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By Marco Olper

Zinc bearing materials containing chlorides and fluorides of alkali metals, such as EAF dust, Waelz oxides, galvanizing ashes, zinc & brass foundry fumes and converter fumes are little attractive, both technically and economically for processing in ISF plant or in a conventional zinc sulphate electrolysis works. The Ezinexm Process allows for the recovery of high purity zinc in cathode form, from these materials, regenerating the leaching liquor. The process is based on a new electrochemical system which depolarizes the anode reaction with reduction of the cell voltage, compared with the traditional sulphate electrolysis method. The electrolyte, based on a chloroamrnino complex, allows for the recovery of other valued metals present in the zinc bearing materials such as lead, copper and silver, these being recovered as a metallic cement consequently improving the economics of the process.

Jan 1, 1994

By A. MacRae

Campaign life of the converting furnace has been limited by break-outs through the hearth and walls. Throughput of concentrate has increased by 60% since start-up of the copper operations in 1981. The Furnace Integrity program was initiated at Kidd in 1993 to improve the reliability and safety of the smelting-cleaning-converting furnace line. The converting furnace is undergoing a series of upgrades to overcome severe refractory wear to the roof, walls and hearth. A recent shut-down was held in March 1997 to implement improvements to the roof, walls and slag outlet. Wall modifications included a new upper shell, wall coolers which can be supported during a shut-down from outside of the vessel, and an increase in the number of cooling blocks. Improvements to the roof included increased cooling, a novel brick/cooler suspension system, and roof compression for gas tightness. Design is currently underway to deepen the refractory hearth, to decrease hearth erosion and increase resistance to flotation.

Jan 1, 1998

By Zhang Yongzhu

The metallogeneticy and mineralogy of three types of Chinese refractory gold deposits (Au-As; Au-As-MeS; Au-As-C) which are somewhat different from those abroad are discussed. The modes of occurrence, the distribution of grain size, and the morphological features of gold in minerals and their influences on gold recovery by direct cyanidation are also discussed. According to the mineralogy of gold and minerals, bacterial leaching, pressure leaching and roasting technology are suitable for the pretreatment of arsenopyrite-Au, pyrite-Au and carbonaceous-clay-Au refractory gold ores prior to cyanidation, respectively. The most important sulfide pyrite bearing much gold is difficult to be oxidized, its crystalline structure, conduct-types , and minor elements in different mineralizing stages are also discussed. The pyrite aggregates in different deposits are very complicated and much different. Gold grade of arsenopyrite is much higher than that of pyrite for some deposits which have a high correlation coefficient of Au vs As.

Jan 1, 1992

By H. Y. Sohn, Haitao Wang, Moo Eob Choi

"A novel ironmaking technology is under development at the University of Utah. This technology produces iron directly from iron ore concentrate by gas-solid suspension reduction. Hydrogen is the main reducing agent for high reactivity and for the elimination of carbon dioxide release in this ironmaking process. The direct use of concentrates allows bypassing the problematic pelletization/sintering and cokemaking steps in the steel industry.Intrinsic kinetics of the suspension reduction of magnetite concentrate particles by hydrogen has been measured. Experiments were carried out in the temperature range of 1423-1673 K, other experimental variable being hydrogen partial pressure, the amount of excess hydrogen and particle size. Under most experimental conditions, 95% reduction was attained within several seconds, which presents sufficiently rapid kinetics for a suspension reduction process. The reaction kinetics followed the nucleation-and-growth equation, and a rate equation that contains all the effects of the experimental parameters has been obtained.IntroductionWith the rapid increase in steel production, it is critical to control CO2 emissions which is the main greenhouse gas. It is inevitable to release a huge amount of CO2 when coke and/or coal are used as the main reducing agent in producing iron. As one of the methods to reduce the CO2 emission from ironmaking, the utilization of the gaseous reducing agents and fuels, including hydrogen, has been investigated [1-6]. The use of such gases forms the basis for a new ironmaking technology under development for producing iron directly from fine concentrates by a gas-solid suspension technology. This technology would reduce energy consumption by about 40% of the amount required by the blast furnace and drastically lower environmental pollution, especially CO2 emission, from the steel industry [4]. This is accomplished by adopting H2-based reductant and bypassing pelletization/sintering and cokemaking steps. Unlike other gas-based alternative ironmaking processes using shaft furnaces or fluidized-bed reactors, the suspension reduction technology is a high-intensity process because it will not suffer from the problems that other processes do when operated at high temperatures mainly from the sticking and fusion of particles."

