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By Robert D. Rogers

The demand for phosphate will continue into the future, because phosphate is currently irreplaceable as a plant nutrient and in many chemical applications. Phosphate is not recycled, so the supply must be replenished through a process of mining and purification. Numerous microbial isolates. obtained from the environment were screened find those which demonstrated the greatest promise of solubilizing PO4 from the ore of interest. Screening was accomplished in a step wise manner an agar plate bioassay, shake flask studies, and semi continuous growth conditions. It was found that with the proper conditions of nutrient supply and solution pH; the bacteria and. fungus used in the semicontinuous process were able to solubilize in excess of 80% of an Idaho rock phosphate ore (RP) within nine days. A significant amount of solubilization occurred within the first six days. There was a 'reasonable correlation between the occurrence of soluble Ca and PO.4 during the processing of the RP thus providing evidence that the RP was being disintegrated by the organisms. In all cases, HPLC analysis of the solutions in which PO4 had been. extracted from RP showed that organic acids, which have been implicated as the mechanism of solubilization, were present.

Jan 1, 1991

By Richard J. Abitz

Thennodynamic geochemical models have been applied to assess the relative effectiveness of a variety of reagents added to aqueous waste streams for the removal of radioactive elements. Two aqueous waste streams were examined: effluent derived from the processing of uranium ore and irradiated uranium fuel rods. Simulations of the treatment train were performed to estimate the mass of reagents needed per kilogram of solution, identify pH regions corresponding to solubility minimums, and predict the identity and quantity of precipitated solids. Results generated by the simulations include figures that chart the chemical evolution of the waste stream as reagents are added and summary tables that list mass balances for all reagents and radioactive elements of concern. Model results were used to set initial reagent levels for the treatment trains, minimizing the number of bench-scale tests required to bring the treatment train up to full-scale operation. Additionally, presentation of modeling results at public meetings helps to establish good faith between the federal government, industry, concerned citizens, and media groups.

Jan 1, 1996

By W. D. Keller

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) accompanied by X-ray energy dispersive analysis (XES) is a useful tool in process clay mineralogy. The texture of kaolin, illustrated by SEM, gives a clue to its mode of genesis and probable industrial application. One type of kaolin, originating dominantly by weathering, has an open texture, slakes readily, and is used for filling and coating paper. Another type, in contrast, originates by diagenesis of Al-silicate sediments, and spectacularly resists slaking, thereby enabling it to maintain its bulk density and controlled size and shape of particles after crushing and moistening; this meets an important requirement for the manufacture of refractories. Ratios of elemental Al:Si that may be rapidly determined by SEM and XES yield information on the origin and purity of bauxite and bauxitic clays, and aid in quality control and processing of them. SEM of dissimilar textures of quartz, as in chert and novaculite, are evidence for geothermometry on a stratigraphic scale that is potentially useful in delimiting thermally favorable or unfavorable areas for hydrocarbon exploration, and possibly for unexposed metallic ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1982

By José Carlos Abreu

This work presents a kinetics study covering the effects of temperature over the reduction rates of a carbon composite briquette, aiming its use as burden in some of the new alternate ironmaking technologies, such as the Tecnored process. It is reported that increases in the temperature increases the reaction rate. Additionally, the morphology of the iron phase generated during the reduction of these briquettes is presented. It was possible to verify that three types of iron morphology occurred during the process: an external, dense and continuous iron layer, the presence of iron globules at the center of the briquettes and whiskers at the briquette's core. The measurement of the carbon content on the globules and the external iron layer is also presented.

Jan 1, 2003

By Yasuhiro Konishi

Hydrolytic stripping is the process in which metal ions are simultaneously stripped from a loaded cation-exchange solvent extractant and precipitated as oxides or hydroxides. Hydrolytic stripping is usually effected by contacting the loaded organic phase with water at elevated temperatures. The possibility of using hydrolytic stripping to prepare ceramic powders with controlled size and morphology is now being evaluated for different systems, using carboxylic acid extractants. As part of this work, mathematical models were developed to describe the kinetics of nucleation and growth of nickel ferrite particles. This paper describes the development of the models, along with estimation of key parameters appearing in the rate equations from experimental data.

