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By Yuhsuke Mizukami

Crude high Cr containing steel such as tool steel, heat-resistant steel or stainless steel is produced by dissolution of high carbon ferro-chromium into molten crude steel. In the refining process, decarburization is performed at the first stage, and deoxidation is followed in the next stage. Therefore, the equilibrium relation between dissolved Cr and 0 in molten Fe-Cr alloy after decarburization is very important when yield of deoxidizer is considered for the ovemll control and optimization of the process. It is well known that the yield of deoxidizer does strongly depend on the kinds of refractories of furnace in the secondary refining process. In the present work, the equilibrium relation between dissolved Cr and O in molten Fe-Cr alloy has been measured in a Cr2O3, MgO or Al2O3 crucible at steelmaking temperature. O contents at given Fe-Cr components have been lower in order of Cr2O3, Al2O3 and MgO crucible. The present results have been discussed based on the activities of the constituents in pure solid Cr2O3, and FeO-Cr2O3, MgO Cr2O3 and (AI,Cr)2O3 solid solutions.

Jan 1, 2003

By Yuanpei LAN, Minren XU, Deliang NIU, Zhu WANG, Qingcai Liu, Shan Ren

Removal of gas is the major function of RH degasser. To optimize the RH refining craft in Chongqing Iron and Steel Co. Ltd, the degassing effect of RH degasser at different degrees of vacuum was investigated using a vacuum induction furnace. In addition, the effect of processing time on the gas content dissolved in molten steel was also studied. The results showed that degree of vacuum was one of the important factors that determined the degassing efficiency in RH refining process. High vacuum degree is helpful in the removal of gas, especially in the removal of [H] dissolved in molten steel. The processing time could be reduced from 25-30 min to 15 minutes and gas content could also meet the demand of RH refining

Jan 1, 2015

By P. A. Botha

Most sinter producers prefer to use a range of iron ores with the aim to optimize their sinter blends. ISCOR is however limited to the use of ore from two deposits, namely Sishen and Thabazimbi. Only sinter produced from Sishen ore is described in this report. The Sishen iron ore deposit provides high-grade hematite ore with a mean iron content of 65 per cent. Three major ore types are developed: massive, laminated and conglomeratic. The main ore mineral is hematite with minor to trace amounts of quartz, mica, phosphates and, in places, carbonates. A sinter product is characterized by its mineralogical composition and metallurgical properties. The production rate also plays an important role in the economic evaluation of sinter quality. Sinter-pot tests were conducted with varying basicities, given as the ratio of CaO to SiO:< and coke content. The results of these tests were characterized by mineralogical and metallurgical methods. Basicity of a sinter mix directly influences the mineralogical composition and metallurgical properties. The content of calcium ferrite and calcium silicate increases with increasing basicity, thereby increasing the reducibility and cold strength of the sinter product. Experiments performed during this study provided a model for the optimization of the sinter mix with respect to its mineralogical and metallurgical parameters.

Jan 1, 1991

By P. E. Nolan

The disproportionation of carbon monoxide is an important aspect of reduction processes, in the production of carbon filaments for composites, and in the removal of CO from CO,. It can also be a hindrance, causing carbon fouling of equipment and metal dusting. The reaction is thermodynamically favored at lower temperatures, but it occurs slowly. Catalysis of the reaction by transition metals has been examined. A materials science approach to the selection of a catalyst material and of optimum operating conditions is being taken in the present work. Of particular interest is characterization of a catalyst that can be repeatedly regenerated to prevent deactivation in long term use. Experimental data on a less studied catalyst, ruthenium, are reported.

