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By Raj P. Singh

Applications of cementation in the recovery of metal ions from process solutions have been known for a long time. Cementation reactions involve electrochemical precipitation of a noble metal from solutions of its salts on a more electropositive metal which, in tum, progressively dissolves. For example, addition of zinc metal powder in a solution containing zinc and cobalt ions would allow for the precipitation (separation) of cobalt according to the following chemical reaction. This paper pertains to the recovery of cobalt from cobalt process solutions via a cementation reaction on aluminum shavings (metal scraps from cans etc). Specifically, we report on the characterization of cobalt process solutions, a by-product obtained from cobalt chemicals, and the kinetics of cobalt, nickel and manganese cementation from process solutions on aluminum shavings.

Jan 1, 2000

By Arthur E. Morris

The primary market driver for improving process technology is innovation, which requires a skilled and educated workforce. However, many Materials Science and Engineering departments have eliminated extractive metallurgy and chemical thermodynamics from their curricula, yet these topics contain the necessary fundamentals for process innovation. As a result, most MS&E students are ill-prepared for careers in processing. The dearth of processoriented MS&E curricula has prompted some Universities to develop a “shared” effort to offer distance education between multiple institutions [1]. A target audience for a shared process simulation course would not only benefit students, but also be a basis for an on-line course for practicing engineers faced with new or changing career choices. To fill the gap, the basics of a process simulation course was developed in an abbreviated form as series of eleven articles and Excel workbooks published in Industrial Heating magazine between July 2012 and July 2013.

Jan 1, 2014

By C. Lupi

"The energy consumption of copper production by electrowinning, generally represents more than 1/4 of the total energy requirement in hydrometallurgical traditional process (roasting, leaching, purification and electrowinning). The considerable saving can be achieved just in this step that requires about 2.2 kWhlkg of the produced copper. To save energy the cell voltage, or more appropriately its anodic component, can be reduced: that is because the anodic voltage represents the main component of cell voltage and so it is largely responsible for the excessive energy consumption in copper sulphate electrowinning.In this work some ways are studied to lower the anodic voltage. First the cobalt ions were added to the sulphate solution in order to study the catalytic effect on oxygen discharge. Then lead alloys anodes (Pb-Ag, Pb-Sb-Ag and Pb-Ca) were used to promote a better oxygen evolution as a result of a different anodic surface. Their behaviour was compared with the PbSb traditional ones. Finally, as already pointed out by several authors for zinc electrowinning, ethylene glycol was employed as anodic depolariser in order to verify its effectiveness in the case of copper electrowinning. By combining all the above-mentioned ways, energy saving ranging from 20% to 27% is achieved.All the tests were carried out on a laboratory pilot-plant for long time to simulate the industrial conditions. The obtained copper deposits were observed by SEM to highlight their morphology."

Jan 1, 1997

By T. K. Mukherjee

The importance of the processing of secondary resources such as solid industrial wastes and liquid effuents as well as byroducts for the recovery of the associated metal values hardly needs any elaboration. Such processing contributes in no small measure.towards the augmentation of the availability and the supply position of resources. As an added benefit, it leads to a reduction in environmental pollution caused by the undesirable waste materials. As some typical examples of secondary resources in the Indian scenario, mention' can be made of spent catalysts, metal/alloy scrap, ash, consumed batteries, flue dust, slag, sludge and slime, pickling solutions, spent acids; plating rinse solutions, spent etchants, waste water from synthetic fibre manufacture and from tanneries etc. These wastes constitute a source of a variety of non ferrous metals. In the processing of secondary resources like these, the techniques of hydrometallurgy such as solvent extraction play a pivotal role. This paper outlines the efforts made to use solvent extraction to recover (1) base metals such as copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt from a number of secondary resources like cake, and sludge(2) refractory metals like molybdenum and vanadium from sulphidic, byproducts and spent catalyst and (3:) nuclear metal like uranium from phosphoric acid. In the case of base metals, process flowsheet involving the use of acidic extractants such as DEHPA and PC88A have been optimised. The problem of iron removal from the leach liquor, "which influences the metal recovery process significantly, has drawn a special emphasis. hi the case of refractory metals, basic extractants .like Alamine 336 has been pressed into service to produce kilogramme. quantities of pure salts of molybdenum and vanadium, Finally, the paper gives a brief account of plant experience in recovering uranium from phosphoric acid, using 'a solvent system comosed of DEHPA and TOPO.

