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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 Li. Jiarong, Zuojian Liang, Qingyan Xu, Baicheng Liu, Shizhong Liu, Hailong Yuan

Single crystal solidification of turbine blades is a key technology for the production of reliable and high efficiency gas turbines. The solidification process of single crystal investment castings causes a number of problems that have to be solved such as the increase of casting defects and complexity of production process. Computer modeling and simulation is helpful to predict the defects and improve the process design. In the paper, a mathematical model for three dimensional simulation of solidification and single crystal growth of investment castings was developed based on CA, mechanism of crystal growth and basic transfer equations such as heat, mass transfer equations. Many factors including constitutional undercooling, curvature undercooling and anisotropy, which had vital influences on microstructure evolution, were considered in the model. Temperature, crystal growth interface and structure defects of investment castings of single crystal superalloy were investigated at withdrawal rates of 4.5mm/min and 7mm/min. Simulated results showed that microstructure evolution and structure defects were predicted reasonably and calculated results were coincident with experimental ones. The study indicated that three dimensional solidification simulation technique is a powerful tool for understanding the fundamental of solidification and the formation of structure defects in single crystal investment castings and finally for optimizing process design.

Jan 1, 2004

By Ian G. H. du Preez

It is illustrated how differences in the basic chemistry of individual metal ions can be exploited to develop new or improved separating agents. Factors like coordination number preferred by the specific metal ion, the degree of coordinate saturation reached by the metal ion and its relation to the phase transferability of the complex species, kinetic factors as opposed to thermodynamic factors controlling the success of the separation, the nature and type of the donor atom employed in a separating agent in relation to the preferences of the metal ion, the significance of stereochemical factors and the hydrophobicity of the media are some of the important factors which are discussed and applied for the development of pa1ladiwn(TI) and nickel(TI) specific separating agents, respectively.

Jan 1, 1999

By Rafael Colás

Computer visualization can be employed in industry as an aid to the understanding of the complex interactions between variables encountered in production. The examples of ingot casting of rimming steel and that of hot rolling of low carbon steel strip are presented. Both processes are mathematically modeled, and their results are presented in a graphical way. Such models have been proven to be an asset in quality improvements and increase of productivity as the personnel involved get a better understanding of their job.

Jan 1, 1993

By K. H. Bech, S. T. Johansen

"The mass transfer at fluid-fluid interfaces due to turbulent agitation is investigated theoretically. In particular a theory is derived for interface stresses due to interface energy and surface renewal. This theory indicates that surface renewal may take place if the geometry is sufficiently large and if surface tension is sufficiently low.By using a model for a typical turbulent structure we compute the interface mass transfer for a stressless interface and a fully interface. Results for the general situation is not presently available. The computed results are used to derive analytical expressions for the mass transfer based on turbulent kinetic energy and free stream turbulent length scales.One important application of the theory is the mass transfer at the electrolyte side of the bath-metal interface in the Hall-Heroult process. For this process we show that mass transfer should be expected to be of the rigid surface type."

