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By Francis C. Furman

Microscopic evidence indicates that the high sinterability of certain commercial dolomites is tied to specific dolomite textural characteristics. This study encompasses detailed characterization of the unprocessed dolomite and sintering doloma results. The chemical and mineralogical compositions, insoluble residue, chemistry homogeneity, crystal size, primary carbonate texture, secondary dolomite texture, deformation structure, porosity type, porosity, and density of the raw dolomite were observed. These characteristics are compared with sintering trials of <74um powder-compacts samples in which holding times were varied. The evolution of the dolomite characteristics are reviewed and related to the final sintered doloma characteristics. The critical characteristics of a single-stage sintering brick dolomite are the following: 1) primary oolitic texture, 2) dolomite purity, 3) dolomite stoichiometry 4) minimal impurities, less than 1 weight {%} Fe2O3 Al2O3 and SiO2, 5) chemical homogeneity, 6) high density, 7) very low porosity, S) very coarse homogeneous crystallinity, 9) nonplanar dolomite texture, 10) abundant strain related slip microdeformation structures, 11) minimal subsequent alteration. Even with grinding to <74um the nonplanar dolomite texture and slip deformation still have a major effect on doloma sintered density. The three newly identified characteristics of single-stage sintered refractory brick dolomite are their primary oolitic texture, secondary nonplanar texture and abundance of stress related microdeformation structures. The primary oolitic texture reflects a homogeneous pure carbonate with respect to chemistry and crystal size secondary nonplanar texture produces crystals with large surface area to volume ratio. Stress related slip deformation moves CO, groups in to the same site of another CO, group but different orientation which is very unstable. All of these characteristics may facilitate the formation of higher density dolorna sinters.

Jan 1, 1995

By William Petruk, J. H. Gilles Laflamme, Jean Robitaille, Louis J. Cabri

"A quantitative mineralogical study using ore microscopy, electron microscopy, proton-microprobe, image analysis, and material balances was done on samples from the circuit of a concentrator in Quebec, with particular emphasis on the Cu concentrate. The ore contains many different minerals, of which the principal ones, in decreasing order of abundance, are pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, bornite, galena, tennantite, and pyrrhotite. Minor to trace amounts of covellite, chalcocite, stannoidite, mawsonite, colusite, wittichenite, miharaite, hessite, petzite, electrum, and an unidentified Cu-Pb-Bi-sulfide also occur.Liberation of pyrite is very high in all size fractions for all samples (ranging from 80-91 %). Liberation of chalcopyrite, bomite, sphalerite, and tennantite is relatively high, on average, in the head .sample and Cu concentrate (55-78% and 66-88%, respectively). Most of the chalcopyrite in the flotation tails is not liberated, whereas about one half of the tennantite and sphalerite are liberated in both the flotation and :final tails. Recoveries calculated for the Cu concentrate (on the basis of assays, mineralogy, and image analysis) are chalcopyrite 72. 5%, bornite 73. 7%, sphalerite 41.0%, tennantite 70.9 %, and galena (together with some trace minerals) 34.2%. It was also calculated that the Cu concentrate contains 10.0 % of the pyrrhotite and i.4 % of the pyrite.Materials balance calculations were done on the five major sulfide minerals to determine the mineralogical distribution of 13 major, minor, and trace elements (as determined by protonmicroprobe analyses). It was determined that tennantite is the principal carrier of Bi (67%), As (90%), and Te (86%) in the Cu concentrate. Therefore, removal oftennantite, which is mostly liberated in the Cu concentrate would significantly reduce these three contaminant elements, but at a loss of9% of the Cu, 2.0% of the Zn, and 0.7% of the Ag. The precious metals (Au, Ag) occur as discrete minerals (electrum, petzite, hessite). Some of the Ag also occurs in solid solution in bornite (23.1% of Ag in Cu concentrate), tennantite, and sphalerite. Four of the major sulfides (chalcopyrite, bomite, sphalerite, tennantite) in the ore also contain measurable concentrations of the following trace elements: Se, Cd, In, Sn, and Sb, occurring mostly as solid solutions. Some of these elements are also concentrated (up to about 18%) in minor and trace minerals such as colusite, stannoidite, and mawsonite."

