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By Dale A. Zuck

Recovery of aluminum metal from drosses? is a major factor in the recyclability success story enjoyed by the United States aluminum industry. Today's modern dross processor uses the latest technology to maximize metal recovery at the lowest cost while complying with all environmental laws and regulations. Most dross processors, however, pay little attention to the resulting saltcake, the end residual of dross recyCling, and rely on landfills for .disposition of this material.. The alternative is to recycle the saltcake, but the success of this technology is dependent on the development of reliable outlets for each of the saltcake constituents. This paper discusses the evolution of an aluminum dross oxide processing technology that ,produces an economically attractive source of alumina for the production of portland cement.

Jan 1, 1995

Leading Article from "British Medical Journal," London, 4th, November, 1944.Assuming that silica exerts its injurious effect upon animal tissue through a slow transformation into silicic acid, Denny, Robson, and Irwin thought that if the solubility of siliceous material retained in the lungs could be suffciently reduced the usual fibrotic response could be diminished or prevented. They discovered that aluminum powder rendered siliceous material insoluble in vitro by coating the silica particle with a thin film of gelatinous hydrated alumina, which on drying formed crystalline alpha aluminum monohydrate. The presence of this adsorbed layer on the surface of the quartz was shown by staining it with aurin. That metallic aluminum dust produced no fibrosis in the lungs was demonstrated by dust-inhalation experiments on eight rabbits. Attempts were therefore made to prevent silicosis by mixing quartz with metallic aluminum dust.Animals exposed to quartz dust developed typical silicosis in about five months, but the addition of 1 per cent. aluminum powder prevented this even after exposure had been lengthened up to 22 months, provided the aluminum powder was of a particle size below 5. This year Crombie, Blaisdell and MacPherson have reported the treatment of 34 silicotic miners by the daily inhalation of fine aluminum powder freshly ground from small aluminum pellets in a specially constructed mill. Daily treatment began with five-minute inhalations, which were gradually increased to 30 minutes. Some of the men received 300 treatments, but the majority only 200. Out of the 34 cases thus treated clinical improvement was manifested by lessening or disappearance of shortness of breath, of cough, of pain in the chest, and of fatigue. In 15 cases the condition became stationary and remained so in spite of continuous employment in silica dust throughout the treatment. The progress of the disease was assessed by means of tests for respiratory function repeated at three-monthly intervals. Obviously this treatment cannot be regarded as a cure for silicosis, since it cannot restore lung tissue which has undergone fibrotic change; but Crombie and his colleagues believe that the inhalation of finely particulate aluminum powder offers every prospect of preventing the development of human silicosis.In view of these findings, it is surprising that repeated papers by Goralewski from Germany describe various types of lung disease attributed to aluminum dust, and press for them to be scheduled under the Workmen's Compensation Act in that country. Seven hundred workers were investigated. They were making, probably by a stamping process, aluminium powder containing about four milliards of particles of dust per grain, and are reported as complaining of dry cough with pain on breathing, shortness of breath, poor appetite, and gnawing abdominal pain. Spontaneous pneumothorax developed in four workers. No abnormal physical...

Jan 1, 1945

By Mary C. Jennings, Peter F. Marcus

This paper examines the dynamics of aluminum consumption (all products), scrap recovery and primary aluminum capacity for the Western World through 1995, with particular emphasis on the U.S. aluminum industry. The relationship between the prices of ingot, sheet and extruded products is also explored.

Jan 1, 1986

By V. Kamavaram

Ionic liquids are novel salts used as potential non-aqueous electrolytes for aluminum electrolysis at low temperatures. In the current research di-alkylimidazolium chloride ionic liquids such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([HMIM]Cl) were investigated for aluminum electrolysis. Melt formed by mixing ionic liquid with AlCl3 is termed as chloroaluminate and is composed of several polymeric chloroaluminate anions. Ionic liquids are studied as electrolytes for aluminum electrowinning and electrorefining of aluminum based materials (A356, A360, & Al-MMC) at low temperatures. Mechanism of aluminum electrodeposition in these chloroaluminate ionic liquid electrolytes was investigated using electroanalytical techniques such as cyclic-voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Aluminum electrodeposition on pure copper substrate in AlCl3-[BMIM]Cl (1.5:1.0) electrolyte at 30°C melts was found to be quasi-reversible process with a charge transfer coefficient ( of 0.40. Chronoamperograms obtained at different voltages in the range (-0.1 to -1.0 V) revealed that the initial stages of aluminum deposition in AlCl3-[BMIM]Cl melts was instantaneous nucleation followed by diffusion controlled growth of three-dimensional aluminum nuclei. The diffusion coefficient of electroactive species Al2Cl7¯ in AlCl3-[BMIM]Cl melts was found to be 6.5×10-7 cm2 s-1 from Cottrell?s equation and 3.9×10-7 cm2 s-1 from the dimensionless current-time transients.

