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By John J. Jonas, Sang-Hyun Cho, Ki-Bong Kang

"The recrystallization behavior of Nb micro alloyed steels containing Cr, Mo, Ni and Ti. was studied using hot torsion testing with the aim of modeling the recrystallization processes and the mean flow stress taking into account the microstructural behavior during hot rolling. The kinetics of static and metadynamic recrystallization were characterized and appropriate expressions were formulated for the recrystallization kinetics. These are shown that the recrystallization kinetics depend on steel composition and the processing conditions. The stress-strain curves were determined in order to derive new equations for the peak stress, peak strain, mean flow stress and softening kinetics. The peak strain is influenced by the presence of alloying elements; their addition, which has a solute drag effect, retards the rate of grain boundary motion, shifting the peak to the right. The addition of Nb to the steel results in a significant increment in the activation energy for hot deformation, and Mo has smaller effect than Nb, but Cr has the opposite effect. It was also found that the deformation activation energy in these steels was not altered by the addition of Ni. The rate of metadynamic recrystallization increases with strain rate and temperature and is observed to be independent of strain, in contrast to the observations for static recrystallization.The mean flow stress (MFS) calculations, based on the Sims analysis, are then compared with the predictions of a model based on an improved Misaka mean flow stress equation in which solute effects, strain accumulation, as well as the kinetics of static and metadynamic recrystallization are accounted for. Good agreement between the measured mean flow stresses, which is obtained from the mill logs of POSCO Kwangyang #3 HSM (hot strip mill), and 'predicted ones is obtained over the whole range of rolling temperatures. The results demonstrate that dynamic recrystallization followed by metadynamic recrystallization, supported by the unexpected load drops, sometimes occurs for the rolling schedules studied in the present analysis."

Jan 1, 2001

By Satoshi Itoh

Phase equilibria and activities of the components in the liquid lead-antimony-oxygen temary system, which is of fundamental importance for discussing the recovery of lead and antimony from a used lead-battery, have been investigated at 1173 and 1223 K. The two liquid phases of metal and oxide were observed at the temperatures studied, and the tie lines indicating isoactivities were determined. The activities of PbO, Sb015 and Sb203 in the PbO-SbOu and PbO-Sb203 pseudo-binary systems were then obtained by applying the Gibbs-Duhem equation to the phase relation of metal-oxide equilibrium. Both in the pseudo-binary systems the activities exhibit negative deviations from Raoult's law. The vapor pressures of lead, antimony and lead oxide, antimony oxide were calculated by using the activities of the components in the lead-antimony-oxygen ternary system. As a result, an oxidation of antimony concentrated in an anode slime followed by evaporation as antimony oxide Sb406 was found to be considerably effective for the recovery of lead and antimony from a used lead-battery.

Jan 1, 2003

By Xinghui Meng

The recovery of platinum and palladium from automotive catalysts has been investigated by leaching in iodide solutions with oxidants including oxygen and iodine in an autoclave. An ammonium salt was presented in a neutral leaching solution as a key leaching reagent to achieve high recoveries of the platinum group metals (PGM). The effect of temperature, and concentrations of oxidants and of ammonium salt on the recovery of PGM was examined. Under the experimental conditions studied, the recovery of platinum and palladium was found to be greater than 95%. An economical assessment of this process has also been examined and discussed.