Jan 1, 1999

By P. F. Kerr

This is not a conventional professional paper. It deals mostly with personal experiences. These concern a background in applied mineralogy. Your committee asked me to do this. I accepted with a California enthusiasm which has since diminished with the approach of a Chicago winter. Nevertheless, I wish to thank your committee and also to apologize in advance for omissions and inadequate statements, as such a paper must possess. My introduction to applied mineralogy took place in 1922 at Stanford University. Physicists had recently demonstrated that crystalline powders would reflect x-rays in a systematic manner. Professor A.F. Rogers sug¬gested that significant x-ray reflections might be obtained from powdered opaque minerals. With the aid of Professor D.L. Webster in the Physics Department, I constructed an x-ray diffraction outfit. It was a crude affair, but it worked. Starting with 1924, we secured recognizable patterns of a goodly number of ore minerals (1,2,3). Today x-ray diffraction outfits are common, and a card system of mineral identification is constantly used.

Jan 1, 1981

By A. Mezei

Samples of cobalt and bismuth concentrates produced from the NICO deposit in Northwest Territories were subjected to a comprehensive metallurgical testwork consisting of: pressure oxidation, ferric chloride leach and carbon in leach, to recover the cobalt, bismuth and gold, respectively. A specific testwork program was designed to allow for the optimization of process parameters under multiple restrictive criteria. The overall objective was to establish leaching sequences that could produce acceptable recoveries while generating environmentally disposable residues as well as solutions suitable for further processing. The recoveries for the leaching stage, under the optimum conditions, were 97% for cobalt and 95% for gold, in the case of the cobalt concentrate. The bismuth concentrate produced recoveries of 99% for bismuth, 99% for cobalt and 97% for gold, respectively

Jan 1, 1999

By P. Tapp, T. Evans, N. A. Molloy, J. Lucas

"Consideration of the protoype tuyere geometry for injection of inert gas through the bottom in a basic oxygen steel furnace and a requirement to specify an optimal flow for bottom wear and metal penetration led to experimental investigations[l,2] to apply the results of previous workers to this specific case, Flow velocity profile development within the tuyere was proposed as significant and the experimental scheme was designed to test this. It is proposed that the design criterion for the conditions of optimal flow of the prototype geometry be based on the non-dimensional mass velocity.INTRODUCTIONSharma[3] tested small diameter tuyeres in a laboratory hot model using molten iron to define a flow criterion for prevention of penetration of the bath liquid into the tuyere. Using argon, nitrogen and helium through a range of tuyeres (1 to 3 mm ill ) he proposed the jet Froude number C Fr' ) with the critical value being 2400 - 2500 or higher. Sonic or supersonic velocity was not a sufficient criterion. The tuyere design was a parallel tubular duct of moderate aspect ratio CAR) i.e. the ratio of length to diameter ranging from about 22 to 36 in the experimental furnace.Farmer et al[4] stated their their aim ""to develop a unifying explanation and procedure for the proper design of tuyeres"" but disagreed with Sharma's jet Froude number criterion. Recalculating Sharma's data they proposed instead a fully expanded Mach number of 1.75 with an initial expansion angle of ten degrees as the lower bounds of flow to meet the design requirement. They experimented with tuyeres in a water model using tubular, annular and convergent-divergent nozzles. The aspect ratio of the parallel duct tuyeres was from 533 to 762 using diameters of 1.4, 1.7 and 2.0 mm C the diameters being of tubes to be used full scale). Subsequently these results were applied to a prototype tuyere using a diameter of 1.7 mm with beneficial results in practice. This tuyere had an aspect ratio of 1067."

