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By Wilson Pascheto

This paper presents results of investigations performed as part of a Root-Cause-Failure-Analysis (RCFA) of a DC smelting furnace that was brick lined with MgO-based refractories. An unusual continuous contraction of the furnace hearth was identified during operation. Cracks in the refractories were envisaged after a major shutdown of the furnace. To determine the mechanism and causes of the unusual contraction behaviour of the furnace hearth, refractory samples were taken from the furnace at different locations and subjected to different analysis including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), QEMSCAN and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA). Creep testing of refractories under different loads (ASTM C832) was also employed to evaluate the mechanical integrity of the used bricks in comparison with the new ones. Results of the various characterisation analyses revealed that there was an interaction between refractory bricks and molten material during furnace operation, which resulted in reduced creep resistance of the MgO-based refractories. This was verified by comparing creep performance of the used brick samples and new brick samples at different temperatures and applied stresses.

Two pilot-plant investigations were conducted in which strong-base resins were compared with activated carbon for the extraction of gold cyanide from leached pulp from the Golden Jubilee Mine. The results show that gold can be recovered with carbon, but that the extraction efficiency is poor, probably because high concentrations of humic and fulvic acids are. present m the pulp. .However the extraction of gold cyamde from this material with strong-base resins JS very effo:1ent, and the overall efficiency of extraction is better with resin than with carbon, even when the concentration of resin is one-third that of carbon, and the flowrate of resin is one-third that of carbon. The results of the pilot-plant campaign reported in this paper led to the conversion of the Golden Jubilee plant from carbon-in-pulp to resin-in-pulp in February 1988.

Jan 1, 1989

By Von L. Richards

Rapid Freeze Prototyping (RFP) is a novel solid freeform fabrication technology that creates parts by depositing water droplets and freezing them rapidly to form layers. An investigation into the smallest thickness that can be achieved by the RFP process was conducted. The factors that could significantly affect the thickness of the part built by this process including substrate temperature, volumetric feed rate, table velocity, nozzle frequency, nozzle standoff distance, and head pressure were considered. A shell building technique for use with the RFP system has been developed. Thin wall ice patterns have been invested using production shell building techniques and an alcohol-based slurry. The finished shells were quantitatively evaluated by inspecting their total shell thickness, mold cavity dimensional reproducibility, and shell strength. Pattern loss is influenced by not only the alcohol / water interaction but also the starting thickness as it relates to thermal mass.

Jan 1, 2008

By Lanre M. Oshinowo, André Bakker

"An understanding of the parameters that govern the just-suspended impeller speed, Njs, and the distribution of solids, is critical to the efficient operation of hydrometallurgical and other processes involving solid-liquid suspensions. In this paper, the distribution of solids in stirred tanks under a range of solids loadings (0.5 to 50 vol%) was predicted using CFD and validated against experimental data obtained from the literature. The multiphase flow is modeled using the Eulerian Granular Multiphase model. This paper will also review the established design parameter Njs in the context of scale-up and compare it to the quality of solids dispersion as a means of assessing correct scale-up in suspension tank design. The results of this study will describe a straightforward procedure to obtaining comprehensive information about reactor behavior with complex CFD models.The performance of hydrofoil impellers and a 45° pitched-blade turbine at suspending solids under different agitation speeds was studied. Both single and dual impeller operation have been evaluated. The settled solids fraction for speeds below N js, and the cloud height for impeller speeds above Njs were predicted. The CFD predictions are in good agreement with experimental literature data on velocity distribution and cloud height."

Jan 1, 2001

By Jan A. Aune

The paper describes a number of electric furnace equipment modules especially developed or modified for slag furnace applications. Both the resulting design concept for a modern electric sulfide smelter and some of the changes in traditional process-concepts made possible are outlined.

Jan 1, 1983

By Staff

The uninitiated, first-time visitor to the Copper Cliff Smelter of The International Nickel Company frequently finds it strange that the world's largest nickel producing works is located at a site seemingly named in honour of another metal. Industry-wise persons who know The International Nickel Company through its nickel producing, fabricating and sales organizations can be just as surprised to learn that Inco's annual copper production from the Sudbury area mines nearly equals that of nickel. But when the history of the mines and smelters of the Sudbury district is reviewed it is impossible to separate the stories of copper and nickel. In fact, going even further back in time (I), it was due to the similarity in appearance of the nickel bearing mineral niccolite (NiAs) to that of copper ore that led nickel to be tagged with the rather uncomplimentary name of kupfer-nickel or Old Nick's Copper - The Devil's Copper. This was in approximately 1650 and it would take another hundred years, until 1751, before Axel Cronstedt of Sweden obtained nickel in its pure form and permitted it to take its own place in the family of metals. One hundred more years passed before mining came to northern Ontario and approximately one hundred thirty before the beginnings of development of the Sudbury Basin.

