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By Heikki Jalkanen

The mineralogical composition and morphology of solidified copper smelting and converting slags are of some interest from slag cleaning (by froth flotation), impurity elimination, and environmental points of view. Properties result from both the state of molten slag before solidification and processes taking place during solidification and cooling. In solidification and cooling, copper and sulfur dissolved in molten slag are .precipitating substantially from the silicate phase. Even in water quenching of slag, dissolved copper is pushed out of the solution in the form of finely divided precipitate. Elements present in the raw materials are distributed in a distinct manner between the solidified slag and non-silicate solidification products. Arsenic, antimony, and tin are strongly accumulated in copper precipitate, but not the other metallic constituents common in copper concentrates. Smelting and converting slags differ remarkably on their mineralogical composition and morphology although resulting principally of same chemical processes. Converter slags are more inhomogenous; they often contain solid particles and copper content is .as a rule higher than in matte smelting slags. The final copper content of converter slags was observed to be in a distinct manner dependent on iron oxide - silica ratio. Slag forming, solidification, and precipitation phenomena are discussed on the basis of mineralogical and morphology analysis of smelter slags and laboratory scale experiments.

Jan 1, 2002

By M. El Ganaoui, P. Bontoux

"A computational model to investigate solid/liquid phase change transitions for binary alloy under directional solidification is presented. Conservation equations are developed by using an homogeneous formulation. A second order accuracy method of time and space based on finite volume approximation has been evaluated by comparing results to spectral solution for time-dependent solutal convection developping in a melted alloy. For extended model to solid/liquid interface effects time amplification of solutal perturbation injected near the interface is described before considering solutal convection is melt.IntroductionThe enthalpy method gives a front fixing approach for energy equation without introducing coordinate transformation. The interfare position is recovered a posteriori [1]. A number of authors have extended this approach so as to include the convection phenomena within the two phase 'mushy region' [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].We have developed a time-dependent enthalpy-porosity formulation for directional solidification [4, 6, 8]. The interaction between solid and liquid phases is modelised by a Darcien type force in the phase change area. The behaviour of the melt is similar with the flow of an incompressible fluid in a porous medium. This force is proportional to the relative phase velocity. It corresponds to a damping force depending on the anisotropic permeability of the 'mushy zone'. The permeability depends on the liquid fraction and on the size of·solidification microstructures. An informative discussion of a new slant on the general approach of continuum mechanics needed to analyze the formation of mushy zone is given in [12]. The method is extended to the presence of species diffusion: the solutal Stefan condition which expresses the solute incorporation or rejection across the interface is accounted implicitly in a species equation valid in all the domain [14, 15]."

Jan 1, 2001

By Liang Sha

In this study, adsorption of copper by chemically modified orange peel was investigated. A conspicuous change occurs in the surface morphology of the biomass due to modification, which is depicted by SEM images. Equilibrium isotherms and kinetics were obtained and the effects of various factors, including solution pH, contact time, initial metal ions concentration and temperature, were studied by batch experiments. Kinetics was found to be best-fit pseudosecond- order equations. Equilibrium was better described by Langermuir isotherms rather than Freudlich isotherms. At 25?, pH5.30, the maximum adsorption capacity was 70.67mg?g-1 . With increase of temperature, adsorption efficiency decreased. The biosorbent was suitable for repeated use for more than five cycles.

Jan 1, 2009

By Jinhui Li

Silver is a very important metal used in a wide range of applications. It is necessary to recovery of Ag from electronic wastes for increasing of Ag price and circumstance protection. For separating and recycling Ag from Ag-Cu composite materials, thermodynamic data of reaction is calculated and some experiments have been proceeded with Ag-Cu composite material scraps, time, temperature, nitric-sulfuric mixed acid volume ratio and the volume ration of mixed acid vs. water have been discussed. The results show that the optimization conditions is that nitric-sulfuric mixed acid volume ratio 5:95, volume ratio of mixed acid vs. water 10:1, temperature 55?, time 25min. In the conditions, Ag can be selectively leached from Cu-based composite material, Cu base is not eroded nearly.

