, were employed as the input materials in this study. RCP process enabled to serve coarse Mg alloy powder consisting of refined grains and intermetallics with no re-melting. They were easily consolidated by hot extrusion, and their wrought alloys showed both homogeneously refined grains less than 1~2 µm by dynamic recrystallization and randomized texture by repetitive plastic deformation on the input wastes. These materials revealed extremely advanced mechanical properties of high tensile strength of 356MPa and high ductility of 14.8%, compared to the originally virgin materials with 270MPa TS and 5% elongation. When applying the same Mg alloy wastes via RCP process to the mass production in the company, the large-scale extruded materials also indicated the superior tensile properties. It means that this direct solid-state process is held as “Up-grade recycle of metal wastes”.

Jan 1, 2008

By V. M. Sokolov, Jr. DuPlessis

The technology for recycling fine wastes, grinding sludges or swarf, and solids such as slag that contain a high content of metallic material needed improving. The objective was to produce a master alloy that met the tight requirements of the Western manufacturers and achieve improved yields of the valuable elements, nickel and cobalt, to over 90%. The alloys from the production of Alnico. magnets were chosen for this work. A process is proposed .that is able to recycle all kinds of Alnico wastes. This process is able to reduce all detrimental elements, which are contained in the wastes, to within acceptable levels. Molybdenum, if present, is an exception. Depending on the levels of contamination of undesirable elements different recycling strategies are proposed. The majority of the wastes can be recycled by melting and refining with a liquid slag layer using unique melting furnaces that are relatively unknown in Western nations. The proposed technologies allow the reelamation of over 95% of the cobalt and nickel from any kind of Alnico waste, and there are no limitations on the proportion of different kinds of wastes in the charge. The proposed processes and technologies could also be applied to the recycling of grindings, turnin

Jan 1, 2000

By Mark William Kennedy

"Electric furnaces containing high quantities of slag are applied in many areas of pyrometallurgy, often for smelting or slag cleaning. A variety of ratios or rules of thumb have been employed in the industry for the dimensioning of these vessels, in most cases with no clear technical basis.In this paper, several design guidelines are presented (electrode size, spacing, vessel dimensions, energy intensity, etc.) as an attempt to provide some technical basis for optimal dimensioning.Furnace heat generation is related to side wall copper cooler heat losses, in an attempt to establish a methodical design strategy particularly for minimum electrode to wall spacing for modern furnaces with cooled linings.Issues regarding the true nature of heat production in a slag furnace are discussed with regards to the possible impact on accurate modeling and design.IntroductionSlag furnaces have passed through a number of design 'generations' characterized by increasing energy intensities, improved electrode technologies and advancing development in their physical structure or 'furnace integrity' as shown in Table I f 1]. A 3rd generation furnace using ultra-high-power (UHP) graphite electrodes is shown in Figure 1, as a generic example of the types of physical structures present in modern slag furnace designs [1]."

Jan 1, 2012

By K. Osseo-Asare

Rate laws for the hydrogen reduction of metal ions are typically of the form: [r = -d[M(II)]/dt = k[M(II)]xPy2H] where k is an apparent rate constant, [M(II)] and PH2 represent dissolved metal concentration and hydrogen pressure respectively, while x = 0 - 1 and y = 0.5 - 2. Half-order dependences have been reported for some M(II)/H2 systems; however, no satisfactory explanations have been offered. In an effort to bridge this gap in our understanding, the published precipitation rate data (for M(II) = Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II)) are reviewed (with emphasis on the reported reaction orders) and compared with the corresponding but limited electrochemical polarization data. Based on the available literature on the electrochemical kinetics of the M/M(II) and H2/H+ systems it is demonstrated theoretically that, under certain conditions (e.g., in the presence of electron-conducting solids), the rate of the M(II)/H2 reaction can be expressed as: [-d[M2+]/dt = k[M2+]2/1P2/12H] It is concluded that electrochemical processes probably play an important role in the hydrogen reduction of metal ions, especially for systems that involve heterogeneous catalysis.