Jan 1, 2006

By Mingming Zhang

This paper describes the aluminum electrowinning in a batch recirculation cell system using 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and aluminum chloride (ionic liquids) as electrolyte at low temperatures. The technique proposed to deposit aluminum from ionic liquid electrolyte was a three-component electrolytic cell system. Ionic liquid electrolyte was circulated between electrolytic cell and electrolyte reservoir by ceramic piston pump. Two different anodes were used in the electrowinning and it was found the extruded carbon anode had better electrochemical stability and reusability. The cell performance variables studied were the current density and current efficiency as a function of aluminum ion concentration, electrolyte flow rate and applied cell voltage during batch recirculation operation. Results indicated that the current density was directly proportional to the applied cell voltage, initial electrolyte concentration and electrolyte flow rate. Under batch recirculation operation at applied voltage of 3.5 V and temperature of 80-90°C, 80-90% current efficiency of cathodic aluminum deposition can be achieved when flow rate is 20mL/min and initial concentration is 10 mol/L.

Jan 1, 2006

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By G. M. Scamans

In the past ten years there has been considerable penetration of aluminum automotive body sheet (ABS) into automotive structures. The exponential increase in demand is resulting in major investments in heat treatment and finishing capacity across the globe. Line speed and tonnage throughput is limited by the continuous heat treatment (CHT) floater furnace rather than the cleaning and pretreatment section where electrolytic treatments that offer higher line speeds should come into favour and roll coating of pretreatment should predominate. The capacity limiting surface texturing pass will either be eliminated or moved to the finishing line or a dedicated mill. The key to making aluminum both embedded carbon and cost competitive with steel for more and more affordable classes of vehicles lies in recycling of both prompt scrap and, in the longer term, end of life vehicle scrap. For the first time scrap separation technology is available that can compete effectively with hand sorting and can sort aluminum shredded vehicle scrap into wrought and cast alloys and then into individual alloy groups. The challenge is to use more end of life scrap in alloy formulation whilst at the same time extending the property range in terms of both strength and formability.

Jan 1, 2015

By PAUL P. ZElGLER

Rapid growth of the aluminum industry continued through 1948 with an acute shortage of the metal in all forms marking the year. Estimates based on shipments made during the first nine months indicate that, in 1948, the industry shipped more than two billion pounds of aluminum products or roughly four times the amount shipped in the greatest peacetime year prior to the war. The rapid expansion of the aluminum industry is particularly reflected in the production of sheet. Last year, the industry as a whole shipped an estimated 40 per cent more sheet than was produced in the peak war year of 1944.

Jan 1, 1949

By Richard Mcivor, Largo Albert

"Inco Limited has operated aluminum mine shaft conveyances since 1968. Aluminum conveyances are used where the hoisting in system requires lightweight conveyances to maintain the hoist rope safety factors and mine hoist rope pulls as dictated by government regulations. Inco Ltd. currently has 20 skips (including spares) operating in the Ontario Division mines. The main problems encountered are with galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals and metal fatigue. This paper will highlight some of the problems encountered and illustrate methods utilized to overcome the problems and improve the conveyances performance.IntroductionAluminum mine shaft conveyances have been in use at Inco Limited's various Sudbury district mines since 1968. All of the conveyances currently in use are skips used for hoisting mine ore and rock. Inco had an aluminum quick change Kimberley-type skip and cage in operation at its Totten Mine in the early 1970s, but this mine is no longer in operation and no further comment will be made.The primary reason why aluminum conveyances are chosen over conventional steel conveyances is because of their light weight. Typically an aluminum conveyance will weigh about 60% to 70% of a steel conveyance of similar design. The lighter weight conveyances will allow higher payloads to be used and still maintain the statutory hoist rope factors of safety. It must be remembered that increasing the payload will increase the power required to raise the load and the hoist will have to have the necessary horsepower for the increased payload or the system will be overloaded.The front dump (Rola-chute) skips are of the bail-less design, i.e. the box structure also supports the load and has the shaft guide shoes attached directly to the side of the box structure. The Copper Cliff North Mine and South Mine skips have a joint in the centre of the conveyance and are installed in the shaft in two sections and connected with pins. This feature allows very long (42 ft) skips to be used in areas where a one-piece bail-type conveyance could not be installed. It is not practical to make sectionalized bail-type conveyances"

