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By A. K. Kyllo, N. B. Gray, B. N. McCurry

"Dynamic control of the formation of a solidified layer between a pipe wall and a flowing melt enables the flow rate to be adjusted in real time. This solidified layer can be generated by using a coolant on the outside of the pipe wall to remove the required heat. The coolant, and hence the solidified layer, can be controlled remotely. The dynamic behaviour of the solidified layer was investigated by both physical experiments and mathematical modelling. The mathematical model has been developed using a finite difference technique to describe conduction through the pipe wall and solidified layer. Results from the model were consistent with previous steadystate experimental results using molten lead. Experiments are currently being carried out using molten tin in a recirculating circuit with a cooling system that is instrumented for accurate computer control to validate the model. The circuit is designed for flowrates of up to 24 kg/s (86 tph) of molten tin. Steady-state and dynamic predictions were made for the current rig.Industrial SignificanceThe current method of choice for tapping slags, metals and mattes from many metallurgical furnaces is using an oxygen lance to open the taphole and using a clay plug to close it. There are, however, some significant drawbacks in this method. The heat generated by the oxygen lance erodes the refractory lining of the taphole, as well as the clay plug, and the furnace products themselves corrode the taphole. Using an oxygen lance is also a significant safety hazard to the operators as they must work in close proximity to the furnace and be subjected to a shower of sparks while opening the taphole. Also, the flowrate of material through the taphole cannot be controlled online as the diameter of the opening cannot be varied easily. This feature means that the level of product in a furnace cannot be kept constant."

Jan 1, 1999

By Donna Guillen, Matthew Lehar, Sebastian Freund, Jennifer Jackson, Helge Klockow

"Research and development is currently underway to design an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system with the evaporator placed directly in the hot exhaust stream produced by a gas turbine (GT). ORCs can be used to generate electricity from heat that would otherwise be wasted, thus producing carbon-free energy. In conventional ORC configurations, an intermediate oil loop is used to separate the hot gas from the flammable working fluid. The goal of this research effort is to improve cycle efficiency and cost by eliminating the pumps, heat exchangers and all other added cost and complexity of the additional heat transfer loop by developing an evaporator that resides in the waste heat stream. Direct evaporation – although simpler and less expensive to implement than indirect evaporation of the working fluid – has historically been avoided due to a number of technical challenges imposed by the limitations of the working fluid. The high temperature of the hot exhaust gas may cause decomposition of the organic working fluid and safety is a major concern due to the high flammability of some of these working fluids. The research team has addressed these challenges and developed a new direct evaporator design that can reduce the ORC system cost by up to 15%, enabling the rapid adoption of ORCs for waste heat recovery. The ORC system is intended to integrate with the GT either as a retrofit or to be marketed as a single package, thus maintaining the manufacturer’s warranty.IntroductionWaste heat from turbines and engines used in industrial applications along with waste heat from industrial processes are exceptionally abundant sources of energy. If even a fraction of this waste heat could be economically converted to useful electricity, it would have a tangible and very positive impact on the economic health, energy consumption, and carbon emissions in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Land-based gas turbines are used in a broad range of applications to produce both shaft and electrical power. Most commonly known for generating electricity either as peaking units or as base load units, they are also used to directly drive pumps, compressors or other machinery requiring shaft power. Simple cycle gas turbines have the advantage of a short startup time relative to coal-fired and nuclear units, however, they incur a significant penalty on their efficiency. Large frame gas turbines usually are combined with bottoming steam-based Rankine cycles to increase the overall efficiency of the system and thereby improve their cost performance. Small-frame gas turbines with exhaust temperatures around 500°C could in principle benefit from steam bottoming cycles, but rarely use them in practice because of the high capital cost of the steam system. Particularly for base load small frame gas turbines, akin to those used in pipeline applications, an increase in efficiency is highly desirable."

