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By Tuula Mäkinen

One of the latest applications of the Outokumpu Flash Smelting Technology is the direct smelting ,of nickel concentrates to metallised low-iron nickel mattes. Compared to the conventional nickel smelting, the new DON process needs a lower number of smelting vessels resulting in considerable economic and environmental benefits. Fundamentals of smelting nickel concentrates in one stage to low-iron mattes are presented. Properties of nickel. smelting slags with an emphasis of the slag fluidity at high MgO-levels are also discussed. Conditions prevailing in DON mattes at high oxidation degrees are presented as well as their influence on the behaviour of such mattes in the settler and on tapping the furnace. Distributions of elements in the direct smelting are presented and compared with the conventional process. A further comparison is made with pilot-plant data and the industrial scale.

Jan 1, 1998

By N. Menad

The formation of the dioxins can be dependent on the quantities of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and oxygen present in a given system, as well as on parameters such as temperature and pressure. Inadequate supply of combustion air ( incomplete oxidation ), low combustion temperatures ( incomplete combustion ), and insufficient turbulence in the combustion are factors which can favour their formation. Dioxins were produced also calatytically from chlorinated phenol precursors, non-chlorinated compounds that were chemically, and reaction of phenol with inorganic chloride. In this paper different precursors such as combination of C, H, 0, Cl, rapid formation/combustion intermediates and routes to PCDFs are reviewed, and the influence of PVC amount on the formation of these isomers is discussed.

Jan 1, 2000

By G. Diáz

A basic technology coping with a wide range of secondary zinc sources has been developed. The process combines an electrowinning stage, a solvent-extraction unit and a leaching procedure. The acidity generated in zinc electrowinning, transferred by the organic solvent to the aqueous raffinate, is reused to leach the zinc secondary materials. The basic process recovering zinc is described in detail. The route recovering other valuable metals such as copper, cadmium and lead associated with zinc is also described. This non-ferrous metals recovery route is advisable for either ecological and/or economical reasons. Main results of an experimental program aiming at the demonstration of the suitability of the process for several feed materials are summarized. Waelz oxides, galvanizing ashes and EAFD coming from different sources were tested in laboratory and continuous pilot plant campaigns. High zinc recovery, low reagents and utilities consumption, and effluents meeting environmental regulation were confirmed. The paper also includes the main results of a feasibility study of an industrial "base case". A mixed raw material and Spanish EAFD and 20,000 ta of zinc ingots production were chosen. The SGH zinc recovery from secondary raw material by means of the clean, safe and profitable Modified Zincex Process has been demonstrated. This reliable technology is ready for industrial application.

Jan 1, 1995

By Li Qian

Mechanisms of bio-dephosphorization from iron ore was investigated in this Paper. The results show that there are two bio-dephosphorization ways from iron ore, the one is that Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans directly derive phosphorus from the ore, the other is phosphorus is able to be leached acid produced during metabolizing of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and the latter is more important than the other. Adding suitable pyrite can enhance the bio- dephosphorization process through providing nourishment and producing acid directly due to S 3oxidized or indirectly due to Fe3 as oxidant. The potential varies in the range of 0.434~0.498V and pH is in the range of 2.5 ~ 1.25 during bio-leaching process. It can be founded that, according 2+to the E-pH graph of Fe-H2O system, Fe wouldn?t be oxidized under sterile system in this potential and pH ranges. It can be obviously concluded that the Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans are 2+able to reduce the potential for the oxidization of Fe and make the oxidization occur in the above pH and potential zone, so the bio-leaching process can proceed. the investigation of E-pH graph of P-H2O system show that H3PO4 can exist steadily.