Jan 1, 1999

By K. S. Han, M. Yoshimuura, H. Fujita, Y. Sato, S. W. Song

"Film of LlCoO2 as cathode material for rechargeable lithium microbatteries has been fabricated on the platinum metal substrate by electrochemical-hydrothermal method in concentrated LiOH solution at 200 °C as Soft Solution-Processing. The film fabrication has been understood in terms of dissolution of cobalt metal powders and subsequent oxidative deposition on the substrate. The film structure was characterized using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction analysis; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy.IntroductionRapid growth of wireless communications and emerging integrated optoelectronic circuits caused the miniaturization· cif electronic devices, thus the demand for high energy density microbatteries as a power source for the microelectronics increases. In this regard, all solid-state lithium microbatteries including LiCoO2 and LlMn2O 4 [l-4], the most promising intercalation cathode material, have been developed. However, major difficulty of .fabrication of a lithium microbattery arose from the preparation of cathode film, according to a· recent report on Rare Metal News [5]. Although many attempts have been made to deposit the cathode films, all those methods are mostly chemical vapor deposiiton (CVD), various evaporation, sputtering techniques and spray pyrolysis. These methods require preparation of bulk cathode materials cir its precursor, then deposition with complicated instruments including high· vacuum system, and even postsynthesis annealing to obtain desire electrochemical 'properties. It is clear that all of these techniques are neither economic nor environmentally friendly. Compared to those methods, film form.ation from an aqueous solution is thought to be simpler and more economical, and requires much· less energy consumption. Our .group has demonstrated the utility of Soft SolutionProcessing [6,7], which is defined as environmentally friendly processing using (aqueous) solutions, to produce films of a variety of functional solid materials. According to the Pourvaix's diagram [8], some metal can be dissolved in an alkaline solution and consequently combined with hydroxyl group or oxygen anion forming metalate or metalite. Cobalt also seemed to form cobaltite, HCoOi in strong alkaline solution in the Pourvaix's pH-potential diagram. Based on this information, it was expected that LiCoO2 could be prepared using the cobalt metal in Li OH solution by Soft Solution-Processing. Recently, we reported the successful single step fabrication of electrochemically active LlCoO2 films on the cobalt metal substrate by hydrothermal methods without any post-synthesis annealing as Soft SolutionProcessing [9,10]. Film formation mechanism could be elucidated by the following evidences. . As expected from Pourvaix's diagram, cobalt metal was dissolved in concentrated LiOH solution forming dissolved cobalt species which was detected by an observation of absorption band in UV-VIS absorption spectrum [10]. Thus the reaction was assumed to be started from dissolution. Time dependent potential of Co electrode exhibited only one-step evolution with 0.6 eV from Co metal to LiCoO2 [10]. Another strong evidence was the finding of LiCoO2 powder precipitates at the bottom of tetlon beaker after the reaction [11]. Based on those experimental findings, it was understood that film is formed by dissolution-precipitation mechanism [9-11]."

Jan 1, 2000

By T. Kozuka, K. Sassa, S. Asai

"A new atomization process is developed. The principle of this process is completely different from that of conventional processes. This process uses electromagnetic energy induced by direct electric current and direct magnetic field instead of kinetic energy produced by fluid impingement or disk rotation.Experimental work of this process was carried out using pure tin, and it was found that the crucial factor for a stable operation is the contact state of molten metal with the electrode. In order to control the condition, a delay time controlling unit was developed and combined with this process. It is noticed that this controller works well to produce uniformly sized particles.A linear relation between the impulse and the momentum of atomized particles is found by use of experimental data and is explained by theoretical analysis.IntroductionIn atomization processes prevailing in metal powder technology, kinetic energy is currently employed for atomizing molten metal. That is, molten metal is broken into small particles by other fluid (e.g. water, argon gas, etc) or by impinged upon a rotating solid disk. This splashing process is always accompanied with uncertain factors for shape and size of the particles. The diameter distribution of products, therefore, comparatively spreads over a wide range. From another standpoint, the restriction of atmosphere is inevitable in some of these processes. As a pulverizing technology, the process which can produce uniformly sized particles and permits the choice of atmosphere is strongly desired.On the other hand, a great attention has been paid to the spray casting process as a new near net shape casting. In this process, a small size spraying device is favorable."