Jan 1, 1992

By Steven R. Izatt

IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. (IBC) has developed a mercury selective product, which can be used by sulfuric acid producers as either a polisher, or as the primary technology for mercury removal from sulfuric acid. The Molecular Recognition Technology (MRT) separations material selectively binds Hg2+, and to a lesser extent Hg+, out of concentrated sulfuric acid. Mercury output levels of less than 0.1 ppm can be attained by the MRT system. Pilot plant tests have been successfully conducted at base metal smelting operations. A large-scale commercial plant is due for commissioning in 2003. Results from these projects will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By Wenxian Zhu, Xuema Li, Patrick R. Taylor

"Experiments were performed in a non-transferred arc, thermal plasma flow reactor to investigate the synthesis of ultra fine boron nitride (BN) powder from the reaction system of boron oxide (Bz03), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen (H2). Argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2) were used as plasma gases. The thermodynamics and kinetics of the synthesis reactions were examined and a chemical reaction mechanism was proposed. The powders produced under certain operating conditions had high purity and good conversions. All the products were extremely fine powders (< 30nm) and were uniform in size distribution. The powder products were analyzed by chemical and physical characterization. The effects of the reaction variables on the conversions from B203 to BN and the purity of the products were investigated.IntroductionIn the past few decades, boron nitride (BN) has attracted a great deal of interest because of its excellent thermal, chemical and electrical properties (1-4) It has a high thermal stability and thermal conductivity. Chemically, it is very stable and is not wetted by most molten metals and slag. It is also an excellent low loss insulator. Since hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is light in weight, strong and easily fabricated, it has applications in a variety of specialized high temperature areas, such as a high temperature lubricant, crucibles for molten metals, thermocouple protection tubes, break rings for horizontal continuous casting of steel, and friction reducing coatings. In cubic form, boron nitride is one of the hardest materials known, second only to diamond, and it is an excellent material for tools in which the use of carbon based materials is limited by oxidation or reaction with metals."

Jan 1, 1998

By Florian Aurelian, Mihai Popescu

"It will be tested four types of “geochemical barriers”. All those mixtures were contacted with mine waters containing uranium, radium and heavy metals. The loading capacity was determined. The optimum mixture was determined and its efficiency was tested within an uranium areal, where the activity was stopped. It was determined the possibility to recover the radioactive elements and the heavy metals from the investigated barriers.IntroductionThe paper presents the results concerning the performances of some “geochemical barriers” used for the decontamination of mine waters from uranium mining sites, which were tested in lab and in situ.ExperimentalThe research activity was carried out in lab and on the site.In the lab a module was constructed in order to follow up the uptake capacity of the “permeable reactive geochemical barriers” used to remove the radiolelements from the contaminated waters originated from the uranium mining industry. The barriers, which were used, are made of cheap natural materials, which can be easily got (wood chips, peat coal, sawdust, iron span, steel and zeolitic tuff). The following types of barriers were tested:•, 1st barrier: peat coal, sawdust, zeolite on weight ratio of 1/1/1;•, 2nd barrier: bentonite, sand, wood chips, peat coal on weight ratio of 1/1/1/1;•, 3rd barrier: iron span, steel, sawdust, peat coal on weight ratio of 2/1/1;•, 4th barrier: iron span, steel, sand, firry wood chips on weight ratio of 1/1/1.Lab researches concerning the uranium uptake capacity of the above described “reactive barriers” pointed out that the 3rd mixture (iron span, steel, sawdust, peat coal on a ratio of 2/1/1) didn’t reach the maximum uranium uptake capacity not even after eleven contact stages (the uptake capacity being of 70.6 mg U/ kg of mixture) and the mixture of peat coal, sawdust and zeolite has an uranium uptake capacity of 26.6 mg U/kg of mixture and becomes saturated after four contact stages.Each one of the components involved in physical-chemical processes of sorption, reduction and precipitation, will determine the diminution of uranium and other metals contents upstream the permeable reactive barrier."