Jan 1, 1990

By José Carlos Abreu

This work presents a kinetics study covering the effects of temperature over the reduction rates of a carbon composite briquette, aiming its use as burden in some of the new alternate ironmaking technologies, such as the Tecnored process. It is reported that increases in the temperature increases the reaction rate. Additionally, the morphology of the iron phase generated during the reduction of these briquettes is presented. It was possible to verify that three types of iron morphology occurred during the process: an external, dense and continuous iron layer, the presence of iron globules at the center of the briquettes and whiskers at the briquette's core. The measurement of the carbon content on the globules and the external iron layer is also presented

Jan 1, 2003

By Kuniaki Murase, Tetsuji Hirato, Koji Nitta, Yasuhiro Awakura

"The redox behavior of copper species in an ""ammonium imide"" room temperature molten salt was examined in order to clarify the applicability of the salt to the electroplating media of various metals. Trimethyl-n-hexylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)- amide (TMHA-Tf2N), having an electrochemical window of 5.6 V (50 °C), and corresponding copper(II) salt were synthesized. In TMHA-Tf2N media monovalent copper ion, Cu(I), was stable and Cu metal was oxidized, or corroded, in the presence of Cu(II) species. Cathodic electrodeposition of copper metal and anodic dissolution of it were, thus, one-electron reaction and their current efficiencies were almost 100%.IntroductionElectrodeposition of metals from aqueous solutions is an important soft process for manufacturing thin-film materials, surface finishing, and extractive metallurgy. However, the electrodeposition of base metals, such as zinc, chromium, and nickel, from aqueous media inevitably accompanies hydrogen evolution, which lowers the cathodic current efficiency of metal deposition. Since the electrodeposition of aluminium, titanium, and rare earths from aqueous media is actually impossible due to their largely negative redox potentials, nonaqueous media such as aprotic organic solvent and high-temperature molten salts have been employed for the electrodeposition of these metals. Room temperature molten salts (RTMS),1, 2) or room temperature ionic liquids, have also been developed as a promising electrolytes for the electrodeposition of base metals. In this field, chloroaluminates of alkylpyridinium or alkylimidazolium cation have been well investigated for aluminium3) or alluminium-alloy4-5) electroplating media. On the other hand, in order to avoid high hygroscopicity arising from the use of aluminium chloride, attempts have been made to combine the alkylimidazolium cations with fluorine-containing hydrophobic anions, e.g. BF4-,6) CF3SO3- (TfO-),7) (CF3SO2)2N- (Tf2N-),8) and H(HF)n-ions,9) and investigated for electrodeposition media.'°) Recently, a new series of RTMS consisting of tetraalkylammonium cations and Tf2N- anion, sometimes abbreviated as TFSI- anion, was found independently by MacFarlane et al.11, 12) and Matsumoto et al. 13) This type of RTMS, which is commonly named ""ammoniumimide"" salt, has a wide electrochemical window of ca. 5 V and, thus, the RTMS seems to be suited for practical application as a solvent for the electrodeposition process. In this paper, we report the electrochemical behavior of copper species in an ammoniumimide RTMS, trimethyl-n-hexylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (TMHA-Tf2N)."

Jan 1, 2000

By Y. Maeda

Kosaka Smelter is a copper smelter located at the nothern part of Japan? and has been treating. complex sulfide concentrates using flash smelting technology for a long time. The flash smelting technology has an advantage in the point of controllability of matte grade and heat balance in the reaction shaft. But the disadvantage of this process, is that the dust generation ratio is high compared with other smelting process such as injection smelting technology. This reason why is that the flash smelting process is the oxidation process for the fine sulfide concentrates applying flash reaction in the oxygen enriched stream In addition of this disadvantage, the sulfide concentrates contains much volatile impurities is resulted the dust; eneration ratio more. This paper outlines the recent improvement of the flash reaction in the furnace and the behavior of impurities in Kosaka Smelter.

