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By Dale W. Collins

The disposal of arsenic from copper operations possess various health, environmental and processing problems. There are basically two areas of concern. The first being the disposal or treatment of smelter flue dusts and the second the removal of arsenic from refinery electrolytes. A number of treatment options have been proposed including the addition of soluble arsenic wastes to copper heap and dump leaching solutions. This approach will allow arsenic to be reintroduced to the ore via Solvent Extraction (SX) raffinate associated with hydrometallurgical operations. Knowledge of the attenuation behavior and mechanism during leaching is important in determining the long term stability of arsenic and the success of this approach. Parameters, such as uptake capacity, pH, particle size and solution chemistry have been investigated. Arsenic attenuation has been examined using column leaching with experiments employing both continuous flow and pulsed additions of As(V). In the initial stages of leaching, the attenuation of arsenic appears to depend on the pH and iron concentration in the effluent. Arsenic stability in the copper oxide ore has been examined with rinses of progressively lower pH.

Jan 1, 1994

By R. Stefaniuk, T. Le, J-Y Huôt, H. Henein

"One of the most important process variables in gas atomization is the gas to metal (G/M) mass ratio as it has a direct effect on the mean particle size of the atomized powder. If this ratio can be controlled during the atomization process, the powder produced would be more uniform and the d50 more predictable. Thus, atomization using a tundish or gravity feed from a crucible would be more stable. In gas atomization, the gas flow rate can be easily monitored; while it is very difficult to determine the molten metal flow rate. This research paper presents a new method of recording the molten metal height with time using a conducting metal height detector. The metal height recorded in real time during atomization was used to characterize using a model the friction losses in the metal delivery system. It is found that the integrity of the metal delivery tube and the cleanliness of the melt play a key role in the maintaining a stable metal feed.IntroductionIn the gas atomization process, molten metal is normally fed to the system either continuously using a tundish or in most cases a certain amount of metal is melted in a crucible and flows into the atomizing chamber under gravity. In the first case, the metal flow rate is believed to be constant during the atomization process despite the presence of slag or dross on the molten metal surface. In the second case, the amount of molten metal is depleted with time and the rate at which the metal flow decreases with time varies from test to test in a seemingly unpredictable fashion.' Furthermore, most atomization systems are confined units and the metal level in the crucible cannot be detected by a visualization method. In industry as well as in laboratories, the metal flow rate is normally calculated on either the mass of input material or the mass of total production divided by the duration of the test. This figure is not accurate enough and obviously cannot be used as a control parameter for the gas to metal ratio as it is only determined after the completion of an atomization run. The need exists for a metal flow rate measurement and control methodology; thereby the d50 of the powder produced may be estimated and controlled in real time. Clearly, the smaller the variation of the G/M ratio during the atomization process the more uniform the powder produced and hence the size of the particles can be predicted."

Jan 1, 1994

By Junzo Hino

Most of the waste that contains a small portion of copper is landfilled. The recycling process of copper from the waste, such as shredder residue, should be developed in order to save mineral resources and prevent environmental pollution. Shredder residue, generated from disposed automobiles and electric appliances, consists of many types of plastics, glasses and metals. The combustion heat of plastics is efficiently used for smelting in the recycling process that consists of melting and reduction. Because the waste contains numerous components the knowledge of the distribution behaviors of the main components is necessary to develop the recycling process. The distribution behaviors in the recycling process are evaluated by using the thermodynamic calculation program, HSC Chemistry. The calculation results are compared with the practical operation data of the recycling process and discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By Jesse White, Tyler Salisbury

Research projects contain many stages of development from the conception of an idea to a fullscale commercial operation. The transition from laboratory-scale research to bench-scale roasting can represent a significant increase in complexity and cost, depending on how many variables are being evaluated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) can simulate roasting conditions and produce a small sample for chemical analysis or materials characterization. A simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC) can identify endothermic and exothermic reaction temperatures. Using thermal analysis, some of the process variables can be tested and eliminated such as ore and reagent blends, retention times, operating temperatures, and some atmospheres.