Jan 1, 2008

By Dao Su, Ganghua Fu, Xuling Chen, Yufeng Guo, Min Gan, Tao Jiang, Xiaohui Fan

"The sinter quantity and quality of limonite in the magnetite and hematite sintering models were studied and compared. For the sintering of magnetite, the results showed that the increase of limonite improved the permeability of sinter mixture, increased the sinter quantity and quality. The sinter strength and productivity were decreased when the proportion of limonite exceeded 50%. The appropriate proportion of limonite was 40%-50%. For the sintering of hematite, the sinter quantity and quality were first maintained at the same level thereafter declined, more obviously when the proportion of limonite exceeded 40%. The amount of calcium ferrite increased whose shape changed from acicular to leaflike and block gradually with the proportion of limonite increased from 0% to 80%.IntroductionWith the fierce competition of domestic and overseas iron markets in the twenty-first century, cheap ores such as limonite are used to be sintering raw materials to cut the costs of sinter and pig iron for steel making, and boosts the competitiveness of steel companies [1, 2]. In addition, as the reserve volume of hematite of high grade is reducing year by year, the usage amount of limonite in sintering are expanding in major domestic and international sintering plant [3, 4]. Sintering can be divided into two types, majoring in concentrates and fine ores, according to the different types of raw materials. The sintering characteristics of limonite in the two types above have been studied and compared in this paper, which makes a significant sense for the research of limonite sintering properties and guidance of ore proportioning in sintering plants."

Jan 1, 2012

By William Petruk

Many gold operations lose gold during processing because some ore characteristics which affect recoveries have not been determined, and consequently the plant could not be designed to account for them. The ore characteristics can be determined with mineralogical techniques by analyzing the plant feed, final tailings and mill products. The plant feed and/or final tailings are commonly analyzed first as a separate project. Mill products are analyzed only if the process employs a minerals separation circuit to produce a concentrate (e.g. secondary flotation circuit to concentrate gold-bearing arsenopyrite), and if assays and materials balances indicate a recovery problem in the minerals separation circuit. Many ores have been evaluated at CANMET on a confidential cost-recovery basis by custom-designing a work plan which was dependent upon the problem and on the characteristics of the ore. The reasons for gold losses have been identified in most cases, and suggestions for modifying flowsheets have been proposed. The methods used in performing the analyses are described in this paper, and non-confidential results from in-house projects are provided as examples of the benefits of such analyses. The analytical methodology involves a combination of the following procedures: -producing heavy mineral concentrates and identifying the gold minerals in the concentrates; -determining quantities of invisible gold in gold-bearing sulphides, sulpharsenides, etc. by SIMS; -determining quantities and liberation characteristics of all gold minerals and gold-bearing minerals in the sample; -finding and identifying gold minerals in silicates; -extensive grinding and cyanidation to determine the ultimate amount of cyanidable gold; -determining impact of clay minerals and graphite; -performing a mineral balance for the gold in each sample; -performing a materials balance to determine the distribution of the gold minerals, gold-bearing minerals, and other minerals throughout the flowsheet, and; -interpreting the results.

Jan 1, 1995

By William Petrul

Image analysis studies were performed on mill products from laboratory flotation tests of the Zn-Pb ore from the Faro deposit in Yukon, Canada, to determine mineral liberations at specific grinds and to predict recoveries at optimum flotation conditions. The minimum and optimum grinds for liberating sphalerite and galena were predicted from size analysis data for the minerals in large ore pieces, and determined by image analysis studies of the mill products. The determined optimum grinds are about 2 Tyler mesh sizes larger than predicted because sane of the fine grained sphalerite and galena occurs in interstices between coarser grained pyrite and is liberated when the pyrite grains are broken apart. Materials balance calculations were performed on the analyzed values for the liberated and unliberated sphalerite and galenaa to determine their distributions in the mill products. The laboratory flotation tests recovered 74% of the sphalerite and 83% of the galena in Zn and Pb concentrates respectively. The mineral evaluation study indicates that the optimum recovery for sphalerite and galena are 85 and 83% respectively. The company is currently recovering 80% &apos;of the sphalerite and 82% of the galena.

