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By Gregor Mori

Niobium electrolysis has been performed in a NaCl-KCl-NaF-NbCls electrolyte. By means of electrolytic .refining the average valency of the niobium ions was determined as well as the crystallization behaviour. In electrowinning runs the influence of the main parameters such as temperature, RF (mole ratio F/Nb), chemical prereduction, niobium content of the melt and current density has been determined with respect to low specific energy consumption and high purity of the deposit.

Jan 1, 1995

By A. A. Shook

The off gas from the #5 converter at BHP Copper's San Manuel smelter was analyzed continuously over a period of several weeks using an online sulfur dioxide analyzer. These data have shown that the oxygen utilization efficiency of this copper converter was somewhat lower than anticipated, and that oxygen efficiency declines significantly during the copper blow. A sharp reduction in sulfur dioxide generation was consistently observed at the end of the copper blow, which could be used by converter operators to prevent over-blowing and minimize rolling out of stack.

Jan 1, 1999

By T. Lezhava

Recycling technology of spent Mn-Zn system batteries has been worked out and tested in laboratory scale. The proposed technological scheme includes the following basic operations: breakage of batteries, hydro-vibrated treatment of broken up mass, electrolysis by using alkali electrolyte. This method enables extracting of 200-220 kg zinc in powder form, of 300-350 kg manganese concentrate and of 130 kg steel in the form of scrap per tone of broken up batteries.

Jan 1, 2006

By John L. Uhrie

Oxide stockpile leaching operations can realize increased copper recovery and decreased acid consumption from in-situ generated acid resulting from the oxidation of intentionally introduced pyrite recovered from mill tailings or other sources. While all oxide leach ores can benefit from pyrite addition, low acid consuming ores can show remarkably increased recovery and net acid generation; however, more highly acid consuming ores will show benefit more exclusively through increased copper recovery. Additional work shows that the value of highly acid consuming ores can be optimized by balancing copper recovery against acid consumption.

Jan 1, 1999

By Pragna Bhakta

Newmont has investigated potential treatment options for low-grade refractory gold ores since 1988. After extensive R&D at Newmont?s laboratories, biooxidation pretreatment followed by ammonium thiosulfate leaching was selected for application to sulfidic preg robbing ores. A heap biooxidation and ammonium thiosulfate leaching demonstration facility was constructed in 1995 to conduct large-scale pilot tests at Newmont?s Carlin Operations. This paper presents Newmont?s experience with the recovery of gold from preg robbing ores using ammonium thiosulfate.

Jan 1, 2003

By Henry Freiser

For the last several years, a systematic investigation of the equilibrium extraction behavior of selective tervalent lanthanides with representative chelating extractions of a variety of chelating agent families has been undertaken for the purpose of learning how to obtain chelating extractants of improved selectivity for separating individual lanthanide ions. The equilibrium extraction data (expressed as log Kex) for each reagent system are linearly related to the reciprocal ionic radius of the tervalent lanthanide ions. The role of adduct formation, steric hindrance, as well as the nature of the bonding atom in the chelate ring, represent some of the factors affecting selectivity arising out of our database of over 200 individual extraction systems, which will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1989

By V. K. Handa

Sterlite Industries (I) Ltd. started its copper smelter in 1996 and worked through the common problems associated with smelter start-ups. Specific issues in the converter area included converter blower IGV problems, punching machine reliability, converter spitting, back collar burning, ,and short converter campaign life. With a very young and dedicated team of engineers and technicians, smelter management assigned teams of three to four members to work scientifically and systematically through each major problem area to recommend and implement appropriate solutions. The converter mouth was redesigned with respect to tuyere and metal height to eliminate spitting and back collar burning. The air line was changed in places to reduce the pressure drop. A new back-up compressed air line and vessel was installed to prevent tuyere blockage in the event of a blower trip or power failure. The converter mouth liners and bricking around the mouth was modified to eliminate metal leaking through the pouring lip Modifications to the punching machines were made to address specific problems and preventative maintenance practices were further streamlined and reinforced to ensure 100% availability of hot metal cranes, converter blowers, punching machines, and ID fans. Matte availability and matte temperatures were improved by streamlining the upstream ISA and Rotary Holding furnace areas. Implementation of a detailed training program for the converter operators significantly improved the operation and morale. Water-cooled double hoods and a third converter were installed as part of the smelter modernization plan. The new hoods dramatically improved hygiene in the crane aisle while the addition of the third converter posed new challenges for the same motivated group of crews with respect to flip flop operation to keep the idle converter hot and to maximize in-stack time, managing crane/ladle logistics, and managing revert generation. This paper describes the converter operation's journey from the initial days of long blowing times and large revert accumulations to present operations with two converter flip flop operation, and also describes the team work, constant focus on increasing productivity and reducing costs, and benchmarking.