Jan 1, 2003

By José García-Antón, Valentín Pérez-Herranz, José Luís Guiñón, Henry Reyes

"The majority of chromium electroplating operations employ Cr(VI)-based baths. During these processes, Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III). Besides Cr(III) other undesirable impurities are present such as iron, copper and nickel. The build-up of the impurities limits the lifetime of the plating solutions. Since the disposal of spent chromic acid baths is expensive and can cause significant environmental degradation, there is increasing interest in finding ways to regenerate waste chromium liquors.In this work, an electrolytic cell separated by microporous ceramic diaphragms was used to regenerate chromium plating solutions. The effect of the ceramic diaphragm structure parameters, such as porosity and pore size, on the performance indicators of the electrochemical reactor (fractional conversion, current efficiency, product yield, specific energy consumption) was investigated.The fractional conversion, the product yield and the current efficiency increased and the specific energy consumption decreased with the decrease in porosity.IntroductionChromic acid is widely used in industrial applications such as steel manufacture, metal finishing industries, aluminium anodising, pasivation of cadmium, magnesium, and zinc, etching of plastics and another industrial operations related with processing ferrous and no ferrous metals [1]. These processes employ baths with high concentrations in chromic acid, about 180 and 350 g/L, where hexavalent chromium is reduced to Cr(III):"

Jan 1, 2008

By Pranav Deshpande

The wear behavior of metal matrix composites differs from that of the monolithic metallic counterparts because composite materials have multiple constituents in their structures and these constituents wear at different rates. It was observed that under low wear stresses, abrasive wear prevailed. As the wear stress increases, pullout of reinforcement occurs and both abrasive wear and wear due to pullout contribute to the overall composite wear. A model of wear taking into account both types of wear has been developed. A critical pullout wear stress was suggested for each composite. Below the critical wear stress, no pullout of reinforcement occurs. It turns out that the critical wear stress simply equals to the ratio of the interfacial strength between the matrix and the reinforcement to the friction coefficient between the reinforcement and the wear counter surface. The critical wear stress is independent of the particle size of the reinforcement. From data on wear of 53% WC composites, the equation of wear for 32% WC composites was obtained. Experimental results agreed well with the predicted wear rate of this composites. This provides an excellent verification of the wear model developed by Lin and Deshpande. Wear data from Modi et al. in the literature were also perfectly fitted with the model.

Jan 1, 2006

By Y. C. Avniel, T. E. Warner

"It is important to be able to measure sulphur and nitrogen in molten iron and steel on-line. Unfortunately, there are no solid electrolytes which are stable under oxidising conditions and in which the ions of these species are mobile. In this paper, novel applications of beta alumina electrolytes are described and the results compared with data in the literature. Excellent agreement was obtained confirming this approach as a viable method of detecting elements whose ions are not mobile in solid electrolytes.IntroductionIn the past two decades, the rate of many processes in steelmaking have increased substantially. The sophistication of chemical analysis has also increased but analytical equipment is frequently positioned a significant distance from the operating plant which dictates that time is spent taking a sample, sending it to the analytical facility, preparation of the analytical sample prior to insertion into the equipment. In many cases, the time taken for analysis can exceed the time taken for the actual process and is now the rate defining step. Furthermore, most analytical methods are unable to distinguish between the amount of element which is dissolved in the steel and that contained in precipitates. Even if the analytical equipment could separate these two, the distribution would have changed between the molten steel and the cast sample. It would be an advantage to analyse on-line for impurities in molten metals."

Jan 1, 1997

By Supachai Surapunl

The distribution behavior of VA minor elements (As, Sb and Bi) in the smelting stage of the Mitsubishi process were evaluated thermodynamically based on thermodynamic data and operating data. The fractional distributions between the gas, slag and matte phases considered as the degree of vapor saturation of l.0 are as follows: 53.8, 27.2 and 19% for As, 23.6, 56.6 and 19.8% for Sb, and 91.3, l.1 and 7.6% for Bi, respectively. Arsenic is mostly distributed to the gas and slag phases. It is effectively eliminated by volatilizing and slagging. Antimony is mainly in the slag phase, which is suitably removed by slagging. Bismuth is easily vaporized to gas phase. The degree of vapor saturation has a large effect on the distribution behaviors of the three elements between the three phases. The amount of a minor element in the charge has an effect on the distribution of As but no effect on the distributions of Sb and Bi. Increasing matte grade and temperature results in the change of distributions for As and Sb, significantly. The change in the distribution ratio between slag and matte phases also considerably affects the distributions of As and Sb. The distribution behavior of Bi is not significantly changed by the change in matte grade, temperature and distribution ratio.