Jan 1, 1996

By T. K. Mukherjee, C. K. Gupta

"The importance of the processing of secondary resources such as solid industrial wastes and liquid effluents as well as byroducts for the recovery of the associated metal values hardly needs any elaboration. Such processing contributes in no small measure towards the augmentation of the availability and the supply position of resources. As an added benefit, it leads to a reduction in environmental pollution caused by the undesirable waste materials. As some typical examples of secondary resources in the Indian scenario, mention can be made of spent catalysts, metal/alloy scrap, ash, consumed batteries, flue dust, slag, sludge and slime, pickling solutions, spent acids, plating rinse solutions, spent etchants, waste water from synthetic fibre manufacture and from tanneries etc .. These wastes constitute a source of a variety of non ferrous metals. In the processing of secondary resources like these, the techniques of hydrometallurgy such as solvent extraction playa pivotal role.This paper outlines the efforts made to use solvent extraction to recover (1) base metals such as copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt from a number of secondary resources like cake, and sludge (2) refractory metals like molybdenum and vanadium from sulphidic byproducts and spent catalyst and (3) nuclear metal like uranium from phosphoric acid. In the case of base metals, process flowsheet involving the use of acidic extractants such as DEHPA and PC88A have been optimised. The problem of iron removal from the leach liquor, which influences the metal recovery process significantly, has drawn a special emphasis. In the case of refractory metals, basic extractants like Alarnine 336 has been pressed into service to produce kilogramme quantities of pure salts of molybdenum and vanadium. Finally, the paper gives a brief account of plant experience in recovering uranium from phosphoric acid, using a solvent system comosed of DEHPA and TOPO."

Jan 1, 1996

By Masaru Tomoguchi, Tom Nishiyama, Naoto Sasamoto

"In Hanaoka Mine, which was one of the major ""black ore"" (Kuroko) mines in the north part of Japan, mining has finished in 1994, and only mineral processing plant is available now. Recently this mineral processing plant has been applied to the soil washing. Soils contaminated with heavy metals are excavated and transported to the plant. The soils are separated to cleaned soil and metal enrichment through the process which consists of scrubbing, classification, extraction, insolubilization, flotation, and so on. The process is flexibly designed for each contaminated soil, in order to the products can be recycled as cleaned soils or metal sources. . Soils contaminated with arsenic and lead were treated in 1999, which were entrusted from Environmental Agency of Japan.IntroductionDowa Mining has had the mine site named ""Hanaoka Mine"" and ""Kosaka Mine"" in the north part of Japan. Those mines consisted of some ore deposits and produced ""black ore"" (Kuroko) and ""yellow ore"" (Oko), which are complex sulfide ore. The ""black ore"" mainly consists of sphalerite, galena and barite with accessory chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite and Au, Ag minerals. The ""yellow ore"" mainly consists of powdery and clayey ore containing chalcopyrite and. pyrite, with a little sphalerite and galena. Each mine site had mineral processing plant respectively, ""Hanaoka Mine"" had two and ""Kosaka Mine"" had one plant. Those plants were operated by flotation process to separate each mineral, and produced concentrates of copper, lead, zinc, pyrite, barite and so on.Unfortunately, the mine had closed one by one because of change in economical circumstances and the lack of ore reserves. Mill plants were also closed and dismantled, but the last ""Matsumine mill plant"" of Hanaoka Mine was remained to be utilized usefully. In the circumstance like that, we came across with soil remediation business. Recent reports say that subsurface contamination in Japan is being grown substantially and that it can be a serious matter beyond the imagination of our society. So nowadays we have a tendency to pay attention to the environmental issues including subsurface one."

Jan 1, 2000

By Gennady I. Gulyayev

A mathematical model of plastic deformation occurring in cold plug drawing of mother tubes with initial cross-sectional wall thickness variations (CSWTV) has been developed. The main provision of the model is that eccentricity em is of such value that projection of all forces acting upon the plug in the deformation zone along the axis perpendicular to the drawing axis equals to zero. Calculations have proven that with other conditions being equal increase in the die cone angle and the deformation cycle number reduces CSWTV. Theoretical findings were confirmed by practical results. Keywords: cold, drawing, plug, die cone, plastic deformation.

