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By E. V. Redin

"The Bakal (South Ural, Russia) deposit of iron ore bearing iron carbonate (siderite) with the capacity of more than 1 billion tones belongs to the MMK. This ore cannot be fully processed via blast furnace technology because of high content of MgO. According to the investigations carried out in the USA and Japan in 1999-2004 the ITmk3 (Ironmaking Technology mark three) RHF technology is a breakthrough in Ironmaking. Four iron ore types (hematite, magnetite, high and low Al2O3/SiO2) were tested. Reduction, melting and slag removal can be achieved in just 10 min. The main objective of the investigation is to establish optimum operation conditions for the production of iron nuggets from iron carbonate bearing ore via the ITmk3 by means of the lab scale testing. Green pellets were processed via a lab tube (chamber) furnace to simulate RHF conditions. This preliminary test work provides valuable information which may be used for large-scale testing in a commercially sized RHF.IntroductionThe ITmk3 process upon which this paper focuses was developed by Kobe Steel in its research facilities in 1996 [1]. After pilot testing at Kobe Steel’s Kakogava Works in 1999-2004 the pilot demonstration plant was built and operations were successfully carried out by Mesabi Nugget joint venture in 2002-2004. Steel Dynamics has committed to building the commercial plant at the Mesabi Nugget site in Hoyt Lakes (Minnesota). Only 4 iron ore types (hematite, magnetite, high Al2O3/SiO2 and low Al2O3/SiO2), as well as 4 coal types with range of volatility, ash and fixed carbon were tested. Results were consistent with nugget characteristics confirming ITmk3’s flexibility with respect to raw material inputs. At the same time, no research in the field of nugget from iron carbonate bearing ore with high content of MgO has been done. Such kind of iron ore is restricted for charging into the blast furnace due to contamination of MgO. The reason for restriction is the limitation of load of MgO in the blast furnace. If a lot of MgO enters the blast furnace, slag becomes viscous. The viscous slag is obstacle for stable operation of the blast furnace."

Jan 1, 2012

By G. Cifuentes

It's know that the cathodic purity and the electrolyte treatment is affect for the solid present in the electrolyte. Anodic slimes properties (f.e.: chemical composition, crystalline composition, sedimentation) was studied in copper electrorefining, this properties were modify through by anodic composition and current density. In this paper will be present only the preliminary anodic slimes relationship at different lead anodic composition. The anodic material was doped during the poured process with lead at different composition. It's confirm the apparition of the (Bindheimitte) SMbz07. The specific gravity of this specie is approximately 7.3 - 7.5, with this values is biggest the probability of sedimentation and smaller the slimes not sedimentabel.

Jan 1, 1999

By C. Geenen

At its Olen site, Union Minière Copper operates a new full-size deposit tank house. A first 200,000 t/y module was commissioned in October 1996, and an additional 130,000 t/y unit started in April 1998. The main objectives of the new tank house project were to produce grade A cathodes starting from anodes with a wide range of compositions and at a minimal operating cost. The tank house uses Isa Process technology. Based on the process parameters agreed upon with MIM, UM Copper developed the basic design and UM Engineering was the in-house contractor for the engineering. The new tank house is equipped with advanced technology polymer concrete cells, automated two-bale cranes and high-capacity machines. The first 200,000 t/y module treats anodes with a more conventional composition at 330 A/m2; the second 130,000 t/y module treats anodes with a high slimes fall (12- 13 kg/t) at current densities up to 285 A/m2. After some teething problems, the new tank house is meeting all set targets. This paper illustrates and comments on the design characteristics and operational results.