Jan 1, 2009

By Fiseha Tesfaye, Pekka Taskinen, Daniel Lindberg

Due to increasing complexities of raw materials for base metals production the conventional pyrometallurgical processes are challenged. To make the appropriate modifications, thorough evaluations of the thermal stabilities of phases and phase assemblages which are commonly encountered in these processes are essential. In this work, phase relations and thermal stabilities of equilibrium phases in the Cu-Ni-S system have been reviewed. The calculated phase diagram of Cu-Ni system has been validated. At T < 630 K, in the Ni-rich corner, large scatter in data has been observed and discussed in detail. The other binary systems, Cu-S and Ni-S, have been also critically reviewed together with the ternary Cu-Ni-S system. The reviews were focused on compiling and discussing phase relations and thermal stabilities of the selected systems in the pyrometallurgical processes of Cu and Ni productions.

Jan 1, 2016

By Zuhair A. Munir

"The use of self-propagating combustion reactions to synthesize metallic, ceramic, and composite materials is described. The limitation of this process because of the porous nature of its products is discussed. The formation of dense bodies through the simultaneous application of pressure is shown for a metal-matrix composite. The effect of an external electric field on the synthesis of ceramic and composites is described. The nature of the effect of the field on the mechanism of synthesis is analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The use of the self-propagating combustion to synthesize intermetallic thin films is presented for the Ni-Al and Ti-Al cases. The formation of functionally gradient materials (FGM) by centrifugally-assisted self-propagating high-temperature synthesis is described.IntroductionThe use of self-propagating combustion reactions for the synthesis of a large number of simple and complex materials has been described in numerous publications. These have been amply discussed in several review articles [1-4]. The many benefits of this method of materials synthesis are commonly examined in light of its most significant limitation: the porous nature of its products. The porosity in the products of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) is an intrinsic characteristic of the process and its elimination has been the focus of numerous attempts. Various experimental methods have been used to accomplish this goal."

Jan 1, 1994

By José D. T. Capocchi

Viscosity of liquid lead, tin, and Pb-Sn alloys has been measured by the rotational viscometer method in the temperature range from 50 K above their respective liquidus temperature to 823 K. The results are accurate to within ±1.0 %. The variation of viscosity with temperature followed the Arrhenius-type equation µ = µo.exp(Q/RT). The composition dependence of the isothermal viscosity and the activation energy for viscous flow have not shown anomalous changes at the eutectic composition of the Pb-Sn system.

Jan 1, 2000

By Tao Xuea

Gold frequently occurs in nature in the form of a gold-silver alloy. Thus, investigation of the electrochemical behavior of gold-silver alloys in cyanide solution has practical significance. In this paper, the potentiodynamic method is used to determine the anodic polarization curves of gold-silver alloys (Au-10% Ag and Au-50% Ag) in cyanide solutions. To facilitate the interpretation of the results, complementary experiments conducted in NaOH solution in the absence of cyanide are also reported. The results for the Au-Ag alloys are compared with the polarization behavior of pure gold and pure silver. With the aid of potential-pH diagrams for the Au- and Ag-CN-H20 systems and electrochemical kinetics concepts, the dissolution mechanism of gold-silver alloys, the effect of the presence of silver on the cyanidation of gold, as well as the factors which control the anodic reaction rate are clarified.

Jan 1, 1998

By K. Murayama, M. Kawakami, T. Takenaka, S. Yokoyama

"Cokes play an important role of spacer in blast furnace. However, they degenerate during Boudouard reaction. Blast furnace cokes are reacted with pure C02 at I 072 to 1673 K. Reaction rate was obtained by the weight change of spherical specimen. The specimen after reaction was examined by microscopic observation. The reaction rate increased with temperature and was expressed by two Arrhenius type lines. The activation energy was 126 KJ/mol at higher temperature than 13 73 K and 202 KJ/mol at lower temperature range. At the higher temperature range, the reaction proceeded from the surface leaving unreacted core, whereas homogeneously whole inside at lower temperature. The porosity increased from the center to surface at higher temperature, whereas it was almost constant at lower temperature.IntroductionThe cokes have the function of fuel, reductant and spacer to keep gas and liquid flow in the blast furnace. Thus, the reaction mechanism of coke with several gas and the strength after the reaction should be important factor to control the blast furnace operation. The reaction mechanism of coke with C02 has been studied extensively. The rate equations were derived by Gadsby[ I], Ergun[2] and Turkdogan and Vinters[3]. They were compared and discussed by Kobayashi and Omori [ 4]. Effect of crystallization degree on the reaction rate was examined by Kashiwaya and Ishii[5]. Catalytic enhancement effect of ash componets have been clarified by Kashiwaya et. al. [6]. Although degradation of coke in blast furnace has been examined recently[7], however, the degradation of coke after the reaction with C02 has not been well clarified yet. In the present work, the metallurgical coke specimen was heated in N2 and C02 and the reaction mechanism and degradation behavior after the reaction was investigated."