Jan 1, 2003

By Z. Yang

The flotation behavior of the. green algae Chlorella vulgaris and a wild Chlamydomonas spp. was studied in the presence of Zn(II) using dodecylammonium chloride as collector. At about pH 6. both organisms readily float as amine concentration approaches lx10-3 kmol/m3. In addition, electrokinetic measurements were made on the organisms as a function of pH in both the presence and absence of Zn(II). It was found that the Zn(II) has a considerably greater effect on the zeta potential of C. vulgaris than on Chlamydomonas. Zn(II) adsorption studies also indicated that C. vulgaris is able to accumulate more Zn from solution than the Chlamydomonas.

Jan 1, 1991

By D. Neuschiltz, M. Witthaut, R. Cremer

"Metastable (Ti,Al)N coatings with fee structure have been shown to exhibit superior performance as compared to TiN under conditions of wear at elevated temperatures due to their better oxidation resistance and hardness. The oxidation resistance of these coatings increases significantly with increasing Al-content. However, the deposition of (Ti,Al)N films with Ti/ Al ratios below about 30/70 leads to a hexagonal structure which is not suitable for tribological coatings. Only little is known about the location of the cubic to hexagonal phase transition and hence about the optimum composition of (Ti,Al)N hard coatings.To determine the position of this transition, Tii-xAlxN films with different Ti/Al ratios were deposited on high speed steel at substrate temperatures between 100 and 700 °C by means of reactive MSIP. The composition of the films was determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the crystallographic structure by thin film X-ray diffraction (XRD).It could be shown that in case of deposition temperatures of 300-700 °C a two-phase region exists in the metastable TiN-AlN phase diagram, which expands with increasing temperature, wheras at 100 °C substrate temperature no two-phase region was observed. But in opposition to the phase diagram known from literature, which is based on thermodynamic estimations, the detected two-phase region is narrow for typical PVD temperatures, thus allowing the deposition of cubic single-phase Al-rich (Ti,Al)N hardcoatings for tribological applications. Based on these results, a new Ti1-xAlxN film with x = 0.62 has been developed, which showed an increase of oxidation resistance by a factor of 4."

Jan 1, 1998

By Kotaro Ogura

"The electrolysis process in which CO2 is selectively reduced to C2H4 at a three-phase(gas/solution/metal) interface on a copper-mesh electrode has been developed in a concentrated solution of potassium halide. At open-circuit potential, CO2 is captured on the electrode by being inserted into the double-layer consisting of halide anions specifically adsorbed and potassium cations which are located in the Helmholtz inner and outer layers, respectively. CO2 thus activated is subjected to the electrochemical reduction. In the early stage of reduction, CO2 is converted to formate radicals that are adsorbed on the electrode by taking the place of halide anions. The reductive coupling of these radicals results in the formation of intermediates such as -CH2C(O)- and CH2=CH-, and C2H4 is finally produced. The catalytic activity of the electrode process involving the insertion of CO2 into the double layer is not deteriorated at all during the electrolysis, and the continuous reduction of CO2 to C2H4 is possible with the addition of inorganic acid under the assistance of natural energy.Carbon dioxide is a serious pollutant released from fossil fuel power station, internal combustion and many industrial operations. The easy release of CO2 to the air has caused the global warming, and the technique which intends to curtail CO2 by pushing it back into the ground has been suggested. However, this problem should be greatly mitigated if CO2 can be converted to innocuous substances. Especially, the reuse of CO2 as fuels and chemicals is extremely effective not only for the mitigation of the global warming but also against the depletion of the fossil fuel reserves. Several processes for converting CO2 to valuable compounds have been proposed including hydrogenation over heterogeneous catalyst at high temperature and electrochemical and photochemical reduction. In the conversion and cutback processes of CO2, however, it is of importance that the process is feasible under mild conditions, because the secondary generation of CO2 is feared if high energy is required and supplied with a fossil fuel. In this meaning, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 taking place at room temperature, which is similar to photosynthesis, is promising. From the practical point of view, it is further necessary that the conversion rate is high enough and the product is satisfactorily valuable."