Jan 1, 1995

By R. J. Dippenaar, W. H. Van Niekerk

"An injectable lime-based desulphurization reagent for the treatment of liquid iron was developed. Firstly, selected lime based slags containing small quantities of CaF2 to increase fluidity, and Na20 to increase the basicity, have been evaluated on laboratory scale from a thermodynamic point of view. Subsequently, pilot plant and full scale industrial injection trials were conducted. It was found that lime-based slags, containing Na20 and CaF2, are able to desulphurize liquid iron efficiently. By the injection of a lime based reagent consisting of 60% lime, 25% soda ash and 15% fluorspar at a rate of 7 kg reagent/ton hot metal, the sulphur level in the metal (115kg) was reduced from 0,07% to 0,01 % within 5 minutes. The lime-based reagent developed in this study was successfully injected, both from a metallurgical and from a pneumatic point of view, on an industrial scale. The mathematical model utilised in this study, can be used successfully to predict the course and extent of desulphurization by lime-based slags. IntroductionMainly due to environmental difficulties encountered with pure soda ash, dry slag formation with CaC2 and high cost when Mg are used as desulphurizers, much incentive exists for the development of an inexpensive, environmentally friendlier desulphurization reagent. As a first step in the development of such a reagent, selected lime based slags containing small quantities of CaF2 to increase fluidity, and Na2O to increase the basicity, have been evaluated on laboratory scale from a thermodynamic point of view. This was followed by pilot plant injection experiments in which the kinetics of the relevant desulphurization reactions were evaluated. Finally, full scale industrial trials were conducted. All three phases of the investigation will be discussed with the major emphasis being placed on the kinetic study."

Jan 1, 1996

By Michael D. Odekirk

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated solvent extraction methods for recovering scandium from water leach filtrates of sulfated tantalum tailings. These complex solutions typically contained 20 or more metals in significant quantities. Two commercially available organics, DEHPA and PC-88A, were identified as effective scandium extractants. The two organics were tested in continuous solvent extraction circuits to compare loading and stripping kinetics, recyclability, and general processibility. Results showed that 95 pct of the scandium, greater than 80 pct of the zirconium, and only small amounts of other solubilized metals were extracted. Scandium was stripped directly as a 3.6 pct Sc precipitate when a 3n NaOH liquor was used as the stripping agent. This precipitate was subsequently upgraded to 94 pct ScE3 via a selective HE leach.

Jan 1, 1993

By M. E. Karabin, R. J. O'Malley

"A mathematical model of the roll casting process has been developed which predicts macro-variables, such as roll separating force, roll torque, and strip exit speed for a range of roll speeds. Continuum variables, such as interface pressure, interface shear stress, freeze-front shape, and internal temperature distribution are also predicted.The model consists of two independent segments: solidification and rolling. The solidification model is two-dimensional (thickness and rolling direction) and is capable of handling alloy solidification. The solidification model is employed until solidification through the thickness is complete, then the rolling solution is activated.The rolling model is a one-dimensional (rolling direction) mechanical solution based on the von Karman approach, coupled with a two-dimensional thermal solution. The flow stress is expressed as a function of the average through-thickness temperature of the strip.Experiments were performed using a laboratory roll caster to test and refine the model. Experimental strip exit temperatures were used as input to the model. Experimental and predicted roll torque and strip exit speea were forced into agreement at a single reference roll speed to obtain values for the coefficient of friction and the interfacial heat transfer coefficient. Using these values, good agreement was obtained between predicted and experimental torque and strip exit speed over the entire range of roll speeds examined."

Jan 1, 1986

Novel techniques were developed to obtain samples from and make measurements in the shaft of the flash furnace at the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter. The data obtained was used to validate mathematical models of the burners and the reaction shaft. Particle, gas and wall temperatures were measured along with the oxygen potential of the molten particles. Collected particles were characterised by sizing, chemical analysis and optical microscopy. The region of the shaft immediately beneath the burner where the rate of change was most rapid received special attention.

Jan 1, 1993

By B. C. Blakey

The economic feasibility of the sulphuric acid pressure leaching route for the extraction of nickel and cobalt values from limonitic ores is highly dependent upon the behavior of aqueous aluminium. This is primarily due to its precipitation as hydronium alunite ((H30)A13(S04)2(OH)6), which is one of the major scale-forming compounds found in autoclaves used for pressure leaching. As a result of renewed interest in the pressure leaching process, an investigation of the aqueous-solid eqilibria in the aluminium-sulphate-water system under acidic (< pH l), high temperature (230 to 270°C) conditions has been conducted. Pure hydronium alunite was synthesized in an autoclave by leaching boehmite (A100H) at elevated temperatures in sulphuric acid solutions initially 0.25 to 0.75 m H2S04 in concentration. Spontaneous, in situ precipitation of hydronium alunite followed. A high temperature solution speciation model was used for the analysis of the resulting solubility data in order to calculate equilibrium constants for the precipitation reaction.

