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By Yoshinao Kobayashi

he removal of oxygen from titanium and zirconium is important for use in application because it significantly affects the mechanical and physical properties such as ductility and toughness. However, thermodynamic properties of oxygen in molten titanium and zirconium have not been clarified and the effective deoxidation process of molten titanium and zirconium has not been established. In this study, the standard Gibbs energy of reaction of oxygen and yttrium in molten titanium and zirconium have been measured by a chemical equilibrium technique. Molten titanium, zirconium, and their alloys with aluminum were equilibrated with a Y2O3, A12O3, or Zr02 pellet in a cold crucible. The results are summarized as follows:

Jan 1, 2000

By Luben Xie, Lin Hu, Qiang Wang, Min Gan, Tao Jiang, Wenqi Li, Xiaohui Fan, Zhiyuan Yu

"Crystal precipitation behavior of calcium ferrite (CF) during iron ore sintering process along with the effect of cooling rate, SiO2 and Al2O3 on crystalline condensation were studied. The results show that CF, has strong ability of precipitation. The precipitation is barely affected by extenal factors. It begins to precipitate when the liquid phase cools down to about 1200oC. CF could crystallize rapidly at the cooling speed of 150 °C /min. Furthermore, decreasing of the cooling rate favors the development of crystal. Binder phase transformed from CF system to silicate system when SiO2 content was increased to 5~6%, with a constant basicity (R) 2.0. Increasing Al2O3 content could promote the precipitation of CF and the development of crystal.IntroductionCrystalline condensation is the last stage of sinter mineralization. It includes the processes that crystalline substance and amorphous substance precipitate from high temperature solution phase and the consolidation of material when melt cools down. During the crystallization process, minerals precipitate following the order from high to low melting point coupled with the decreases of free energy. Most of binder phase minerals and part of iron oxides crystallize in this process, which have an important influence on mineral composition and microstructure of sinter. They finally determine the sinter strength and metallurgical properties."

Jan 1, 2011

By Susanne Pignolet-Brandom

QEM*SEM is an automated scanning electron microscope/computer system that characterizes samples with regard to mineral modal abundances, mineral grain and particle sizes, mineral associations, and particle surface areas. Additional information, based on the classification of particles according to the area percentage of a mineral of interest, can be obtained for samples of particulates. QEM*SEM is capable of analyzing a wide variety of materials although it was originally developed for applications to the minerals industry.

Jan 1, 1988

By R. Schuhmann

The thermodynamic data and calculations which underlie the design of the Q-S process for coppermaking are summarized. The efficient production of crude copper and slag of low copper content in a single con¬tinuous converter requires the establishment and control of gradients in oxygen activity and other physico-chemical variables throughout the reactor. These gradients are established by stagewise introduction of oxygen and solid feed materials to provide: (a) flash oxidation of sulfides above the bath, utilizing the great bulk of the oxygen, (b) conversion of high grade matte or white metal to crude copper by bottom blowing with restricted bath turbulence, (c) close approach to equilibrium staging of converting and deconverting reactions along the length of the slag layer, from a maximum oxygen activity near the metal discharge end to a minimum at the slag discharge end, and (d) completion of slag cleansing by deconverting. In terms of the Phase Rule, the Q-S process involves a system with a minimum of 5 components (Cu, Fe, S, O, and SiO2) and several liquid, solid, and gaseous phases. Accordingly, basic data from previously reported studies on simpler systems are utilized to prepare an equilibrium diagram for the 5-component system and to generate a quantitative thermodynamic model for the Q-S process. This model shows in particular the ranges of oxygen activities (measured by equivalent CO2/CO ratios) involved in the Q-S process and the relations of oxygen activity to temperature and other important physico-chemical variables of coppermaking.

Jan 1, 1976

By Li Kaihua, Li Liang, Miao Qingdong, Wang Cong

The current process of production of titanium sponge involves the use of TiCl4 as a feed material and a huge amount of heat is generated during the magnesiothermic reduction process. For this reason, it is possible to agglomerate into a titanium lump with the partial high temperature. And, it is difficult to obtain soft titanium sponge with low content of impurities. In order to solve the current problems in the titanium sponge production process, process optimization experiments study of TiCl4 feeding speed, vacuum distillation temperature, system pressure and time control had been conducted for obtain high quality titanium sponge. Experimental results show that lower feeding speed can improve the output capacity of titanium sponge and softer products can be obtained. The product grade rate of titanium sponge improved significantly.