Jan 1, 1989

By I. Gaballah

The electrochemical behavior of a chalcopyrite concentrate having a high pyrite content was studied in HC1 by potentiodynamic, potentiostatic and galvanostatic experiments using a cell having separate anodic and cathodic compartments. Anodic oxidation of chalcopyrite particles was realized both by their contact with the cunent feeder and by reaction with ferric and cupric ions. An increase of current leads to a more selective dissolution of chalcopyrite. Surface passivation was observed after an electrolysis time related to the cell current. Cathodic reduction of chalcopyrite concentrate seems to be more promising. Almost complete conversion of chalcopyrite to a copper sulfide (Cui.8.S) is observed, whereas no reaction of the pyrite was detected. This confirms the possible selective dissolution of copper from the chalcopyrite concentrate. Copper sulfide obtained by cathodic reduction was leached using a cupric chloride solution.

Jan 1, 1994

By E. Fregeau-Wu

The major obstacle in recycling steelmaking slags to the blast furnace is their phosphorus content. Removal of the phosphorus, which is primarily associated with the silicate and phosphate phases, would allow for greater recycle of these slags for their iron, manganese, and lime contents. Calculations show that separation of the silicates from the oxide phases would remove nearly 90% of the phosphorus from the slag. The variable grain size of the as-received slag made liberation by fine grinding difficult. Therefore, slow-cooling experiments were undertaken to improve the grain size distribution. The grain size distributions were determined using in-situ image analysis. The samples were ground to their apparent liberation size and high gradient magnetic separation was used to separate the magnetic oxides from the nonmagnetic silicates and phosphates. Liberation analysis and modeling was performed on selected separation products for discussion of benefication characteristics.

Jan 1, 1995

By G. Gao

Flyash from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators is frequently classified as a characteristic hazardous waste due to its lead and cadmium content. Extensive investigation has therefore been carried out to detoxity the flyash by leaching and to recover lead, cadmium and zinc. Detoxification can be accomplished by leaching in HCI/NaCI solutions. Optimization of leaching conditions for effective detoxification and subsequent metal recovery can be achieved by controlling the acidity of the lixiviant and flyash to lixivaint ratio. Lead and cadmium In the leaching solution is recovered by cementation with zinc dust. Leaching and cementation experiments have shown that zinc concentrations suitable for electrowinning, > 15 g/liter, can be achieved. Experiments have also been performed to determine the effects of pH, particle size of the zinc dust used, quantity of zinc added and dissolved impurities on the cementation kinetics. After recovery of lead and cadmium, electrowinning or electrowinning coupled with solvent extraction can be used to recover zinc. A process flowsheet is presented.

Jan 1, 1991

By Sarah Beutner Mavrogenes

The mineralogy of three slags from a domestic secondary copper refinery were studied by applied mineralogical techniques to determine the: 1) phases present, 2) phase chemistry, 3) phase abundance, 4) associations, 5) crystalline habit, 6) grain size, 7)microtextures, and 8) causes for certain metallurgical problems, such as metal losses to the slags. The slags were produced by skimming the bath prior to melt-down to allow heat from the flame to reach the bath. The first slag is highly viscous and all three slags contain a large amount of copper. The "first slag", which is skimmed prior to treatment of the bath with fluxes, contains metallic copper, cuprite, delafossite, magnetite, Mg-hercynite, common spinel-chromite solid solution, picrochromite-chromite solid solution, common spinel-picrochromite solid soiution, gahnite, cassiterite, silica-rich glass, and corundum. Its abundant solid refractory phases make the slag difficult to skim. The "soda-rich slag", skimmed after the treatment of the bath with sodium carbonate flux, contains cuprite, delafossite, magnetite, cassiterite, Na-Al-silicate, and Na-Al-Ca-silicate. It contains less metallic copper than the first slag and lacks the refractory minerals. The "phosphorus-rich slag", skimmed after treatment of the bath with a copper phosphide flUX, contains metallic copper, cuprite, delafossite, berlinite, cassiterite, silica, apatite, Cu-Fe-rich apatite, copper phosphate, Cu-Fe-phosphate, and a Pb-phosphate. In contrast to the above three copper-rich slags, recent charges have produced a silver-copper-rich slag. The "silver-rich slag", skimmed after the treatment of the bath with a copper phosphor ide-borax flux, contains, cassiterite, delafossite, cuprite, a Na-Al-silicate, magnetite, metallic copper, MgO, common spinel-chromite solid solution, and wollastonite. Silver ranging from 0.05 to 2.02% was found by atomic absorption and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry analyses in the metallic copper phase.