Jan 1, 1996

By Jorge Alberto Soares Tenório

Household zinc based batteries contain some heavy metals such as zinc, manganese and mercury. There is a large effort from manufacturers in order to eliminate the last one. As a municipal waste, the disposal of batteries has become an increasing worry. The aim of the present work was to characterize dry batteries scraps, and establish a flowsheet for their processing. This was done using unit operations of mineral processing and parameters and yields of each stage have been defined. Such procedures have been chosen due to their low cost. The operations were hammer mill grinding, size separation, magnetic separation and specific weight separation in water. The characterization step was done through chemical analysis and x-ray difiactometry. After size classification, it was verified that 76.6% of the total amount of zinc was over 1.70mm. This fiaction was constituted basically of zinc and some coarse pieces from the steel body, paper and plastics. This fraction was submitted to magnetic separation followed by specific weight separation in water. A visual examination showed that during the grinding process, graphite was concentrated in the finer fractions. Manganese concentration in the fractions over 6,35mm was less than 2%. This means that there was low contamination by the paste in this fraction. It was due to the entrapment of the paste by steel scraps (from the body) and zinc (from the cup) during grinding.

Jan 1, 1999

By W. Petruk

The behaviour of galena, chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite during floration of a fine-grained base metal ore from New Brunswick was investigated by image analysis study of the mill concentrates and tailings. The minerals were analyzed to determine the grades and recoveries as related to free and unliberated mineral grains and their size distributions. The results show that only 37 wt % of the galena was liberated but 88 wt % of the free galena was recovered, indicating good mill performance for the lead. The lead recovery was 65 wt %, with the main loss due to unliberated galena. Most of the unliberated galena lost to mill tailings is so fine-grained that galena liberation and Pb recovery would not improve significantly by re-grinding. Chalcopyrite liberation was 56 wt % but only 75 wt % of the free chalcopyrite was recovered. Copper recovery was 45 wt %, with the chalco-pyrite loss in the mill tailings being both as large free grains, and as small and large unliberated grains. It was calculated that copper recoveries could be improved about 8 to 10 wt % by changing the concentrator operations and by regrinding. Concentrator operations hive already been modified and copper recoveries have improved about 5 wt %. About 29 wt % of the silver was lost to tailings mainly as both free and unliberated, large and very small, Silver-bearing tetrahedrite grains. It was calculated that about 25 wt % of the silver in the tailings might be recovered by improved milling conditions and by regrinding.

Jan 1, 1981

By KAGAN BENZESIK, Onuralp Yücel, Mehmet Bugdaycı, Ahmet Turan

ZrB2 and B4C are one of the most significant advanced ceramics. They are being used in various industrial areas from space technology to nuclear industry owing to their physical properties such as high melting point, high thermal/electrical conductivity and low density. Present study was conducted in two main stages: Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reactions and leaching. ZrO2, Carbon black, B2O3 were used as starting material to produce ZrB2-B4C powders by SHS. Also Mg powder was used as the reductant. The reaction mixtures (approximately 100 g) were mixed thoroughly 15 minutes in a turbula mixer and charged into Cu crucible and compacted. W (tungsten) wire was placed at the top of copper crucible and the reaction realized by passing current through the wire. After initiation, a highly exothermic reaction became in a self-sustaining mode and propagated throughout the SHS mixture. The samples were characterized by using AAS and X-Ray Diffraction.

Jan 1, 2016

By K. Osseo-Asare

Third phase formation, the separation of a solvent extraction organic phase into two liquids, is generally attributed to the limited solubility of the extracted complexes in the hydrocarbon diluents. Much of the research on third phase fomiation, therefore, emphasizes experiments designed to establish the stoichiometry of the species responsible for the limited solubility. This work offers a different approach, based on the recognition that the solvent extraction third phase, in fact, corresponds to the middle phase in a microemulsion fluid system. Using the tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP)-diluent-water-electrolyte system as a model system, current concepts of microemulsion phase behavior are utilized to develop a general framework for interpreting and predicting the patterns of phase behavior in solvent extraction systems.