Jan 1, 1994

By Shunli Zhang

Metals recovery from electronic scrap by physical separation may provide an alternative to the current recycling approach, through which halogenated flame retardants can result in hazardous dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans. On the basis of a complete sink-float analysis of personal computer and printed circuit board scrap, and in view of the advantages of dry processes for electronic scrap recycling by mechanical separation, air table separation is prioritized in an attempt to separate metals from plastics and glass involved. In the present paper, theoretical and practical considerations of air table separation have been detailed. It has been shown that air table separation is effective for recovering copper and precious metals from this specific waste stream. With the feed rate of 60 kg per hour, the combined grade and recovery of copper, gold, and silver attainable for the two heavy products produced by the air table used in the present study was shown in the following table:

Jan 1, 1998

By Y. Y. Sheng

Plume flows created by gas injection into liquid metals have been studied extensively, however the dynamics of bubbles within the plume have not received adequate attention, particularly for large, irregular bubbles, characteristic of the processing of liquid metals. The present model uses a combined Eulerian-Lagrangian approach in which an estimated void fraction distribution is used to calculate the liquid flow field with a conventional Eulerian scheme. The trajectories of bubbles are then computed in a Lagrangian manner using the estimated flow field, and experimentally measured information on bubble drag coefficients&apos;, lateral migration due to lateral lift forces and interaction with turbulent eddies, and variation in bubble size due to break-up. Turbulence in the two-phase zone is modeled with a modified k-e model with extra source terms to account for the second phase which have been recently determined by the present authors. The computed void fraction and turbulent liquid flow field distributions are in good agreement with experimental measurements.

Jan 1, 1993

By Akio Ohta

The Hyuga smelter has been producing ferronickel by a rotary kiln-electric furnace process in Miyazaki, Japan. Several approaches to improve our operation have decreased the electrical energy consumption. A new process was developed to decrease the cost of energy even further. Oil and technical oxygen are injected through lances to heat up the calcined ores (calcine) instead of the electric power. Main problems during the development of the process were the short life of the water-cooled lances, the check on security of the safety system and the eruption of combustion gases through the calcine bed. These problems have now been overcome successfully, and stable operation can be maintained. The addition of 1 Litre of heavy oil per tonne of ore can save the electrical energy requirement by 8.6 kwh per tonne of ore. The new process has resulted in a reduction of the electrical energy consumption by more than 10 percent

Jan 1, 1992

By Wolfgang Baum

Case studies from epithermal gold-silver deposits in the western United States and in Latin America show that the routine use of process-related mineralogical studies has become an important tool for the reduction of development, capital and operating costs. Bypassing the mineralogical characteristics of epithermal gold-silver ores, as a result of fast-track development approaches, has resulted in multimillion dollar metal losses and/or in considerable modification costs of existing operations.

