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By Warren J. Bruckard, Mark I. Pownceby, Sazzad Ahmad, M. Akbar Rhamdhani

Rutile is the preferred feedstock for producing high-grade TiO2 pigment but due to decreasing resources, alternative materials such as ilmenite is now used to produce a synthetic rutile (SR) feedstock. This requires removal of impurities (e.g. Fe, Mg, Mn) which, for a primary ilmenite is straightforward process. Processing of weathered ilmenite however, is complex, especially when chrome-bearing impurities are present since minor chromium downgrades the SR market value as it imparts color to the final TiO2 pigment, Chrome-bearing spinels are a problem in weathered ilmenites from the Murray Basin, Australia as their physical and chemical properties overlap with ilmenite making separation difficult. In this paper, different sulfidation process routes for weathered ilmenites are analyzed for their applicability to Murray Basin deposits as a mean of remove chrome spinel impurities. Thermodynamic and experimental studies indicated that selective sulfidation of chrome-bearing spinel can be achieved under controlled pO2 and pS2 processing conditions thereby making them amenable to separation.

Jan 1, 2015

By Susumu Okabe, Etsuji Kimura

"The Mitsubishi Continuous Copper Smelting and Converting Process is the typical applications of injection metallurgy to nonferrous metallurgical operation, where the top blowing multiple lance system is employed for the continuous feeding of the raw materials and reaction gases into the molten bath. This results in an effective dispersion of the reactants into a strongly agitated bath. These are considered as the major advantage of the process with respect to the high production efficiency. On the other hand, however, the strong agitation may cause a considerable amount of refractory wear, and the melt splash generated by the lancing may also have negative effects on the productivity, i.e. the increase in the refractory wear, the metal loss, the heat loss, and the accretion growth, etc. Therefore, the optimization of the blowing condition as wen as furnace design is very important to achieve a stable and efficient operation, and fundamental understanding of the injection, agitation, and splashing is badly needed.In this paper, fundamental aspects of the Mitsubishi Process regarding injection, especially splashing phenomena, are discussed. The splashing on a vertical plane caused by the top blowing gas injection onto liquid surface was investigated through physical model study. As a result of the study, the splashing rate on the furnace wan was wen correlated with the physical properties of the bath materials, gas velocity, cavity shape, lance/wall distance and ceiling position. Obtained equations were compiled in a computer program and have been successfully applied to the evaluation of the furnace design. IntroductionInjection metallurgy is an application of gas/solid-in-liquid dispersing operation to the metallurgical processing, and has been widely adopted in various fields in order to improve their efficiency or productivity. The dispersed small particles of gas or solid materials in the liquid phase result in increased interface area, and injected momentum causes an agitation and enhanced heat and materiel transfer. Typical examples of injection metallurgy are LD converter for steel making, PS converter, Noranda process, Isasme1t for copper making, and Mitsubishi Material's continuous copper smelting and converting process, and so on."

Jan 1, 1996

By Hidefusa Takahara, Koichi Miyake, Dierk Raabe

"Mechanical properties of copper wires were examined. The copper wires containing 5-10 mass % chromium and 1-3 mass % silver were produced through heavily cold deformation. It was expected that the copper wire was easily fractured during cold deformation because of the existence of brittle chromium phase in the alloy. In fact, the copper wire was fractured due to large work hardening, when the true strain [n] exceeded 5. However, the copper wire annealed at 1273K for 6 ks ·in the middle of deformation process could be smoothly drawn to 11=8. After precipitation treatment for silver phase at 473k for 1.8 ks, the wire was able to further drawn to n=8.4. The final deformed wire showed tensile strength higher than 1200MPa.IntroductionDownsizing of electronic devices has led to the demand of finer and higher strength materials for cables. Conventional copper alloys have about 800MPa in ultimate tensile strength. These strength are mainly obtained by precipitation hardening. Nowadays, a process for higher strength wire has been developed, where dual phase copper alloy is used. When it is drawn heavily, the' second phase is elongated along drawing direction and the wire gets high strength due to fiber reinforcement (1). That alloy is so called in-situ formed fiber reinforced ·alloy. Cu-Ag(2), Cu-Nb(3) and Cu-Cr(4) systems are well known as such alloys. It is also well known that chromium is brittle material except single crystal and high purity of chromium. However, Mihara et al. C5l have achieved 1 GPa in ultimate tensile strength in the Cu-Cr-Zr and Cu-Cr-Ti alloys by appropriate thermo-mechanical processing.In this study, the Cu-Cr-Ag systems were investigated: The alloys contained 10 or 5% chromium and 3 or 1 % silver. It was demonstrated that silver precipitated in copper matrix contributed on further hardening."