Jan 1, 2015

By D. Morin

A general study of gold refractory arsenopyrite-pyrite concentrate bioleaching has been carried out including two continuous bioleach testworks at different sizes, namely one at a laboratory scale with a 100 I unit at a 2 kg/d dry solid flowrate and the other at a pilot scale at a 100 kg/d dry solid flowrate. Both tests show a 80% bioleaching of arsenopyrite in about four days of treatment and with the same kinetic. Pyrrhotite is attacked at the earlier stage of the bioleaching but pyrite remains unaffected. The weak potential of oxidation associated with the decomposition of arsenopyrite and the abundance of arsenite leads to a high grade of elemental sulfur in the bioresidue which consumes the major part of the cyanide during the gold recovery. Furthermore. the arsenite and ferrous produced in solution have to be oxidized to obtain a stable precipitate in the waste products and as outlined in previous works of other authors on this subject the addition of iron to obtain a Fe/As molar ratio at least above 3 is necessary. The agitation equipment used in the pilot unit allowed an optimization study calculation for scaling-up the design and power requirements of an industrial installation. For the pretreatment of a gold refractory As high-graded concentrate the reagent cost has the greatest part in the operating cost of the biooxidation step due to the necessary retreatment of the biosolution. In that conditions the power cost is quite marginal. actually it is significant for the treatment of pure pyrite.

Jan 1, 1991

By Vaughan R. Voller

"Numerical methods for dealing with a temperature dependent conductivity are discussed. An approach based on a local application of a Kirchhoff transformation at the discrete level is presented. The application of this transformation - that does not require any inversion- is demonstrated on solving a two-dimensional test problem.IntroductionMuch is said in the recent literature on the modeling necessity of obtaining appropriate thermo-physical properties; in particular the requirement to account for properties that are ""strong"" functions of the depended variables, e.g., Temperature. Of course obtaining appropriate thermo-physical properties serves no purpose unless they can be accurately integrated into a discrete numerical calculation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how temperature dependent conductivities that exhibit discontinuities or rapid changes can be handled in a numerical code.The discussion will be made in the context of a control volume finite element method [1]. After a brief outline of control volume finite element fundamentals basic methods of dealing with discontinuous or rapidly changing thermal conductivity are discussed. This is followed by the presentation of the recently proposed local Kirchhoff method [2,3], The paper concludes with an investigation of the performance of the various conductivity schemes in solving two dimensional problems. This testing clearly shows the advantages (accuracy and implementation) in using the local Kirchhoff method."

Jan 1, 2001

By Fumito Tanaka

The Mitsubishi process is the sole pyrometallurgical process for the continuous production of blister copper from copper concentrates and has been successfully operated around the world. The development of calcium ferrite slag (CaO-FeOx-Cu20), the so-called "C-slag", has enabled continuous converting from matte to blister copper in the commercial scale operations. Commercial interests in the slag led to many papers over the CaO-FeOx slag. However, CU2O- bearing slag has not been studied well due to experimental difficulties. The authors have quantified the thermodynamic properties ofthe CaO-FeOx-Cu2O system. The results have been utilized to analyze various issues related to the converting furnace, such as the magnetite precipitation from the slag or from blister copper and to develop better controlling criteria for the continuous converting operation.

Jan 1, 2003

By C. Isaac Garcia, Sihai Jiao, Anthony J. DeArdo

"A practical model based on the Hill analysis has been developed to calculate the Lankford value of interstitial free (IF) steels and its distribution in different rolling directions, by considering only a few selected texture components. The Texture Intensity Ratio (TIR), i.e. (111 ) /(100), was used in the model to describe texture. By using the new TIR parameter, the texture-based prediction models can be used more easily to predict the Lankford value in a rather straightforward way.IntroductionThe deep drawing capacity of sheet steels is generally indicated by the Lankford value, which is mainly determined by the texture in steels1. Traditionally, various models derived from the Taylor model are employed to calculate the Lankford value from the texture2-4. In such models, the plastic deformation of steel is assumed to be the result of the slip of dislocations in certain slip systems, i.e., by either pencil glide or restraint glide. The slip direction is the <111> direction. In the case of pencil glide, the slip is thought to be possible in all crystal planes with the <111> crystal direction. Assuming the material is elongated in the X1-direction by d n and compressed in the X2 and x3-direction by qd n and (l-q)d n, respectively, corresponding to a deformation tensor"