Jan 1, 1989

By B. J. Jody

Each year, about 11 million tons of metals (ferrous and nonferrous) are recovered in the U.S. from about 10 million discarded automobiles. The recovered metals account for about 75% of the total weight of the discarded vehicles. The balance of the material or shredder residue, which amounts to about 3 million tons annually, is currently landfilled. The residue contains a diversity of potentially recyclable materials, including polyurethane foams, iron oxides, and certain thermoplastics. This paper discusses a process under development at Argonne National Laboratory to separate and recover the recyclable materials from this waste stream. The process consists essentially of two- stages. First, a physical separation is used to recover the foams and the metal oxides, followed by a chemical process to extract certain thermoplastics. The status of the technology is discussed, and the process economics are reviewed.

Jan 1, 1994

By L. A. Bertram, F. J. Zanner

"The goal of this paper is to present a tool to simulate transient melting of the electrode tip. This capability is needed to develop and test furnace control algorithms since experimental determination is difficult and expensive. Simulation incorporates parameters (including arc voltage, arc current, electrode gap and furnace pressure) from previous quasi steady experiments with 460 mm diameter Inconel 718 electrodes.Cathode heating rates (determined by classical as well as experimental arc models) are linked to these independent variables. After radiative loss adjustments to the heating, transient one dimensional melting is computed. IntroductionThe vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process attempts to improve the physical and chemical homogeneity of a static-cast electrode by remelting and solidification in a quasisteady manner. To achieve steadiness of furnace operation requires automatic controls based on inputs measuring physically relevant state variables of the process. Previous industrial scale VAR studies (1,2,3) involving stainless steels, superalloys, and other alloys have provided a basis on which control strategies of some generality can be proposed (4). Of these measurements, the data for Inconel 718 is the most complete, so discussion in this paper is restricted to this alloy.Studies of the In 718 alloy subjected to the VAR process have established that melt rate M (kg/hr) depends not only on the melt current 1m (kA) supplied to the furnace, but also on ambient gas pressure of CO, PCO (micron), and electrode gap ge (mm) as well (1):"

Jan 1, 1986

By Zhenjun Tan, Lei Zhang, Jigang Li, Yifang Zheng, Jilai Xue

"Water electrolysis in 0.4 mol/L NaOH solution for hydrogen generation was carried out with ultrasound introduced through the anode. It was found that the cell voltage reduced by 150-300 mV in the current range of 20 mA to 40 mA with ultrasound frequency at 25.3 kHz. The cell operation became unstable when the cell current was larger than 75 mA with ultrasound. This reduction in cell voltage was due to removal of the gas bubbles on the electrode surface, which can be directly observed in the see-through cell of water electrolysis. Ultrasound with frequency of 33.3 Hz was also tried, but no better effect was obtained. The results suggest that ultrasound assisted water electrolysis can have potential in energy savings for hydrogen production.IntroductionIn electrolytic process, the electrode that the bubbles generated on its surface usually covered a thin gas film, which can be caused an additional voltage about 0.15-0.25V[l,2], especially in aluminum electrolysis. To solve the problem, loading the ultrasound removes the gas bubbles from the electrodes, this subject had been researched in recent years. From 1995 Jilai Xue et al[3,4,5]. applied the ultrasound in aluminum electrolysis in lab. The results from Sheng-De Li et al.[6] reveals that can decrease the cell voltage and have influences about the hydrogen and oxygen's output ratio. Although there are many paper about the applying of ultrasound such as in electrolysis[5,6], deposition[7,8], plating[9,10], oxidation of salts substance on the surface of electrodes[l 1] and so on, the effect of different frequencies ultrasound hadn't been investigated deeply.We focus on the anode voltage by different frequencies ultrasound and the bubble behaviors in this paper. The environment of this experiment is in alkaline solution. Through this exploration it can offer a basis for the applying of ultrasound in electrolysis."