Jan 1, 2000

By G. Belardi

The purpose of the study was to check on the level of environmental contamination and to design a project for cleaning up the Abetina Mine area at Piancastagnaio (Grosseto, Italy). Contamination of this area had occurred during the mining and treatment of cinnabar (HgS) over a prolonged period. The aim of the project is to remove the sources of contamination or render them harmless. Mining of the Piancastagnaio deposit started in 1840, mercury metal being extracted from the ore by thermal treatment. Together with Spain, Italy was the first country to produce this metal and was the world leader in this field between 1936 and 1943. Though mercury production in the Monte Amiata region of Tuscany ceased in 1974 the ensuing environmental impact is very evident, taking the form of rusty old mining and processing works, plus waste tips which still contain considerable amount of mercury even after the ore had been subject to thermal extraction treatment. The research which has been conducted included mapping the area to identify the main sources of mercury and arsenic pollution, as well as the level of environmental contamination. Mercury and arsenic values in excess of 16,000 and 150 ppm respectively are encountered in the most highly-contaminated places. The cleanup project has been drawn up on the basis of the field and laboratory investigations. This provides for a combination of remediation measures on the land concerned, as well as in situ inertization of contaminating elements by means of mixtures of chemical compounds such as cyclosiloxanes. Due account has been taken of Italian and EU environmental regulations when establishing the measures for rendering the various polluting element innocuous. 'The efficacy of the inertization techniques has been checked by yield tests in acetic acid and carbon dioxide, reducing the Hg and As contents of the material in the untreated and treated states from maximum values of 7 mgll to minima close to zero.

Jan 1, 1996

By A. A. el-Geassy

High-grade iron ore fines rejected from the DRl plants (>96%Fe20) were isothermally reduced in 30-60%COIH2 gas mixtures at 973-1273K. The freshly reduced reaction products were then subsequently carburised in either H2/CO or H2/CO/S mixtures at 823-1073K for 30-120 min. The thermogarvimetric technique was used to follow up both of reduction and carburisation reactions as a function of time. The carburised samples were characterized by X-ray and Mossbauer techniques. Chemical and carbon analyses were also applied. The influence of temperature and gas composition on the reduction behavior was investigated. The calculated values of apparent activation energy, application of gas-solid mathematical formulations were correlated with the microstructures to predict the reduction mechanism, The influence of carburization time, temperature, CO contents in H2/CO or H2/CO/S were investigated. A conversion extent of Fe to Fe3C was taken as a measurable index for the efficiency of carburization reaction under the different experimental conditions.

Jan 1, 2003

By H. Ipek

In this study the effects of interstitial ratios on k-feldspar samples were investigated. The k-feldspar samples were taken from Egypt using dry batch grinding conditions and a kinetic model. Three different mono size fractions (-3350+2360, -850+600 and -300+212 µm) were ground separately for 0.5, 1, 4, and 8 minutes and at four different interstitial ratios (125%, 100%, 75% and 50%) using a Bond mill with a mixture of five ball sizes. The mill used was at a size of 30.5 cm diameters, with 30.5 cm length, providing a total mill volume of 22272 cm3. The mill has a total mass consisting of 22648 g. steel ball mixtures of 38.10, 31.75, 25.40, 19.05 and 12.70mm diameters, occupying 22% of mill volume. The mill rotates at a speed of 70 rpm. The weights of the feed charges were 3000, 2000, 1000, and 500 g for 125%, 100%, 75% and 50% filling of the interstices of the balls respectively. The specific rate of breakage (Si) was determined from the top size fractions at different grinding times that were mentioned above and the model parameters were compared for the four different powder filling ratios (U). In many investigations, it has been found that an interstitial filling ratio of U = 0.6-1.1 is a good powder ball loading ratio to give an efficient breakage in a ball mill. In this study, it was found that U=1.25 is a good ratio for K-Feldspar.