Jan 1, 1999

By Enrique Posada

"The Valle de Aburrá area, corresponds to the city of Medellín and neighboring municipalities, with more than 3 million people. The area generates a sizable amount of solid waste, which has been taken to landfills for the last 20 years. This paper proposes a model for public policy making which considers the cost and benefit of different alternatives to handle the wastes in the coming 20 years. Combinations of several alternatives: Recycling, waste reduction, waste separation, incineration, land filling with lixiviate treating and gas energy recovery, and organic waste composting are considered and modeled and the results presented as a contribution for a more rational approach to policy making than the one currently being employed.IntroductionThe author, working for INDISA S.A., acted as a consultant for the direction of planning of the Empresas Varias de Medellín in 2004. This entity has the responsibility for the handling of the solid wastes of the city of Medellín and some of the neighboring municipalities. At the present time more the 700.000 annual tons of waste are taken to the site of La Pradera, located in very rainy location (3.000 mm of precipitation per year), with complex in topography and very far away from the sources of the waste. During the work the author detected important problems that should be addressed, as follows:Lack of adequate technical administration and resources. The entity did not count with sufficient human resources to focus on the appropriate technical handling of the solid waste. The organization worked mostly with independent contractors, lacking enough coherence and integration. The internal workload was too large for the few people who had technical responsibility and this gave rise to attention problems. It is important to have clear technical procedures, technical know how and human resources, continuity in the activities. It is important to have a clear capacity to plan, to study, to make tests and monitoring, to pursuit and develop ideas, to optimize the processes and to introduce changes, to respond to environmental authorities, to the communities and to mass media and to handle the contractors. All this was basically lacking. In the case of the handling of the sanitary filling of La Pradera, for example, although the people in charge were very able and dedicated, the magnitude of the task was too large and the resources they had were insufficient. As a result, the site had at the time of the study, problems with thousands of vultures, lack of immediate cover up for the waste, uncontrolled leaching, the area being dirty and little attractive, despite being called a park."

Jan 1, 2008

By C. W. Won

a-etchant solution is the waste material obtained during the etching by ammoniacal solution of printed circuits for PCs. This material contains a substantial amount of copper (13-14%) but is usually discarded after neutralization. In this work, copper recovery from such solutions by electrowinning or cementation using iron scrap was tested. For each method, the effects of temperature, solution pH, initial copper-ion concentration, and reaction time were investigated to obtain optimal conditions for copper recovery.

Jan 1, 1993

By William Petruk

The behaviour of sphalerite during mineral beneficiation of base metal ores has been studied at CANMET and other institutes for at least 15 years by determining the liberations of sphalerite in mill products and calculating the recoveries of liberated and unliberated sphalerite in zinc concentrates. Sphalerite in base metal ores commonly occurs as layers and as interstitial material between pyrite. Layered sphalerite is generally liberated during primary grinding, but interstitial sphalerite requires re-grinding to achieve liberation. Around 95% of liberated sphalerite is generally recovered in zinc concentrates frau zinc circuit feeds. A series of tests was conducted on sphalerite in the ore of Brunswick Mining and smelting during a continuous fine tuning operation of the concentrator. It was found that a grind of 80% minus 37 micrometres was required to liberate the interstitial sphalerite. The fine grind increased Zn recoveries from 75% to 78-80%, but produced liberated slimed sphalerite which was lost. Since regrinding to a fine grain size is needed to obtain the desired sphalerite liberation, a method of recovering the slimed sphalerite is required.

Jan 1, 1990

By D. A. Horne, V. R. Daiga

Certain steel mill wastes contain significant amounts of zinc oxide due to the use of galvanized scrap during the steel making process. Typically electric arc furnace (EAF), and basic oxygen process (BOP) flue dusts contain 20 to 30% zinc oxide and 40 to 50% iron oxides, along with smaller quantities of lead and cadmium. These materials can be recovered from the flue dusts by using a proven rotary hearth furnace (RHF) process. By-products of the recycling operation include a crude zinc oxide fume, which is captured in a baghouse filtering system, and sponge iron that may be recycled into the steel making operation. Crude zinc oxide properties plus the operating experience from two commercial RHF installations utilizing MR&E's DRyIron™ Process will be presented.