Jan 1, 2009

By H. Antrekowitsch

Nowadays, the pyrometallurgical treatment in copper smelters is the common process for the recycling of metals from the electronic scrap. Furthermore the European Directive on the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), increase the importance of electronic scrap recycling. Besides these a high amount of plastic and inert components in these materials leads to problems at the processing. An optimisation concerning the internal recovery and the high amount of plastic is necessary to reach the recycling quota of the European directive. The majority of the scrap is treated mechanically in order to separate in a first step plastics from metals, iron from nonferrous metals and harmful substances from valuable materials. But the quality of the different fraction often rather low and further treatment leads to higher costs. Therefore an interaction between mechanical treatment and metallurgical processing should be realised. The Christian Doppler Laboratory for Secondary Metallurgy of Nonferrous Metals at the Institute of Nonferrous Metallurgy at the University of Leoben carried out investigations concerning the optimisation of the metallurgical recycling and the treatment of the input materials especially of printed circuit boards.

Jan 1, 2006

By Vijaya Thangavelu

Biological leaching of low-grade nickel laterite is based on a non-traditional leaching of oxide minerals using heterotrophic micro-organisms. The organisms solubilise metals by excreting organic acids; these acids then form complexes with heavy metals. High salinity of water supplies and soils in the vicinity of nickel laterite ore bodies is a major abiotic stress to fungi and represents a major challenge in the application of bioleaching process in-situ. Salinity exposes fungi cells to Na+ toxicity and osmotic stress. This study examined the salt tolerance development of Aspergillus foetidus based on gradual acclimatization of organism, its salt threshold and the salinity effect on its metabolism. The biological leaching of weathered saprolite ore with the resulting halotolerant organism under saline conditions was assessed. It was observed that salinity stress affected the organism?s growth and energy utilization

Jan 1, 2006

By Pengfu Tan

A program ?SlagVis? has been developed to simulate the liquidus temperature, phase compositions and viscosities of ZnO-CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-?FeO? slag, such as Imperial Smelting Furnace (ISF) slag and lead blast furnace slag, combined with F*A*C*T slag database and the mathematical model of slag viscosities based on a modified Urbain formalism. The modeling results have been validated by a number of measurements. The effects of slag compositions on viscosities of ISF slag and lead blast furnace slag have been simulated and discussed.

Jan 1, 2005

By Yufeng Guo

Mineralogy and physico-chemical characteristics of a nickel hydrometallurgical residue and recovery of iron-bearing minerals by flocculation-magnetic separation were studied. The results show that the nickel residue is super-fine and fraction less than 0.045mm reaches 85.4%. Ferrous minerals are chiefly magnetite and ferruginous glass. Magnetite accounts for 31.7% and exists as free magnetite. Ferruginous glass is of multicomponent amorphous substances with low-iron grade but strong magnetism, and accounts for 39.9% of total iron minerals. Addition of flocculants increases granularity and magnetic force of fine iron-bearing particles and improves iron grade and recovery. The tests with flocculation separation show that a concentrate assaying 56.68% Fe with 81.72% recovery was obtained in a magnetic tube. A concentrate with 56.92% iron grade and 67.96% recovery was obtained by flocculation-magnetic separation with a magnetic cylinder.

Jan 1, 2006

By Alicia Esther Ares

The family of Zn-Al (ZA), Zn-Ag and Zn-Al-Ag (ZINAG) alloys offers high mechanical properties, ease of finishing, the advantage of low energy and pollution-free melting. Also, present alternatives to the well developed alloy systems, such as brasses, bronzes, cast irons and aluminum alloys. The main objective of this paper is to measure thermal parameters in ZA, Zn-Ag and ZINAG hypoeutectic and hypereutectic alloys directionally solidified which present columnar, equiaxed and columnar to equiaxed transition structures (CET). Also, estimate the mechanical properties, such as microhardness and tensile parameters and correlate these with the thermal (cooling rate) and structural parameters (grain size and dendritic spacing). The different types of structures were analyzed with optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed the influence of concentration, microstructural arrangement and thermal conditions during solidification on the mechanical properties. The results of the present investigation are compared with previous experiments.