Jan 1, 2008

By Paul C. Turner

In 1998, approximately 57,000 tons of titanium metal was consumed in the form of mill products (1). Only about 5% of the 4 million tons of titanium minerals consumed each year is used to produce titanium metal, with the remainder primarily used to produce titanium dioxide pigment. Titanium metal production is primarily based on the direct chlorination of rutile to produce titanium tetrachloride, which is then reduced to metal using the Kroll magnesium reduction process. The use of titanium is tied to its high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Aerospace is the largest application for titanium, and titanium cost has prevented its use in non-aerospace applications including the automotive and heavy vehicle industries.

Jan 1, 2001

By Kang-In Rhee

Nonferrous metal recycling not only provides energy saving and environmental benefits but also is a significant factor in the supply of various types of metals used in our society. Recycling plays an important role in establishing the sustainability of materials. The total amount of recycled nonferrous metals by weight accounts for less than 5% but their value is larger than 50% compared to ferrous metal recycling which consists of about half of the total metal recycling in weight. This paper describes trends and typical achievements in nonferrous metal recycling and overviews the present and future of nonferrous metal recycling technology and business in Korea.

Jan 1, 2006

By Pinakin C. Chaubal

Today?s steel industry is in a vibrant and resurgent mode. This transformation has been in the making for some time now. Over the last few decades, the industry was steadily transforming itself into becoming a high tech industry. New technology was adopted, efficiencies were enhanced, lean manufacturing concepts were brought in and a strong customer focus was developed. Today?s mills employ sophisticated instrumentation, computerized monitoring, on-line smart systems etc. driving processes that are producing at rates of many tons/minute. All this is not possible without judiciously using the latest available technologies in various fields and developing a more sophisticated work force. Prof. Sohn has been a pioneer in driving the concept of process engineering in process metallurgy. In this paper the focus is on some aspects of process engineering ? primarily process modeling - as applied to iron and steelmaking processes. Examples are shown to demonstrate how problems have been addressed. Some thoughts on future directions are presented.

Jan 1, 2006

By Pinakin C. Chaubal

Today?s steel industry is in a vibrant and resurgent mode. This transformation has been in the making for some time now. Over the last few decades, the industry was steadily transforming itself into becoming a high tech industry. New technology was adopted, efficiencies were enhanced, lean manufacturing concepts were brought in and a strong customer focus was developed. Today?s mills employ sophisticated instrumentation, computerized monitoring, on-line smart systems etc. driving processes that are producing at rates of many tons/minute. All this is not possible without judiciously using the latest available technologies in various fields and developing a more sophisticated work force. Prof. Sohn has been a pioneer in driving the concept of process engineering in process metallurgy. In this paper the focus is on some aspects of process engineering ? primarily process modeling - as applied to iron and steelmaking processes. Examples are shown to demonstrate how problems have been addressed. Some thoughts on future directions are presented.

Jan 1, 2006

By K. S. Izbakhanov

The Chimkent Lead Plant was constructed in 1934 and since that time has undergone many revisions. In 1975 the slag fuming operation was changed from pulverized coal to natural gas fuel. In 1981 the slag fuming furnace water jacket system was converted to evaporative cooling with high pressure steam production. The impact of these changes and the method of their application are described.

Jan 1, 1990

By Shunsuke Yagi

A surface alloying technique was investigated using alternating pulsed electrolysis in an aqueous solution containing a single metal component for the formation of an Fe-Cr layer on an iron substrate. In the process, the iron substrate was dissolved during each anodic polarization of the pulsed electrolysis, providing iron ions in the vicinity of the substrate, while the Fe-Cr alloy was electrodeposited during subsequent cathodic polarizations. A bright, flat, and crack-free Fe-Cr layer with a composition gradient was obtained using a solution containing a trivalent chromium component and a complex forming agent together with some supporting or buffering salts.