Jan 1, 2006

By Zhao-cheng Liu

Iron oxide red pigment powders of high quality were synthesized from pyrite cinders. Iron ox-ide red pigment powders were synthesized by hydrothermal method from the precursor of Fe(OH)3 and Fe(OH)2 colloid, which were obtained after ammonia solution reacted with acidic leaching solution produced by the reaction of pyrite cinders with sulfuric acid. Effects of reaction concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time, pH value and n(Fe2+)/n(Fe3+) on main properties of oxide iron red were studied by experiments. The prepared particles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope(SEM). The results revealed that the synthesized iron oxide red particles were _-Fe2O3 and pseudocubic with particle size of 0.50~0.75µm. Furthermore, the quality of iron oxide red pigment powders reached the first grade of national standard (GB1863-89 ).

Jan 1, 2009

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 Eric J. Grimsey

Nickel smelting and converting can be viewed as processes in which iron is either partitioned or transported between matte and slag. Metal recovery depends on the mass of iron transported to slag, the thermodynamic environment in which the transport is made, and the extent to which the slag, once formed, is left in contact with the matte. The importance of these effects is discussed with reference to a new equation which describes metal recovery in terms of a mass balance and a thermodynamically related parameter which is easily measured in practice.

Jan 1, 1993

By Patrick R. Taylor

Sub-micron sized boron carbide powders have been synthesized in a non-transferred arc thermal plasma reactor. Precursors for this synthesis are boric acid or boron oxide powders and methane. The powders produced were characterized in terms of size, shape and purity. Methods to increase the purity of the product were evaluated and included hot water leaching to remove unreacted oxides and controlled temperature, air roasting to remove excess carbon. Theoretical results are also presented on the thermodynamics and mechanisms of the synthesis reactions.

Jan 1, 1994

By Gang Qi

The solubility of nitrogen in pure molybdenum was measured over the temperature range 2173 to 2473 K and up to one atmosphere (101 kPa) of nitrogen gas pressure. Both thermochemical and kinetic aspects of this phenomenon were considered in this study. The solution of nitrogen in molybdenum may be expressed by the reaction 1/2N2(g) = {N} (Mo,s), for which the standard Gibbs energy is given by the expression {A}G° = 78,500 + 27.36T Joules/g atom N. The formation of molybdenum nitrides, specifically Mo2N, was considered. Attention was also focused on the mechanism of nitrogen solution in molybdenum. Estimates of the diffusivity of nitrogen atoms in solid molybdenum were derived from the kinetic data.

Jan 1, 1991

By Senlin Xie, Wanlin Wang, Lejun Zhou

"The innovative development of multiphase slag in hot-metal treatment has attracted considerable attention due to the reduction of CaO consumption and minimal environmental emission. In order to improve the efficiency of dephosphorization and to reutilize the waste-slag as an alternative source of phosphate ores, it is important to increase the distribution ratio of P2Os between the solid solution (2CaO· SiO2-3CaO· P2O 5) and liquid slag. An investigation was carried out to study the effects ofNa2O and B2O3 on the distribution ratio of P2Os, the results indicated that the increase ofNa2O would enhance the distribution ratio of P2Os with the formation of solid solution (2CaO·SiO2-Na2O·2CaO·P2Os), while B2O3 has the opposite function, and changes the morphology of solid solution. The study would provide an instructive way for the design of multiphase slag and re-utilization of waste-slag.IntroductionIn order to meet the increasing demand for high quality low-phosphorus steel, it requires a high efficient hot metal dephosphorization process. The current slag system for hot metal treatment contains large amount of solid CaO dispersed in liquid slag, which introduced a large amount of CaO consumption due to its low solubility, especially when CaF2 was restricted due to the environmental concerns. Therefore, new refming method to improve the utilization efficiency of CaO by using a solid/liquid coexisting multiphase slag was proposed, and the studies regarding to solid solution formation mechanism, mass transfer behavior of phosphorus and the phase relationship for multi-phase slag have been conducted. [1-6]Normally, hot metal dephosphorization slag consists of CaO--SiOz-FeO--P2O 5, and it has been approved that 2CaO·SiO2 forms a solid solution with 3CaO·P2Os at the hot metal treatment temperature over a wide range of compositions. [7] Kitamura et al [8] pointed out that the (2CaO·SiO2-3CaO·P2O 5) solid solution plays an important role in dephosphorization, and it has been regarded as an absorbents for phosphorus to lower the phosphorus content in liquid phase, which makes it more capable for future dephosphorization. l Besides, the multiphase slag has the potential to be recycled as a source of phosphorus, if the (2CaO· SiO2-3CaO· P2O 5) solid solution could contain high phosphorus content, and it can be separated from FeiO matrix 8hase due to the large difference of their magnetic properties under the strong magnetic field. [10, 11]"