Jan 1, 2002

By Robert T. Oxnard

"EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe history of Refractory Recycling indicates there was little recycling until the 1950s. Energy incentives were the primary reason for the beginnings of a recycling effort by the refractory brick manufacturers. Quality benefits quickly became evident and fewer rejects were the result. Today, economic factors including higher valued raw materials and increased competition are the driving forces of refractory recycling.There are some success stories in refractory recycling but we have a long way to go. Few incentives, quality concerns, relatively cheap energy, comparatively lax government regulations, inexpensive landfills and inexpensive substitutes make recycling a difficult choice for many companies. Marketing advantages such as ISO 14000, eliminating multiple audits and reduced liability exposure can tip the scales toward recycling viability. Increasingly, the ideological philosophy of a company, a desire to minimize environmental impact and develop favorable public and other interested party perceptions can drive recycling and waste minimization efforts.Recycled materials can be more trouble ""up front"" and harder to ""manage"" due to their suspect quality. However, due to their nearly inexhaustible supply and the fact that once developed, they constantly contribute to the bottom line, they are certain to be the materials of the future. Waste refractory materials will likely see the same bright future as the steel scrap yards and slag piles of yesterday. In hindsight, we will realize that now was the perfect time to prepare and plan for the bright future of refractory recycling."

Jan 1, 2000

By G. Roy Chaudhury

Adsorption techniques are comparatively low cost and effective for treatment of arsenic contaminated drinking water. Various adsorbents such as alumina, ferrihydrite and manganese ores have been used, but there has been little investigation of modifying the structure of ferrihydrite to improve its adsorptive efficiency of As(III) and As(V). In the present study the incorporation of manganese oxide into the ferrihydrite structure was carried out and the prepared materials used in arsenic adsorption experiments. The compounds were X-ray amorphous, but TGA/DTA and FTIR analysis showed some structural characteristics. Sorption studies reported in this paper indicate the excellent arsenic removal properties of the manganese/iron compounds with a loading capacity of 0.3 mmol/g. Adsorption follows first order kinetics and the results fitted to adsorption and mass transfer models. Arsenic levels in water containing 1 mg/L As(V) were reduced by 50% in 20 minutes and 90% in 60 minutes using 1 g/L manganic ferric oxyhydroxide.

Jan 1, 2003

By B. C. Tripathy

The effects of alkali metal ions Li+, Na+, K+and transition metal ions Cr3+ and Mo6+ on the cathodic current efficiency, deposit quality, crystallographic orientations, deposit morphology and polarisation behaviour of the cathode during nickel electrocrystallisation on stainless steel substrate from aqueous sulphate solutions containing boric acid were investigated. The alkali metal ions had virtually no effect on the cathodic current efficiency, deposit quality, crystallographic orientations, deposit morphology and cathodic polarisation. On the other hand, there were significant variations in the current efficiency and deposit characteristics when Cr3+or Mo6+ were present in the electrolyte. Current efficiency decreased by more than 10% even at lower concentrations (> 100 mg/L). Similarly purity of the deposits was affected by the presence of either of the metal ions. In the presence of Cr3+, there was progressive shifting of the nucleation potential of nickel towards more negative values, whereas, in the case of Mo6+the nucleation potential shifted initially towards positive values in the concentration range 2-40 mg/L, but then towards negative values when its concentration exceeded 40 mg/L.

Jan 1, 2003

By David Goodman

The typical operating conditions in Solvent Extraction plants are presented. The various materials of construction used for solvent extraction equipment are reviewed and the history of their use presented. The properties of the materials in common use today, stainless steel, thermoplastics and fiber reinforced plastics, are compared together with cost data. The manufacturing and construction aspects of these materials are discussed.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. A. Fasoyinu

The mechanical properties of yellow brass (C85800), high strength yellow brass (C86300), and high manganese brasses (C99700 and C99750) cast in permanent molds have been studied. The tensile properties as well as fracture and impact toughness of these alloys are strongly dependent on the chemical composition. Alloys and/or compositions exhibiting relatively high zinc equivalent often exhibited high ultimate tensile strength and yield strength with significant reduction in ductility (% elongation). In order to achieve optimum properties with a good balance between strength and ductility, a calculation of the zinc equivalent before alloy preparation can be useful.