Jan 1, 2006

By Pinakin C. Chaubal

Today?s steel industry is in a vibrant and resurgent mode. This transformation has been in the making for some time now. Over the last few decades, the industry was steadily transforming itself into becoming a high tech industry. New technology was adopted, efficiencies were enhanced, lean manufacturing concepts were brought in and a strong customer focus was developed. Today?s mills employ sophisticated instrumentation, computerized monitoring, on-line smart systems etc. driving processes that are producing at rates of many tons/minute. All this is not possible without judiciously using the latest available technologies in various fields and developing a more sophisticated work force. Prof. Sohn has been a pioneer in driving the concept of process engineering in process metallurgy. In this paper the focus is on some aspects of process engineering ? primarily process modeling - as applied to iron and steelmaking processes. Examples are shown to demonstrate how problems have been addressed. Some thoughts on future directions are presented.

Jan 1, 2006

By Pinakin C. Chaubal

Today?s steel industry is in a vibrant and resurgent mode. This transformation has been in the making for some time now. Over the last few decades, the industry was steadily transforming itself into becoming a high tech industry. New technology was adopted, efficiencies were enhanced, lean manufacturing concepts were brought in and a strong customer focus was developed. Today?s mills employ sophisticated instrumentation, computerized monitoring, on-line smart systems etc. driving processes that are producing at rates of many tons/minute. All this is not possible without judiciously using the latest available technologies in various fields and developing a more sophisticated work force. Prof. Sohn has been a pioneer in driving the concept of process engineering in process metallurgy. In this paper the focus is on some aspects of process engineering ? primarily process modeling - as applied to iron and steelmaking processes. Examples are shown to demonstrate how problems have been addressed. Some thoughts on future directions are presented.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. Opler

Presently, only a few large copper refineries are able to produce Grade A cathodes from copper scrap. Today's technology needs large plants for smelting, converting or refining the main impurities and casting the anodes for electrolytic refining. A new ECUPREX® PROCESS, by-passes all pyrometallurgical operations and produces directly copper cathodes starting from copper scrap with high lead and tin contamination. Copper scrap from chopped cables, copper cements and electronic scrap are suitable feed for ECUPREX® PROCESS. This process uses a non-conventional electrolyte and produces a surprisingly high quality, smooth cathode assaying only few ppms of total metallic impurities. Bench-scale work followed by a successful mini-pilot plant run, has led to the construction of an operating pilot plant equipped with a 1,000 Ampere cell. The results of the operations of this pilot plant are presented and described in this paper.

Jan 1, 1995

By Zenjiro Asaki, Teruo Tanabe

"To clarify the formation of light rare earth (R =Ce, Pr, Nd or Sm) -Fe compounds in the reduction-diffusion (RD) process, two kinds of experiments were carried out: (a) RD experiment in which briquettes composed of R oxide powder, Fe (particles or wire) and CaH2 were reacted, and (b) immersion experiment, where an Fe plate was immersed into R-Fe melt having the composition of Fe-side liquidus line in Fe crucible. The compound formation was examined by using XRD, SEM and EPMA. The formation rates of RzFe17 measured by the RD experiment were compared with those obtained by the immersion experiment. The growth rates of compounds obtained in the RD experiment for Pr-Fe and Nd-Fe systems were much lower than those obtained in the immersion experiment. This result was explained by the difference of the reduction rates of R oxides by Ca. The parabolic rate constants for the formation of RzFe17 were separated in two groups of (a) Pr-Fe and Nd-Fe systems and (b) Ce-Fe and Sm-Fe systems. This was discussed in connection with the difference of their crystal structures and the driving force of diffusion. The parabolic rate constants for the formation of compounds in Ce-Fe and Sm-Fe systems decreased in the order of RFez, RFe3 and RzFe17.IntroductionTo understand reaction behaviors in the production of rare earth (R) -iron intermetallic compounds, which have excellent magnetic properties, is very important from engineering point of view. And the reduction-diffusion (RD) process<O has recently attracted attention as one of the promising processes to economically produce R-related materials. A few fundamental studies on the compounds formation in the RD process have previously been reported. Qi, Hino and Yazawa(2) observed the formation of R(Nd, Sm)-Fe and R-Co compounds in the process from various view points. Song and Ogawa(3) measured the growth rates of Nd-Fe and Sm-Fe compounds by using Nd or Sm vapor supplied from Nd-Ca or Sm-Ca melts. The authors have also carried out fundamental studies (4)-(8) to clarify the rate and mechanism in the production of R-Fe intermetallic compounds."

Jan 1, 1998