Jan 1, 2001

By Yuri Gelfgat

"The report presents the results of theoretical and experimental investigations of the MHD method used for production of composite materials from immiscible melts, e.g., Al-Pb, Zn-Pb, Bi-Ga and others, which, when solidified, can be presumed as ""frozen emulsions""IntroductionThe searching of the methods for controlling the phase distribution in various liquid heterogeneous media is one of urgent tasks in modem material science. The studies [1-3] have revealed that in case of electrically conducting media the influence of electromagnetic body forces on the liquid can be a rather effective mean of such a control. The current paper investigates some physical conformities governing the behaviour of binary liquid metal systems with a immiscibility region under electromagnetic processing designated to produce ingots with homogeneous structure.The main idea of the proposed method rests upon a concept that the electromagnetic forces in the melt are similar to gravity forces due to buoyancy effects in space and have a selective ability to influence the melt components dependent on their conductivity. In crossed electric E and magnetic B fields (fig.I) each component of the medium is influence by the force density f = jXB, where the current density j is determined by the conductivity a of the component j = -oE. When this force is directed parallel or non-parallel to the gravity vector, the buoyancy of suspended particles can be controlled accordingly.This phenomenon allows one to create a situation in binary system, when the sums of all mass forces (gravity and electromagnetic) affecting every component are equal, and two components are under conditions of equilibrium with respect to each other. These conditions are called quasiweightlessness, which is generated in the melt by the electromagnetic forces."

Jan 1, 1998

By C. F. Feng, L. Froyen

"In-situ processes have emerged as new and promising techniques for metal matrix composite fabrication. They offer significant technical and economic advantages over conventional processing. One of the in-situ processing routes that have been used is reactive free sintering of a mixture of powder reactants. However, materials synthesised via this route are always porous because of density differences between reactants and products. An example are the porous Al/(TiB2+Ah03) MMCs obtained by heating powder mixtures of Al+ Ti02+B with Ti02 and B in stoichiometric ratios for forming TiB2• In this study, porous Al/(TiB2+Ah03) composites were further processed by hot-pressing at temperatures above 600°C. This processing cycle was designed so that the composites could be densified. Furthermore, the reaction kinetics of the in-situ processing are studied by means of DSC analysis measured at different heating rates. The activation energies of the three intermediate steps that are involved in the reactive processing for preparing AV(TiB2+Alz03) MMCs are determined to be 923 kJ/mole, 241 kJ/mole and 235 kJ/mole respectively.XRD proved that the hot-pressed products consist of Al, TiB2 and Al203- Properties of the products are assessed by microstructural characterisation (LOM, SEM and EDS), microhardness, Young's modulus and bending tests. The results show that good microstructures, elastic properties and strengths, as well as acceptable ductilities were achieved. For the composition 79.74wt% Al-15.95wt% Ti0z-4.31wt% B, after the reactive free-sintering and hot-pressing cycles, Young's modulus is 105 GPa, bending strength is 509 MPa and maximum strain is 5.0%; for composition 88.73wt% Al-8.87wt% Ti0z-2.40wt% B, they are 89 GPa, 311 MPa and 8.2% respectively. It can be seen that the properties of products can be tailored by adjusting the relative amounts of reactants in green samples. Furthermore, for comparison reasons, Al and a binary system Al-Ti02 were identically processed as the ternary systems. Their microstructures and properties were studied."

Jan 1, 1998

By Nourreddine Menad

Plastic materials have been associated with electric and electronic applications since the early days of the electrical industry. Plastics can amount to 30 percents of the scrap mass. Generally, they are treated with flame retardants such as halogenated ones and they can result in different toxic chemical compounds. These plastics can be used as combustibles in the recovery of copper and precious metals. However, during their combustion, halogenated flame retardants can produce dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans. The estimated thermodynamic data of several organic compounds resulting from combustion of electric and electronic scrap, have been used in conjunction with the program HSC to calculate the conditions for dioxin and furan formation. The results show that the formation of the dioxins is dependent on the quantities of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and oxygen reacting in a given system, as well as on parameters such as temperature and pressure.

Jan 1, 1998

By Dai Yongnian

The methods of treating zinc crust and its development in the last hundred years are compared and reviewed. There are better effects from normal pressure metallurgy turned into vacuum metallurgy. The traditional methods dezinc only. But we must consider that delead on further step. From lab tests to industrial scale experiment are researched. The first step-dezinc, second-delead, crude ,metal of, zinc, lead and silver are produced, The flowsheet of treating zinc crust are simplified, material consumption reduced, work condition improved, environment protect mended. This method is pointed out that its application can be expanded.

Jan 1, 1992

By N. V. Gorelikova

A new type of zirconium mineralization has been recognized in the Devonian volcanic rocks from an orogenic depression in the Central Kazakhstan. The most characteristic features of this deposit are the fine-grained nature of the zirconium mineralization, an unusual texture of the zirconium ores, and a close association of zirconium with phosphorus in the ores. Zircon grains form fine globular aggregates with the features of hexagonal crystal habit. In addition to crystalline zircon, the ores contain metacolloidal zircon, similar to hydrozircon. The morphological and textural features of the zirconium ores suggest that the deposition of ore deposits took place at a low temperature from colloidal solutions. It is believed that this deposit should be considered to be a new type of zirconium mineralization that is related to low-temperature hydrothermal processes.