Jan 1, 2011

By Gervais Soucy

During mineral and industrial processing, contaminated wastewater can be generated such as cyanide liquors (free species or in complex form). This paper presents the treatment of cyanide solution derived from the aluminum industry, by direct contact of the solution with thermal plasma in a novel reactor. The reacation energy is provided by a plasma submerged in solution which allows direct contact between the plasma and the solution to be treated. The scope of this' study was to determine the feasibility of treating free and complex cyanides in solution through mini-pilot scale operations. An innovative reactor was designed and fabricated to provide stable: process operating conditions. Many parameters were studied. These experiments permitted the evaluation of the kinetics of complex cyanides decomposition under thermal plasma conditions. At atmospheric pressure (temperature about 100°C), the rate of cyanide decomposition by thermal plasma was 12 times greater than that of thermal hydrolysis in a plug flow reactor et the same temperature. The improvements in the decomposition rates are attributed to high thermal gradients at the plasma liquid interface and photocatalysis induced by the plasma UV radiation.

Jan 1, 1998

By Edgar Blanco

At the Deer Trail Mine, interest in recovering noble metals from oxide ore and tailings oxide ore with 6.0/1.0 g/t Au and 200/140 g/t Ag respectively has led to metallurgic studies focused on finding an adequate treatment for these materials. Using cyanide leaching, the silver/gold recoveries from oxide ore and oxide tailings were 39%/95% and 36%/96%, respectively. Since these recoveries were less than spectacular for silver, it was decided to explore a non-cyanide leaching process that would extract silver and gold better. Based on previous research the possibility of using aqua regia in combination with sulfuric acid was evaluated. On a laboratory scale, variables such as mineralogical composition, concentration of reagents, dissolved oxygen, reaction time, pH and temperature were evaluated. Under optimal conditions it was possible to achieve >65% silver recovery and >85% gold recovery for both oxide ore and tailings.

Jan 1, 2009

By Jin-yan TIE, Ke-xin JIAO, Qian Li, Hai-bin ZUO, Jian-Liang Zhang, Meng SHEN

This paper designs three factors such as temperature, pH, conductivity and three levels of orthogonal test. Temperature is a significant factor. However PH and conductivity are not significant through poor analysis. Further research is conducted on the temperature. Temperature stability is 50 . Suitable water velocity is 2.3m/s, which is calculated based on the largest part of the heat flux intensity and the corresponding water temperature should be controlled with 1.5. Meanwhile, water velocity increased has little effect on the heat transfer capabilities.

Jan 1, 2015

By Shulan Wang, Xuan Liu, Li Li

"Electrochemistry of Fe(III) in 69CaCl2-12CaF2-19KF and 81CaCl2-19KF (mole percentage, %) was investigated at 827 oC on molybdenum electrode by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and galvanostatic electrolysis using Fe2O3 as the Fe(III) source. The reduction of Fe(III) to Fe was conducted in one step and controlled by diffusion process. Fe(III) shown greater reduction rate and diffusion coefficient in molten 81CaCl2-19KF than in 69CaCl2- 12CaF2-19KF. Galvanostic electrolysis of Fe was performed in both molten salts with a cylindrical cathode rotating at 200 r/min and dendritic iron deposit was obtained.Keywords: iron; electrolysis; electrochemistry; molten saltIntroductionThe production of iron and steel causes huge emissions of CO2. Iron electrowinning in molten salts with dissolved Fe2O3 using an inert oxygen evolving anode is an alternative process to reduce or eliminate the formation of CO2. Research on novel process of producing metal has been reported recently [1-2] by using CaCl2 as the main electrolyte and dissolving CaO in CaCl2 due to the high solubility of CaO in the melt. This process has been used in preparing many active metals and alloys [3-14]. In the present work, the electrochemical behavior of iron in CaCl2-KF was studied and transport property of iron ion in the melt was discussed.ExperimentalCaCl2,CaF2 and KF (in analytical purity) were dried in air for 48 h. Mixed salts used in experiments were placed in a graphite crucible (??58 mm inner diameter). The graphite crucible together with the salts was heated at 473 K for 12 h in a furnace with flowing Ar (99.99%) before further heating. Temperature inside the furnace was measured by an S type thermocouple. Electrochemical measurements, such as cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry, were performed in a three electrode cell by EG&G PAR273A potentiostat/galvanostatand. Galvanostatic electrodepositon of iron was conducted in a two electrode cell. Molybdenum (??2 mm) and iron (??5 mm) were used as the working electrode (WE) and the reference electrode, respectively. A graphite crucible and a magnetite rod (??25 mm ) consisted of 100% magnetite and sintered at 950 oC in argon atmosphere for 2 h with electrical conductivity of 366 O-1m-1 at room temperature were used as the counter electrodes in the galvanostatic electrolysis experiment. Carbon (??10 mm) was used as the counter electrode in electrochemical measurement. The deposits were washed in distilled water bubbled with argon and dried in air before being characterized by X-ray diffraction (PW3040/60 diffractometer) and scanning electron microscope (SEM, SSX-550)."