Jan 1, 1988

By Mingming Zhang, Ramana G. Reddy

"Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most common by-products produced during light metals production. It is considered to be the cause of greenhouse effects. Efficient reduction of CO2 can help minimize the rate of global warming and improving energy sufficiency. In this paper, a novel light metal production process was developed using ionic liquid electrolytes. This process has significant advantages compared to the traditional high temperature processes such as zero CO2 and CF4 emission, low energy consumption due to the low temperature operation and nonconsumable electrodes. Two types of anode materials (graphite, extruded carbon) were tested in electrolysis experiment. The results showed that both anode materials were stable (negligible weight loss). However, the extruded carbon was found to be superior to graphite in terms of current density and current efficiency. The calculated energy consumption for aluminum production was less than 10 kWh/kg at current densities up to 300 A/m2.IntroductionGlobal demand for ultra-light, ultra-strong, recyclable metals is growing as the world switches to low-emission vehicles, energy-saving devices and sustainable products. Aluminum demand is forecast to climb by 30 percent; magnesium demand by 200 percent, while for the emerging industrial light metal, titanium, the demand is expected to be at least double in the next decade. However smelting of light metals is the most energy intensive among all the steps of light metals production. For example, on an average it takes about 15.7 kWh of electricity to produce one kilogram of aluminum from alumina [1, 2, 3]. Advancements in energy efficiency have been steady, but slow, and most U.S. aluminum smelting production operates at 95% current efficiency. Besides high energy consumption, another major concern of the light metals smelting process is the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Electrolysis green house gas emissions in the Hall-Héroult process can be split into three groups: 1) reduction reaction emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO); 2) process upset perfluorocarbons emissions; and 3) hydrogen fluoride (HF) formed from the moisture (H2O) present in the raw materials [2, 3]. Hydrogen fluoride gas can be captured and returned to the cells by the alumina dry scrubbing system used in modern facilities. A total of 5.31 kilograms of CO2 is generated from the reduction process for each kilogram of aluminum produced in the average U.S. primary facility. The perfluorocarbon emissions are related to the “anode effect.” If the concentration of alumina in the bath becomes too low, other reactions between the carbon anode and the bath occur and tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6) are generated. These gases have high global warming potentials (GWP), which is a ratio developed to compare the ability of each greenhouse gas to trap heat in the atmosphere relative to carbon dioxide"

Jan 1, 2008

By W. Drummond

The cooling of smelter gases by air dilution, adiabatic evaporative cooling and indirect heat exchange is discussed with reference to the process, to the subsequent cleaning of the gas. and to the use of the heat extracted from the gas. The method of reducing the effect of acidic sulphide formation on the corrosive properties of the gas and the dust and the development of surface cleaning mechanisms?are discussed. The development of indirect recuperators using air, water or steam cooling, made possible by the control of surface fouling is traced. The application of the modern Waste Heat Boiler to the new sulphide smelting processes is discussed with respect to the natural and forced circulation concepts. Case histories are presented to illustrate mistakes made with respect to designs produced without recourse to sensitivity analysis and without an appreciation of "worst process? conditions".

Jan 1, 1992

By Bogidar Mihaylov

A laboratory study was conducted on continuous precipitation of copper, cadmium, mercury and arsenic using thiourea, thioacetamide, sodium sulfide and ammonium sulfide as precipitating agents. Depending on the experimental conditions the metals precipitate with the sulfide donors at different orders and rates. These differences were employed as a basis of several techniques for continuous separation of copper and arsenic, cadmium and arsenic, mercury and copper, and copper, mercury and arsenic. The separation of the metals from industrial waste solutions was also studied. The precipitates obtained were inspected using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, atomic absorption spectrometer and plasma particle counter.

Jan 1, 1992

By Hideya Sato

Refractory wear caused by melts is one of the major determining factors for the interval of shut-down repair of the metallurgical furnaces in general. Calcium ferrite slag employed by M it subishi Continuous Copper Converter, shows hi& fluidity and corrosive characteristics against most of the refractories. In order to improve the corrosion resistance of the refractories, the mechanism of MgO-based refractory wear by the calcium ferrite slag was intensively studied. The dissolution behavior of the refractory into the molten slag and the penetration of the molten slag into the refractory were observed by crucible tests and newly developed oscillating furnace tests. It was found that the wear of MgO-based refractories by the calcium ferrite slag is mainly dominated by the internal structural failure caused by the penetration of CaO-Cu20 rich slag which is formed as a result of the preferential absorption of FeO, from original slag by the spinel of the refractory.

