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By Jinsheng Wang, Wei Lv, Xuewei Lv, Pingsheng Lai, Jie Dang

The isothermal reduction kinetics of vanadium titanium magnetite sintering ore was investigated by thermo-gravimetric analysis at a temperature range of 1123–1223 K under 30% CO + 70% N2 gas mixtures. The apparent activation energy of reduction was calculated by iso-conversional method and its value is 36.7 kJ/mol. The model function describing the reduction mechanism was discussed by Sharp analysis and the results revealed that the reduction process is controlled first by random nucleation and nucleus growth mechanism (RNNGM) as reduction degree is lower than 0.5, followed by the mixed influence of RNNGM and phase boundary reaction when reduction degree is higher than 0.5.

Mar 1, 2017

By Shengli Wu, Jiacong Zhang, Mingyin Kou, Bingjie Wen, Heng Zhou

The COREX process, which is considered to be able to replace the blast furnace, still has some gaps to reach the designed productivity. The metallization degree is regarded as one of the limitations of the COREX process. In the present work, several parameters affecting the metallization degree of direct reduced iron (DRI) are analysed by SPSS software (Statistical Product and Service Solution). Melting rate, oxidation degree of reducing gas, oxidation degree of top gas, top gas consumption per ton of burden, temperature of reducing gas, and burden distribution index are con firmed as the main factors affecting metallization degree. Based on this, a linear equation has been developed for predicting metallization degree. Additionally, improving the melter gasi fier vault temperature appropriately, increasing the proportion of high volatile matter coal, and optimizing the type and particle size of iron ore and the pattern of burden distribution have been shown to improve the metallization degree.

Mar 1, 2018

By Xi-chang Shi, Yun-feng Fu, Bai-zhen Chen, Hui Xu, Xiang Xiao

"Extracting boric acid from saline brine by boron specific ion-exchange resin was investigated. Effects of resin amount, temperature, time and stirring speed on boron adsorption rate were studied in the experiments. The results indicated that the XSC-700 resin showed excellent boron absorbability and it performed better property for elution. The maximum boron adsorption capacity was 6.16 mg/ml in the optimum conditions: the resin concentration of 5 ml/(100 ml brine), the temperature of 60°C, the time of 5-6h and the stirring speed of 100 r/min. Boron was eluted from the resin with HCl and boric acid was crystallized by evaporating the eluate. The product of boric acid was in pure form as confirmed by XRD and other analysis techniques.1 IntroductionBoron has a number of minerals in nature such as tincal, colemanite, ulexite, and kemite, etc. [1-2]. Boron and its compounds are chemical materials of significant value. The principal industrial uses of boron compounds are in the production of glass, porcelain, enamels and detergents. Other uses include fertilizers, metallurgy, and nuclear shielding [3-4]. In recent years, because of the large-scale mining boron ore, ore resources are drained gradually. With the development of science and technology, the boron mineral resources will be unsatisfied with the future requirement. There exits abundant boron resources in salt lakes which cover about 40% of the total reserves in China. If we can obtain boron from salt lakes, it will produce great economic interests [5-6]. Therefore, actively seeking boron from salt lake and other resources in suitable conditions has become a hot spot in the research organizations of boron resources development and utilization in the world [7].There are many methods such as acid crystallization, solvent extraction and ion exchange processes suggested effective for boron extraction from aqueous solutions. Acid crystallization method has the shortcomings of complicated procedures, the pollution caused by hydrochloric and other ingredients returning to salt lakes during the extraction process. Although solvent extraction process increases the boron acid recovery efficiency, the cost of production is high [8-9]. However, Chelating resin extracting boron has the characteristics of simple process, easy operation and no pollution. It was reported that chelating resins containing functional groups show a high selectivity for boron extraction [10-12]. Therefore, ion exchange technique which is now the most practical application of significance and most extensively used ha"

Jan 1, 2011

By Toshio Kurikami, Koichi Yamazaki

"Toho Zinc Co., Ltd Chigirishima Refinery has the production capacity of electrolytic lead for 95000t/y by sintering- blast furnace electrolytic process. Lead raw materials are lead concentrates, spent batteries and dusts that contain lead from other companies, and these are handled by existing smelting process. There are many circulation materials in the process, because the system has been constructed with improving the recovery rate and protecting the environment. This report describes material balance in each process, distribution of the lead and various components, and it examines present state of the processing. In addition, we report the result that we have tried to improve the work environment.IntroductionThe Chigirishima Refinery of the Toho Zinc Co., Ltd. is located in Chigirishima, an island 4km off the coast of Takehara-city, Hiroshima, Japan. The Chigirishima Refinery began lead smelting operations in 1951.The Chigirishima Refinery adopted the sintering-blast furnace-electrolytic process and has an electrolytic lead production capacity of 95,000 tons/year. The existing smelting process handles raw materials from lead concentrates, spent batteries, and lead-bearing dust from other companies. This system was constructed with the intentions of improving material recovery ratios and protecting the environment; therefore, there are many materials recirculating throughout the smelting process. This report describes the material balance in each process and the distribution ciflead and various components, and it examines the present state of processing. In addition, we report the results of our attempts to improve the work environment."