Jan 1, 1988

By N. El-Kaddah, V. L. Acoff, M. Arenas

"Control of the weld penetration, weld pool shape and temperature field in arc welding is critical to achieve the desired microstructure and mechanical properties in the resultant welds. This is particularly important in welding gamma titanium aluminides (y-TiAl) where the weld pool is relatively shallow and the temperature gradient in the heat-affected zone is quite steep. This paper investigates theoretically and experimentally the evolution of the shape of the weld pool for stationary gas tungsten arc welds in y-TiAl alloys. A mathematical model has been developed for predicting the electric current flow, the resultant electromagnetic forces in the metal, and the transient development of the temperature and velocity fields in the molten pool generated by a spatially variable heat flux at the arc-striking zone. The governing equations were solved numerically using the control volume technique. Welding experiments were carried out to determine the shape of the weld pool and the extent of the heat affected zone at different welding times for model validation. The numerical predictions were found to be in reasonable agreement with measurements. It is suggested that the model presented in this paper is likely to provide the information needed for predicting the microstructure and mechanical properties of y-TiAl welds. IntroductionIn recent years, there has been considerable interest in the welding of gamma titanium aluminides as a means of manufacturing high-temperature, high-performance components for turbine and automobile engines. These alloys are highly reactive, and must be welded in vacuum or inert gas atmosphere, rendering electron beam, and inert gas tungsten arc welding (GTA) to be the only suitable welding techniques for joining these materials [1-3]. The GTA welding is especially attractive because of its flexibility and relative cost-effectiveness. However, previous studies on the weldability and weld properties of these alloys using this process revealed a decrease in the mechanical properties in the fusion zone [4]. This is generally attributed to the change of the original duplex structure to a dendritic structure amplified by the shallowness of weld spot. Quantifying the effect of arc operating parameters on the geometry and temperature profile of the welding pool prior cooling is the first step for controlling the fusion zone microstructure and mechanical properties."

Jan 1, 1999

By A. Mikula, S. Karlhuber

"Unique physical and mechanical properties made the Pb-Sn solders attractive for low temperature joining of electronic parts. But since lead in solder materials has become a great enviromental problem and health concern, lead will be slowly replaced by other materials in soft solders. Some of these materials which are currently under investigation are ternary tin alloys. Many different physical properties like wetting behavior, electrical and thermal conductivity and surface tension are measured on these alloys, but on the thennodynamic properties and the phase diagram of the alloys under discussion there is only little information available. We investigated the (Ag, Au, Cu)-Sn-Zn systems and determined the thermodynamic properties over the whole composition range by emf-measurements. From these measurements we also got some information on the liquidus. In the Sn-rich corner the phase diagrams are still under investigation.IntroductionSoldering is technically defined as the joining of two base materials, mostly metals or metal coated nonmetallic substrates, with a third metal. The melting temperature of the third metal or metal alloy should be well below those of the substrates. Solder alloys can be categorized in soft and hard solders. Soft solder alloys usually contain lead, tin, bismuth, indium or cadmium and hard solders gold, zinc, aluminium or silicon. The difference between soft and hard solders is the melting temperature of the soldering material. This temperature is around 350°C.An interesting brief history of solders is given by Vianco and Frear [1]. They report, that in 4000 B.C. solders were already used in Mesopotamia. From archaeoligical evidence those solders were gold-based hard solders.Tin-lead soft solders and their use are not easily found, because in course of time tin has been reduced to stannic acid, making the identification quite difficult. Well preserved soft solder artifacts were discovered in King Tut's tomb dating from 1350 B.C. In ancient time Pb-Sn solders were used primarily for the manufacture and repair of cooking utensils and metal tools. The Romans used lead-tin solders extensively in the construction of the aqueducts."

Jan 1, 1996

By J. S. Lee

A new high performance adsorbent is synthesized by the sol-gel method and applied to the removal of cadmium and mercury ions from aqueous solutions. Adsorbents based on metal oxides have been developed by immobilizing chelating molecules on the surface of the existing metal oxide networks and show ability for selective metal extraction from aqueous solutions. However, efficiencies of such adsorbents are limited due to low ligand density, and difficulty in pore accessibility. These difficulties are circumvented by synthesizing adsorbents using the sol-gel technique. In one example to be discussed, the sol-precursor possesses an organic moiety that binds cadmium, mercury, and copper ions. The capacities of 1.98mmol Cd(II-/gm and 6.40 mmol Hg/gm of this adsorbent are considerably higher than those of adsorbents prepared by the ligand immobilization technique. The scope of this paper is to discuss the development of the new adsorbent and its applications for cadmium and mercury removal from aqueous solutions.