Jan 1, 1995

By Chen Chen, Wang Yanze, Hong Xin

Furnace superalloy was applied in harsh environment within the erosion of high temperature and oxidizing atmosphere. With plasma powder surfacing technology, iron-based alloy powder was sprayed on the surface of 310S stainless steel to form oxidation layer that increases the oxidation resistance and reduces the cost of materials. With optimum technological parameters, in this paper, oxidation test of 100 hours on iron-based cladding alloy and furnace alloy were carried out at 1200 . The technique of XRF, XRD and EDS were used to characterize composition, oxide morphologies and surface mechanical properties. The results showed that Element composition of cladding layer formed by Plasma powder surfacing was well distributed. Its oxidation weight gain rate of 100 hours was 0.4552g/m2h, belonged to antioxidant level. The oxidation weight gain rate of furnace alloy was 1.4617g/m2h, belonged time-antioxidant level. And on the mechanical comparison test, surfacing alloy is relatively excellent than furnace alloy.

Jan 1, 2016

By George A. Calboreanu

In order to overcome drilling and tapping of high hardness wear resistent material in slurry pumps, most of time mild steel inserts are mounted in the mold and after pouring they become an integrated part of the casting. This process is limiting the size and design possibilities of slurry pumps and efforts were made to drill and tap the hard iron itself. The paper will present practical results obtained in drilling and tapping Cr-Mo wear resistent material with hardness in excess of 700 HBN. The life time of the slurry pump parts used in hazardous waste fuel transportation with high slurry velocity and 15% solid loading some of it being quartz, increased 2.5 to 6 times.

Jan 1, 1996

By Xiangru Chen, Honggang Zhong, Qijie Zhai, Qingqing Sun

"A horizontal directional solidification equipment, with an in-situ pouring system, was employed to physically simulate the solidification behavior of continuous casting. In this paper, the 2304 duplex stainless steel (DSS 2304) was investigated using this equipment due to its microstructure produced by continuous casting process was usually not satisfied. The grain size combined with the position of columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) of DSS 2304 were observed and the results showed these microstructure characteristics were very close to those of the continuous casting slabs. In addition, the influences of pouring temperatures and cooling conditions on the CET behavior were investigated. The results revealed that the length of the columnar grains decreased with decreasing the pouring temperatures and flow rates of the cooling water. Besides, the content of austenite decreases with increasing the distance from the chilled sidewall.IntroductionDuplex Stainless Steels (DSSs) have been widely used in industry for their excellent mechanical strength and superior corrosion resistance in Cl- environments when compared with other stainless steels [1,2]. Their good performances are mostly on account of the duplex phase structure-ferrite (d) and austenite (?) and the high proportion of alloying elements. Although, DSSs have good ductility, but worse formability compared to the austenitics, and this is the key to restrict DSSs application [3]. This is due to the differences properties between the two phases. The hot workability of ferrite (d) is better than austenite (?) and exhibits a lower flow stress during hot rolling processing [4]. The early workers had revealed that coalescent force of phase interface, microstructure, difference of mechanical property between two phases and the precipitations are the main factors affecting the formability of DSSs [5,6]. Another important reason that affects the alloy’s mechanical properties is columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) [7]. It often occurs during continuous casting solidification process and induces inhomogeneous mechanical properties and the microstructure varies with different processing parameters, such as pouring temperatures, cooling conditions (water flow rates in the cooling zones) and casting speed [8]."

Jan 1, 2012

By Masayoshi Matswnoto

The Kosaka Smelter and Refinery produces copper and lead, and has a history of more than 100 years as a metallurgical department of Dowa?s Kosaka Mine. The Smelter treats complex sulfide concentrates which are difficult to smelt. Valuable metals are recovered using various processes developed by Kosaka Smelter and Refinery. Effluent waters from the smelter contain large quantities of heavy metals. This paper describes how Kosaka Smelter and Refinery recovers valuable metals from various effluent waters and handles overall waste waters in order to meet strict environmental standards.