Jan 1, 1976

By Hiroyuki Matsuura, Fumitaka Tsukihashi

"Emission of CO2 gas from steelmaking industry covers more than 12 % of total CO2 emission in Japan. Though many efforts have been made to curtail energy consumption and high energy efficiency of Japanese steel production process has been achieved so far, further reduction of CO2 emission is strongly requested to develop sustainable steel production process and produce “green material”. Recently, authors have proposed the innovative hydrogen production process, in which water vapor is reacted with discharged steelmaking slag to produce hydrogen gas. This reaction can be achieved without any external energy source and operated by huge thermal energy associated with steelmaking slag and FeO or unrecovered Fe droplets that are relatively rich in the slag. In this paper, thermodynamic calculation results with various initial conditions in terms of hydrogen productivity were presented. Laboratory-scale experiments were also conducted to clarify the validity of thermodynamic calculation and the reaction rate in realistic conditions.IntroductionIronmaking and steelmaking process from iron ore through blast furnace and BOF is an essential steel production route for Japanese steel industries to supply high quality steel products in large quantity to society stably. Blast furnace – BOF process requires huge amount of fossil fuels such as mainly coal, resulting the emission of considerable amount of CO2 gas. Since the emission of CO2 gas from steel industries, about 147 Mt (FY2011), accounts for approximately 12 % of domestic CO2 gas emission in Japan (FY2011),[1] it is an urgent issue for steel industries to develop environmental-friendly ironmaking and steelmaking process and reduce CO2 emission. Various kinds of gases and by-products generated from ironmaking and steelmaking processes have been recycled as much as possible at present. Enormous thermal energy is also generated from processes and released to surrounding atmosphere as various forms such as sensible heats of gases, molten steels or by-products, and as heat losses. However, these energies are not utilized before final dissipation to atmosphere. Although various technologies to utilize thermal energy from ironmaking and steelmaking processes have been attempted to develop, practical application of these technologies has not been achieved because the thermal energy is not always useful as an energy source. In steelmaking process by BOF, fluxing agent such as CaO is added during reefing and thus about 100 kg/t-steel of steelmaking slag are generated. Since the steelmaking slag is discharged at temperature range between 1873 and 1923 K after discharge of refined molten steel, it also has large thermal energy. Amount of generated BOF slag is 11.0 Mt/y (FY2012) in Japan.[2] Assuming the amount of steelmaking slag is 10 Mt/y and its average heat capacity from room temperature to 1923 K is 1 kJ/kg·K,[3] unutilized heat is estimated to be 16 PJ/y, which is equal to annual energy consumption of 420 thousand families in Japan.[4]"

Jan 1, 2014

By Forsén. O.

In this ?paper practical solidification of anodes containing nickel, arsenic, antimony and bismuth is compared with the equilibrium? diagrams and kinetic ?factors. In order to clarify the distribution of the impurity elements in the anode the structures were studied after the solidification and also after the electrolysis of anodes. This examination was carried out with optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and electrochemical measurements. All the nickel is remaining metallic in the copper matrix during the solidification and therefore nickel is dissolved in the electrolysis at all oxygen contents, when the nickel content is 0.25 wt-% or less in the anode. The practical .solidification mechanism of the anodes, when the nickel content exceeds 0.25 wt-%, proceeds by the crystallization of nickel oxides. In oxygen containing copper anodes nickel oxide is verified to crystallize together with antimony in certain conditions and to form a micaceous compound (3Cu2O?4NiO?Sb2O5), which may build up a very harmful floating slime in the electrolyte. Arsenic is strongly enriched along the phase boundaries in oxygen free copper anodes. An intermetallic compound Cu3As is formed when the amount of arsenic in the anode. exceeds 0.7 wt-%. This compound is more noble than the copper matrix. This means 'that a selective dissolution of copper-arsenic compounds takes place. The copper matrix dissolves more strongly than the grain boundaries. The solidification structures of oxygen free bismuth containing copper anodes show clearly the influence of bismuth. Thin bismuth films which are less .noble than the metallic copper matrix, are formed during the solid1ficatton process. As a result of this the?grain boundaries are dissolved faster than the copper matrix.