Jan 1, 1999

By William Brinkman, Mark Jolly, Nasim Soleimanian, Karl Dearn, Oliver Brinkman

"Glass manufacturing is a heat intensive process. There is a direct correlation between the batch distribution techniques and the furnace energy consumption, productivity, and quality of the glass manufactured. All four major segments (float, container, fibre, and specialty glasses) would benefit from using an optimised batch distribution technique where possible. Oscillating batch chargers (OBC) have been in use since the early 70s, despite their superior batch shape, coverage, and in turn positive effects on the energy consumption and productivity of the furnace they are almost exclusively used in container glass manufacturing. The OBC’s main difference compared with other charging methods is its ability to directly influence the batch initial velocity. This paper reports on results achieved in CFD models (GFM) used to study effect of the machine on the overall energy consumption in the doghouse and the melt space.IntroductionGlass manufacturing can be divided to four major segments float glass, container glass, fiberglass, and specialty glasses. The financial cost of manufacture, its impact on the environment, lack of standardisation and mounting pressure imposed by the authorities for reduction in emissions means that the industry and its suppliers are utilising CFD modelling in order to tackle these challenges. The need for high temperature to create and maintain the viscous flow, homogenisation of the glass melt, and maintenance of the process to allow continuous output of glass of the right quality are the contributors to the energy intensive activities that are involved in continuous glass manufacturing. This in turn has resulted in design of large container glass furnaces which have high energy consumption, low specific performance, and high CO2 emissions where the most efficient furnaces in the container glass sector have a specific primary energy consumption of 3.8 GJ /tonne of glass at a level of 50% cullet in the batch making even very small improvements in efficiency by operation optimisation a value adding activity [1-14].The theoretical calculated energy required to melt glass is 2 to 3 times less than the energy actually used to melt glass as a result of glass melt passing a zone 5 to 8 times before leaving the tank.[8]. This causes contamination as the result of mixing between the completely molten glass free from bubbles returning to the batch area where there is freshly molten non-homogeneous glass, still containing very large numbers of bubbles and un-molten batch. At high temperature some components are dissolved rather than melted. Given that an un-molten batch is a good thermal insulator, it can be transported a long way into the furnace, increasing the need for homogenization which also increases the glass residence time of glass melt. This is why large unbroken strings of batch should be avoided, as should an overall blanket without gaps."

Jan 1, 2014

By T. K. Mukcherjee

The importance of the processing of secondary resources such as solid industrial wastes and liquid effluents as well as byroducts for the recovery of the associated metal values hardly needs any elaboration. Such processing contributes in no small measure.towards the augmentation of the availability and the supply position of resources. As an added benefit, it leads to a reduction in environmental pollution caused by the undesirable waste materials. As some typical examples of secondary resources in the Indian scenario, mention&apos; can be made of spent catalysts, metal/alloy scrap, ash, consumed batteries, flue dust, slag, sludge and slime, pickling solutions, spent acids; plating rinse solutions, spent etchants, waste water from synthetic fibre manufacture and from tanneries etc. These wastes constitute a source of a variety of non ferrous metals. In the processing of secondary resources like these, the techniques of hydrometallurgy such as solvent extraction play a pivotal role. This paper outlines the efforts made to use solvent extraction to recover(1) base metals. such as copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt from a number of secondary resources like cake, and sludge(2) refractory metals like molybdenum and vanadium from sulphidic byproducts and spent catalyst and (3:) nuclear metal like uranium from phosphoric acid. In the case of base metals, process flowsheet involving the use of acidic extractants such as DEHPA and PC88A have been optimised. The problem of iron removal from the leach liquor, "which influences the metal recovery process significantly, has drawn a special emphasis. hi the case of refractory metals, basic extractants .like Alamine 336 has been pressed into service to produce kilogramme. quantities of pure salts of molybdenum and vanadium, Finally, the paper gives a brief account of plant experience in recovering uranium from phosphoric acid, using &apos;a solvent system comosed of DEHPA and TOPO.