Jan 1, 1999

By Brian G. Thomas

Quality problems in continuous casting of steel can be identified as they occur by monitoring mold signals (level sensor, thermocouples in the mold walls, friction etc.) and taking appropriate action (such as slowing casting speed, changing taper, changing a clogged nozzle, or later visual inspection of the surface for possible downgrading. Surface depressions and groups of deep oscillation marks form at meniscus and reduce local heat transfer as they move down the mold at the casting speed. This slows shell growth, increases shell surface temperature, and causes characteristic dips in mold thermocouple signals. More importantly, they are also associated with longitudinal cracks. Characteristic thermocouple signatures have been identified for many defects, including sticker breakouts, transverse depressions and deep oscillation marks, narrow-face bleeds, transverse comer cracks, longitudinal cracks, mold level fluctuation defects, and other problems. With the help of computational models, these mold signals should be used to troubleshoot defects, and to take appropriate corrective action. Keywords: Continuous casting, defect detection, thermocouple signals, on-line control

Jan 1, 2003

By M. F. El-Demerdash

The activity distribution diagrams for different species in aqueous systems are developed. Computational method may be considered as an extension of the Activity-Term method introduced by the authors to construct EH-pH diagrams. In the Activity-Term method, all activities of different species are evaluated before deciding the most stable one. In the present study, a factor is assumed to allow for the conservation of the element. At any point, the total concentration of all species should contain only the input m moles of the element (elements) considered. This approach is applied to Zn-, 5-, and Zn-S-H2O and activity distribution diagrams are plotted as a function of pH, at different potential levels and at different temperatures.

Jan 1, 1990

By S. Ellor

The development of models of INCO&apos;s Copper Cliff operations using a computer spreadsheet program is discussed. Empirically developed metallurgical relationships were utilised. The paper concentrates on models of the pyrometallurgical processes but discusses applications such as optimisation of operating parameters, evaluation of feed changes and custom or recycle materials processing. The models were initially developed using a spreadsheet program on a personal computer. The requirements of plant engineers and process operators for significant increases in operating speed led to the transformation of some of the modules. The paper is presented in two parts: 1. The development of the modules using a spreadsheet. 2. The transformation of a module into a high speed tool for process control. The application of the technique to other pyrometallurgical processes is discussed.

Jan 1, 1992

By A. A. Hejja

"Liquidus temperature and electrical conductivity data measured on synthetic slags were modelled by the use of neural nets (NN). In this work the applied multilayer feedforward NNs were trained by a conjugate-gradient optimisation for which a three layer formulation was used. Very good fits were obtained for both the liquidus temperature and the conductivity data. The synthetic slags were prepared from pure oxides to represent a wide range of compositions likely to be encountered in ferromanganese and silicomanganese smelting. The slag constituents were in the following range: Mn0;5-30%, Ca0;20-35%, Mg0;5-15%, Si02;27-58%, Al20 3;5%. Liquidus temperatures varied from 1300° to 1380° and increased with increasing basicity ratio. The electrical resistivity of slags decreased with the increase of basicity ratio from 0.55 to 1.1 but above 1.1 basicity ratio the resistivity tended to increase depending upon the MnO content.Neural NetsVarious neural net (NN) topologies such as Hopfied nets, Hamming nets, Carpenter/Grossberg classifiers have been discussed in some detail by Lipmann (1). In this work, the applied multilayer feedforward NNs are not trained by backpropagation (BP) using the generalized delta rule (2) (GDR), but by a conjugate-gradient optimisation [3,4] - a procedure similar to that proposed by Barnard and Cole [5]. A neural net is capable ·of learning the non-linear functional relationship existing between a set of inputs and outputs [ 6]. In this capacity a neural net is used to determine the functional relationship that exists . between N dependent and independent variables, which characterize the system under consideration For a three layer neural net [1] the following function may be formulated, which relates X; inputs to the output Y 0 from node o:"

Jan 1, 1997