Jan 1, 2010

By R. Reed von Gal

The majority of zinc strip produced in the world today is cast on the Hazelett twiri-belt continuous casting machine. Ten of these machines are currently operating worldwide, and one machine is under construction for the People's Republic of China. The caster, which was first patented in 1947, was originally developed for aluminum and copper alloy casting. In the early 1960s, the design was expanded into zinc casting and within ten years the industry had essentially converted from casting and rolling ingots to twin-belt continuous casting with in-line rolling. The casting process employs two parallel, moving. water-cooled belts as the major mold surfaces. Together with two strings of side dam blocks, the design offers a four-sided moving mold which produces a continuous strip or bar. This paper will cover a bit of, the history, as well as the current technology surrounding this high production process for zinc strip production.

Jan 1, 1990

By Raj P. Singh Gaur

Due to high concentration of NaOH in the digested slurry after scheelite digestion, it is diluted to about 4N before filtration to separate sodium tungstate solution from the sludge (residue). However, in practice there may be deviations in the normality of NaOH present in the slurry. There may also be variations in the temperature of the slurry and filtration time. Slight variations in these parameters could cause tungsten losses in the sludge via the back reaction: Ca(OH)2 + Na2WO4? CaWO4 + 2NaOH This paper pertains to the effect of normality, temperature and time on the tungsten losses in the sludge that is separated from ?diluted-scheelite-slurry-in-NaOH? via filtration. Results indicated that tungsten losses in the filtered residue (sludge) were quite significant when the slurry temperature was kept at 70°C or higher. The effect of high temperature was less significant at the slurry normality of 3.6 or higher. Combination of low slurry normality (<3.6) and high temperature (>60°C) resulted into large W-losses in the sludge.

Jan 1, 2006

Lime-enhanced carbothermic reduction may provide an alternative process for treating low grade chalcopyrite concentrates. To date, most research on lime-enhanced reduction has been on pure, synthetic sulfides. In this study, preliminary experiments were carried out on natural chalcopyrite using a thermal analysis system to assess the rate and extent of reaction at several temperatures and identify the major solid and gaseous reaction products. Calculations were performed to establish the thermodynamic limits of the reactions in the temperature range of interest in order to identify the potential conditions for processing chalcopyrite concentrate. The study found that finely ground chalcopyrite can be reduced carbothermically in the presence of lime at moderate temperatures and in a reasonable time to form metallic copper, with the sulphur reporting virtually entirely to calcium sulfide. At temperatures below about 750?770ºC calcium ferrite is the stable form of iron whereas at higher temperatures metallic iron is stable. Further work is required to demonstrate the reaction on a scale to obtain sufficient sample for evaluation of subsequent processing steps to remove the gangue material and iron products from the copper.

Jan 1, 2009

By Omid Lashkari

Keywords: SEED, SSM materials, Microstructural evolution, Rheology, Swirling Speed SEED (Swirled Enthalpy Equilibration Device) is established itself as a new technology amongst the many Semi-Solid Metal (SSM) processes, where swirling of the mush plays an important role in modifying the dendritic structure of as-cast parts. A range of semi solid metal structures, dendritic, rosette and/or globular morphology of primary phase, can be prepared using SEED. The current article reports on the application of rheological tests in characterizing microstructural evolution during SSM processing of 356 Al-Si foundry alloy. A simple parallel plate test machine, designed and constructed at our labs, was used to determine viscosity values for each structure and identify the optimum structure with superior die filling characteristics. Such findings have important technological and economical implications during high pressure die casting of semi- solid metals. The strain-time graphs for 356 Al-Si foundry alloy indicated lower viscosity values for globular microstructure, i.e. improved die filling.

Jan 1, 2005

By Elli Nurminen

In this work the thermodynamics of the metallic sulphate decomposition reactions were studied through thermodynamical calculations and thermogravimetric methods. The decomposition temperatures and mechanisms were determined for cupric sulphate, ferric sulphate and also for industrial flue dust from a copper flash smelting process. The aim was to determine the thermodynamic conditions for sulphate decomposition and to estimate whether the reactions are kinetically likely to take place in the flash smelting process heat recovery equipment. The information is essential in CFD-modelling of the reactions taking place in the boiler and for optimising the process.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. T. Baquera