Jan 1, 1999

By Richard Hollis

The Mount Isa copper smelter was expanded in 1998 to a capacity of over 250000 t/y anode copper. This tonnage will be produced from a single stream consisting of an Isasmelt smelting furnace, and four Peirce-Smith converters - one of which was installed as part of the expansion project. During the course of the expansion project Mount Isa Mines Limited (MIM) signed an agreement with WMC Fertilizers Ltd (WMCF) to supply sulphur containing smelter gases over the fence to a new sulphuric acid plant to be built by WMCF. This will result in a further increase in copper production by reducing the time when smelting is curtailed by Air Quality Control restrictions. As well as the need to modify the primary gas system to connect to the acid plant, the hoods and crossover ducts and their support structures on the original three converters required replacement, and secondary ventilation was also needed to improve converter aisle hygiene. Each of these areas was addressed by the project. Preliminary ideas for carrying out the modifications were found to have a serious impact on converter aisle operations, and would have led to a production loss of over 50000 tonnes of copper. Following benchmarking in other copper smelters, a suitable construction plan was developed and carried out to minimise this loss. This paper describes the methodology and construction plan adopted.

Jan 1, 1999

By H. Kamarudin

The behaviour of cassiterite-sulphosuccinamate flotation system was examined in the light of zeta potentials measured by micro-electrophoresis method. It was observed that sulphosuccinamate substantially affects the zeta potentials of cassiterite, lowering its i.e.p. to pH 2.5 and indicating a specific adsorption and/or chemical interaction. The optimum concentration for flotation, as seen in micro-flotation tests, was found to be associated with the most effective lowering of the zeta potentials, the optimum pH being 3.0. The effect of cations in the pulp was examined for the presence of ferrous, ferric, aluminium and lead ions. The ions ferric and aluminium were observed to create an intense effect of increasing the potentials to positive side, possibly due to adsorption of cation hydroxy complexes, as indicated by their respective species distribution diagrams.

Jan 1, 1994

By Bing Hu, Zhu-Cheng Huang, Guang-Bin Xia, Hu Peng, Hua Wang

"The temperature rising characteristics and reaction of the reduction of iron oxide pellets with anthracite fines were studied using a MW-L0316V microwave oven and Leica-DM-RXP polarizing microscope. The results show that iron oxide pellets and anthracite fines have good microwave absorbing properties, and high temperature and reducing atmosphere in a relatively short time for reduction of iron oxide pellets can be achieved. The reduction reaction, which follows the unreacted core model, is rapid and the metallization increases from 13.41% to 56.57% as the reduction end point temperature increases from 850oC to 950oC. The iron is formed, fine grain crystals of iron are transferred and the contraction of metal phase occurs firstly at the surface of pellets, which hinders the reduction reaction at the center of pellets. The rate of reduction reaction increases slowly as the reduction end point temperature increases from 950oC to 1050oC.IntroductionIron ore direct reduction can be divided into gas-based reduction and coal-based reduction. Owing to the effect of the resource and the related economic benefits [1, 2, 3, and 4], the development of gas-based direct reduction technology is restricted, but the development of coal-based direct reduction supported by the relevant industrial policy has very good prospects for application.As a source of clean energy, in China microwaves have been applied in many fields [5, 6, and 7]. Chen Jin studied the reduction of carbon pellets under microwaves, and has made some progress on reduction kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Other countries also have related research in this field [8 - 15], for example, Kotaro Ishizaki and Kazuhiro Nagata have done research on the reduction reaction of carbon magnetite heated by microwaves. The research shows that Fe3O4 is deoxidized to FeO at about 800oC, and FeO is deoxidized to Fe at 1000oC-1025oC. Due to the very good heat absorbing properties of iron oxide pellets and anthracite fines, the selective and rapid heating of microwaves can rapidly raise the temperature of pellets and anthracite, and the iron oxide pellets can be rapidly reduced. In order to provide enough theoretical basis for direct reduction by microwave heating, this paper studies the temperature rising characteristics, behavior of the reduction reaction and the changes of the iron oxide pellets and anthracite in the microwave field."