Jan 1, 2015

By Liyuan Chai, Bing Peng, Ji Peng, Di Yu

"Electric arc furnace (EAF) stainless steel dust has been classified as a hazardous waste by various government regulatory agencies as it releases heavy metals to environment. The solidification of EAF dust is to stabilize the hazardous components to the amorphous silica-alumina-based clays. The process of solidification is investigated and the softening temperatures of dust and additive clay mixtures are measured for economical thermal treatment. The results indicate that the mixture of dust and local clay with the ratio of 1:1 has the lowest softening temperature 1100 °C and it could pass the toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) test for the environmental regulatory limits after thermally treated at softening temperature for 15 min. Major phases of thermal solidification product clinker are CaAl2Si2O8, (Fe, Cr)2O3, (Fe, Mg)(Cr, Al)2O4 and Al6Si2O13.IntroductionThe yield of stainless steels in China arrived to 10 million tons in 2006 and more than 0.2 million tons of stainless steel dust are produced annually. Approximately 1-2 wt.% of scrap charged to an electric arc furnace (EAF) enters the off-gases and then is converted into the dust and reported to the bag-house. The disposal or landfill of the dust becomes a serious environmental problem in China due to the increased production of stainless steels in recent years. The dust contains elements such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and their solubility in leaching media exceeds the environmental regulatory limits [1]. Even though easily feasible for low-grade MgO, it is not appropriate to stabilize the heavy metals from the heavily contaminated soils after the dust landfill [2]. Several dust treatment technologies have been developed and they can be divided into two types. One is to recover the metals from the dust [3, 4] and another is to stabilize hazardous components present in the dust [5, 6]. Recycling of the dust generated in EAF is a remediation option for cleaner production. Direct recycling of EAF stainless steel dust was developed to recover the metal value from the dust and protect the environment [7], but it was only suitable for the dust with high contents of Ni, Cr and Fe. As for the dust with low valuable metal content, thermal solidification is an appropriate choice for the dust treatment."

Jan 1, 2012

By James E. Simpson, Suresh V. Garimella, III de Groh

"An experimental and numerical study of the horizontal Bridgman growth of pure succinonitrile (SCN) and of a succinonitrile-1.0 mol. % acetone alloy (SCN-1.0 mol. % ACE) has been performed. Experiments at growth rates of 0, 2 and 40 µmis were investigated. The solid/liquid interface was stable (non-dendritic and non-cellular); however, it was not flat. Rather, it was significantly distorted by the influence of convection in the melt and, for the growth cases, by the moving temperature boundary conditions along the ampoule. For the alloy, the interface was determined to be unstable at growth rates greater than 2.8 µmis, but stable for the no-growth and 2 µmis growth cases. When compared to the pure SCN interface, the alloy interface forms closer to the cold zone,· indicating that the melting temperature has been suppressed by the addition of the alloying element. Two-dimensional computer simulations were performed for the no-growth case for both the pure and alloy materials. These simulations indicate that a primary longitudinal convective cell is formed in the melt. The maximum magnitude of velocity was calculated to be 1.515 mmls for pure SCN and 1. 724 mm/s for the alloy. The interface shape predicted by the computer simulation agrees well with the experimentally determined shape for the pure SCN case. In ongoing work, numerical simulations of the process during growth conditions are being performed.IntroductionIncreasingly, advanced materials used in the aerospace, automotive, optics and electronics fields require low levels of defects and high levels of solute uniformity. Directional solidification by the Bridgman process is widely used for synthesis of these high-quality materials. During Bridgman crystal growth, heat and mass transfer by both thermal and solutal gradient-driven convection and diffusion influence the shape of the solid/liquid interface and dopant segregation levels, and hence, directly determine the final crystal quality. Key process parameters include the applied furnace temperature distribution and rate of translation, ampoule properties and furnace orientation."