Jan 1, 2000

By L. M. Bianchi

"Oxide, nitride and other compound coatings often do not have adequate properties for newer applications when produced using very high deposition rates and simple evaporation techniques. Solar control, abrasion resistance, low reflectance and barrier effective engineered coatings require exacting properties. Such properties can be obtained by adapting the activated reactive evaporation (ARE) technology to Web production processes. Adaptions of the HAD and MAD processes will be described along with data on the high deposition rates obtained. These fast production capabilities were developed in order to make the processes economically competitive.IntroductionThe Physical Vapor Deposition technique (PVD) has been used to coat steel strip for over 20 years. (1) However, its use as a production process has been very limited because of the high cost of the PVD coating process and because, in some instances, the properties of the coating were not good enough to meet the customers requirements. Nevertheless, the PVD process has found wide application in the airplane engine and electronic component markets. These production processes have stimulated further development and advances in the technology.In 1971, Profession R. F. Bunshah developed the Activated Reactive Evaporation (ARE) process which was then used to produce hard coatings such as carbides, nitrides, oxides and other refractory compounds. (2) The process from a fundamental viewpoint -produces a coating on the substrate via the evaporation of metal in the presence of a low pressure (typically around 1 millitorr) of reactive gas, with a plasma created in the space between the metal source and the substrate.The plasma may be created by many means but its function is two-fold. First, it activates the reaction between the metal vapors and the reactive gas atoms/molecules resulting in the formation of a compound that deposits on the substrate. Second, because the plasma is in contact with the substrate, it results in a negative bias on the substrate and produces bombardment of the growing film with ions and energetic neutrals from the plasma. This bombardment causes many significant changes in the microstructure, properties and appearance of the coating.Recently another new technology Pulsed Magnetron Systems (PMS) has been introduced into PVD. This new technology has been pioneered in production scale equipment by Dr. S. Schiller (3) and associates. The use of a pulsed power supply on the magnetron prevents the problem of the anode being coated with a insulating layer which will then lead to micro and macro arcing producing defects in the coating."

Jan 1, 1998

By Naiyang Ma

High zinc concentration in basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking offgas (OG) cleaning system solid wastes is one of the main barriers for recycling of the solid wastes in sintering – blast furnace ironmaking process. One of the possible solutions is to utilize zinc-free scrap in BOF steelmaking so that the BOF OG solid wastes will not be contaminated with zinc and can be recycled through sintering – blast furnace ironmaking. This paper describes a model for helping to decide whether to use zinc-free scrap in a BOF process. A model computing marginal price increment of zinc-free scrap is developed. The marginal price increment is proportional to value change of the BOF OG solid wastes after and before using zinc-free scrap, to ratio of BOF solid waste rate to purchased galvanized scrap rate, and to price of galvanized scrap. Due to the variations of consumption rate of purchased galvanized scrap and home galvanized scrap, iron ore price, landfill cost, and price of purchased galvanized scrap, using zinc-free scrap in a BOF process might be economically feasible for some ironmaking and steelmaking plants or in some particular market circumstances.

Jan 1, 2015

By I. E. A. Aghachi

During static strain-aging of low carbon steel, when the material is pre-strained, the dislocation density increases. If totally or partially unloaded and aged for a prescribed time, interstitial solute atoms diffuse under the influence of the dislocation stress fields, thus tending to lock dislocations causing an increase in yield stress. If held for long periods at certain aging temperature, a decrease in yield stress (over-aging) is observed following the initial increase. This behaviour has been variously attributed to either recovery of cold worked dislocation structure and/or formation and coarsening of carbide precipitates. The present work demonstrates that, using a "process control" model for the competing processes of hardening and softening, dislocation recovery is responsible for over-aging of mild steel specimens under conditions tested during this investigation. Keywords: Strain-aging, Precipitation, Recovery

Jan 1, 2003

By Fathi Habashi

The behavior of pyrite, covellite, and arsenopyrite during leaching is different from other sulfides due to the presence of the disulfide ion, Sl. Arsenopyrite contains in addition, the diarsenide ion, Asl. The disulfide ion undergoes auto-oxidation in high acidity leading to elemental sulfur and sulfide ion formation: The sulfide ion may oxidize further by oxygen to elemental sulfur if high acidity is maintained. In neutral medium, the disulfide ion does not undergo auto-oxidation but oxidizes to thiosulfate then to sulfate: This leads to the two overall reactions observed experimentally: In acid medium and in neutral medium Covellite and arsenopyrite behave similarly.