Jan 1, 2011

By Leonid N. Shekhter, Corby G. Anderson, Esra Cankaya-Yalcin, Daniel G. Gribbin, Joseph D. Lessard, Larry F. McHugh

"A new process for smelting copper, Looping Sulfide Oxidation™ (LSO™) significantly and positively alters the smelting energy balance. This process uses copper oxide in conjunction with air for the desulfurization of copper and chalcopyrite concentrates. Copper oxide is regenerated in a flash type furnace and then ""looped"" back for the oxidation of the copper concentrate. Heat and material balances show that the Looping Sulfide Oxidation™ process requires significantly lower net energy than conventional technology. This process produces anode copper and higher S02 content off-gases for efficient formation of sulfuric acid. Additionally, the process yields slags with lower copper solubility as compared to the conventional technology.IntroductionBased on the positive results from LSO™ investigations [1], further lab investigations into co=on sulfides and metal oxides were performed. It was discovered that chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is oxidized with copper (II) oxide. In this reaction over 98.5% of sulfur was removed as S02, while a significantly improved energy balance was observed. This paper intends to analyze both the conventional flash smelting process and the newly developed Looping Sulfide Oxidation™ process, comparing heat and material balance results. LSO™ yields improvements to the energy footprint for copper, opening the door to new copper processing opportunities."

Jan 1, 2013

By Ko-ichiro Ohno

It is recently recognized that the iron reduction and melting as well as the slag separation of a composite of granular iron ore and coal are completed in a very short period of about IO minutes when the composite is rapidly heated up to approximately 1673K. These phenomena are expected to be applied to a new iron-making process. The mechanism of iron ore reduction and iron-slag separation during rapid heating has not yet been revealed and the fundamental research has just started. Carburization of the reduced iron is regarded as one of the most important steps in this process. In the present work, the composite was prepared from four kinds of coal or graphite as a carbon source and electrolytic iron powder as a completely reduced iron ore. The temperature at which the liquid formation and iron carburization occurred was monitored. Direct observation of smelting reduction behavior was made by a confocal laser-scanning microscope combined with the infrared image-heating furnace to clarify the effect of molten ash on iron carburization. It was found that the meltdown temperature of composite became lower as the melting temperature of coal ash decreased. From the observed result, it was presumed that the liquid slag would act as an important media for the carbon transfer from coal to iron. The carburization mechanism during the smelting reduction was estimated as follows. When slag containing iron oxide melted down and contacted carbon, iron oxide in the slag was reduced and the formation of the metallic iron particle as well as the its carburization occurred simultaneously at the slag-carbon interface. Carburized iron particle was carried from slag- carbon to slag-iron interfaces due to the slag convection flow caused by the difference of the interfacial tension between the carbon-slag and iron-slag interfaces. Carburization of reduced iron could proceed with a repeat of the above-mentioned process.