A comparison of microstructures associated with W single-crystal ([001], [011], [111]) rods prior to deformation (as grown), and after quasi-static compression (at a strain rate of ~1/s) by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows several orders of magnitude difference in dislocation density. Dislocation substructures were not significantly different amongst the deformed sample orientations. In contrast, [001] W rods penetrated into steel targets, at impact velocities of ~1.3 km/s, exhibited heavy dislocation densities and dynamic recrystallization as very distinct microstructural regimes accommodating the penetration process. Twinning on {112} also occurred as a precursor to, or remnant of, these microstructures near the projectile head. These results suggest that deformation accommodating the extreme strains and strain rates associated with the penetration of a single-crystal rod into a metal target is not adequately represented by conventional deformation

Jan 1, 2006

By Li Zhang

Air was blown into the molten slag as oxygen resource during the dynamic oxidation. It was found that the oxidation is not only in favour of Ti components into perovskite phase, but also the increase of slag temperature and decrease of slag viscosity during the dynamic oxidation promote the precipitation and growth of perovskite phase, average crystal size of perovskite phase is 48 µm. The experimental result realizes the selective enrichment of Ti components and coarsening of perovskite phase, perovskite phase can be separated by mineral dressing method.

Jan 1, 2009

By Y. Zhoa

The surface morphology of materials is of fundamental importance to many surface related applications, such as wetting, friction, reflection, drag, and adhesion. Various approaches for micro/nano patterning atop polymer surfaces have been proposed in recent years. However, a cost effective technique is still highly in demand. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel but rather simple and generic approach for surface micro/nano patterning using shape memory polymers (SMPs). Different types of novel patterns are realized and their 3-D surface features are quantitatively analyzed by a PLµ Confocal imaging profiler.

Jan 1, 2010

A series of electron beam, cold hearth, single melt Ti-6Al-4V plates (nominally 2.5 cm thick) impacted by 2cm diameter, 4340 steel projectiles (with 54g nominal mass) at velocities ranging from 0.633 to 1.027 km/s were sectioned along the impact axis and examined by optical metallography to characterize the formation, growth, and microstructure of adiabatic shear bands. Near ballistic limit velocities, the shear bands propagate towards the rear of the target where they coalesce and grow to provide a cylindrical solid state flow regime for the plug volume.

Jan 1, 2006

By S. Prasad

The effectiveness of ultrasonic velocity measurements and attenuation of the propagating pulse was evaluated as a means of Non-Destructive characterization of cold worked and annealed copper. Commercial copper is subjected to mechanical working such as forging, rolling and thermal treatment to induce re-crystallization. The microstructural changes that occur in copper and a variation in its mechanical properties are subjected to analysis using the ultrasonic technique. The signal processing is carried out using the wavelet analysis technique. The features of wavelet analysis namely, localization in space and the presence of an infinite set of basis functions allows removing noise from the time series and components of a non-stationary signal to be analyzed. This is seen to improve the accuracy of the results obtained from the ultrasonic technique in the case of copper, which has distinct coarse grains that are difficult to inspect due to backscattering from the grain boundaries.

Jan 1, 2010

By Yunyan Wang

Diagrams of pc-pH for the complex ions concentration and pH value and -g- for activity coefficient and ionic strength ln±MnSOI4had been drew based on the thermodynamic principle of coordination chemistry and combined with Pitzer theory at 298.15K. The diagram of -g- indicated that -gincreased sharply from 0.0000 up to 1.2147 when I changed from 0.00 ln±MnSOIln4±MnSO4to 0.09; The increase of -gbecame slowly when I was more than 1.00 and less than 1.69; kept still when I ln±MnSOln4-g±MnSO4was more than 2.25 and less than 4.00. Diagrams of pc-pH illustrated that the minimum solubility of Mn(OH)2(s) increased with the increase of I, the pc increased from 6.5 to 5.5 when I increased from 0.00 to 4.00; The pH of the minimum solubility of Mn(OH)2(s) increased with the increase of I, the pH increased from 11.80 to 12.76 when I increased from 0.00 to 2.89, the pH kept still when I (I was less than 4.0) increased. There is single function relationship between the minimum solubility of Mn(OH)2(s) and relevant pH in different I.

Jan 1, 2010