Jan 1, 2014

By Vaughan R. Voller

In many high temperature processes involving liquid melts the common practice is to solidify a fraction of the melt adjacent to the containment wall; a practice that can provide protection of the structural components of the process. The position, shape and transient behavior of these so called "skulls" and/or "ledges" are directly dependent on the thermal process conditions. This paper presents a model of a generic ledge process that can predict the steady shape of a ledge. Two numerical implementations are presented and compared: (1) based on a space grid of continuously deforming finite elements (2) based on a conjugate grid of fixed control volumes and deforming boundary elements.

Jan 1, 1996

By Hideki Yamamoto

A new technology to convert fluoride gas (C2H2F4 ; R-134a) contained in the exhaust gases from semiconductor manufacturing plants and refrigerators directly into a harmless substance have been established, thus, presenting a new concept for the disposal of fluoride gases such as CFCs that are associated with the global warming. Experimental results verify that chemical reactions with metal compounds can take place at substantially lower temperatures of 700- 800K as compared with combustion. treatment temperatures of 1200-1500K. The reaction product is mainly metal fluoride, which chemically is a harmless material. Furthermore, this process is compact, easily controlled, safe and has low running costs. This paper deals with a new chemical reaction method for the harmless disposal of gases effecting the global warming.

Jan 1, 2003

By Versiane A. Leão

The hydrochloric leaching of chrysotile tailings and soapstone powders) is discussed. This two materials are magnesium compounds associated with carbonates and iron oxides. In this work the chemical and physical characterization of formers is presented and the thermodynamic analyses of leaching is carried out. Magnesium extraction is almost complete for chrysotile tailings while, for soapstone powders, one can be reached 60%. The behavior of iron and calcium impurities is discussed.

Jan 1, 1997

By Kunio Nakahara, Kashiwagim Junichi, Takao Hayashi

"There are many problems for electronic devices and parts which were caused electrostatic damage by static electricity. It is necessary for prevention of electrostatic charge to decrease surface resistivity of material using electroconductive coating. Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd. developed metal oxide type electroconductive pigment PASSTRAN (trade mark) Type-IV which is barium sulfate coated with SnOz(Sb) thin electroconductive layer. This paper shows about pigment characteristics and film condition of antistatic transparency paint which contained PASS TRAN.L.IntroductionRecently rapid development of electronics technology diffused electronic devices and products to Office, Factory, Laboratory and our life. But the other side, there are many problems for electronics parts which were caused electrostatic damage under static electricity. Demand of antistatic materials were become lager by this situation.There is close relationship between surface resistivity of material and static electricity. If the surface resistivity of object is enough low (under 109 Q /Sq), static electricity is dissipated quickly. So it is necessary for prevention of electrostatic charge to decrease surface resistivity of material using electroconductive coating.1) There are many type of electroconductive materials, for example, carbon black, metal powder, electroconductive polymer and so on. Especially, carbon black is used for general purpose by reason of its low cost, but it has big problem of black color. It can not get any color without black, and it caused contamination of carbon.In recent years, metal oxide electroconductive pigment (ECP) was developed and used for special purpose which demands transparent coating or easy dispersion to make ECP paint or endurance under hard environment and so on. Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd. developed electroconductive pigment PASSTRAN Type-IV which is BaS04 coated with electro-conductive Tin oxide layer."