Jan 1, 1988

By Fabiola Alvarez, Ana E. Bote, Daniel Pasquevich

"The oxidation of aluminum and its alloys was extensively studied for improving the corrosion resistance in structural materials having high specific strengths. But this reaction involves the formation of a very thin barrier layer on the metallic pieces. Furthermore, the ·recent development of the directed melt oxidation process for producing metal-ceramic; composites has renewed the interest in the study of interaction between gases and metals. Oxidation experiments in the presence of different chlorine partial pressures and at different temperatures were performed in ·a thermogravimetric balance, and microstructures were analyzed by electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The oxy-chlorination kinetics was determined and the oxide formed W(IS amorphous at temperatures below 600 °C and crystalline .at higher temperatures. The appropriate experimental conditions for the fastest completed oxidation was further determined.IntroductionThe use of fine powders for the manufacture of ceramic components has significant advantages. They include excellent sinterability; low sintering temperature and better microstructure leading to improved mechanical properties. The conventional method of producing fine oxide powders involves controlled precipitation and pirolysis of suitable salts. The main limitation of the high temperature decomposition route is the evolution of environmentally unacceptable and corrosive gases. Controlled precipitation of hydroxides from solutions of salts, followed by thermal treatment involves large volumes of solutions and the calcination step that can induce grain growth (1).Direct oxidation of aluminum metal for producing alumina powder requires high temperatures for the direct oxidation of molten Al alloys by a vapor phase oxidant process (2, 3) or high technological process like thermal plasma reactor ( 4).Oxidation of high purity aluminum (5, 6) below the melting temperature· is initially characterized by a nearly linear reaction rate, followed by a rate which decreases rapidly with further weight gain. However, the oxidation rate of an aluminummagnesium alloy is much faster and it does not conform to any common oxidation law, but it is nearly parabolic at temperatures between 200 and 400 °C, an nearly linear· above 400 °C."

Jan 1, 2000

By Philip D. Wilson

AS thin most important and vital component of an airplane aluminum hay rapidly become the heart and tome- of the war program. Its production ham increased amt will continue to increase, in comparison with its pre-war position further than that of any of lie other important critical metals except magnesium. Compared with the 1939 production of tons of primary ingot coming from four plants, all owned by the Aluminum Company of America the 1942 figures are more than three timer as large. Including, recoverable scrap and contracted ingot from Canada the 191,, supply of aluminum for the United States will be over siren times dial of 1939- A substantial part of this increase has been achieved during the past year as total production in 1941 was only some 307,500 tons. During 1942 six great new ingot plants sponsored and owned by the Government have come into production and three others are nearing completion.

Jan 1, 1943

By B. Arsenault

Aluminum coatings can provide galvanic cathodic protection for several metals and alloys, In order to be a suitable protective solution on structural components, the mechanical integrity of the component must be preserved, In particular, fatigue properties are a challenge for thermal-spray protective coatings on mechanical structures, To address the issue of the fatigue integrity of 7075 aluminum alloy with an arc-sprayed protective coating, different surface preparations prior to arc spraying were considered, In the present work, a feasibility study was performed using laser ablation as a surface-preparation technique before or during arc spraying of coatings, This was collaborative effort between the LERMPS laboratory in France, the National Research Council Canada and the Royal Military College of Canada, Both fatigue and adhesive properties of aluminum coatings were evaluated in relation to substrate-surface-preparation techniques including laser ablation (Protal® process), grit blasting and shot peening. Results indicate that a combination of key conditions, including the use of nitrogen as the arc spray gas, shot peening, and proper laser energy density for ablation, provide high fatigue resistance of metallic coated 7075 alloy substrates. Specimens prepared under these conditions show a similar fatigue resistance to uncoated substrates.

Jan 1, 2005

By Turan Uysal, Ramazan Aydogmus, MURAT ERDEMOGLU

The paper investigates the effects of calcination for thermal activation and intensive milling for mechanical activation on aluminum recovery by acid leaching of pyrophyllite ore enriched via attrition scrubbing and froth flotation. The study compares these methods in terms of energy consumption and aluminum recovery, concluding that mechanical activation is more economical and environmentally friendly.