Jan 1, 1996

By C. M. Davidson

Contamination of by-product: sulfuric acid, by dissolved oxides of nitrogen (&apos;nitrates&apos;) occurs under some operating conditions encountered in sulfide roasting and smelting,, notably when oxygen-enriched air is used. This &apos;nitrate&apos; lowers the value of the acid and increases the effective cost of smelter gas desulfurization. The present paper describes measures taken at one smelter acid plant to remove this &apos;nitrate&apos;; it discusses the mechanism by which &apos;nitrates&apos; in some cases concentrate in one part of the plant and can be purged for more efficient treatment; and it describes a process developed by C-I-L Inc. for removal of &apos;nitrates&apos; from such a purge stream. Advantages of the process include very low reagent cost, recovery of all sulfuric acid values and safe handling of nitrous fumes.

Jan 1, 1983

By Peter Fischer

A demonstration plant for QSL technology with a continuous through-put of up to 10 t/h concentrate has been in operation at the Berzelius smelter, Duisburg, Germany since early 1981. In the QSL-process, both oxidation and reduction steps are performed in a single horizontal long cylindrical reactor. In the present demo-reacior, 2.5 M diameter by 22 M long, these steps are separated by a low partition wall with an underflow opening, to prevent backmixing of slag. -Tests on a variety of concentrates, including high-lead Missouri-type material and lower grades, have shown recoveries and consumables indicating very attractive economics. Investment cost estimates further enhance the economic attractiveness. Environmental protection afforded by the QSL system is a major advantage. The process has proven its reliability and versatility and is now ready for commercialization. Continued test work, including smelting secondary lead materials, is planned.

Jan 1, 1983

By Dale Zacherl, Andreas Buhr, Rainer Kockegey-Lorenz

"The microporous calcium hexaluminate insulating material SLA-92 has been introduced as an alternative to refractory ceramic fiber and other insulating refractory materials. Key properties associated with this product include: high chemical purity, long term high temperature stability up to 1500 °C, low thermal conductivity up to 1500 °C, and high thermal shock resistance. The properties of the new material and various applications in the steel and ceramic industries have been reported in previous papers. The current paper summarizes the industrial application experiences with innovative refractories based on SLA- 92 and discusses potential new applications in various manufacturing as well as energyrelated industries.IntroductionSLA-92 was introduced to the refractories industry in 1998 by van Garsel, et al. [1] as a new insulating raw material for high temperature applications, followed by investigations [2] of long term temperature stability for this new lightweight aggregate up to 1500°C.SLA-92 was developed as an innovative alternative to commonly used refractory ceramic fibers. It has unique properties regarding chemical purity and mineral composition and is a microporous, silica-free calcium hexaluminate (CA6 – mineral name: hibonite)."

Jan 1, 2010

By Corby G. Anderson

Today, with a stringent economic and environmental climate prevailing in the copper business, there is increased interest in evaluating new processing alternatives for production. Hydrometallurgical pressure oxidation of copper concentrates is one of the more viable approaches and several technological candidates have emerged. Of these, an overlooked but, ironically the first industrially proven methodology, utilized nitrogen species catalyzation in the oxidizing pressure leach system to produce copper via SX!EW. Given its many inherent process advantages, this may prove to be a feasible process alternative for the future. In this paper, the history of the system and its application to chalcopyrite concentrates will be outlined. In particular, a novel methodology for effective recovery of precious metals from chalcopyrite concentrates will be discussed. Finally, the perceived economics of this unique industrially proven process will be delineated.