Jan 1, 2003

By T. V. Jayaraman, Kranti Kumar, Paul Praveen J., Dibakar Das, A. R. James

"Lead free piezoelectric ceramics with high piezoelectric coefficients are in great demand for sensor and actuator applications. Synthesis and characterization study of one such lead free system, barium zirconate titanate - barium calcium titanate [xBZT-(1-x)BCT] (x = 0.5), via solgel method have been carried out. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of single phase BZT-BCT nanoparticles (<50 nm). The as-synthesized powders were calcined at 1000°C and the powders were pressed into cylindrical pellets. Solid-state sintering of the green pellets at 1550°C for 2 hrs resulted in single phase perovskite structure. Hysteresis loops were obtained which indicates the ferroelectric nature ofBZT-BCT. The bulk ceramic samples with the highest sintered density (~93%) were subjected to electrical poling and the piezoelectric properties ( d33, kp, & i:,) were measured. The structure and piezoelectric properties were investigated and correlated for the given composition of the BZT-BCT system.IntroductionPiezoelectric ceramics are widely used in various sensors and actuators and most of the piezoelectric ceramics, which are presently used, are lead based, which contains at least 60% lead (Pb) by weight. The critical disadvantage of these lead based piezoelectric ceramics is their hazardous effect related to the toxicity of lead, which poses a serious environmental concern starting from their processing to the disposal stage[l]. It is well known that a material to be a good piezoelectric it requires a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) i.e. the composition induced phase transition between any two ferroelectric phases."

Jan 1, 2013

By Shadia J. Ikhmayies

"Nanocrystalline fluorine doped tin oxide (Sn02:F) thin films were produced by the spray pyrolysis technique (SP) on glass substrates at a substrate temperature T, = 450 ° C. The hydrated stannous chloride (SnClz.2H20) was used as a precursor and ammonium fluoride (NH4F) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) were used as the doping compounds. A comparison between the compositional, morphological and optical properties of the films obtained by using the two doping compounds was performed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, energy dispersive spectroscopy by X-rays (EDAX) and transmittance measurements. It is found that the films prepared by using HF have larger grain size, and higher fluorine content than the films prepared by using ~- In addition these films have higher transmittance and higher direct optical bandgap energy. These results are interesting for the use of Sn02:F as a forecontact in CdS/CdTe solar cells.IntroductionTin dioxide is an n-type, wide bandgap semiconductor (about 3.5 eV) and in the form of thin films, it is a transparent conducting material, characterized by high optical transmission (80- 90%) [l]. Sn02:F is the most widely used transparent-conducting oxide material. The transparent-conducting thin films of this oxide are used as electrodes in a variety of optoelectronic devices, as heat mirror coatings in 'smart windows' for buildings, in automobile and airplane windshields, in incandescent light bulbs, in flat-plate and concentrating solar collectors. Tin oxide and zinc oxide, in thin film configuration are technologically important materials because of their applications in photovoltaic cells [2].Among various dopants for Sn02, fluorine is often preferred, because fluorine doping results in films with high transparency and good conductivity [3]. By exploring the literatures, it was found that different sources of fluorine were used to produce Sn02:F thin fihns, among which are ammonium fluoride (NH4F) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) are the most used. Some researchers used~ [2, 4-7] and others used HF [3, 6-8] for doping Sn02 films. Gordillo et al.[7] used both of NH4F and HF and showed that the resistivity of thin films obtained by using HF was lower than that of similar films obtained by using NH4F by a factor of 2.2. They also found that the films obtained by using HF have more random orientations."

Jan 1, 2013

By Ilona Johnson

United States metals and non-metallic minerals manufacturing consume about 5,000 trillion Btu annually. Various studies estimate that as much as 20 to 50 percent of this energy is lost as excess or waste heat. Recovery of waste heat can conserve energy, reduce operating costs, and lower environmental emissions. It would be valuable to quantify recoverable waste heat sources and identify the barriers that hinder its recovery. This paper provides an overview of waste heat losses specific to high temperature processes in primary metals and minerals manufacturing. It summarizes findings from a broader study conducted for the Department of Energy Industrial Technologies Program; the study evaluates energy losses, recovery practices and opportunities, and R & D needs for waste heat technology development.