Jan 1, 1987

By M. E. Myers

An experimental program is being carried out to determine the thermodynamic characteristics of zinc solubilization in high-temperature iron and iron-carbon alloys. Two versions of an isopiestic technique are being used, with zinc at a lower temperature being equilibrated with pure iron foils or molten iron-carbon alloys at a higher one. The lower temperature sets the partial pressure of zinc vapor, and thus the activity relative to a given reference state. Initial results show Henrian behavior for dilute zinc solutions in austenite and a molten 4.6% C alloy, with unit-pressure solubilities in pure Fe that closely match the predictions of Wriedt.

Jan 1, 1992

By Ronald H. Church

Dewatering of mine waste slurries has been successfully accomplished by the proper use of polymers in flocculating the fine particulate matter suspended in the slurry streams. Conventional treatment of fine waste slurries usually involves some form of impoundment treatment or storage. These impoundments present unique environmental problems. When filled to capacity, the impoundments are usually unloaded with a dragline and transported to a separate disposal area. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has conducted dewatering studies utilizing polymer technology in combination with a mobile field test unit designed by the Bureau. The purpose of these studies was to determine if the fine waste slurry from the mining operation could be successfully dewatered. Results of the investigation have shown that the slurry can be dewatered successfully. The dewatered products obtained from the tests ranged from 45 to 50pct solids. This material continued to dewater, approaching 70 pct solids within 24 h, and could be easily handled using conventional transportation equipment including conveyor belts.

Jan 1, 1994

By Luciano B. Oliveira, Alexandre M. Stumbo, Luis G. C. Marques, Valdo S. Marques, Sergio N. Monteiro

"Similar to the ethanol program, initiated more than 30 years ago, the recently created biodiesel program in Brazil is expected to rely on private initiative based on agribusiness for vegetable oil production. Campos dos Goytacazes is a large county in the northern of the state of Rio de Janeiro with land still available for oily vegetables plantation in addition to the land traditionally occupied by sugar cane plantation, which is used to produce ethanol. In order to extend the biodiesel program to Campos dos Goytacazes, the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro (UENF) is conducting a technical project for the development of the infrastructure for biodiesel production. In this work, the infrastructure based on versatile equipment for biodiesel esterification built in the Center for Alternative Energy of the UENF is presented.IntroductionBiofuels are gaining worldwide attention as a possible economical solution for the prediction of declining reserves of petroleum and related increase in price of barrel. However, nowadays, a more relevant question is the climate changes caused by burning fossil fuels. This is especially the case of coal and petroleum based fuels, mainly gasoline and diesel that propel the majority of vehicles and generate a large amount of CO2 emissions responsible for global warming. This combination of economical an environmental problems is already providing a strong motivation to substitute conventional fossil fuels by renewable biofuels. More than just the interest of the market financial forces, government legislation is imposing a new order that obliges the use of biofuel. Many countries including the USA, the European Community, Japan and Brazil are committed to gradually substitute biofuels into their fleet of vehicles."

Jan 1, 2008

By John C. Carpenter

Solvent extraction is used to selectively recover copper from iron containing sulphate solutions. As chloride ions, which form series of complexes with transition metals, are now being used for leaching. Little is known of the effects of these ions, on solvent extraction behavior. It has been shown that commercial extractants of the L1X and Kelex series extract copper from chloride media: (1) at a lower pH than from sulphate solutions, (2) to similar loadings, and (3) except for L1X 63, without transferring chloride to the organic phase. A process for selective extraction of copper from chloride solutions should thus be compatible with standard stripping and electrowinning practice. Of several diluents, differing in aromaticity, kerosene gave enhanced extraction only with L1X reagents. A change in operating temperature had little effect on equilibrium metal distribution. All the extractants examined gave adequate separation of copper from iron. L1X 63 was found to extract chloro-complexes of copper and of iron and thus transfer chloride to the organic solution. Consequently this extractant and its mixtures are not preferred for use with chloride leaching systems.