Jan 1, 1998

By M. Tokumasu, T. Mutoh, Y. Sugawara

"In October 1986, a process computer was introduced in order to achieve an optimum combustion of pulverized coal at the reverberatory furnaces. The secondary combustion air volume is controlled based on the nitrogen oxide concentration of the off-gas from the reverberatory furnaces. The carbon monoxide concentration has strong relation with the concentration of nitrogen oxide under the situation of using alternative fuels, such as chipped tires and p,ulverized coal. Using this computer aided combustion control system, both nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide concentrations were stabilized and conventional monitoring and controlling apparatuses were absorbed into this computer system. Due to this easily operated system, labor cost was reduced and the operation of the reverberatory furnaces and the off-gas treatment plant became stable.IntroductionOnahama Smelter and Refinery started its operation in April 1965 as a large scale copper smelter and refinery in Japan. The green charged reverberatory furnaces were introduced and bunker C oil was chosen as the fuel for the reverberatory furnaces. After the oil crises, Onahama was forced to use cheaper fuels such as coal and waste tires, i.e., alternative fuels instead of the expensive oil. As the amount of the alternative fuels fed to the reverberatory furnaces increased, the concentrations of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide in the off-gas became unstable. Consequently, the fluctuation of the combustion condition became not to be negligible in view point of a combustion efficiency and pollution regulations. A process computer has been introduced to overcome these off-gas troubles and to reduce the operating cost of the smelter.Outline of Operation HistoryInitially, the operation started by one reverberatory furnace and then the capacity was expanded almost twice by additional furnace in December 1972. As shown in Figure I, the smelting throughput was depressed after oil crises in 1973 and 1978. From 1983 to 1985, some copper mines stopped their operations because of low price of copper metal. During this period, Onahama suffered from the shortage of concentrate production levels were depressed."

Jan 1, 1989

By Ronald L. Pariani

To date, significant advances have been made regarding the development and commercial implementation of full deposit stripping in the copper industry such as practiced at Copper Refineries, LTD in Townsville, Australia. The paper describes the history and current practice of Electrowinning (EW) plants which may be coupled with solvent extraction. The modular nature and degree of automation are described in relation to the various sizes of operations. Reference is made to the expansion capability of commercial equipment plus associated economics of the mechanical processes for producing full cathode deposits. It is recognized that the technology described may be adaptable to other nonferrous refining areas where feasible. The paper highlights the state of the art in mechanized stripping equipment as applied to current and planned SX-EW plants.

Jan 1, 1987

By Y. Takasaki

For zinc hydrometallurgical extraction, reducing the electric power consumption of the electrowinning process is an important issue for energy savings. At the Zinc & Lead 2000 symposium, the authors suggested that by using the Pb-0.5%Ag-0.6%Ca alloy, the electrolysis energy can be decreased compared to the conventional Pb-0.9%Ag alloy. In this study, the corrosion behaviors of the Pb-Ag-Ca electrode in a sulfuric-acid electrolyte were investigated. Based on the results Or me Pb-0.5%Ag-0.6%Ca anode after 20 days of electrolysis, the bath voltage and the quantity of anode slime decreased compared to the Pb-I%Ag anode. Subsequently, beta-PbO2 on the electrode surface was detected by XRD and its peaks were sharper than the Pb-1 %Ag anode. Moreover, a dense beta-PbO2 layer on the 0.6%Ca a anode surface was observed. Therefore, it was suggested that the dense beta-PbO2 layer on the anode surface is one of the factors that leads to a lower bath voltage and decreasing quantity of anode slime.

Jan 1, 2003

By Yasuhiko Ito

"This talk is concentrated on the topics of compound film formation on the substrate electrode by interdiffusion of substrate element and electrochemically deposited species and/or by direct electrochemical implantation of the component element of the film into the substrate. As a typical example, electrochemical implantation of nitrogen atom into Ti metal to form TiN surface film is described. Another example is the formation of various kinds of intermetallic compound films including Ni2Y, Ni2Dy and Pd3 Y by the electrochemical implantation of lanthanoid elements into transition metal electrodes. By combining these two methods, Sm-Fe-N ternary material film also could be formed. The principle and application of the ""electrochemical implantation"" are discussed in detail.IntroductionGenerally speaking, surface film formation by molten salt electrochemical process can be divided into the following three categories:(i) single element film formation on the electrode by electrodeposition,(ii) compound film formation on the electrode by electrocodepostion of more than two elements, and(iii) compound film formation on the substrate electrode by interdiffusion of substrate element and electrochemically deposited species and/or by direct electrochemical implantation of the component element of the film into the substrate.This talk is .concentrated on the topics of category (iii), especially on the electrochemical implantation. Typical example can be seen in the electrochemical implantation of nitrogen atom into Ti metal to form TiN surface film. Another example is the formation of various kinds of intermetallic compound films including Ni2 Y, Ni2Dy and Pd3 Y by the electrochemical implantation of lanthanoid elements into transition metal electrodes. By combining these two methods, Sm-Fe-N ternary material film also could be formed. The principle and application of the ""electrochemical implantation"" are discussed in detail with examples above as well as other experimental results also obtained very recently in the author's laboratory."