Jan 1, 1999

By V. I. Lakshmanan

"Historically flowsheets are developed for efficient separation of metals for economic recovery. With increasing emphasis on reduction, reuse and recycle (3Rs) efficient methods are sought to recover values from a variety of feeds where cost of collection, transportation, local consumer behaviour and regulatory guidelines dictate the development of economically viable flowsheets. Innovative understanding of potential market applications can provide means to develop value added end products. The paper with examples will discuss the use of innovative-separation technologies to obtain value added end use materials from secondary sources.IntroductionFlowsheets are developed for the efficient separation of materials of value for economic recovery. However with increasing societal pressures and regulatory initiatives for stricter environmental guidelines, there is strong need to provide focus to recover materials efficiently and economically in an environmentally accepted manner. North American industries are increasingly caught between demands for high technology value added products and responsibility for environment. An aspect that is receiving increasing attention is Design for Environment'. This incorporates a system wide approach for product design and incorporates environmentally preferable features such as recyclability, disassembly, maintainability, reusability and use of safe materials as part of a product's design objectives.The present paper with case histories will address innovative flowsheet development to convert wastes into recyclables value added products or for minimising generation of waste materials. Case HistoriesProcess for Separating Fibres from Composite Materials 1In the automotive industry, sheet molded compound (SMC) is used to produce panels, bumpers and the like. During the manufacture and at the end of life, considerable waste materials are generated which are potentially recyclable. Fibre reinforced plastics where fibre substrate impregnated with thermosetting resin, find applications in several manufacturing processes and are potentially recyclable at the end of life."

Jan 1, 1996

By C. Lupi

The electrorefining of primary copper is a well known technology: in this work copper scrap was directly processed in the same way. he copper and copper alloy scrap was previously pressed by means of a 20 tons apparatus in order to avoid pyrometallurgical operations. The samples obtained in this manner showed a good compactness so that they were used as anodes in the electrorefining tests. The tests were carried out on anodes made by copper scrap, copper alloy scrap and a mixture of the two. The electrorefining tests were performed at both 303 and 333 K, in a perspex cell having a volume of 500 ml using a current density of 250 A/m2. The cathode used was always a sheet of pure copper and the electrolyte composition was 40-50 g/l Cu as CuS04 and 150-200 g/l H2SO4. Current efficiency in the range of 92-97% and specific energy consumption ranging from 0.14- 0.20 kWg of copper were reached in all the tests. The refined copper deposits were analyzed by AAS to verify their purity and observed by SEM to highlight their morphology.

Jan 1, 1998

By Yongzhong Xiao, Tiejun Chun, Jian Pan, Deqing Zhu

"An innovative process of reverse floatation-direct reduction-low intensity magnetic separation was developed to effectively beneficiate the superfine run-of-mine (ROM) ore mined from Hunan Province, China. Mineralogy was measured that the ROM ore is of superfine low grade hematite ore type, assaying 27.2wt%Fetotal and with main valuable minerals of hematite occurring at size between 3 to 5µm. The upgrading results show that the final iron concentrate, assaying 88.3wt%Fe total and 94.5% metallization degree was obtained at an overall iron recovery of 69.9% under the following conditions: rough concentration by grinding of ROM up to 88.7% passing 0.074 mm and reverse flotation at pH=9.4, 100 g/t starch and 200 g/t dodecylamine (DDA), and coal reducing the rough concentrate pellets containing 12% calcium containing complex additive at 1200 oC for 120 min, and finally magnetic separation of the reduced pellets by grinding up to 89.2% passing 0.043 mm at 0.08 T field intensity.IntroductionWith the rapid development of iron and steel industry in China, there has been a soaring demand for iron ores in the past decade. The imports of iron ores have increased from 148 million ton in 2003 to 628 million ton in 2009 [1]. Iron making industries increasingly demand for high grade raw materials to improve product quality and reduce operation cost. However, availability of high grade natural ores is limited and enrichment of lower grade ores is necessary to meet the demand. Therefore, large quantities of superfine low grade iron resources are necessary to utilize in China at the moment."