Jan 1, 2000

By C. J. Newman

Prior to 1995, the smelting process at the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (KUCC) smelter consisted of Noranda reactors and Pierce-Smith converters. In the consideration of expansion opportunities, the existing process did not lend itself to a program geared towards processing the total output of KUCC mining and milling operations. During 1989 and 1990, a number of smelting options were evaluated. The final selection was the Outokumpu flash smelting process, coupled with the new Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting technology. Facilities were designed and installed to process 1:0 million tonnes per year of copper concentrate, with the ability to expand to 1.2 million tonnes per year. Following the shutdown of the smelter facility utilizing the Noranda technology in May 1995, the flash smelting, furnace commenced operation in June with the flash converting furnace startup following a few weeks later. The smelter has achieved design production targets and environmental goals. Current operating rates are at or above design rates for concentrate and matte processing. Emissions are lower than the permit levels and equate to less than 3.5 kg of SO2 per tonne of copper. This paper outlines the design, construction, startup and the first two years of operation of the modernized KUCC smelter.

Jan 1, 1998

By Guohua Bai, Lin Zhang, Shan He, Xuling Chen, Min Gan, Xiaohui Fan, Yanbin Tang

"For reducing the dust content in flue gas during copper smelting in the Ausmelt, technologies and mechanism of strengthening the pelletizing of copper concentrate were studied. The results show that adding bentonite, organic binder or composite binder can effectively enhance the strength of green pellet and reduce the rate of shedding powder in drying process, and composite binder works best. When adding 1 % of composite binder, the drop strength of green pellet increased from 1.9 times/P to 4.5 times/P, the rate of damage dropping from 2 m reduced from 50.12% to 13.08% and the rate of shedding powder reduced from 60.28% to 25.13% at drying temperature of 400111. In addition, the mechanism of binder absorbed in the surface of mineral was investigated by infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that composite binder absorbed in the surface of copper concentrate was in the form of chemisorptions, which made hydrophilic enhanced, while bentonite absorbed in the surface of copper concentrate was physisorption.IntroductionWith the technologies of copper smelting developing, the equipment of copper smelting steps into a large-scale and efficient level in recent years. As Ausmelt smelting is characterized by being efficient, environmentally-friendly and energy-saving, it is generally recognized by the enterprises of copper smelting [l]. The process of Ausmelt smelting starts with materials mixing, and then pelletizing. From this point onwards, pelletized balls are charged to the top of the furnace, undergoing drying and smelting reaction[2]. Since copper concentrate is fine-grained, directly adding into smelting furnace can make it blown out of the furnace together with the airflow upwards, rendering flue gas high in flue dust, which can cause the loss of concentrate greatly, and make smelting environment poor as well. The concentrate transported into the furnace and smelted after disc balling is conducive to improve the capacity of melting furnace during copper concentrate smelting, reduce the powder shedding rate and improve enterprise benefits."

Jan 1, 2013

By Ying Wang, Min Chen, Cuihuan Huang, Haohua Deng, Nan Wang, Ming Chen

Adding limestone directly into converter is considered to be favorable to energy conservation and emission reduction by transferring the decomposition reaction of limestone from the shaft or rotary kiln to the converter. In this paper, the kinetics of limestone decomposing in early converter slag was studied at 1300–1400 °C, and the effects of slag temperature and stirring speed introduced to the slag bath were examined. The kinetic results based on shrinking core model analysis showed that the limestone decomposition was a mixed rate control of chemical reaction and heat conduction through the lime layer, which could be promoted at higher slag temperature by supplying more heat to the converter bath. In addition, the chemical reaction rate constant and effective thermal conductivity were determined.