Jan 1, 1999

By Jr. Pomykala, B. J. Jody, E. J. Daniels

Each year, about five (5) million ton of shredder residues are landfilled in the United States. ·Similar quantities are landfilled in Europe and the Pacific Rim. Landfilling of these residues results in a cost to the existing recycling industry and also represents a loss of material resources that are otherwise recyclable. In this paper, we outline the resources recoverable from typical shredder residues and describe technology that we have developed to recover these resources.

Jan 1, 2000

By Adelana Adetunji

Ilmenite ore samples obtained from Dankoli in Zamfara, North Western Nigeria has been characterized using Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technique, X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and the Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique. The major constituents in the ore were quantitatively found to be TiO2 and Fe2O3 in concentrations of about 60wt% and 31wt% respectively. These occur in the forms of magnesian ilmenite (Fe, Mg)(Ti, Fe)O3, pure ilmenite (FeTiO3), and barium copper yttrium oxide (Ba2Cu3YO6.56) minerals. Other constituents/impurities in minor or trace quantities include MnO, Ta2O5, Nb2O5, Wo, SnO2, Hf, Zn, V, Zr, Co, Pb, Br, Al, Rb, Y, Th and U.

Jan 1, 2006

By B. C. Curson

A comprehensive simulation of .the gas handling system in BHP Copper's San Manuel smelter was developed using AFT Fathom software, with the objective of minimizing SO2 emissions while maximizing smelter throughput. Once verified with plant data, the simulation quickly revealed' the complex interactions occurring between individual converters and the flash furnace. The increased understanding provided by the simulation allowed novel, counter-intuitive control strategies to be developed and tested successfully.

Jan 1, 1999

By Robert F. Jenkins

This document addresses the use of practical and basic engineering principles to develop a computer model for the analysis of the various issues which affect heat transfer in aluminum sidewell furnaces. These issues include furnace charge conditions, furnace operating conditions, furnace general arrangement, furnace combustion conditions, and furnace ambient heat loss. The engineering principles applied to this model were first put to test over 20 years ago. A prototype computer model developed 12 years ago has been in continuous use by Thorpe Technologies to determine the performance of sidewell furnaces for the aluminum industry. A new computer model has enhanced capabilities for more detailed performance analysis including regenerative and oxygen enriched combustion.

Jan 1, 2000

By Chi Ru?an

Sollutions of ammonium chloride, nitrate and sulfate were studied in extraction of rare earths absorbed on a low-grade, kaolilnitic ore recently discovered in southern China. The results of percolation leaching tests and the recovery of the rare-earth values from these solutions are presented.

Jan 1, 1989

By Elizabeth M. Ho

Oxidants are added in uranium leaching in acid media to convert iron(II) in solution to iron(III). Iron(III) has an important role in the leaching of uranium by acting as an electron transfer agent for the oxidation of uranium(IV) to uranium(VI). The oxidation of iron(II) to iron(III) in sulfate solutions using sulfur dioxide/oxygen (SO2/O2) was carried out under typical uranium leaching conditions (pH 1-2, 20-50°C) to confirm literature trends and this work was then extended to the use of SO2/O2 in the leaching of uranium ore. The oxidation rate was found to be dependent on the initial SO2/O2 volumetric ratio and the oxygen mass transfer rate, but was independent of the initial iron(III) concentration above about 200 ppm at pH 2. The presence of 55 ppm organic extractant (Alamine 336) decreased the reaction rate. The oxygen mass transfer coefficient (kLa) for the mixing tank system was measured and was found to decrease with increasing solids density in a 1 g L-1 MgSO4.7H2O solution.

Jan 1, 2003

By Md Sazzadur Rahman

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy studies were conducted on two organic thermal energy storage materials; Neopentylglycol (NPG) and 2-Amino-2-Methyl-1,3-Propanediol (AMPL). The ionic conductivities and dielectric relaxation times in the low temperature ordered a-phase (monoclinic for both NPG and AMPL) as well as high temperature orientationally disordered cubic y-phase are reported.

Jan 1, 2006

By Hans Hein

In its early stage of copper solvent extraction development, SX plants were designed in a series configuration and gradually the copper industry reduced staging and trains for keeping capital investments reasonably low. At a later date of its development, series parallel configuration was applied in some copper SX plants, particularly for increasing copper production at low copper tenor in pregnant leach solution. A gap between series and series parallel configuration had been observed for years. Conventional SX plants in series configuration frequently do not have the flexibility for maintaining designed or expected production level, whenever copper concentrations in pregnant leach solutions are getting low, whereas series parallel flow schemes almost require to double SX feed flows for achieving optimum results. A combined SX configuration breaks the gap and its application potentials are explained.

Jan 1, 2003