Jan 1, 2011

By Shengli Wu, Mingyin Kou, Laixin Wang, Zhe Wang, Xinliang Liu

The sticking behavior of iron ores in the shaft furnace is one of the most important problems in the COREX melting progress, which directly influence the smooth operation and productivity of shaft furnace. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the sticking behavior of pellets in COREX shaft furnace. The results showed that porous metallic iron produced at the interface of pellets samples was the main reason for the sticking of pellets in the COREX shaft furnace. The SI (sticking index) and metallization rate increased with the reduction temperature and gas flow, and decreased with melting rate. However, the SI of pellets in the COREX shaft furnace could be decreased by the proper match of melting rate and reduction temperature, reduction temperature and gas flow, while the metallization rate of pellets were kept at a certain level. Furthermore, the matching of melting rate and reduction temperature was more effective than the matching of reduction temperature and gas flow.

Jan 1, 2016

By G. C. Yao

Iron and silicon impurities can form needle and branch shape intermetallie compounds in molten aluminum when there is no manganese. It is difficult to separate them from molten aluminum by electromagnetic separation. The Fe-Si-AI and Fe-Al intermetallic compounds were transformed into Mn-Fe-Si-Al and Mn-Fe-Al compounds by the addition of manganese into molten aluminum. In molten aluminum the morphology of these intermetallic compound particles is lumpish and spherical. Migration resistance of these impurity particles is small, which is beneficial to separation. FeSiMnA4 and FeMnAI6 are paramagnetic. These impurity particles can be moved by magnetic force and can be separated from the molten aluminum.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. D. Ecuyer, L&apos

he microstructure of galvanneal coatings formed on extra low carbon and interstitial free steel substrates has been characterized using electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) and x-ray diffraction. The coatings are found to consist of a mixture of gamma, delta and zeta phases, of which delta is the main constituent. The amounts of each phase influences the powdering resistance of the coating which was evaluated using reverse Olsen testing and 60" bending. For the three heat input conditions considered, IF coatings were always found to contain a significant amount of gamma and only those which retained zeta phase on the surface exhibited a satisfactory powdering resistance. In much the same way, ELC coatings with relatively thick gamma layers performed satisfactorily only when some zeta was retained. It was also found, however, that coatings with minimal zeta and gamma had an excellent powdering resistance. The latter coatings were produced under galvannealing conditions of lower relative heat input. These results indicate that in addition to the zinc bath composition, coating weight and galvanneal thermal cycle, the base steel chemistry also has an effect on the coating microstructure. Knowledge and control of all aspects of galvannealing is therefore essential to consistently produce acceptable coatings.

Jan 1, 1992

By Hong Ouyang

A unified computational model has been developed for the Bridgman growth processes of B-NiAI and CdTe crystals. To handle the geometrical and physical complexities, a two-level approach has been developed. At the gtobatlevel, conjugate heat transfer, phase change dynamics, and variable material properties along with the realistic geometries and thermal boundary conditions are accounted for inside the entire crystal growth system. Refined calculations are then made within the ampoule, with the boundary conditions supplied by the global simulations. This model can optimize the use of computational source, help understand solidification behaviors, and improve designs of crystal growth system.

Jan 1, 1996

By Nourreddine Menad

Plastic materials have been associated with electric and electronic applications since the early days of the electrical industry. Plastics can amount to 30 percents of the scrap mass. Generally, they are treated with flame retardants such as halogenated ones and they can result in different toxic chemical compounds. These plastics can be used as combustibles in the recovery of copper and precious metals. However, during their combustion, halogenated flame retardants can produce dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans. The estimated thermodynamic data of several organic compounds resulting from combustion of electric and electronic scrap, have been used in conjunction with the program HSC to calculate the conditions for dioxin and furan formation. The results show that the formation of the dioxins is dependent on the quantities of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and oxygen reacting in a given system, as well as on parameters such as temperature and pressure.