Jan 1, 2011

By Carlos Eduardo Gomes de Souza, Luis G. S. Sobral, Paulo A. Medeiros da Silva, Selma G. F. Leite, Renata de B. Lima

"The use of mixed cultures of acidophilus microorganisms that act in different temperature ranges, aims at speeding up the digestion of chalcopyrite, highly refractory sulphide mineral, the major mineral in the flotation concentrate of Caraíba Mining Co., with an attractive processing cost. The concentrate under consideration contains mainly chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and bornite (Cu5FeS4) with contents of, approximately, 70 and 30%, respectively. It was observed in this study, the performance of consortium of mesophiles, moderate and extreme thermophile microorganisms, in the oxidation of the aforementioned sulphides minerals, evaluating operational parameters such as pH of the leaching solution, the reaction temperature and redox potential, with consequent extraction of 80% of the concentrate copper content within 60 days of bioleaching. Such high copper extraction was achieved in column bioleaching tests.INTRODUCTIONThe solubilization of metals by the application of microorganisms from the mineral ores and the subsequent recovery of metals from solution are referred to as bioleaching (Rohwerder, T et al, 2003). This is an economical method for the recovery of metals from minerals; especially lowgrade ores, overburden, and waste from current mining operations which requires moderate capital investment with operating cost (Watling, 2006).Furthermore, bioleaching is generally more environmentally friendly than conventional metal recovery processes such as concentration and smelting. Those physicochemical metal extraction processes generate sulphur dioxide, a toxic emission that is increasingly the target of regulatory legislation (Stott et al., 2000; Olson et al., 2003). Bioleaching of chalcopyrite is the key industry target. The main problem hindering commercial application of chalcopyrite bioleaching is the slow dissolution rate (Fu et al, 2008).Dissolution of acid-soluble sulphide minerals such as sphalerite, and to a lesser extent chalcopyrite, occurs by a combination of ferric iron and proton attack via the polysulphide pathway (Rohwerder et al., 2003)."

Jan 1, 2008

By Akira Kaneda, Nozomu Hasegawa

"In the Mitsubishi Continuous Copper Smelting and Converting Process, slag/matte mixture overflowed from the smelting furnace is separated continuously in an electric furnace (slag cleaning furnace, CL-furnace). In order to improve the separation efficiency of slag and matte and to minimize power consumption, the design and the operating conditions of the CL-fumace should be optimized. In the previous study, the authors developed a mathematical model for simulating phenomena in the CL-furnace. The model consisted of 3 modules, electric field analysis, heat and fluid flow analysis and the particle tracking method. In this study, the model was partially modified: k -E. model was adopted, and the effects of various conditions, such as furnace shape (including accretion) and scale, electrodes configuration, immersion depth of electrodes, and thickness of slag layer, were evaluated. And the optimum design and operating conditions were discussed.IntroductionUnder the recent environmental restriction, advantageous features of the Mitsubishi process have attracted much attention. The process uses 3 furnaces connected by launders. Mixture of matte and slag formed in a smelting furnace flows continuously to a slag cleaning furnace (CL-furnace), where the matte is separated from the slag. The matte is continuously siphoned out to a converting furnace and converted to blister copper. The slag overflowed from the CL-furnace is discarded. Because the slag contains about 0.6 % copper, improving slag/matte separation efficiency and decreasing copper loss make a great profit. Moreover the process requires a large amount of electric energy, so reduction of electric power consumption brings in enormous benefit.The objective of this study is to optimize the design and the operating conditions of the process, especially the CL-furnace. This will be achieved by developing the mathematical model and clarifying relations between the design or the operating conditions and various phenomena in the furnace. Fig. 1 shows an outline of the CL-furnace. The mixture entering through an inlet is separated to slag layer and matte layer . In order to maintain the temperature of the melt at a predetermined level, 6 electrodes are immersed into the lag and Joule's heat is generated by 3-phase alternating current flowing."