Jan 1, 2000

By William Petruk

The concentrator of the Iron Ore Company of Canada consists of spiral circuits, a cone plant and a magnetics plant with regrind. The proportions of liberated and unliberated grains of iron oxides at each point throughout the concentrator were measured by image analysis, and recoveries were calculated for each particle type by the MATBAL materials balancing program. The results show that spirals and cones recover more than 92% of the liberated iron oxide grains in the size range of 848 to 150 um,, but the recovery drops off rapidly for finer grained particles. The tailings from the spirals and cones are reground and low intensity magnetic separators are used to recover liberated magnetite in the -37.5 um size range. The concentrator does not have a unit that efficiently recovers iron oxide grains in the size range of 150 to 37.5 um Consequently about 25% of the iron oxides in the ore are lost to tailings as liberated. grains in the size range of 150 to 37.5 um

Jan 1, 1989

By Tianzu Yang, Weifeng Liu, Lin Chen, Qingkai Xiao, DUCHAO ZHANG

To solve the problem of low leaching ratio of direct gold cyanide leaching from arsenical refractory gold concentrate, this paper proposed a matte smelting process for gold enrichment in low grade copper matte. The effects of copper content in the mixed material, ratio change in slag type, smelting temperature and reaction time on recovery rate of gold and copper were investigated. The experimental results indicated that the recovery rate of gold increased with the increase of copper content in the mixed materials, temperature and reaction time. It was also noted that the recovery rate of gold and copper were respectively 98.16% and 96.39% when the addition of copper content in the mixed material was 3%, slag type of CaO/SiO2 and FeO/SiO2 were 0.6 and 0.9 in 1250°C and the time of reaction was 40min. Most of the arsenic was oxidized into As2O3 existed in the dust. The results showed that the matte smelting method can achieve efficient recovery of gold from arsenical refractory gold concentrate.

Jan 1, 2016

By P. A. Botha

Most sinter producers prefer to use a range of iron ores with the aim to optimize their sinter blends. ISCOR is however limited to the use of ore from two deposits, namely Sishen and Thabazimbi. Only sinter produced from Sishen ore is described in this report. The Sishen iron ore deposit provides high-grade hematite ore with a mean iron content of 65 per cent. Three major ore types are developed: massive, laminated and conglomeratic. The main ore mineral is hematite with minor to trace amounts of quartz, mica, phosphates and, in places, carbonates. A sinter product is characterized by its mineralogical composition and metallurgical properties. The production rate also plays an important role in the economic evaluation of sinter quality. Sinter-pot tests were conducted with varying basicities, given as the ratio of CaO to SiO:< and coke content. The results of these tests were characterized by mineralogical and metallurgical methods. Basicity of a sinter mix directly influences the mineralogical composition and metallurgical properties. The content of calcium ferrite and calcium silicate increases with increasing basicity, thereby increasing the reducibility and cold strength of the sinter product. Experiments performed during this study provided a model for the optimization of the sinter mix with respect to its mineralogical and metallurgical parameters.

Jan 1, 1991

By Guoqiang Lv, Xi Yang, Wenhui Ma

Cast multicrystalline silicon ingots are widely used in photovoltaic manufacturing. A key issue to achieve high solar cell efficiencies is to attain an optimized temperature field during directional solidification (DS) process. This paper reports numerical investigation of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingot production using two major types of DS furnace. Specific examination is made on thermal distribution, interface shape and stress field. Evaluation is performed for the applicability of thermal system design to reduce thermal stress, improve crystal quality and enhance energy efficiency. The effects of procedure parameters and geometric configuration on temperature distribution are discussed as well to provide the viable solutions for systems optimization.