Jan 1, 2011

By J. Etay, S. Daugan, Y. Fautrelle

"New type of electromagnetic parametric instabilities arising at the free surface of liquid metal in the presence of a low frequency magnetic field are presented. First, the mechanism of the instability is analysed in an idealised case. Then, the experimental device working with mercury is described. Various shapes, both regular and irregular, of free surface are found. A experimental stability diagram is obtained. Measurements of the deformation performed on photographs are compared with physical orders of magnitude.IntroductionWhen a liquid metal pool of electroconductivity a is submitted to an A.C. magnetic field B = B0 cos mt, electrical currents j are induced in the liquid metal and interact with the applied magnetic field to create electromagnetic body forces F = j x B. Those Lorentz forces comprise both a mean value (time average) and an oscillating part. Those forces are widely used in many metallurgical processes to stirr a liquid metal or to control its free surface, e. g., in aluminium continuous casting or electromagnetic levitation problems (1-3). When liquid metal free surfaces are submitted to AC. magnetic fields, the shape of those interfaces may interact with the applied field and leads to a various instabilities. A review of these instabilities may be found in Fautrelle (4). That instabilities may be a problem for the control of processing as electromagnetic levitation or quasi-levitation."

Jan 1, 1999

By Guohua Bai, Mingjun Rao, Jianchen Lim, Guanghui Li, Tao Jiang

"By using thermogravimetry, optical microscope and chemical phase analysis, the solid-state reduction of carbon-burdened chromite pellets in the absence and presence of additives were investigated. The effects of reduction temperature, reduction time and additives on the metallization of chromite pellet were studied. The results indicate that the pre-reduction ratio of carbon-burdened chromite pellets is improved with the increase of reduction temperature and the addition of additives. The metallization of chromium is increased from 63.9% to 92.8% at 1300 °C for 4h with the addition of 2 wt.% of sodium borate. Investigation suggests that the reduction of carbon-burdened chromite pellets is diffusion controlled. The apparent activation energy without additive is 192.1 kJ/mol, while it decreases to 170.4 kJ/mol in the present sodium borate.IntroductionFerrochrome is used to produce high strength, corrosion resistant, wear-resisting, high temperature resistant and oxidation resistant special steels, and it is becoming one of the most important alloy materials for the production of stainless and high alloying ferritic steels [1-5]. Demand for ferrochrome is steadily on the rise due to the growth of stainless steel industry. Nowadays, more than 80% of the world's ferrochrome is utilized in the production of stainless steel [6-7].Ferrochrome is mainly produced in submerged-arc furnaces (SAF) with chromite lump ore. However, lump ore merely accounts for 20% of the chromite ore output, while fine ore (< 8 mm) accounts for about 80% [8]. Therefore, agglomeration of chromite fine ore is necessary before charging into SAF."

Jan 1, 2011

By Ho-Sang Sohn

Copper concentrate particles of 200 to 300 mesh size were fed from the top of vertical reaction tube of 2.8 cm ID and 2 m long with an O2-N2 gas mixture. The reaction tube was heated to 900 K to 1100 K. The residence time of the particles in the reaction tube was about 1 second. The copper concentrate particles were very rapidly oxidized and melted down during their descent in the reaction tube. The particle temperature were calculated by combining an un-reacted core model, mass transfer between gas and particles, and heat transfer between gas, particles and tube wall. The particle temperature reached its maximum within a distance of 60 cm from the top of reaction tube, and it attained at 2000 K at higher oxygen partial pressure. The most particles were melted at the oxygen partial pressure above 20 kPa. An appreciable amount of As, Sb and Pb in the concentrate particles was eliminated in the upper portion of the reaction tube and the rate of elimination are explained by the rate of mass transfer of volatilized species through the gas film on the particle surface and the variation of particle temperature during the descent.

Jan 1, 2006