Mar 1, 2018

By Xiaodi Huang, Matthew Andriese, Zheng Zhang, Jiann-Yang Hwang, Zhiwei Peng

"A simplified finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm for modeling microwave propagation in magnetic dielectric materials was developed and employed to study the microwave dissipation in magnetite. Heat transfer during microwave heating of magnetite was subsequently investigated by solving heat transfer differential equation using explicit finite-difference (EFD) method. It is observed that temperature of magnetite surface increases rapidly in the first minute due to the rapid strength decays in both electric and magnetic fields within a short distance along the path of microwave dissipation. A temperature peak, initially formed at the surface of the sample slab, migrates inward as heating time extends and microwave power increases.IntroductionAs one of primary materials in iron and steel industry, magnetite exhibits excellent microwave absorption capability, which leads to great energy conservation in microwave assisted steelmaking [1,2]. The fast temperature increase in microwave heating of magnetite can be attributed to both dielectric and magnetic losses [2]. Although much experimental work has confirmed this observation, detailed computational studies for modeling of microwave field dissipation in magnetite at commonly used frequencies, such as 915 MHz, has not been well addressed [1,3].Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is widely used in computational electrodynamics modeling to simulate the dynamics of electromagnetic wave scattering from various media [4,5]. This approach requires modeling algorithm to be formulated with integration of specific characteristics of each medium. An extensive literature survey indicates that current formulations are only suitable for modeling electromagnetic waves propagating in normal dielectric lossy materials [5,6]. Since magnetite is a magnetic dielectric material in which both dielectric and magnetic properties contribute to the heating process under microwave irradiation, a specific algorithm should be developed for the simulation."

Jan 1, 2012

By M Kolbe

Co-Cu exhibits a metastable miscibility gap in the region of the undercooled melt. Specimens have been undercooled and solidified containerlessly into the metastable miscibility gap in an electromagnetic levitation facility (EML) and in drop tube (DT) experiments. Due to the high undercooling the velocity of the solidification front is very high and the microstructure is frozen in instantaneously. The microstructure of samples processed in the EML is influenced by the electromagnetic stirring due to the induction of electrical currents into the melt. A variety of microstructures has been observed. After undercooling below the binodal the liquid melt separates into the Co-rich L1-phase and the Cu-rich L2-phase. Two basic morphologies of the L1-phase can be observed, they can be attributed to the transition in dendrite growth from diffusionally and thermally controlled to only thermally controlled growth. Transient microstructures are observed after solidification in the vicinity of the binodal. Drop tube experiments, which lead to a rapid solidification of a distribution of droplets under reduced gravity conditions, in contrary allow for the observation of the early stages of demixing: the microstructure shows a homogeneous distribution of spherical particles of the minority phase in the droplets. The cooling rate of the droplets and its dependence on the droplet radius has been calculated. The solidification velocity as a function of undercooling has been measured in the EML for the composition Co-lB.Bat%Cu. The data are analysed in the framework of the LKTlBCT model with a velocity-dependent distribution coefficient as well as within a model of Galenko and Danilov using a kinetic growth coefficient of u=0.22 m/Ks.

Jan 1, 2002

By J. R. Hartin

Traditionally, many of the advances in casting technology have been made by expensive and time consuming trial-and-error methodology. Modeling of the complex solidification process promises production of castings which are made "right the first time." Even though several models are available for simulation of conventional casting processes, none of them address this relatively new technology of investment cast titanium aluminides. In this paper, modification and application of a transient, three-dimensional, fully coupled fluid flow and heat transfer solidification modeling computer program to the analysis of centrifugally cast titanium aluminides is discussed. The predictive results of the program are compared to qualities of actual cast parts for validation.

Jan 1, 1992

By G. C. Yao

Branch and needle-shaped intermetallic 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 intermallic compound particles may become lumpish and spherical. According to the difference in electric and magnetic properties of these impurity particles and molten aluminum, these impurity intermetallic 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 25xl5xl30mm3 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 enhances significantly the efficiency of impurity separation

Jan 1, 2003

By Amy Anderson

The Silica (SME) Technology has been utilized on three separate projects focusing upon the stabilization of mercury-contaminated materials: at the Mother Lode Mine in Oregon, the Sulfur Bank Mercury Mine in California and at a former chloralkali plant in British Columbia. Each of the projects relied primarily on the results collected via EPA Method 1311 TCLP, with additional tests such as SPLP, humidity cell tests and other supporting tests employed as well. Both technical and economic performance of the silica-based technology was evaluated as well as that of competing technologies in some cases. Results established that in each of the three projects an SME chemical dosage rate of 3% chemical by weight of soil/sludge was the optimal ratio required to achieve project treatment objectives, TCLP test results exhibited a reduction in the leachable mercury from the treated materials ranging between 75% and 99% as compared to untreated material, satisfying the technical objectives for each project, Project costs ranged from $l5.00 - $18.26 per metric ton.