Jan 1, 2015

Al2O3,-WC Composite powder for cutting tools was synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis using A1 powder as a reducing agent. WC, W2C and Al2O3 were concurrently formed in WO3Al-C system. It was found that the complete reaction was achieved with excessive addition of carbon and appropriate processing parameters such as degree of dilution, particle size of aluminum, compaction pressures of green pellets and carbon source. The final product which was leached by 50% HN03+HF diluted solution was consisted of Al2O3-55wt% WC having 2-3um of mean particle size.

Jan 1, 1999

By E. Allain

Extraction of basic metals from sulfides by conventional pyrometallurgical processing leads to the emission of SO2. To avoid this inconvenient, low temperature selective chlorination of sulfide concentrates could be an alternative. However, such process generates hazardous chlorides SxCly. A part of sulfur chlorides such as SCI2 can be recycled as a chlorinating agent of metal sulfides. Hydrolysis of sulfur chlorides, using a solution containing Na2S.9H2O, led to the recovery of more than 90 pct of elemental sulfur. Reduction of SxCly by hydrogen was investigated between 300 °C and 800 °C. About 70 and 90 pct of elemental sulfur were recovered from SC12 and S2C12, respectively. A flow sheet for the chlorination of metal sulfides and the treatment of sulfur chlorides was suggested.

Jan 1, 1998

By Jonkion M. Font, Ramana G. Reddy

A thermodynamic model for a priori predictions of arsenic and antimony impurity capacity in Ni-Cu mattes and slags was developed based on the Reddy-Blander (RB) capacity model. The As and Sb capacities were calculated a-priori considering the RB capacity model in Ni-Cu mattes and FeO-FeO1.5-MgO-CuO0.5-NiO-SiO2 slag at 1573 K and 0.1 to 1 atm partial pressure of SO2. The results showed an excellent agreement between the model calculated and experimental data of arsenic and antimony capacities between the mattes and slag. The impurity capacity model developed here, can be extended for prediction of impurity capacities in multi-component base metal slags and base metal mattes. Such a priori predictions of impurity capacities can lead to develop or improve the efficiency of impurity removal from the base metal smelting, converting and refining processes.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. W. Perez

Raw coal will often break intragranularly in either a completely random way or in a differential mode where one species will have a different rate of breakage than another. Locked coal-ash and coal-pyrite particles can also break by the preferential detachment of one species from another along zones of inherent weakness in locked particle assemblages. The mode. cf breakage is largely a function of the nature of the feed, but it is also influenced by the comminution device and the operating variables. Evidence of breakage of particles in the various modes is seen in the crushing of raw coal and middlings particles with a rotary beaker, jaw crusher, rolls, hammer mill and rod mill. Evidence from the literature indicates the detachment mode is often important for coal, ores and metallurgical products. Further confirmation comes from the crushing of a specially prepared &apos;ore&apos; of sized magnetite in plaster of Paris.