Jan 1, 1976

By Susumu Nagae, Hajime Ikeda

Recently, a number of mine development projects have been setback by social, economic and, environmental circumstances that had not been seen before. Many of these problems do not always originate from direct mine pollution. Typical examples of these are· conflicts between the exploration company and the local residents, sudden objections just before the development is to begin, and unexpected tightening of environmental regulations. The common background to these problems is expanding global environmental awareness. This includes complex factors ·such as the expansion of exploration to remote regions, the brisk activities of environmental NGOs, the increase of international environmental laws and, governmental policy changes. Today, the range of issues concerning mine development is widening significantly. The participation of local residents arid NGOs in the development planning, together with the company and government, has become essential for smoothly carrying out mine projects and making them more beneficial for stakeholders. Introduction The common image of the environmental problem with respect to mining is direct mine pollution, such as the collapse of tailings dams, pollution from refineries, and acid mine drainage. All over the world, the mining industry has made large investments in capital and technology to solve and prevent mine pollution, and these efforts have been making steady achievements. However in recent years, new cypes of environmental problems which are not originating directly from mine pollution are emerging frequently. Most of the problems are concentrated at the exploration stage to early stage of development, which have less impact on the environment. In the worst case, mining project may be forced to cancel and could cause serious damage to the industry because they could not collect their investment. I would like to take a general view of the examples of new types of trouble, their characters, background, and strategies against these problems.

Jan 1, 2000

By Deepu Philip, Pratik Agarwal, Ajay Kumar Shukla, Ishani Shukla, G Rajesh

Steel plants generally employ static BOF end point control models to arrive at a given temperature and chemistry at the end of blow. These end point models have now been supplemented with chaos control models to steer the blowing process in the right direction while the blow is in progress. Merely arriving at the correct end point temperature is however not adequate because in the subsequent stages as well the temperature variations can be large and unpredictable. The present paper deals with an integrated model to take into account the effect of all parameters affecting temperature and composition from tapping to the start of casting to minimize the use of LF or aluminum heating, and also minimize grade mixing. The application of lean operations strategy is explained in which the previous “Push System’ is changed to a “Pull System”, minimizing the use of ladle furnace or aluminum heating during steelmaking.

Jan 1, 2014

By De-qing Geng, Guang-liang Wu

The waste slag generated by the LF refining process of Q345B low alloy hot-rolled steel, still has some refining capabilities. If recycled, it can reduce environmental pollution, and save the economic costs. A research on melting Characteristics of Q345B steel LF refining waste slag was investigated by using orthogonal experimental method, and the effect laws of composition on that were analyzed. Through variance analysis and significance criterion, it is concluded that the optimum ingredient of the regenerated LF refining slag is 25%A12O3, 12%CaF2, 7%MgO and R= (CaO)/ (SiO2) =2.5. And the regression analysis is carried out by using SPSS software, to get the mathematical relationship between ingredient with high reliability and melting temperature of refining slag T=1451.3-6.25CaF2+2.36 R.

Jan 1, 2016

By Shun Myung Shin, Kang Jeong, Kyoungkeun Yoo, Jin Koo, Dong Hyo Yang, Soo Sohn

"The optimum discharging condition to dismantle the batteries without explosion was investigated to recycle the lithium primary batteries, which could be exploded by heating too much or crushing. The 3 waste lithium primary battery cells were discharged with 500 cm3 of 0.5 kmol·m-3 sulfuric acid. Fe concentration and pH increased rapidly after 3 days at 35? and after 1 day at 50?. Chromium concentration increased by 4 days at 35? and 2 day at 50?and then decreased, and nickel concentration was very low. Because Li concentration increased gradually, Li became dissolved after the dissolution of cover material. When the discharged batteries were shredded, the batteries discharged at 50°C were not exploded and those discharged during 3 days at 35°C were exploded. This result shows that the waste batteries could be stabilized within 1 day at 50°C and 4 days at 35°C. Introduction Lithium has some advantages for battery e.g. it is the lightest metals and also has the highest electrochemical potential at 3.04V[1]. For over thirty years lithium primary batteries became famous for their performance in various applications such as IT, medical, and military[2,3]. They gained a reputation for their long shelf life, constant voltage, wide operating temperature range, and low self-discharge characteristics[3-5]. World primary lithium battery market was expected to grow from $820.6 million in 2003 to $1,1355.3 million in 2010 (http://www.frost.com, Frost & Sullivan)[2-4]. The lithium primary batteries have very various sizes and components. Lithium batteries are made with lithium metal as anode active material and non-aqueous solvent as electrolyte. As cathode active material, various kinds of materials were used such as manganese dioxide (nominal voltage, 3.5V), thionyl chloride (3.6V), and carbon monofluoride (3.0V). In Korea, 50 % of the spent lithium primary batteries must be recycled because spent lithium primary batteries have been listed in EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) of the enforcement degree of the act on the promotion of saving and recycling of resources. However, the batteries have been landfilled since there is no economic method to recycle the batteries in Korea[2,3]. When the batteries were heated too much, charged, pierced, over discharged, or short-circuited, the batteries explode because lithium reacts violently with water or air and because contents such as lithium, electrolyte, and sulfur become flammable by high temperature[4]. Therefore, it is so difficult to recycle safely the spent lithium primary batteries."