Jan 1, 2003

By James M. Lockwood

"Eureka Technology has developed and patented a technology for the recycling of EAFD. Through this process all constituents of the material become salable commodities or are returned to the steel making process. In transforming the EAFD ""waste"" stream into a ""process"" stream the Steelmaker eliminates potential liabilities and the uncertain future of current processes while further reinforcing its role as a recycler. This is a cost-effective and energy efficient technology that combines hydrometallurgic and electrolytic processes resulting in the recovery of salable metals. For instance, unlike pyrometallurgic processes, zinc is recovered in metallic form and no elements are volatilized. This on-site operation also eliminates expensive transportation costs. In summary this technology reduces the cost of dealing with EAFD by recycling material currently being landfilled.IntroductionWorld crude steel production reached a new record level in 2007 - 1.34 billion tons of which 31% was produced by EAF steel makers [1]. This resulted in the generation of over 6 million tons of EAFD. This steel byproduct contains significant amounts of lead, cadmium and other hazardous metals. In the United States the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated EAFD a hazardous waste (EPA waste code K061). With over 50% of steel production in the US coming from EAF steel making this byproduct represents the single largest source of solid hazardous waste generated."

Jan 1, 2008

By Garry W. Warren

The brass foundry industry produces a significant amount of waste sand containing Cu, Zn and Pb which is often classified as a hazardous waste due to Pb content. The potential application of a hydrometallurgical process to treat the sand by extracting metal values and thus detoxifying the material has been investigated. The process involves leaching of metal values followed by cementation. The emphasis of this investigation was on the leaching step, although some preliminary cementation experiments have been performed. In order for any alternative treatment scheme to be successful, the smaller size fractions of the sand must be addressed. Experiments have been performed on five individual size fractions using various lixiviants HCI, acetic acid and HCI/NaCI. Cu extraction was found to be slower than either Zn or Pb. Results obtained in this investigation indicate that copper is present in two forms, an oxide form which dissolves rapidly and is insensitive to the level of oxygen, and a less soluble form, probably metallic which dissolves more slowly and requires an oxidizing agent. The presence or absence of oxygen had no influence on the rate of Zn dissolution indicating that zinc is present mostly in oxide form. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests showed that residues could be produced which meet the toxicity limit for lead. Preliminary cementation experiments have also demonstrated the feasibility of Cu and Pb recovery.

Jan 1, 1991

By F. Mucciardi

With the increasing trend to continuous smelting and converting, granulation of copper matte is gaining prominence as a means of decoupling the smelting and converting operations. Moreover, granulation is also being seen as a possible avenue to using higher grade oxygen in converters. By feeding cold solid matte, the oxygen concentration can be increased to compensate for the lower enthalpy feed. This leads to a higher grade of SO2 in the off gas and a lower total flow rate. Current granulation technology relies on the cooling of a falling matte film by water jets. This technology while effective has several drawbacks including those related to safety. Noranda and McGill University have developed a new process (patent pending) for solidifying copper matte (or slag). It overcomes many of the negatives of current technology. The system is based on an air cooled twin roll caster. This: new system uses no water and instead incorporates heat pipe technology to transfer the heat from the solidifying matte to the cooling air to produce a thin strip of 1 to 2 mm in thickness. Testing of a prototype unit demonstrated its viability. This paper describes this newly developed, twin roll casting system that is completely waterless. The advantages of this process as well as the findings from several tests are also detailed.

Jan 1, 1999

By Keizo Uematsu, Satoshi Tanaka, Zenji Kato, Nozomu Uchida

"A novel technique is developed and applied to evaluate the binder segregated at the· surface of granule. Compressive strength of each granule was measured directly with a micro-compressive instrument. The relation between compressive characteristics and the amount of binder was discussed quantitatively.IntroductionCharacterization of granules is essential in the production of ceramics, since they govern the structure of green compact and thus the structures and properties of ceramics. However, there is no research to clarify the relation between the strength of granules and structure of granules, especially of binder segregation at granule surface. We develop a novel technique to determine the binder concentration in the granules by the iodine method. In this study, we measure yield strength of granules directly and discuss the relevance between compressive characteristics and the concentration of binder.ExperimentalGranules were prepared by spray-drying of aqueous slurry of commercial alumina (AL160-SG1. Showa Denko, Tokyo, Japan) and PVA (PVA 105 Kurare, Japan). PVA. concentration in granules was 1.1, 1.5 and 2.3 wt%. The inlet and outer air temperatures were 200 and 95 °C , respectively. Iodine-potassium iodide solution was prepared by dissolving iodine (0.15mol) and potassium iodide (0.15mol) in diluted water (50ml). A saturated boric acid solution was prepared by mixing boric acid powder with a diluted water."