Nov 1, 2023

By F. Kassabji

This publication presents the main experimental and theoretical results on the recovery of aluminum scrap (dross and Used Beverage Can) without use of any addition of fluxing salts. Dross and UBC's processing experiments have been conducted in a rotary plasma furnace operating in the transferred and non-transferred mode, using different plasma gases. The investigation involved the treatment of more than 100 kg of dross and other aluminum residues using plasma torches with less than 100 kW power. The experimental work showed that this process is .far more economical and kind to the environment than the conventional route using a salt flux. An equilibrium thermodynamic calculation at elevated temperature makes possible the prediction of by-products at various temperatures for different plasma gases.

Jan 1, 1994

By T. Lamb

There are many honor stories about aluminum in the marine environment and many are not based on facts, so they are myths. Myths must be addressed before progress can be made. This paper attempts to dispel the myths and state the facts. A common perception is that aluminum ships cost significantly more than steel ships. This paper illustrates that even though the cost of the aluminum structure is over 50% more than the steel structure, an "equivalent" aluminum naval ship can be built within 7% of the acquisition price of a steel ship. This is possible because of the cascading benefits of the aluminum ship's significantly lighter weight. Aluminum ships also have a life-cycle cost advantage over steel ships because of reduced maintenance and fuel cost savings.

Jan 1, 2011

By Reza Kamali, Mohsen Bashiri, Hadi Fanisalek

"Nomenclature: A: area (m2), C: heat capacity (WIK), cp: specific heat (J/Kg K), d: internal tube diameter (in), F: correction factor for multi-pass and crossflow heat exchanger, h: convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K), k: thermal conductivity (W/mK), L: length (m), m: mass flow rate (Kg/s), W: flow rate, N: number, Q: heat rate (W), R: thermal resistance, T: temperature (°C), U: overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K), ;1,,P: pressure drop (Pa), ;1,,T: temperature difference (°C), p: density (lb/ft3), N: number of tube passes, U,: velocity in tubes, iJh: head loss in feet of flowing fluid, Up: velocity in the pipe leading to and from the heat exchanger (ft/sec), µ: viscosity ( cp ), Llpf frictional pressure loss (psi/l 00 equivalent ft of pipe) Subscripts: b: baffle, c: cold, cf counter flow, ex: exchanger, f: fouling, h: hot, i: inlet-inner, ib: inlet baffle, lm: logarithmic mean, m: mean, o: outlet-outer, s: shell, t: tube, w: wall AbstractThe main bottleneck for primary aluminum production industry is dealing with a huge amount of input energy. The fact is that part of provided energy to aluminum production smelters will be lost as waste heat and it never used for aluminum production. One part of waste heat is escaping from the potroom exhaust gases, which was studied for possible recovery in a desalination plant to produce distilled water and the paper was presented in 2011 TMS Annual Meeting. However, it was shown that waste heat recovery plant to produce distilled water is highly profitable but the main fact is that the exhaust gases from potroom are highly corrosive, abrasive and dusty. The main challenge for desalination plant construction, which is using aluminum smelter exhaust gases as the main heat source, is the highly corrosive environment that makes the situation difficult and complicated for equipments design and plant construction. In this paper, we are trying to study a detailed investigation regarding the heat exchangers fouling, corrosion in heat exchangers including heat exchangers' material, how often we need to shut down the plant for maintenance or cleaning, and plant thermal efficiency with considering fouling."

Jan 1, 2012

By Hannon, J. W. G.

Silicosis is today's most important industrial disease and probably dates back to the Stone Age. Since the industrial revolution, increasing attention has been paid to those occupations where mineral dust is present in the air breathed by the workers. For many years it was assumed that the inhalation of all mineral dusts was hazardous. but investigations conducted in several countries pointed the statistical finger of guilt at free silica in any of its numerous physical forms as a dust of outstanding toxicity. Recognition of silica as the chief hazard has resulted in widespread use of the term "silicosis." Depending upon the concentration of finely divided silica dust to which the individual is exposed and the duration of exposure, silicosis may become a disabling condition in from one to thirty years. The structure of the lung and respiratory passages is such that only minute particles of silica can gain entry to the air cells in the lung (5 microns or under are most toxic). When these minute particles gain entry to the lung tissues they stimulate certain protective cells in the lung to multiply at an excessive rate. The cell's undergo inflammatory changes which result in nodular scars and a low-grade inflammation of the lung tissue. These progressive changes in the lung structure gradually encroach