Jan 1, 2008

By E. Salinas-Rodriguez, J. Hernández-Ávila, E. O. Ávila-Dávila, A. Romero-Serrano, M. Perez-Labra, G. Juárez-López

"Single phase rubidium jarosite was synthesized by precipitation from aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction and SEM-EDS analyses showed that the synthetic rubidium jarosite formed in subspherical particles with an average particle size of about 35 µm. The chemical analysis showed an approximate composition of Rbo9432Fe3(SO4)2 1245(OH)6. The decomposition behaviour of the jarosite in terms of solution pH was thermodynamically modeled using FACTSage by constructing the potential-pH diagram at 298.15 K. The E-pH diagram showed that the decomposition of jarosite leads to goethite (FeOOH) together with Rb+ and SO42- ions. The experimental decomposition of the Rb-jarosite was carried out in alkaline solutions with five different Ca(OH)2 concentrations. The decomposition process showed an ""induction period"" followed y a progressive conversion period where the Rb+ and SO42- ions formed in the aqueous solution. In contrast, calcium was incorporated in the solid residue and iron was transformed into amorphous ferrihydrite. The kinetic analysis showed that this process can be represented by the unreacted-core chemically controlled model. The reaction order with respect to Ca(OH)2 is 0.4342 and the calculated activation energy is 98.70 kJ mol-1. IntroductionJarosite type compounds are hydrous sulfate minerals containing alkalis and ferric ions, MFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, where M can be H3O+· Na+, K+, Rb+, Ag+, NH4 +, Tl+, ½ Pb2+ or ½ Hg2+. Jarosite-type compounds were formed by the natural ""in situ"" oxidation of pyritic ores leading to the replacement of the original iron sulfides and iron oxides (Dutrizac and Kaiman) [1]. The great interest in jarosites is due to its ability to eliminate or diminish the iron concentration of the acid leach solutions produced in the hydrometallurgical zinc process, with relatively low losses of divalent metals such as Zn2+, Cd2+, Cu2+ or Co . However, the losses of the metal values demand a careful study of the conditions under which the jarosite compounds are formed together with their chemical properties."

Jan 1, 2012

By K. S. Raja, M. Misra, S. K. Mohapatra

"Ordered arrays of TiO2 nanotubular photocatalysts were prepared by a simple anodization process. Band gap states of the TiO2 were altered by controlling the anodization electrolyte composition and thermal annealing conditions that resulted in enhanced photo activity. These nanotubes were used for reducing CO2 to methanol either by photochemical or photo electrochemical routes. Pd nano-particle loaded TiO2 nanotubes were employed for photochemical reduction of CO2 to methanol that showed a conversion rate of 12 x 10-3 mol m- 2h-1. Carbon modified TiO2-xCx type nanotubes were used as photo anode and Ti as cathode for photo electrochemical reduction of CO2. The potential of Ti cathode was maintained at -0.5 V SCE. The formation rate of methanol was determined as 13 x 10-3 mol.m-2h-1.1. IntroductionGlobal warming due to emission of carbon dioxide is a serious environmental concern. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is about 384 ppm by volume and about 3 x 1012 tonnes by weight. Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are the leading causes for increase in the anthropogenic CO2. More than 32 x 109 tonnes of CO2 are released per year (based on 2006 data) worldwide from the fossil fuel. Pumping CO2 from the fossil fuel power plants into deep ocean basin is one of the most discussed disposal options. The other potential option is converting this green house gas into valuable fuels.Carbon dioxide feed stock can be converted into fuels of solid, liquid or gas phase by chemical, electrolytic, photocatalytic and photo-electrocatalytic methods. Reduction of CO2 to fuel form of any phase requires energy. The reduction process should be energy efficient so that we do not spend more energy and emit more (indirect) CO2 in the process of converting CO2. From this point of view, conversion processes occurring at room temperature look attractive.Electrolytic conversion of CO2 into various forms such as methane1, ethane2, ethylene3, methanol4,5, ethanol6, n-propanol, formic acid7, and formaldehyde has been widely reported. The standard equilibrium potential (at pH: 0) for reduction of CO2 to methanol is 0.14 VSHE and to methane is 0.2 VSHE which is thermodynamically more favorable than hydrogen reduction. However, the gas phase reduction is kinetically complex requiring effective electrocatalyst. The major issues with electrolytic conversion of CO2 to useful products are:"

Jan 1, 2010