Jan 1, 2000

By Tim Robinson, Michael S. Moats, Masatsugu Moritmitsu, Kathryn C. Sole, Lauri Palmu, Frank K. Crundwell

"Process technology and design trends for copper, zinc, and nickel electrowinning cellhouses include focusing on energy reduction, productivity, and acid mist abatement. Larger electrodes, longer cells, automation, and higher current densities are leading to more capital-effective designs. The latest cellhouse designs include installation of automated electrode-handling systems, thereby removing more operators from the cellhouse. These technology and design trends result in lower electrowinning operating costs and improved purity of electro won cathode.INTRODUCTIONTechnology transfer between similar industries is an important process in improving product quality and productivity, and reducing operating costs. The electrowinning (EW) recovery of base metals, such as zinc, copper and nickel, is no different. The zinc industry with its larger EW product-handling requirements as compared to nickel and copper, has been driven to automation technology and the use of larger equipment. This technology has been transferred to copper. Nickel has led development and application in large-scale anode and divided-cell technologies but, due to nickel being produced in multiple forms (not just cathode) and being a small part of the whole complex nickel process route, the quantities of electrowon nickel are small compared to copper and zinc. Copper process technology in acid mist abatement was recently transferred to nickel. The focus in copper EW has been on energy reduction and productivity."

Jan 1, 2012

By Daniel Helm

The first industrial application of direct solvent extraction of nickel from hypersaline sulfate feed solutions has highlighted the need to investigate the influence of chloride on the extraction behaviour nickel in the presence of calcium using Versatic 10 and the solubility characteristics of gypsum. Temperature-solubility curves for gypsum in various aqueous electrolytes were prepared. The solubility of gypsum is increased significantly by the presence of sulfate ions, while chloride ions decrease it for a given temperature. The anion effects of chloride and sulfate on the extraction of calcium and nickel by Versatic 10 corresponded well with the complexing ability of the anions. It was shown that the presence of chloride shifts the extraction isotherms for both metals significantly to the left, while decreasing the selectivity of Versatic 10 for nickel over calcium. The loading of nickel onto Versatic 10 in this system was shown to be at a maximum within 3 seconds, while calcium extraction took between 4 ? 5 seconds to load to a maximum. Chloride ions had no influence on loading kinetics of nickel, but depressed the rate of calcium loading. It was shown that in the presence of an excess of nickel, calcium loading is effectively eliminated, and that calcium is scrubbed from Versatic 10 within 2.5 seconds of contact with nickel electrolyte.

Jan 1, 2003

By Kaixi Jiang, Lei Zhang, Sanping Liu, Yufang Wang, Xiaoping Zou

"Molybdenite concentrates are usually treated by roasting, but low concentration SO2 pollution is a problem. Extraction of molybdenum and rhenium from molybdenite concentrates with a pressure oxidative leaching (POX) and solvent extraction (SX) process was studied. A series of POX-SX laboratory and pilot tests were carried out on the molybdenite concentrate. In the POX stage, more than 95% rhenium and 15-20% molybdenum were leached into solution. Solvent extraction recovered the rhenium and molybdenum from the POX solution. The extraction rates of Re and Mo were above 98%. The loaded organic reagent is stripped with ammonia. The stripping ratio of Mo is more than 98%. Compared to the roasting process, the total recovery of Mo increased from 93% to 97%, and Re from 60% to 90%. In the coming five years, POX-SX technology will be competitive in China.IntroductionMolybdenite is the main resource for the production of molybdenum, and about 99% of the total molybdenum was extracted from molybdenite. Rhenium is one of the important new materials in national defense, space flights, nuclear energy and electronics, because of its high melting point, high strength, plastic properties and significant creep resistance. There are no single rhenium ores in the world; rhenium mainly co-exists with molybdenum. Consequently, molybdenite is also the main resource for the extraction of rhenium."

Jan 1, 2012