Jan 1, 2000

By N. Kanari

The kinetics of oxychlorination of MgO by Cl2+O2 was studied in the temperature range of 850 °C - 1025 °C, using thermogravimetric analysis. The effects of C12/02 ratio, gas velocity, temperature and partial pressure of reactive gases on the reaction rate were investigated. The oxychlorination process was characterized by an apparent activation energy of about 214 kJ/mol. The reaction orders with respect to C12+O2. C12 and O2 at 950 °C were about 0.65.0.98, and -0.37, respectively. Some data about oxychlorination kinetics of MgO, Cr2O3, and MgCr2O4 contained in chromite were compared. Efficiency of using oxychlorination for the removal of iron oxides contained in magnesia was demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1999

By I. Goy D. Gaballah

Decontamination of synthetic K2Cr2O 7 solutions containing 10 to 1000 ppm of hexavalent chromium using chemically treated barks have been studied at a laboratory scale. Metal removal from solutions depends on the pH, the initial concentration and the bark species. The use of a pulp density of 2 % in an agitated flask at the optimum pH for 2 hours leads to a percentage chromium removal of about 95 of the initial metallic ions content. Other trials conducted by column percolation permit the determination of the maximum retention capacity of the treated bark. Depending on the bark species, oak or pine, the rate of saturation is 110 and 215 mg of Cr per gram of bark respectively. The incineration of the metal charged barks gives recyclable, ashes containing 36 and 54 % of chromium metal for the oak and pine barks respectively. Experiments, of Cr6+ removal from industrial effluents containing up to 1800 ppm have been carried out on the semi-pilot plant scale. They have lead to the elimination of about 90 % of hexavalent chromium from this industrial waste solution. Further studies are conducted in order to define the hexavalent chromium binding mechanisms on bark constituents.

Jan 1, 1992

By Sung Tae Kim

The viscosity is one of the most critical properties of slags and thus its influence on the physicochemical phenomena in metallurgical processes has been issued for last decades. The viscosity of ferrous- and non-ferrous metallurgical slags can be understood via structural investigation with spectroscopic methodologies including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared- and Raman spectroscopy, and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, etc. Therefore, the reaction kinetics such as desulfurization in ladle metallurgical furnace, reduction of FeO and MnO in electric arc furnace is strongly dependent on the viscosity of the slags. The rates of oxide (inclusion and refractory) dissolution into the slags and fluxes are governed by the viscosity. Alternatively, the structure of aluminosilicate melts also affects the thermochemical properties such as sulfide capacity, etc. These diverse applications of the viscosity-structure relationship to ferrous- and non-ferrous metallurgical processes were reviewed.

By Jeffrey W. Fergus, Shiqiang Hui

"Aluminum is an important alloying addition to the zinc used in the hot-dip galvanization of sheet steel to control the properties and appearance of the resulting coating. Optimization of the galvanization process requires control of the alloy concentration which can be improved through the use of chemical sensors. Aluminum sensors based on molten electrolytes are commercially available but are not widely used because of their high cost. One approach to reducing the cost is to use a solid electrolyte which can simplify the sensor design and thus reduce the cost of fabrication. In this paper, the development of an aluminum sensor based on a solid fluoride electrolyte, specifically magnesium fluoride, will be described.IntroductionThe concentration of the zinc bath used in hot-dip galvanization affects the galvanization process as well as the properties of the resulting coating. Thus, accurate in situ measurement of the alloy composition can be used to improve process control. This paper describes a solid-electrolyte-based aluminum sensor for monitoring the bath composition during hot-dip galvanization."

Jan 1, 1997

By T. S. Montgomery

The performance of carbon-magnesia brick in electric arc furnaces (EAF) is interpreted in light of their observed optical microstructures. Features at the bricks&apos; hot faces were protruding periclase grains, metal globules, graphite-metal contacts and linear void patterns. These features were com-pared to similar features previously seen from microstructures of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) refractories. Modes of formation were sought; an attempt was made to interpret their influence related to wear mechanisms.

Jan 1, 1982