Jan 1, 1949

By Delahant A. B, Dworski M

From the Saranac Laboratory for the Study of Tuberculosis of the Edward L., Trudeau Foundation, Saranac Lake, New York:We are assembled to honor the memory of our friend and colleague, Donald Cummings, one of the founders and a past president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. I deem it an Unusual privilege to have been asked to give this first memorial lecture and hope that what shall have to say may be worthy of the occasion. It is fitting that we should discuss here the subject of Silicosis to which he devoted such a large part of his life and it is doubly fitting, I think, that I should report to you an extended series of investigations carried on by his associates at the Saranac Laboratory.The subject of silicosis may seem hackneyed to this audience which is so familiar with the tried and accepted methods of prevention and control.But in spite of our efforts, the condition is still with us and unfortunately is still being produced in many places. In industries that now maintain good control of dust, fresh cases are appearing on annual re-examination, whose major exposure date back to the days before the hazard was recognized.A few new employees, with apparently ineffective upper respiratory protection against inhaled dust, develop silicosis precociously in environments that are comparatively harmless to their fellows. In plants that have relaxed their vigilance under the urgency of war production schedules, conditions again prevail that will produce, disease in the future.Silicosis acquired new interest with the announcement by Denny, Robson and Irwin(1) in 1937 that it could be prevented by the inhalation of powdered metallic aluminium. It so happened that without knowledge of their work, we at the Saranac Laboratory had for some months been conducting similar experiments with one of the hydroxides of aluminium.Quite independently we discovered that hydrated alumina would also protect animals against quartz. Our approach to the problem had been empirical; we were trying to neutralize quartz particles by coating their surfaces with an insoluble material following the lead of Kettle who in 1932 had shown that this could be accomplished with iron. He neglected to describe his method and the chemist who prepared his coated...

Jan 1, 1945

Following the experimental work of Denny, Robson, and Irwin, and the clinical investigation by Crombie and Blaisdell, an investigation of aluminium therapy was begun at Washington, Pa., which is situated In a very large industrial section of the State. Some of the men to be studied were from plants manufacturing silica brick, refractories used in steel and glass manufacturing, and semi-porcelain table-ware; others were workers in foundries, sand blasters, and men engaged in the quarrying of ganister rock.This group of workmen gave an opportunity to study the effects of aluminium on various types of silicosis which differed somewhat from that found in hard-rock miners.EXPOSUREIn their occupations, the men studied were exposed to silica dust concentrations ranging from 17 to 97 per cent free silica. In the silica brick industries, the unfired product averages 96 per cent silica in the form of quartz, whereas the fired brick contains 50 to 62 per cent. cristobalite plus 11 to 80 per cent. tridymite, forms of silica that, on account of their higher solubility, are more toxic than quartz. The operational dust counts in the plants varied from 15 to 9,500 particles per c.c., and the median particle size from the aerial samples was 1.0 micron for the green product and 2.0 microns for the fired product. The length of exposure varied with the occupation as well as with the individual plant, but disabling silicosis could be produced in less than four years in certain exposures. The average time needed to produce radiological silicosis in those susceptible to this disease was eight years. Some of the men in our series of cases have been treated as long as fifteen years after exposure had ceased, and have improved under treatment.The dust counts mentioned above had been reduced prior to the aluminium therapy studies and the presen.t exposures do not exceed '900 particles per c.c., the average being 370 particles. per c.c. This improvement in dust conditions was due to improved dust control apparatus, which was installed before aluminium therapy was instituted. Aluminium powder is not a substitute for dust control.PATHOLOGYThe pathological picture of silicosis in men engaged in the ceramic industry is somewhat different from that in hard rock miners." Due to exposure to high concentrations of dust containing high percentages of silica of varying degrees of solubility andvery small particle size, these men are subject to a relatively rapid type of silicosis, which sets up an acute...

Jan 1, 1945

By Jan Petter Maehlen

Solid H-absorbing materials are in focus of ongoing R&D to offer viable solutions for the hydrogen storage and supply systems aimed on use of hydrogen as energy carrier for automotive transportation. Low operating pressures, combined with high gravimetric and volumetric efficiencies, together with fast kinetics of hydrogen release at ambient temperatures (providing conditions for a low energy loss due to decomposition), are the most important features of the ?ideal? H storage material. Hydrides of the light elements are the only possible candidates to build systems with an overall efficiency similar to those accommodating liquid or compressed (700 bar) hydrogen. One promising material from this point of view is aluminium trihydride, alane AlH3 with a gravimetric storage capacity of 10 wt.% H. This work was focused on studies of the crystal structure and thermal decomposition of alane by application of powder synchrotron X-Ray diffraction.

Jan 1, 2006