Jan 1, 2008

By Wenzhou Yu, Cong Zhang, Wenhui Ma, Gang Wang, Kuixian Wei

"A novel technique was successfully developed for nickel further purification by vacuum directional solidification. The removal effect of impurities in nickel was studied based on theoretical analysis and experiments. High removal efficiency of impurities in nickel can be realized according to theoretical analysis. The experimental results show that the vacuum directional solidification treatment could increase the nickel purity from 99.96% to 99.996%. Since vacuum directional solidification could effectively remove the impurities from nickel with low contamination and low cost, it is a potential route to obtain high-purity nickel for commercial application.IntroductionNickel is widely used in metallurgy, machinery, petroleum industry, chemical industry, construction industry, light industry, and other industries for its ductility, medium hardness, ferromagnetism and high chemical activity. Nickel-based alloy is an important material for the key parts of aircraft, tanks, submarines, radars, nuclear reactors and aerospace fields [1-5]. Generally, nickel contains Si, P, S, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sn, Sb, Pb, Bi, Al, Mn, Mg and other impurity elements, which may hinder the commercial application of nickel. Therefore, it is necessary to refine the crude nickel for the high purity nickel."

Jan 1, 2014

By Sergio N. Monteiro

Lignocellulosic fibers obtained from plants like cotton, flax, hemp, sisal, jute and many others are natural materials used, since long time, in basic items such as textile, baskets, roofing and carpets. These traditional natural fibers as well as some new ones are nowadays replacing synthetic fibers as composite reinforcement owing to environmental advantages. The heterogeneous characteristic of lignocellulosic fibers is, however, a limitation for application in composites. The buriti fiber, extracted from a tropical plant tree, is recently being investigated as a possible reinforcement for polymeric matrix composites but no complete information exists regarding its mechanical behavior. The objective of this work was then to carry out a statistical analysis on the mechanical properties? uniformity of buriti fibers. By precise dimensional measurements in association with tensile tests, it was found that the mechanical properties depend on the range of the fibers? dimension.

Jan 1, 2009

By Sergio N. Monteiro

The interface between the matrix and the reinforcing fiber plays an important role in the efficiency by which an applied load is transmitted through the composite structure. The shear stress at the fiber/matrix interface can be associated with this load transference and,consequently,affects the composite strength. In the present work, pullout tests were used to evaluate the interfacial shear stress of curaua fiber in epoxy matrix composites. A small critical length was found for the curaua fiber embedded in epoxy, which corresponds to a relatively weak fiber/matrix bond and lower interfacial strength.

Jan 1, 2009

By C. G. Bastos Andrade, V. F. Justo, F. R. Valenzuela-Diaz, M. G. S. Valenzuela, C. M. Matos, C. Volzone

For industrial use, the smectite clays are usually treated with inorganic acid of high concentration at temperatures under boiling point, which provide the bentonite´s bleaching power. In the present paper, a sample of brown smectite from Paraiba, Brazil, was submitted to treatment under moderate conditions (90°C, reaction times of 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24hours in close reactor, concentration of the aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid 1.5M, clay/acid solution ratio of 1g/10mL), aiming to reduce impurities, responsible for the color of the clay, without causing significant changes in their structure. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS), stereomicroscopy, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), Thermal Analysis (TG/DTA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed a bleaching in samples with time of 12h to 18h. With the DRX was possible to monitor the peak intensity of the clay structure and the sample with 12 hours of treatment was not significantly altered its crystalline structure, maintaining the peak clay at d(001). The most pronounced changes in the bleaching occurred within the first 12 hours of acid treatment. Thus, clay can be used in products with high added value.

Jan 1, 2015