Jan 1, 1995

By S. B. Breyner, A. Ressler, D. Gregurek, A. Spanring

"The changes in process conditions that frequently decrease the service life of refractory products provided incentive for RHI AG to develop high performance bricks, especially for non-ferrous metal applications. Innovative product development was required to determine suitable refractory products for improving lining life. At the Technology Center in Leoben, Austria, practical corrosion testing methods and facilities, including an induction furnace and rotary kiln, enable detailed comparative analysis of brick wear on a pilot scale. In tests that were carried out using a fayalite type slag, the newly developed RADEX VFG magnesia-chromite grade showed very promising results compared to the standard grades. Based on the test results, optimal refractory solutions can be recommended for this challenging industrial application and field trials can be performed directly at the customer's site.IntroductionThe complexity of metallurgical processes in the non-ferrous metal industry, and especially changes to the process conditions in combination with the diversity of metal processing furnaces ''', requires a precise understanding of each individual system for appropriate refractory product selection l2'. In addition, particular importance is focused on the specific refractory consumption being as low as possible.Another important aspect results from the global shortage of resources, which forces companies to invest in recycling processes. In the base metal industry, recycling operations have resulted in significant changes; for example, operating with two slag chemistries and process temperatures will influence the performance of previously suitable linings. The raw material mix for primary smelters has also changed, including higher levels of secondary raw materials in the smelter feed."

Jan 1, 2012

By J. D. Sunderkötter, M. F. Stroosnijder, V. A. C. Haanappel

"TiAI-based intermetallic compounds have attracted considerable interest as structural materials for high-temperature applications due to their low density and substantial mechanical strength at high temperatures. However, one major drawback hindering industrial application arises from the insufficient oxidation resistance at temperatures beyond 700 °C. In the present contribution some general aspects of high temperature oxidation of TiAI-based intermetallics will be presented. This will be followed by a discussion of the influence of alloying elements, in particular niobium, and of the effect of nitrogen in the oxidizing environment on the high temperature oxidation behaviour of such materials.Extended AbstractIntroductionTiAI-based intermetallics are being considered as construction materials for high temperature components, e.g. in aircraft and car engines, due to their low density and substantial mechanical strength at high temperatures, see e.g. [1,2]. The best ductility can be attained with alloys consisting of y-TiAI with around 5-15 vol.% Q2-Ti3AI. However, one major hindrance to industrial application arises from the insufficient oxidation resistance at temperatures beyond 700 aG. In spite of their high aluminium content, TiAI-based intermetallics do not generally form long-lasting protective alumina scales. After longer exposure times the scales, which are initially rich in alumina, deteriorate and scales consisting of mixed alumina and titania predominate, with high growth rates similar to pure titania.It is not the intention of the present paper to present a general overview of the high temperature oxidation behaviour of TiAI based intermetallics, for which the reader is referred to the literature [3,4]. In the present contribution some general aspects of high temperature oxidation of TiAI-based intermetallics will be presented. This will be followed by a discussion of the influence of alloying elements, in particular niobium. The effect of nitrogen in the oxidizing environment on the high temperature oxidation behaviour of these intermetallics will also be considered."

Jan 1, 1996

By A. MacRae

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

Jan 1, 1998

By A. Rohkohl, R. Piillenberg

The QSL plant at "BERZELIUS" Stolberg GmbH in Stolberg, Germany was commissioned in 1990, introducing a new era of lead smelting in the more than 150-year-old history of the lead smelter. The lead smelter in Stolberg has changed its appearance several times during its existence. Therefore, at many locations on the site, old and obsolete buildings and equipment parts can still be seen. They are often located side by side with new modern constructions like the QSL-plant and the mercury removal plant, and reflect the specific contrast between tradition and modern technology. After a brief description of the development of the smelter and its decision to implement the current novel plant, the most recent operating results are reported. Following some modifications to the process and equipment, which had become necessary along with the implementation of the new technology, the plant is in operation today at approximately 30% above its design capacity. These achieved production levels are not restricted by the QSL-reactor but by precedent and subsequent available equipment. The QSL-plant entirely complies with the demands of modern, energy-saving, ecologically compatible lead production technology. Stringent environmental standards are maintained on a continuing basis. The demonstrated viability and flexibility of the overall process permits the operation to adapt quickly to the prevailing economical situation worldwide.