Jan 1, 1998

By Raymond E. Healy

Circuit samples from the HBMS concentrator were assayed for l5elements, and image analysis was done to determine the modal quantities, grain size distributions and liberations of the minerals. Material balancing was done on these data to determine distributions of the minerals in each concentrator stream. The ore was mined during the waning phase of mining and is diluted with backfilled copper smelter slag. The mill feed grades 1.0 wt% Cu and 1.8 wt% Zn. The slag silicate phases contain approximately 1.5 wt% Cu and 6.5 wt% Zn; therefore the Cu and Zn head grades due to chalcopyrite and sphalerite, are only 0.9 wt% Cu and 1.2 wt% Zn, respectively. The recovery of Cu in the Cu-concentrate (Cu-conc.) is only 77.5 %, whereas that of chalcopyrite is 89.2 %. Similarly, the recovery of Zn in the Zn-concentrate (Zn-conc.) is only 40.2 %, whereas that of sphalerite is 71.0 %. The slag accounts for approximately 60 % of the Cu, and 85 % of the Zn in the tailings. The main loss of chalcopyrite is as unliberated grains to the tailings, and the main loss of sphalerite is as free grains to the Cu-concentrate and as unliberated grains to the Cu-concentrate and tailings. Approximately 85 % of the chalcopyrite and sphalerite lost to the tailings. accounting for 8 % and 10 % of the respective minerals in the concentrator feed, occur as middling and sub-middling grains. Extremely fine regrinding would be required to liberate these minerals.

Jan 1, 1989

By Peter C. Hayes

"The high temperature reduction of solids through the use of reactive gas atmospheres has application in a wide range of industrially important processes. Whilst significant advances have been made in understanding and describing these processes, some key aspects of the chemical reactions and reaction mechanisms operating in these systems, for example, the transformation from metal oxide to metal, remain poorly understood. A number of different product morphologies have been identified in these reaction systems and the reaction rates have been shown to be critically dependent on the product structure.Theoretical examination of the elementary process steps taking place in the region of the gas/metal/metal oxide interface, combined with electron microscope studies of the resultant product microstructures, have enabled the key process and material variables responsible for the development of the various product morphologies to be identified. By considering i) established criteria for the stability of moving interfaces in a thermodynamic potential gradient, ii) the relative rates of chemical reactions on the oxide and metal surfaces, and iii) key process phenomena and physico-chemical properties of the solid phases, the mechanisms and conditions for the formation of various product morphologies are identified. Interestingly the analysis points to direct analogies between these phase transformations and, the phenomena and microstructures observed in metal solidification, and the potential to develop generic models of these fluid/solid reaction systems."

Jan 1, 2013

By K. Tozwa

The electrical conductivity of electrolytes for copper electrorefining and electrowinning processes has been reported by many researchers since 1911. The experimental results show that the conductivity increases with an increase in sulfuric acid concentration and decreascs with an increase in copper concentration. In pure copper sulfate solution, however, the conductivity increases with an increase in the copper concentration. After confirming the conductivity of pure and acidified copper sulfate solutions experimentally, the concentrations of hydrogen ion and free (not hydrated) water in the electrolytes were estimated and it was found that the relation between the conductivity of acidified copper sulfate electrolytes and the products of concentration of hydrogen ion and free water is linear. Accordingly, the conductivity of acidified copper sulfate electrolytes increases with an increase in sulfuric acid concentration and decreases with an increase in copper concentration.

Jan 1, 2003

By KNona C. Liddell

Goethite is an important naturally occurring sorbent for divalent heavy metals and has often been used as a model compound in studies of adsorption on oxide mineral surfaces. Surface complexation modeling, surface spectroscopy, and electrochemical techniques have all been applied to goethite adsorption. Modeling studies have shown that usually several different sets of fitted parameters are equally successful in representing surface charging and adsorption data. Surface spectroscopic data are proving valuable in determining the nature of the surface sites, and refined models now incorporate structural information on interatomic distances and coordination numbers. Multisite surface complexation models can give very good fits to surface charging and adsorption data, but further improvements are needed to better represent surface reactions involving exchange of protons and divalent cations. Recent experimental and modeling studies on adsorption of divalent transition metals on goethite are described and the present status of the field is assessed.

Jan 1, 1999

By G. Cifuentes

The kinetics of the electrolytic oxidation of cyanide to cyanate on PbO2-coated stainless steel anodes have been studied by both experimental and theoretical means. The anodes were based on 316 steel and performed in a satisfactory fashion. The pH of the studied KCN solutions exhibited a constant value about 11. Values for all the kinetic parameters have been determined and a mechanism for the studied reaction is proposed.