Jan 1, 2000

By Lv Guozhi, Niu Liping, Shi Guanyong, Liu Yan, He Jicheng, Du Yanjun, Dou Zhihe

"We proposed thermit reduction-electroslag remelting method of preparing the large scale CuCr alloy. But there are pores and oxide inclusions in CuCr alloy prepared by thermit reduction process. This paper studied mainly the effects of ratio of reactant and additive on the inclusion type and their occurrences in CuCr alloy. The alloy prepared in different process conditions was characterized via XRD, SEM, OM and TEM and metallographic microscope, in which the existing state and micro-structural defects of inclusions are analyzed. The results show that there are three distinct regions: copper-rich regions, chromium-rich regions and the inclusion regions. Inclusions are mainly in the form of stomata and Alz03 phase, mainly locating in the copper-rich phase and the interface area of chromium-rich phase and the copper-rich phase. Adding Na3AlF6 and heating agent can effectively reduce the inclusion content in the alloy.1 IntroductionIn recent years, with the development ofhigh power vacuum and high-pressure technology ,the CuCr alloy contact material which has many advantages gradually replaced the traditional W-Cu and Cu-Bi series alloy contact material, and become the first choice of material in high-voltage and high-power vacuum switch contacts['-3l. The traditional powder metallurgy method, infiltration method and vacuum arc melting method[4-SJ are using metal Cu powder and Cr powder as raw material by casting molding, and have disadvantages such as high production costs, complicated process, poor product density and low yield, especially in the large size alloy ingots[9-12l. At present, the world regards CuCr alloy new preparation technologies as the first place, and how to achieve a large size the CuCr alloy ingot preparation has become a hot research of CuCr alloy[3l. Zhang Ting-an and Dou Zhihe[l-3l who are supported by national natural science fundation of china successfully successful developed new technologies and core equipment to prepare large-size copper-chromium alloy through aluminum thermal reduction-secondary refining method, and obtained two national invention patents. The method includes two key steps: one is get CuCr alloy consumable ingot by Thermit-SHS with electromagnetic stirring, the other is to refme the CuCr alloy ingot to remove the pores, inclusions and other defects by electroslag remelting technology to get dense and uniform CuCr contact material. The preliminary study results show that means of electromagnetic stirring evidently inhibit effect of alloy ingot macrosegregation during the electromagnetic casting stage, but there are still microstructure defects such as alumina inclusions and pores in the alloy ingots. Therefore, Zhang Ting-an et al refer new ideas of using the electroslag remelting to refine Cu Cr alloy ingots and effectively remove the defects of the ingots such as pores and inclusions [3l _ At present, there is no report of study on the electroslag remelting refining processes of CuCr alloy (the refining slag, remelting current). This article will research mode of occurrence and distribution law of inclusions in the large-size CuCr alloy ingots by Al Thermit-SHS under magnetic field stirring action and provide a theoretical basis for chosing refining slag to remove inclusions by electroslag refining. Meanwhile the article analyses the effect of reduction conditions of Thermit-SHS on the types of inclusions, mode of occurrence and distribution of regular inclusions in alloy ingot, and refer theory for inclusions regulation in the large-size alloy ingots."

Jan 1, 2013

By Batric Pesic

Reactions of metallic iron were studied in several different aqueous solution systems: water, medium salt solution used for the growth of T ferrooxidans, ferric iron solution and solution containing T ferrooxidans. Each system was studied under abiotic and biotic conditions in the presence of T ferrooxidans and as a function of pH, particle size of iron powder, temperature, ferrous and ferric iron concentrations. It was found that metallic iron reacts with water differently than does with ferric iron in water. Surprisingly, T ferrooxidans were non-functional in the dissolution of metallic iron. Also, the reactions of metallic iron with pure water were indistinguishable from the reactions with water containing medium salts for bacterial growth. The reactions with ferric iron were also independent of medium culture compounds. The mechanisms of metallic iron reactions with ferric ions are different from the mechanisms of metallic iron reactions with water.