Jan 1, 1998

By Yongbin Yang, Meixia Cai, Yufeng Guo, Guanzhou Qiu, Tao Jiang, Jianjun Fan

"A series of sintering and metallurgical experiments were carried out to optimize the blast furnace burden structure in this study. The results indicated that the sinter disintegrated seriously with basicity around 1.4, and after this “turning point”, the sintering properties were improved gradually with the increase of basicity of sinter. Based on the results, an idea was put forward which focused on producing two different kinds of sinter with different basicity. Different with the original burden structure of 85% sinter with basicity 1.4-1.5 + 15% pellets, an alternative new BF burden structure was proposed by the following structure?44% sinter with basicity 1.05 + 44% sinter with basicity 1.87 + 12% pellets. This new alternative BF burden structure has been adopted by some steel plants.IntroductionIn recent years, conventional blast furnace (BF) process was put into operation to produce hot metal in “A” steel plant. “A” steel plant owns two sets of sinter strands at present. Because the sinter production capacity exceeds the actual requirements of BF, a burden structure with 85-90% self-made sinter + 10-15% purchased pellets is adopted to take advantage of the low–cost sinter. But the serious problems encountered with the BF operators are that the sinter disintegrated easily during transportation and storage process. Therefore, the rate of return fines is very high after sinter being screened."

Jan 1, 2012

By Ryosuke O. Suzuki

A new cell concept for calciothermic reduction is proposed in which the titanium dioxide instead of TiCl4 is used as the raw material for reduction, Metallic calcium is needed as the reductant of a thermochemicaily stable oxide, such as TiO2. CaCl2, is selected as the solvent of Ca and simultaneously as the solvent of CaO. The reduction system consists of a single cell where both the reduction reaction and the electrolytic reaction for recovery of reducing agent coexist in the same molten CaCl2 bath. A few mol%Ca dissolves in the melt and gives the media a strong reducing power. Sufficiently deoxidized metallic titanium deposits and forms a slightly sintered granular sponge. Both mechanisms of the halide flux deoxidation and the electrochemical deoxidation work efficiently for these fine precipitates, The reducing agent is in situ recovered by electrolysis of CaO because the molten CaCl2 he a relatively large solubility for CaO Some cell designs and modifications are proposed for industrial applications.

Jan 1, 2003

By Thomas P. Battle

Ilmenite (iron titanate) is the source of over 90% of all the titanium produced in the world today. At some point during production of titanium dioxide or titanium metal the iron impurity must be removed. Too often it becomes a waste instead of a product. DuPont and MINPRO have developed a solid-state process which separates the iron and titanium components of ilmenite into different high-purity powders, which can be separated using conventional mineral processing techniques. The main reactor in this process is a unique high-temperature ball mill, where the iron segregates from the ilmenite lattice with the assistance of catalytic quantities of He\. The results of lab, pilot plant, theoretical, and scale-up studies are presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 1996

By Wang Jia, Chai Li-yuan, Zhang Jin-Long, Peng Bing, Zhang Qiang

"Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) residue was mixed with shale and fly ash as the main materials to make solidification/sintering brick for the utilization of the residue from EMD production. The effects of sintering temperature, sintering time, solid waste content and cooling process on its mechanical properties and toxic elements solidification were investigated according to compressive strength and leaching toxicity. The results showed that the calcined residue had capability of solidifying toxic metals and exhibited perfect strength after treated in the optimal parameters of EMD residue below 50%, temperature at 1000-1100°C, time3-5h, and semi-quenched at 600°C1 InstructionSolid clay-brick holds the leading position among building materials for a very long time in China. The traditional technique of making clay-brick has the drawbacks of backward process, simple facilities and single product. Since Chinese Reform and Opening-up, urban-rural construction and real estate have been booming with the rapidly development of national economy and science technology. The problems of ruining fertile land, environment contamination and high energy consumption in the traditional technique of clay-brick making have not been solved yet. On the other hand, more than 7 billion tons of industrial wastes are accumulated over years which occupies over 6.7 million hectares filed and causes serious environmental problems[1-31. Strategy present in ""The Chinese Agenda of the 21st Century"" required the production of wall materials less energy conservation, land saving and waste recycling.Coal gangue[4-9l, fly ash[I0- 13l, sludge from waste water treatment and tailings of gypsum, pyrite, copper mine, high silicon containing iron, asbestos and ects [l4-lSJ are the solid wastes used for brick making around the world. There are two kinds of process for brick making, high temperature sintering and low temperature steam curing[19•201. Although the technology of two brick making made great progress and got widely application in construction field, no precedent for preparing sintering-bricks with EMD residue as materials occurred in China because of its complicated processing technics and lack of sufficient practical experience to guarantee the bricks' quality.In this study, EMD residue was mixed with shale and fly ash as the main materials to make solidification/sintering brick. The effects of sintering temperature, sintering time, solid waste content and cooling process on its mechanical properties and toxic elements solidification were investigated according to compressive strength and leaching toxicity."