Jan 1, 2014

By G. C. Yao

Branch and needle-shaped intermctallic compounds of iron, silicon and aluminum normally exist in the molten aluminum. If a suitable amount of manganese metal is added into molten aluminum, the shape of the intermallie compound particlcs may become lumpish and spherical. According to the difference in electric and magnetic properties of these impurity particles and molten aluminum, these impurity intermctallie compound particles can be separated by applying an alternating magnetic field. In this experiment the alternating magnetic field was formed by a "C" type loop with AC (50Hz) current. The inner vacuum of the fireclay refractory separator is 25>< 15" 130mm3 with a lateral baffle inside. The separator was put into the interspace of the "C" type loop. It was found that the longer the separation time, the larger the amount transferred of impurities. The amount of transferred impurities increases with the increase of separation time and intensity of magnetic field. The addition of manganese metal enhanees signifieantly the efficiency of impurity separation.

Jan 1, 2003

By Mike Adams

A comprehensive pre-feasibility study has been conducted by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce CVRD) for Niquel do Vermelho nickel laterite deposit. Within this study, five integrated flowsheet options were evaluated via batch and pilot campaigns at Lakefield Oretest, over an intensive six-month period from receipt of ore to final reporting. Key technical objectives set by the client included demonstrating the technical viability of the beneficiation of several ore types, processing through integrated pressure acid leach/mixed hydroxide precipitation (PALIMI-IP) and mixed sulfide precipitation (PALIMSP) circuits, and the treatment of barren liquors to meet stringent environmental requirements. Refining of the MHP was by ammonia re-leach and solvent extraction (SX) to produce LME-grade nickel cathodes, NiCO3, NiO and CoS. LME grade nickel and cobalt was also produced by oxidation of the MSP and hydrogen reduction on the leachate. The database and data acquisition system, along with web-based reporting, enabled rapid turnaround on both daily and more comprehensive run reports, making it possible for speedy and confident decisions on operating conditions of the complex flowsheets. The high value of developing such data is emphasized and discussed as pivotal in the successful progression of laterite projects through to sustainable commercial viability. Keywords: Flowsheet, CVRD, Nickel, Piloting, Pressure, Leach, Refining.

Jan 1, 2004

By Nobumasa Kemori

Six kinds of copper &apos;90ncentrates. were treated individually in a ,pilot scale. Outokumpu flsah smelting furnace ~n order to study their ?flash smelting behavior with respect to oxygen efficiency and dust generation. The copper concentrates tested were selected from the more than twenty sources which are treated at the Sumitomo Toyo copper smelter, so as to provide a wide range of chemical composition in terms .of Cu, S,Fe, Pb + Zn + As, and Si~ content. Oxygen efficiency &apos;and dust generation rates obtained in &apos;the experiments ranged from 80% ,to 108% and 11% to 20%, respectively. Relationships between these results and experhnental conditions such as chemical and mineral composition of the copper concentrates, flux ratio, fuel consumption and so on are also discussed quantitatively in this paper.

Jan 1, 1998

The results of laboratory, large-scale laboratory and commercial scale investigations regarding the process of slag melts cleaning by oxidizing-reduction gas mixtures with a wide range of Po2 and the use of matte of various compositions as an extracting phase are presented. The copper, nickel and cobalt behavior during the cleaning process has been studied based on SEM and x-ray Microprobe of the quenched slag melts. The general cleaning mechanisms have been found. On the basis of the obtained data the most efficient cleaning methods have been proposed.

Jan 1, 2003

By Guo Chang Jiang

In order to improve the IIAZ toughness of X-60 pipe steel, the intragranular ferrite plate (IFP) technology was used. The characteristics of IFP is claimed to be much fine ferrite plates appear inside the original austenite grains. By means of suitable Re, Zr, Ti additions in a bath with a higher initial oxygen potential, a good control of the peak temperature and the cooling rate during welding simulation, one can get a %IFP in volume over 50%, and the toughness gets up from 55 J to 160 J. It was found that the inclusions most effective in nucleating IFP are some deformable complex silicates which either entrap Re, Zr, Ti oxides or contain these elements. The greater the number of the evenly distributed and effectively nucleating inclusions, the more the %IFP in volume, and the finer the microstructure of the HAZ, so the better the relevant toughness. Generally, these silicates bahave as fine spheres along a line. The present authors revealed that these fine spheres result from the remelting of the shuttle- like silicates due to heating in the process of welding simulation. These silicates used to get a higher sulphur capacity, so MnS deposits might be observed on the periphery of the silicates. IFP was proved to be directly rooted in the [Mn] depleting zone which locates beside MnS deposits.