Jan 1, 2001

By Ray Y. Lin, Randall A. Blue

"Joining of silicon carbide with infrared using a mixture of Si-30wt.%C as the brazing material has been investigated. Joining was performed at a temperature of 1500 °C in a flowing argon atmosphere for processing times ranging from 5 to 60 seconds. The joining filler materials include thin film silicon obtained by thinning down silicon wafers to about 70 /!m and graphite powder of a 15 /!m average particle size. Joint strengths were determined with a specially designed shear-in-compression jig for testing shear strengths of brittle materials. Cross section examinations of the joined specimens with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have shown that all joints are essentially void free with excellent wetting between the base SiC and the brazing material. Silicon carbide in the B form has been identified as the reaction product in the joining zone with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and selected area diffiaction (SAD) analysis. At 1500 °C with a joining time of 60 seconds, the joint has consisted of primarily SiC. With such a high SiC content in the joint, the joint strength is comparable to those by other joining techniques, such as diffusion bonding, as reported in the literature. A kinetic model for the formation of SiC from liquid silicon and carbon is proposed to explain the observed joint microstructural evolution.IntroductionSilicon carbide is of great interest for high temperature structural applications because of its excellent high temperature strength, wear resistance and anticorrosive characteristics [1]. Even though the interest in SiC is high, the use of the material has been limited by the high cost and difficulties involved in forming components of complicated shapes [2]. It is these limitations that necessitate the development of effective joining techniques that are cost effective and able to provide strong joints."

Jan 1, 1996

By Lori Bassman, Cassandra George, Cullen McMahon, Md. Zakaria Quadir, Michael Ferry

"Complete and accurate analysis of subgrain microstructural features must include three-dimensional information. Three-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data can be used to characterize these features; however their boundaries first must be determined. This cannot be accomplished simply with pixel-to-pixel misorientation thresholding because many of the boundaries are gradual transitions in crystallographic orientation. Fast Multiscale Clustering (FMC) is an established image processing technique that we have combined with quaternion representation of orientation to segment this kind of data. Segmentation algorithms often have issues handling images with both distinct and subtle boundaries. Our implementation of FMC addresses this by using a novel distance function and statistical analysis to take into account the variance in orientation of each feature. Although FMC was originally a twodimensional image processing algorithm it can be generalized to analyze threedimensional data sets. As an example, a segmentation of microbands in cold-rolled aluminum is presented.IntroductionThree-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction (3D-EBSD) is a method for mapping the local crystallographic orientations of points in a volume. The technique uses a dual beam platform consisting of a focused ion beam (FIB) and SEM with EBSD, where FIB is used for serial sectioning and EBSD for orientation mapping of 2D slices. These 2D slices may then be stacked to create a 3D volumetric data set.Typical uses of such a data set include characterizing the geometries and crystallographic orientations of surfaces between structures in 3D [1-5]. This involves identifying boundaries accurately, either in 2D slices with subsequent 3D reconstruction (as illustrated in Figure 1) or in the 3D data set. All such data sets present the challenges of i) aligning data slices to correct for instrument drift, ii) identifying relevant boundaries, and iii) implementing appropriate smoothing or interpolation algorithms. The focus of this paper is boundary identification."

Jan 1, 2011

By Xiaobing Yang, Abhishek Lahiri, Animesh Jha

"In the FFC-Cambridge process, the cathodic dissociation of oxide and CO/CO2 production on carbon anode is the basis for metal production in a CaCl2 bath. By using an inert intermetallic anode, the CO2 evolution can be eliminated altogether with acceleration in the electro-reduction kinetics. At present the process suffers from slow reduction kinetics of TiO2 to Ti metal, which can be enhanced significantly by the incorporation of alkali species in the TiO2 pellet at the cathode and in the CaCl2 bath in the presence of an intermetallic inert anode. Nearly full metallization with greater than 99% of Ti metal containing 1500 ppm of oxygen is possible to achieve in less than 16 hours of electro-reduction. Analyses of phase composition and the microstructures morphology in fully metallized pellets revealed the presence of localized solidified Ti layer, indicating that fast reduction process also involved formation of liquid phase as middle stage reaction. In addition, in situ creation of porosity and maintain higher current level during electrolysis process were two key factors to fully reduction of TiO2.IntroductionDuring cathodic dissociation of TiO2 in a CaCl2 bath and anodic evolution of CO2 on a carbon anode, which is the basis for the FFC Cambridge process [1], the rate of metallization slows down due to the formation of CaTiO3 at the reaction interface. Calcium and alkaline earth perovskites are known for their poor electrical conductivity which adversely affects the overall electro-reduction. One of the ways to increase the porosity is via the addition of polyethylene precursors in the pellet or by directly starting from perovskite [2, 3]. The experimental evidences shown in the literature confirm although the speed of reaction increases, but a complete or near complete metallization is not possible by enhancing the in-situ porosity alone, as the insulating perovskite is very slow to decompose under the equilibrium that prevails in the cell. Plethoric evidences on carbon anode show with the current decrease gradually, and finally stabilize at a very low value between 0.2 and 0.4 A, which is a testimony of the presence of perovskite insulating barrier in the current path. Our aim in this paper is to demonstrate the mechanism of enhanced electro-reduction when alkali ions are present in the oxide pellet at cathode and in the bath. We also show for the first time the use of an intermetallic anode for Ti-metal production using the FFC Cambridge process."