Jan 1, 2000

By Richard Jack De Klerk

The standard industrial method of arsenic removal from acidic aqueous processing effluents involves coprecipitation of arsenic with ferric iron (Fe/As>3) by lime neutralization in continuous circuits. To better understand current industrial practice, continuous circuit coprecipitation experiments were performed to identify industrially relevant process parameters and co-ion solutes that contribute to improved arsenic removal and retention. The coprecipitated solids were subjected to accelerated ageing at 20°, 40° & 70°C and arsenic behavior was monitored and modeled. Staging and the presence of calcium ions were found to have the most significant impact on arsenic retention. In this paper the techniques used and major results obtained are discussed.

Jan 1, 2008

By P. Thapliyal

The petroleum refining industry generates over a million tons of spent catalyst per year, containing valuable metals. Currently, these materials are recycled to smelting furnaces, but the fundamental mechanisms controlling the recovery processes are poorly understood. Furthermore, submerged injection of finely divided materials is potentially a means to obtain high recoveries of pay metals. In this study, a catalyst containing 10% Ni and 1% Co was injected into 45 kg heats of matte. A copper matte was chosen so that the nickel and cobalt recoveries were measurable. It was found that the recovery ranged from 40 to 700Al, increasing with catalyst feed rate, decreasing with catalyst particle size and decreasing with the oxygen content of the carrier gas. A mathematical model was developed to account for the results, and to permit extrapolation to nickel mattes. The industrial implications are discussed.

Jan 1, 1996

By K. C. Mills, P. N. Quested, A. P. Day, R. F. Brooks

"Methods have been developed to measure the physical properties of molten materials relevant to the fluid flow in high temperature processes. Data for the densities, viscosities and surface tensions of Al-, Ni- and Fe-based alloys are compared with (i) values for the pure metals and (ii) estimated values obtained from models making use of chemical composition of the alloy. Experimental values for metallurgical slags are also given and compared with estimated values.1 IntroductionPhysical property data has proved very useful in improving process control and product quality. For instance, in the continuous casting of steel the viscosity (TJ) of the mould flux is important since it determines (i) the optimum casting conditions, nVc = 2.5±1 dPas (m min-1) where V c is the casting speed and (ii) the level of slag entrapment (which leads to inclusions) in the metal. Thus data for properties like viscosity are exceedingly useful in understanding the process and the problems encountered and the causes of defects and problems.Another interesting development which has helped to increase our knowledge of processes and improve process control and product quality is the development of mathematical models of the fluid and heat flow in the process. These models have been developed to the stage where one of the prime requirements is for good physical property data for the industrial materials involved. Recently, Oxley [1] has shown that the use of reliable, experimental, property values for the commercial alloy in a commercial software package produced a significant improvement in the prediction of casting defects. Thus reliable property data are required for liquid metals but also for (i) liquid slags since many processes involve the use of a slag to refine and protect the metal or to lubricate the mould and (ii) refractories, sand and investment moulds."

Jan 1, 1999

By Takashi Miyamoto, Hideo Nakae, Hideki Yamaura, Takeshi Yanagihara

"For the production of partially composed metal matrix composites, namely discontinuous MMCs, using a casting· process, the interpenetrated phase composites with SiC particles were fabricated by pressureless iDfiltration using molten Al-Si alloys. This process is based on a wetting phenomenon, therefore, we discussed the technique based on the reactive wetting. The SiC particles coated by diluted water glass were sintered in a mullite Tammann tube and simultaneously infiltrated with molten Al-Si alloys in air at 1173~1573K. As for the improvement of the wettability between the SiC and the liquid aluminum alloy, Fe3O 4 powder was mixed with the water glass due to the thermit reaction between Fe3O4 and molten aluminum alloy. In some experiments, pure aluminum powder was placed on the sintered SiC to increase the interfacial area and the chemical reaction between the sintered Sic. and the melt. By combining these conditions, we succeeded in the complete infiltration without pressure at 1173K.IntroductionAs is well known, the mechanical properties of metal matrix composites (abbreviated MMCs) are superior than that of ordinary metals. However, their use has not been widely accepted because the production cost is very high due to their poor machinability. Therefore, the production of partially composed, namely discontinuous MMCs, by as the Lanxide process [l,2] has been investigated for many years. The Lanxide process, it takes a long time, sometimes up to 10h, in a nitrogen atmosphere for the infiltration. Therefore, the cost will be higher for common use. On the other hand, a high 'pressure process has been adopted for the production of discontinuous MMCs by the Toyota Motor Corp.[3]."

Jan 1, 2000