Jan 1, 2011

By J. S. Pitsillos

A new furnace tapping technique involving the simulation of a control valve at the exit to a furnace is being investigated. The purpose of this new tapping technique is to regulate the flowrate of liquid furnace products( slags, metals and mattes). Numerical modelling and experimental work has been carried out on tapping of slags leaving a SIROSMELT reactor and the results found to be in good agreement. Numerical modelling has also enabled prediction of the important industrial conditions for the onset of blockage from the shape of the pressure versus flowrate curves. Slag launder experiments have been carried out and a one-dimensional heat transfer model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of launder covers and different coolants. From the experimental results and mathematical model some launder design guidelines such as inclination angle, covers and coolants have been developed.

Jan 1, 1991

By Seksak Asavavisithchai, Natthida Jareankieathbovorn, Areeya Srichaiyaperk

"Recycling of ADC12 alloy scraps for fabrication of open-cell aluminium foams has been conducted via pressure infiltration method of replication process. The scrap, up to 50 wt.%, was melted with pure aluminium billet, followed by infiltration in a replicated mold of polyethylene foam structure. Compared with the pure aluminium foam, the compressive strength and hardness are higher for the foams with recycled scraps. The increase in foam mechanical properties is due to the presence of Si hard phase in Al matrix. The strength and hardness of the foams also increase with increasing contents of the scraps.IntroductionRecently, open-cell metallic foams have been brought to considerable attention of many industries due to their superior properties; such as large surface area, high specific strength, thermal conductivity, high service temperature and excellent anti-microbial activity, that cannot be found in conventional materials [1, 2]. Typically, open-cell foams are used in functional applications for which a requirement of high strength materials is not demanded. Good examples of such applications include heat exchangers, bone-replacement implants, interconnects, catalyst supports, and sound insulators.Among all types of open-cell metallic foams, aluminium (Al) is the most widely used base metal, due to low material cost, low density, low melting temperature and good corrosion resistance. To improve mechanical properties of Al foam, modification of foam microstructure with addition of alloy elements or ceramic particles is commonly carried out [3, 4]. ADC12 alloy is a typical die-casting Al alloy with high content of silicon (Si) close to the eutectic point in Al-Si binary phase diagram. The alloy is extensively used in the casting industry, due to high wear and corrosion resistance, low coefficient of thermal expansion and excellent castability [5]. The mechanical properties of Al-Si alloy are strongly dependent of Si content."

Jan 1, 2012

By P. Louis

Although cobalt is known and used for its hardness and wear resistance, ductile cobalt can be obtained by electrolysis in chloride solutions, under the following conditions : pH : 1.5 - 2, Co++ : 30 - 60 g/l, current density : 100 - 500 A/m2, temperature 40 - 70°C. No explanation was found for the ductility of the deposit under these conditions. Indeed the ductile P (FCC) cobalt and the hydrogen contents in the cobalt deposits are nearly the same as those obtained in a sulfate media, which gives brittle depo¬sits under equivalent electrolysis conditions. Malleable cobalt sheets can be easily obtained under the proposed conditions which could lead to new applications for cobalt.