Jan 1, 2009

By Marcio Toshio Tanaka, Marcelo Breda Mourao, Cyro Takano, Cesar Yuji Narita

"The concerns in questions related to the environmental impact in the steelmaking industries caused mainly on the gas emissions such as the dioxide carbon are due to its raw material such as the coal, a fossil and non renewable resource. The purpose of this paper is to replace from 10% to 50% of the coal used in cokemaking by mixing it with a renewable source (wood charcoal). The powder (- 325 mesh) from both raw materials (coal and wood charcoal) were mixed in order to obtain a briquette that was then heat treated at 1100°C to obtain the biocoke. Results of usual analysis (coke reactivity index, coke strength after reaction and cold crushing strength test) were employed to compare to regular coke briquettes. It was found that biocoke with different amounts of wood charcoal present features enabling it to be used in some ore reductionprocesses.1. IntroductionThe iron and steelmaking industry is a heavy emitter of carbon dioxide; according to the World Steel Association, 6.5% of global emissions of this greenhouse gas is due to the production of ferrous materials [ 1]. This is due to the fact that the fuel and reductant employed in the blast furnace is metallurgical coke, obtained from fossil coal. There are some projects aiming to reduce or even eliminate the emission of fossil GHG in the iron and steelmaking process [2]. Most of them propose the capture and storage of the gas (CCS) [3], a technology not yet proven. Other studies point out that the coke consumption in the blast furnace could be reduced by using high reactivity coke; this could lead to lower temperatures in the thermal reserve zone of the blast furnace and consequently less fuel rate in the furnace.The use of biomass in the iron ore reduction process is known as an environmentally accepted solution, as biomass does not release already fossilized carbon."

Jan 1, 2013

By Rolando Campos

Until 1970, the Caletones Smelter of CODELCO-CHILE, División El Teniente, operated under the conventional pyrometallurgical process used by most of copper smelters. The annual copper production varied around 165.000 tons. The failure in the commissioning of the "oxygen smelting" technology in Peirce- Smith converters (1970-1972), forced further introduction of transcendental changes in the Caletones smelter operating scheme. Implemented technological innovations were based on wide studies and research works performed by División El Teniente. This paper presents a summary of technological modifications introduced, their impact on production and energetic performances, and short and medium terms improvement plans.

Jan 1, 1993

By C. Pichler, A. Ressler, D. Gregurek, A. Spanring

In order to improve the refractory lining life at one of the RHI key customer test procedures were developed within a two years collaboration project. In the first year of cooperation detailed refractory corrosion work in the rotary kiln with Ca-ferritic slag was performed. The main results of the second year of cooperation, reported in this article, involve a detailed testing work with nickel matte and pre-selected refractory brands which was performed in TBRC. A first part of this work was a complete chemical and mineralogical characterization as well as FactSage calculations carried out on provided matte samples. According to these results testing in the TBRC was realized at different process temperatures with several magnesia-chromite bricks. Based on the mineralogical investigation a high chemothermal load caused by sulfidic matte resulted in a deep reaching infiltration of the brick microstructure and partly corrosion of main brick components.

Jan 1, 2015