Jan 1, 1993

By Jorge Alberto Soares Tenório, Victor Bridi Telles, Denise Crocce Romano Espinosa, Felipe Fardin Grillo, Vicente de Paulo Ferreira Marques Sobrinho, José Roberto de Oliveira

"This research aims to study the process of incorporation of the metal iron in electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), from a steel mill producing long steel by liquid iron in addition to the changing temperature of 1400 degree Celsius altering experimental conditions such as how to add the EAFD (as received and in the form of briquettes), the percentage of EAFD to be added (10, 20 and 30% of initial weight of sample pig iron) and the time of withdrawal of the sample of pig iron and slag (30 minutes after the addition of EAFD). Previously, the EAFD will be characterized using the following techniques: chemical analysis, particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis. After characterization, the eletric arc furnace dust to be added to the bath of liquid iron, will be divided into 2 types: the first order of addition will be in the form ""as received"" from the plant and the second is through the agglomeration of EAFD in the form of briquettes. The achievement of fusion experiments in laboratory scale, will take place in a vertical tubular furnace with temperature control. The fusion experiments to assess the incorporation of the metal iron will use graphite crucibles. A flow of inert gas (argon) will be maintained inside the furnace during the experiments. It is expected that the results obtained at the end of the research allow the evaluation of the iron metal incorporation of eletric arc furnace dust in hot metal bath.IntroductionThe steel industry generates a variety of solid wastes, liquid effluents and gaseous emissions at various stages of processing. The electric furnace dust (EAFD), generated in electric arc furnaces, represents a major problem for their content of chemical elements such as zinc, iron, chromium, cadmium, among others, issued to the atmosphere during the manufacture of steel[1]."

Jan 1, 2012

By Dinesh Goyal

Industrial fly ash from (electro static precipitator) was mixed with soil at different levels on v/v basis for raising of pulpwood tree species. In field trials conducted on degraded soils increase in the plant growth of Eucalyptus tereticornis, Acacia auriculiformis and Casuarina equisetifolia by 10 %, was observed during the initial six months after plantation at 18-24% (v/v) fly ash concentration which was at par with chemical fertilizer treatment. Level of As, Se and Mo in flyash was 6.2, 3.6 and 4.0 ppm respectively. The radioactivity analyses 40K, soil and 28 fly ash showed that the activity levels of gamma emitting radionuclides K, Ra, Ac were within the permissible limits and mixing of fly ash with soil at tested concentration would have no deleterious effects. Available Co, Cr, Ni and Cd in rhizospheric soils were below detection limit. Fly ash at 10-20 % level (v/v) was also found to be a good potting mix material in forestry nurseries in terms of improving biomass production by 20 %, when tested in nursery seedlings of Eucalyptus tereticornis. Nursery addition of fly ash in soil decreased soil dehydrogenase activity and the soil bacterial population was negatively affected. These results indicate that use of fly ash in forestry sector involving nursery and plantations as a soil amendment agent upto 10-20 % v/v is a gainful utilisation of fly ash.

Jan 1, 2002

By R. W. McCallum, B. Jensen, K. W. Dennis

"There are substantial challenges in the exploration of magnetic materials in the R-TM-X system (R =rare earth, TM= transition metal, X =stabilizing element) where Xis an element which has high vapor pressure, high reactivity, toxicity, or a refractory nature. This research focuses on discovering new phases with high anisotropy and high magnetization through closed diffusion couples inside high purity Fe crucibles. Either vapor-solid reactions or powder metallurgy techniques are then employed to isolate a stoichiometric sample based on a potentially magnetic phase found in the diffusion couple. For this research, X = F, Ca, Sr, Se, Zn, Bi or Cd, TM= Fe, and R = Nd. New ternary phases have been discovered with WDS and EDS, and magnetic transition temperatures have been measured with a SQUID magnetometer and VSM.IntroductionSince the discovery of the RCo5 compounds in the 1960s, rare earth- transition metal (R-TM) magnets have been the main focus of permanent magnetic research over the last five decades. Iron-based magnetic materials were studied next in attempts to avoid the unstable price of cobalt as well as the high price of Sm, the top performer in the RCos and RzC011 series. This hunt eventually led to the discovery of Nd2Fe14B with a theoretical BHmax of 64 MGOe, nearly double that of the previous samarium based magnets. The next few decades were devoted to enhancing the magnetic properties ofNd2Fe14B by the improvement of processing techniques and the additions of alloying elements. The only complete elemental substitution discovered in this system was R1Fe14C, which did not improve magnetic properties. It is probably safe to say that most ternary R-TM-X systems, where Xis any element that may stabilize a ternary phase, have been investigated if they may be prepared by conventional processes such as arc or induction melting. The present study offers a systematic approach to developing a novel diffusion couple technique in which the volatile, reactive or toxic alloying elements are laser welded inside a high purity Fe crucible. This experimental setup will prevent the oxidation of the rare earth element, as well as contain the volatile X element. As the goal of the research was to find new rare earth permanent magnets, only phases which contained greater than 60 wt% Fe were investigated. 247"

Jan 1, 2012