Jan 1, 1997

By I. Gaballah

Spent hydrorefining catalysts may contain 4 to 6 % of COO and/or NiO, 8 to 16 % of Moo3 and up to 10 % V205 generally supported by alumina. Raw samples are roasted in order to eliminate carbon, sulfur and hydrocarbons contained in the spent catalysts. The roasting optimum temperature and time are 500 "C and 7 hours. Selective chlorination of roasted samples with Cl2 + air, Cl2 + N2 and Cl2 + CO is investigated in order to recover the valuable metals. Depending on the chlorination it is possible to recover more than 80 % of the Ni and Co about 95 % of the Mo and up to 80 % of vanadium compounds. Cobalt and nickel chlorides are obtained by leaching the chlorination residues&apos; by acidified water. Molybdenum and vanadium chlorides and/or oxychlorides are obtained by selective condensation from the vapor phase. The chlorination of the catalyst support, Al2O3, can be limited to less than about 5 %. Besides the reaction temperature and time, the oxygen partial pressure of the chlorinating gas mixture appears to be the key factor for the reactions&apos; selectivity.

Jan 1, 1993

By Honggang Zhong, Wei Du, Qijie Zhai, Junjie Sun, Jingzheng Ye

"Effects of pouring temperature and cooling water flux on solidification structure of ferritic stainless steel are investigated with a thermal simulation setup. The results show that with pouring temperatures 1518° C, 1528° C, 1538° C and 1548° C, both Lmean (the mean length between columnar to equiaxed transition(CET) position and chill surface of the samples) and the mean dimension of equiaxed grains increase. On the other hand, with cooling water flux 400, 800, 1200 and 1600mL/min, Lmean gradually increases, and the mean dimension of equiaxed grains decreases. In addition, low pouring temperature and cooling water flux enlarge the ratio of fine equiaxed grains.IntroductionFerritic stainless steel plays an important role in industry products nowadays. Compared with austenitic stainless steel which contains both chromium and nickel, ferritic stainless steel can obtain good corrosion resistance despite the absence of nickel [ 1]. F erritic stainless steel has been widely applied in automotive exhaust systems [2], electrical equipment, construction and chemical industries and also has broad development prospects. At present, continuous casting technique has developed into an important technology applied in iron and steel making. The solidification structure of continuous casting slab has significant influence on the final properties of stainless steel. The developed columnar grains of ferritic stainless steel would result in negative effects on mechanical property [3]. However, fine and homogeneou& equiaxed grains can improve the comprehensive properties of ferritic stainless steel [4] Therefore, it makes great sense to promote the columnar to equiaxed grain transition (CET). Recently Baosteel has developed a new type of Cr-saved ferritic stainless steel, but the effect of continuous casting conditions on its solidification structure is unknown. It is important to investigate the effects of solidification conditions on solidification structure of this new ferritic stainless steel, which can give guidance for optimizing the production process."

Jan 1, 2014

By Daniel Hoffman, Katerina Aifantis, Ibrahim Miskioglu, Jaroslaw Drelich

"A new method to determine the elastic modulus of a material using the atomic force microscope (AFM) has been proposed by Tang et al. (Nanotechnology 2008, 19, 495713). This method models the cantilever and the sample as two springs in a series. The ratio of the cantilever spring constant (k) to diameter of the tip (2a) is treated in the model as one parameter (a=k/2a). The value of a, along with the cantilever sensitivity, are determined on two reference samples with known mechanical properties and then used to find the elastic modulus of an unknown sample. To determine the reliability and accuracy of this technique it was tested on several polymers. Traditional depth-sensing nanoindentation was preformed for comparison. Using both methods, the elastic modulus of the polymers tested was calculated. The elastic modulus values from the AFM were within ±(5-20)% of the nanoindenter results.IntroductionThe atomic force microscope (AFM) has proven to be a useful tool for characterizing materials on the micro- to nano-scale. The most common use of AFM is to image and measure the topography of the sample surface, but AFM has also been used to characterize the mechanical properties of materials [1-3]. With AFM's ability to scan the sample surface, features of interest can be found and indented. It provides an advantage over traditional nanoindenters that use optical microscopes and thus cannot resolve nano-scale features. This makes AFM a useful tool for characterizing materials on the nano-scale."

Jan 1, 2011