Jan 1, 1988

By L. M. Abrantes, A. P. Paiva

"A brief review of some innovative methods for the direct recovery of metals from loaded organic phases is presented; emphasis is given to electroreductive stripping and cementation, which are described and illustrated by examples: of current research. The recovery of silver using a two-phase electrolysis - by direct application of an electrical potential to a mixture of a metal loaded organic phase· containing Cyanex 471X, obtained by solvent extraction, and a stabilized sodium thiosulfate solution - is more extensively discussed. The overall efficiencies are analyzed and compared with data obtained by conventional stripping procedures. Some preliminary results achieved for the recovery of the precious metal using galvanic stripping, applied directly to similar organic solutions and involving zinc and iron powders as reducing agents, are also evaluated.Introductory ReviewThe application of hydrometallurgical methods to the recovery of metal values from ores and concentrates has been receiving a growing interest, either from researchers or from the mining industry [1].For the concentration / purification of the relatively low concentrated metallic solutions resulting from the leaching of those raw materials, solvent extraction (SX) is a well established technique [2]; the loaded organic solvent is then conventionally contacted with a suitable aqueous solution, the metal in its final form being usually recovered from this solution by electrowinning.As an efficient and / or selective stripping is sometimes difficult to achieve, depending on the specific characteristics of the system under consideration, some alternative procedures have been analyzed in order to overcome this problem. One of the chosen routes, mainly developed by Hirai and Komasawa, is to promote the reduction of the desired metal species in the organic phase, in such a way that the stripping stage becomes feasible; for the selective stripping of vanadium from a solvent containing a mixture of vanadium and molybdenum, the authors successfully used reductive [3], electro-reductive [4,5] and photo-reductive [6] techniques. The two latter methodologies have also been applied to the recovery of europium from a solvent containing europium, samarium and gadolinium [7,8].However, further processing is necessary to recover the metal in its solid state; therefore, methods causing the direct reduction of the metal species in the organic phase to their fmal metallic form would be of interest, as an intermediate step would be avoided"

Jan 1, 1997

By S. Ajima

The Naoshima Smelter and Refinery is the most important copper operation of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. There are a Mitsubishi Continuous smelter and a conventional type of copper tankhouse. The continuous smelter with 240,000 mtpy of anode production was commissioned in May 19914 replacing two existing smelters, i.e an original Mitsubishi Process line and a conventional reverberatory furnace line. In July 1992, the copper tankhouae was expanded for the purpose to close the gap of production capacity between the smelter and the tankhouse. The cathode production capacity was increased from 13,800 to 15,800 mtpm. By these plant modifications, the distribution of minor elements was significantly changed and the impurities load is getting on increase reflecting recent shortage of clean copper concentrates supply. The paper discusses the distribution of minor elements and the impurity control strategy at the smelter end the refinery.

Jan 1, 1995

By George E. Cook, Peter C. Levick, Francis M. Wells

"Relationships are established between the peak current of a pulsed, rectangular current waveform and the pulse current duty cycle under conditions of constant arc power. By appropriate choice of these interrelated parameters, it is shown that the arc pressure may be varied over a wide range even though the arc power is held constant. The methodology is suggested as a means of countering the effect of gravity in 5-G welding, while maintaining constant heat input to the weld. Combined with appropriate penetration sensors, the methodology is additionally suggested as a means of controlling penetration. IntroductionBoth low frequency pulsation (typically 0.1 - 20 Hz) and high frequency pulsation (> 100 Hz) are often used with GTA welding. Benefits derived from pulsing include improved weld quality and better process control.Advantages cited for low frequency pulsation include claims that the total heat input to the weld is reduced, the weld bead size is reduced, weld penetration is increased, grain size is reduced, porosity is reduced, weld distortion is reduced, thinner materials can be welded successfully, and the tolerance of the welding process to material and production variations is improved (1-16). With respect to the latter, pulsing aids control of weld bead penetration by increasing the tolerance to component dimensions and joint fit-up. It also reduces the sensitivity to disparities in heat sink, and it helps to reduce distortion in thin section material or distortion attributable to poor clamping. In certain materials it can reduce the sensitivity to surface oxides and to cast to cast compositional variations (16). Low frequency pulsation is also useful in welding thick materials mated by a prepared groove. In these applications the low frequency pulsation is used to obtain proper sidewall fusion as the tungsten electrode is weaved from one side of the groove to the other. In this case the weld current pulsation is synchronized with the cross seam weave pattern, such that the high current pulses occur at each sidewall. This type of low frequency pulsation has proven particularly useful in welding with narrow width groove designs (17-21). Finally, Ecer (22) has shown that the pulsed current arc is more stable against magnetic disturbances than an equivalent constant current arc."

Jan 1, 1986