Jan 1, 1999

By P. N. Anyalebechi

"The effects of solidification rate, initial melt hydrogen concentration, and grain refining on porosity formation in aluminum alloy 2024 have been investigated with unidirectionally cooled laboratory-size ingots. The ingots were prepared from melts containing hydrogen concentration of 0.059-0.27 cm3/100 g and solidified at 0.2-37 °C/s. As expected, the amount of porosity, average pore size, and pore number density increased with increase in melt hydrogen concentration and decrease in solidification rate. However, the effect of solidification rate was greater at the very low melt hydrogen concentration (0.059 cm3/100 g). These results are consistent with reported effects of solidification rate and melt hydrogen content on porosity formation in other aluminum alloys. Interestingly, addition of grain refiner slightly increased the amount of porosity and the average pore size, especially at solidification rates above 1°C/s. IntroductionIn shaped castings and wrought products fabricated from ingots, billets, bars, or slabs of aluminum and its alloys porosity formation is a problem. This is because it compromises their tensile strength, fracture toughness, and fatigue properties [ 1-18]. The pores are usually the crack initiation and propagation sites [6,8,9] and the largest pores tend to dictate the fatigue life of the aluminum products [9,10,14]. Porous regions within an aluminum product probably yield first due to the reduced tensile load bearing capacity, causing the concentration of the strain near the voids which subsequently results in premature fracture. In aluminum alloy ingots, billets, bars and slabs porosity formation is particularly problematic because of its persistence through fabrication and potential for reappearance or exacerbation during subsequent thermal treatment processes before and/or after fabrication [19]. In fact, persistence of microporosity is a serious problem in large thick plates of wrought aluminum alloy products that must be rolled from correspondingly large direct-chill or electromagnetic cast ingots. Some of these thick plate products are machined into large aircraft components that are required in service to withstand multi-directional stresses and to possess high fatigue strength, fracture toughness, resistance to stress corrosion cracking, and strength in the short-transverse direction [1,20]."

Jan 1, 2011

By Matthew Jeffrey

Due to the increasing environmental and public concerns over cyanidation, there has been a large amount of research into viable alternative lixiviants. Despite these studies, there is little published data directly comparing the kinetics of gold leaching for each of these alternatives: most of the literature is concerned with gold extraction from ores. This paper presents a detailed kinetic study of gold leaching in cyanide, armmonia/thiosulfate and chloride/hypochlorite solutions. The gold leach rates were measured using a rotating electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (REQCM). This instrument allows the mass of a gold sample to measured in?situ, with a sensitivity of less than 10 ng. From the results of these studies, it is possible to select experimental conditions where the leach rates of the alternative lixiviants are similar to that for the traditional cyanide system.

Jan 1, 1998

By Shane Andrews, Gustavo Vasquez, S. K. Varma

"The effect of solutionizing time on the corrosive wear behavior of 2014 aluminum alloy has been studied using the impact and continuous mode of scratching techniques. The transient currents (TC) evolved during the scratching of the alloy shows a linear dependence between the TC and the solutionizing time. Higher TC values at longer solutionizing time may be associated with the changes in the concentration of quenched-in vacancies, grain sizes and dislocations generated during scratching. These factors can either create (a) anodic sites or (b) pitting corrosion resulting in the generation of transient currents. The results have been compared with the similar study carried out for 6061 aluminum alloys. This 6061 aluminum alloy shows similar behavior but the rate of TC generation per unit solutionizing time is much lower than 2014 aluminum alloy. The morphological changes in the impact scratches and the TEM investigation in the scratch have been presented in this paper.IntroductionThe technique of studying corrosive wear of composites of 6061 aluminum in the monolithic and reinforced forms has been reported in the literature [1]. Two modes of scratching, consisting of impact and continuous, in a corrosive environment indicate that the composites, containing 0.10 and 0.20 volume fractions of alumina particles (VFAP), have higher corrosive wear rates than the monolith. A graph between the transient current (TC) generated during the impact scratching as a function of solutionizing time at 540°C indicates linear relationship between them. A similar slopes for the composites were observed and the TC values were less for the composite containing lesser VFAP."