Jan 1, 2000

By R. Togashi, T. Aichi, T. Yamada

"A new automatic material- handling system for cathode transportation has been developed. The first system went into service in August 1994 and the remains will be operational subsequently.Because of the complex cell-layout and the number of cells in each row, the critical part of this work was achieving a planned cycle time. This cycle time is determined by the power costs.The central monitoring system for machine operation was started in June 1996, using original application software based on MICROSOFT EXCEL ® on WINDOWS 95® .As a result, only one person is now required to operate both a crane and a stripping machine for one row of about 50 cells.INTRODUCTIONMainly due to the strong yen and the relatively low price of metal, the zinc refineries in Japan are being forced to reduce production costs again and again.The trend of lijima's production costs is shown in Figure 1.[1] The ratio of labor costs becomes gradually higher. Therefore it is effective to reduce the labor costs in order to reduce the production costs. In Japan, electricity cost during day time is too high to produce zinc at a reasonable cost, that is why the actual production is far from the capacity of production at a cell house. That means a plant in Japan has the disadvantage of relatively low productivity for cell house operation.Saving labor costsSome automatic cranes have been applied to save labor costs for cell house operation in the world. In consideration of the mentioned low productivity, the installation of an Automatic Cathode Transfer (ACn system for transportation of cathodes was planned without changing the present cell house and stripping machines to lower the investment costs. The ACT system must keep up with the stripping machine which is able to strip deposit zinc from a cathode sheet at the rate of 6 seconds.The fifth ACT system of seven was installed in August 1996 and the last one will be operational subsequently."

Jan 1, 1997

By Helmut Attlfellner

The selection of the best process for the oxygen generator for a metallurgical process requires the determination of all aspects which impact the economics of this facility. Concepts and features of modern air separation plants will be presented based on installed facilities for various metallurgical processes. The special features of advanced automation' of oxygen generators with load following and optimization of power consumption, automatic restart and unattended remote controlled operation will be investigated.

Jan 1, 1992

By John Norton

"This presentation will cover the physical properties of waste heat recovery. It is a two part presentation. The first deals with actually recovering the heat with new state of the art heat exchangers and applying that heat to the furnace combustion and the second part will cover what other processes you can enhance with this ""free"" heat. It will also talk about converting it to steam, hot air or electricity to be used or sold back to the utility company. The economics of various schemes will be reviewed. A brief discussion on State and Federal grants and subsidies will be presented.IntroductionThere are large quantities of wasted heat in the usual aluminum melting process. And, there are several techniques for reducing and/or using some of that wasted heat as you have seen. Any technique that can make use of wasted heat is a form of recovery. This can range from simply preheating aluminum billets prior to melting, to more complicated processes like air-to-air heat exchangers using the boiling and condensing characteristics of special fluids in “heat pipes.” The objective of this type energy recovery process is to move the wasted heat from the hot and dirty exhaust gas stream into some useful process.Waste Heat Recovery in the Aluminum Melting Furnace.There are considerations, of course:1) What might the value be of the recovered energy?2) Can the recovered energy be used within the process? Within the plant? Or by theneighbors?3) What is the capital cost?4) Is the recovery process complicated?5) Will it take additional staff?6) Will it cause additional downtime on the melting line?7) Will the operations staff need to be licensed?Ideally, the process will be simple and inexpensive, the recovered energy will be very valuable, and the whole effort will cause little distraction to the aluminum melting process itself. These would be ideal."

Jan 1, 2011

By A. Siegmund, Gerhard Martin

The recycling of metal containing scrap is a common practice in the industry and has a long tradition. . In rec~nt years, this philosophy has been transferred to organic materials, in particular to thermoplastic polymers. BSB . Recycling GmbH, a company with a long experience in the treatment and recovery of lead from battery scrap,· had recognized this exploitation at an early stage and challenged it by a consequent continuation of the idea to recycle materials other than metals without degradation and maintaining the quality. These efforts resulted in an economic and environmentally acceptable solution producing high quality polypropylene compounds at BSB beside lead and lead alloys from battery scrap. The raw material fair the production of polypropylene compounds is shredded plastics from the separated casings of spent lead-acid batteries. The production of polypropylene with specific physical and mechanical properties is carried out by the accurate dosing of organic as well as inorganic additives. The result of the procedure is a novel product group "Seculene PP", a registered trademark of BSB Recycling GrnbH.

Jan 1, 2000

By Chuanyu Feng

In this paper, a load-based micro-indentation technique suitable for field applications was developed. This technique bears the same theoretical background as traditional load-depth sensing indentation, and does not need any direct measurement of indentation depth or contact area. The removal of this requirement will reduce much of the cost associated with traditional instrumented indentation. To demonstrate the feasibility, a portable indentation system suitable for online material characterization was developed. Design issues of the portable unit were discussed and preliminary results using the portable unit were also presented.

Jan 1, 2009