Jan 1, 1988

By P. C. Chaubal

The overall kinetics of oxidation of single partic1es of chalcopyrite have been studied for temperatures up to 1273 K. The experiments were conducted in a stationary bed reactor using a non-isothermal technique. Any mass and heat transfer effects on the kinetics of oxidation were eliminated by using a high-enough gas flowrate. Up to temperatures of 873 K, pore-bl1ocking kinetics were applicable, whereas above 873 K, power-law kinetics gave a satisfactory fit of the data. The activation energy was 215 kJ/mol below 754 Kand 23.7 kJ/mol above 1,060 K. Predominance area diagrams were constructed at various temperatures and used in conjunction with X-ray analyses of partially oxidized samples to determine the intermediate phases formed during the reaction. The analysi1s also provides a justification for the kinetic models used. The results indicate that the reaction rate is first order with respect to oxygen concentration and inversely proportional to the square of the particle size throughout the ranges of temperature studied.

Jan 1, 1985

By Ralph H. Nafziger

The feasibility of smelting a Ni-Co-Cr-bearing laterite ore from southern Oregon was evaluated by the Bureau of Mines. The objective was to prepare a master alloy for subsequent stainless steel production. A mixture of the ore with suitable reductants and fluxes was smelted in a 50-lb-capacity single-phase ac electric furnace under sub- merged arc conditions. The smelting tests produced a metal in which most of the nickel was concentrated. High-chromium recoveries required an excess of carbon. The resulting metal alloys contain sufficient nickel for some stainless steels. Ferrochromium additions would be required to attain suitable chromium levels. This research was conducted under the Oregon Metals Initiative in cooperation with Walter B. Freeman.

Jan 1, 1993

By Stavros A. Argyropoulos, Henry H. Hu

"The assimilation of exothermic additions in liquid metals exhibit an array of unique coupled heat, mass and momentum transport phenomena. These phenomena are further complicated by the presence of a moving boundary.This paper describes a) A mathematical model which simulates the complex phenomena, and b) An extensive verification of the mathematical model. The SIMPLER algorithm was employed to solve numerically the pertinent partial differential equations. The computational results indicated that the exothermic heat of mixing led to a rapid increase in temperature around the moving boundary, which produced an enhanced convective flow in the liquid phase. The intensification of fluid flow around the moving boundary resulted in an acceleration of the melting process.Verification of the model was carried out in two contexts. The first was, in a low temperature physical model consisting of ice immersion in different sulfuric acid solutions. In this physical model, both temperature and velocity measurements were carried out. The model results were compared with experimental measurements and they were found to be in excellent agreement. The second context employed high temperatures, involving the assimilation of silicon in high carbon liquid iron. The model was also applied to predict fluid flow, heat and mass transfer for these high temperature experiments and a good agreement was obtained.In addition new dimensionless heat transfer correlations that quantify these complex phenomena will be presented."

Jan 1, 2001

By Mojtaba Ahmadiantehrani

A previous study showed that up to 80% gold extraction could be obtained with 160 lbs/ton hypochlorite consumption at ambient temperature from a low grade Carlin-type carbonaceous ore. Crushing the ore to a finer size and agglomerating with cement decreases hypochlorite consumption by 60%; while, agglomeration and curing the cement-ore mixture with hypochlorite solution has no significant effect on total gold extraction. The high hypochlorite consumption is due to oxygen depletion as the solution percolates through the column, i.e., oxidation of gangue materials. These side reactions are reduced at sub-ambient temperatures resulting in a substantial further decrease in hypochlorite consumption. The optimum temperature range and additional reduction of hypochlorite consumption by introducing the reagent into the column at different elevations will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1992

By Cheryl S. Lim

New technologies such as direct reduction and smelting reduction processes are increasingly being used in iron-making and steel-making in addition to conventional blast furnace technology. Critical parameters for control of these processes include the degree of metallization, degree of pre-reduction, and carbon and silica levels. On-line monitoring of these parameters is difficult because measurements often need to be made on hot ores (at or higher than -1000'C) in circumstances where representative sample streams are not readily accessible. A nuclear analyser has been developed which provides continuous, non¬intrusive, real-time measurements of iron, oxygen, carbon and silicon levels in hot ores undergoing reduction. The analyser has been tested in a plant using a direct smelting process on pre-reduced feed to the smelting vessel-, accuracies of 1% relative, 0.5 w'.96 (25% relative) and 1.0 wt.% (9% relative) were obtained for the degree of pre-reduction, carbon and silica respectively. The underlying method, capabilities and potential applications of the analyser will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2001