Jan 1, 1998

By Deyou Yin, Kongfang Feng, Bo Wang, Jieyu Zhang, Xin Hong, Shaobo Zheng, Jinyin Xie

"The flow patterns and mixing characteristics in a water model of C-H2 smelting reduction furnace are experimentally studied in this paper. Water modeling is employed to investigate the features of gas jet stirring and the fluid flow patterns in the bath of a smelting reduction furnace during the top, bottom, and side combined blowing process. The influence of the gas flow rate for top, bottom and side nozzles, angle, submerged depth of each side nozzles and the height of the top nozzle has been examined. It showed that the gas flow rate of side nozzles and bottom nozzle had a key role on the fluid flow and mixing characteristics. The gas jet from the top nozzle could change the agitation and fluid flow pattern caused by the gas jets from the side nozzles in the bath.IntroductionFacing the current natural resources decrease and the environmental degradation, smelting reduction iron-making technique is believed to be the most representative at present. Mid last century, the concept of producing liquid iron or semi-steel directly from ore fines and inexpensive fuel was the subject of considerable pilot plant development activity. Among these projects, the direct smelting process, which is the reduction and melting of iron-bearing materials by carbon and other hydrocarbons in the vessel containing a molten bath, is the most popular one. A number of direct smelting processes have been developed around the world, e.g. COREX, DIOS, HIsmelt, AISI, ROMELT, etc.These studies put forward a new technology, which through bottom nozzle blowing rich hydrogen, top nozzle blowing rich oxygen and provide preheating ore and solvent, side nozzles blowing oxygen-coal to realize smelting reduction iron-making process. Owing to the metallurgy reactions always in high temperature, which is above 1600 °C, it is difficult to visualize the mixing behavior and measure the desired phenomena in the reduction vessel. With water modeling, the primary advantages are that it is relatively easy to observe and measure the flow phenomena in the bath."

Jan 1, 2011

An EAF dust generated in a Swedish steel mill has been leached in hydrochloric acid at The solution obtained has been subjected to purification by cementation followed by precipitation of zinc with sodium carbonate. The thermal decomposition of the precipitate was studied using thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. The results show that during the calcination of the precipitate three different reactions occur. The decomposition of the solid phases Zn5(CO3) (OH)6, CaZn(CO3)2 and CaCO3 occur completely at 370°C, 560°C and 940°C respectively, yielding a final product containing 61.9% ZnO and 38.1% CaO. Methods to minimize calcium and manganese in the final product are discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By Andrzej Warczok

Intensive smelting of copper concentrate in Teniente Converter (CT) leads to the production of high grade matte and highly oxidized slag. Smelting slag is processed in Teniente vascular slag cleaning furnace. The slag composition and forms of copper affect the slag cleaning process and final copper content. Converting of high grade matte in Pierce-Smith converter faces some difficulties in proper slagging of iron oxides. Overblowing in copper making stage allows for slag liquidation but leads to high content of copper oxide in converter slag. Converter slag recycling into CT results in the increase of the participation of oxidic copper. Separate treatment of converter slag and its impact on the forms of copper in CT slag has been analyzed. Thermodynamic properties of a system and kinetic limitations pointed out the negative effect of converter slag recycling on the forms of copper and copper recovery in slag cleaning stage. Experimental results of slag cleaning tests in a crucible scale as well as microscopic examination of laboratory and industrial slag samples supported the above analysis and permitted to formulate recommendations of separate processing of converter slag. Keywords: copper, losses, slag, recycling

Jan 1, 2001

By David Hughes

The paper covers the utilization of on-line analysis in process control of solvent extraction in nickel leach solvent extraction processes in Finland and Australia and in copper heap-leach and solvent extraction in Chile. The goals of and requirements for controlling the solvent extraction stages of the processes are reviewed. The applications at three plants are compared. The development of the technology used is reviewed and design considerations are discussed. Requirements for on-line control and analyzer performance are compared. A new generation of analyzers and its effect on the set-up process of a project is introduced.

Jan 1, 2003

By Bruce H. Baker

Studies of used or unused refractory materials are excellent examples of applied mineralogy in industry. Refractory materials are mineral substances containing ceramic or chemical bonding systems. Knowledge of the mineral composition, bonding, and textural relationships often explains the resulting physical property values of a refractory and contributes to the interpretation of refractory wear mechanisms occurring in steel plant service.

Jan 1, 1982