Jan 1, 2003

By J. D. McCain

Magma's San Manuel smelter has adopted new operating techniques resulting in 21% increased productivity and 87% reduction in lost time accidents. Reverberatory furnaces were converted to coal firing from expensive natural gas and fuel oil. Slag and matte flow problems and safety were improved by implementing hydraulic slag stopping and matte tapping machines. Coordination of furnaces, converters and acid plant was improved by using a computer-aided converter controller/scheduler function. Manual mudding of converter lips after each collar pull was replaced with a gunning system for coating the mouth castings. One converter punch car was automated using robotic technology. An automatic anode take-off was installed with fewer moving parts and a mechanism for ear twisting one cell contact. Anode copper refining was improved by replacing propane/hydrogen mixtures with high pressure/velocity natural gas tuyeres. Improved converter scheduling increased acid plant production 43% with more autothermal operation time. Six dedicated computers/microprocessors are utilized for automation, data acquisition, process monitoring and on-line air quality information for the Supplementary Control System.

Jan 1, 1983

By Mark C. Bronson

The feasibility of several pyrochemical approaches-for separating non-radioactive constituents from ICPP HLW calcine were examined. The removal of aluminum as AICI3 from aluminia calcine was successfully demonstrated. The examination of pyrochemical processes to remove non-radioactive constituents, primarily aluminium, zirconium, calcium and fluorine, from zirconia calcine showed that fluorine removal was required in order to chlorinate the calcine. A molten calcium chloride wash, a calcium reduction, and. a sulfuric acid treatment were examined as possible zirconia calcine pretreatment options for fluorine removal. Fluorine removal from simulated ICPP zirconia calcine was demonstrated by both a CaCl2 wash method and a sulfuric acid treatment method. X-ray fluorescence analysis indicated that greater than 97% of the fluorine can be removed by either method. Fluorine removal by a calcium reduction using an alloying agent, zinc, or a calcium reduction using, a filtration separation were also demonstrated, but the efficiencies of fluorine removal were considerably less ranging from 50 to 90%. Regeneration of CaCl2 from the salt and oxide residues of the CaCl2 wash experiments was also demonstrated 'by an aqueous dissolution method. From the salt residue, 85% or more of the CaCl2 was recovered and contained little if any CaF2 or CaO. From the oxide residue close to 100% of the CaC12 was recovered. Because of the overall success of the CaCI2 wash, it was determined to be the preferred fluorine removal process. The sulfuric acid treatment to remove fluorine is effective, but the proposed overall flowsheet has not' been adequately demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1995

By Zvi Rivlin

Classical nucleation theory states that in first order phase transformations, such as liquid to solid transition, nucleation of the product phase starts with the formation of small, unstable clusters (embryos). When the thermodynamic barrier to nucleation is overcome, the embryos grow and attain a critical size, beyond which they are stable, i.e. they become nuclei. If nucle- ation does not occur, the parent, liquid phase remains in metastable equilibrium. At temperature lowers, undercooling increase and atomic mobility decreases. The viscosity change in the undercooled liquid may result in the formation of glassy state. As demonstrated in previous papers [I-21, in solidification involving surface nucleation of the product phase, as the case is in rapid quenching by melt-spinning, both nucleation temperature and nucleation time depend upon the number of atoms available at the isothermal surface in contact with the substrate. As a result of the thinness of the melt-spun ribbons, the embryo clusters that form at the freezing temperature may not be supplied by the amount of atoms necessary for their growth to critical nuclei sizes. In such extreme conditions, the liquid does not crystallize, it forms a metallic glass. A numerical simulation method is proposed for the reactions involved in embryo cluster formation and growth, at the atomic level. The simulation enables the caIcuIation of either the nucleation or the glass transition temperatures. Calculations made for the well-known glass forming CuZr and FeB systems afford prediction of the geometrical and thermodynamically conditions necessary for the formation of either crystalline or amorphous ribbons in melt-spun ribbons.

Jan 1, 1994

By Kumar P. Dharmasena, Haydn N. G. Wadley, Bill W. Choi

"Non-contact eddy current sensing methods have been developed and applied to Cd0.955Zn0.045Te crystal growth to obtain a better understanding of the melt, solid nucleation, and the growth process. The application of this sensor approach relies on a large difference in liquid and solid electrical conductivities near the melting point and requires knowledge of the relationships between the electrical conductivity, melt composition, and temperature. Using a multifrequency encircling eddy current sensor, the electrical conductivities of three different Cd1-xZnxTe (x=0.00, 0.045, and 0.08) alloys were measured as a function of temperature in a laboratory-scale vertical Bridgman furnace. The measured solid and liquid electrical conductivities were then used in electromagnetic finite element models to analyze the multifrequency responses of eddy current sensor designs during the simulated growth of a crystal. These eddy current sensors were fabricated and installed in a vertical Bridgman furnace and used to monitor many Cd0.955Zn0.045 Te growth runs. One sensor was placed in the vicinity of the ampoule tip to detect undercooling/spontaneous nucleation and two other sensors (""absolute"" and ""differential"" designs) placed to monitor the movement/curvature of the liquid-solid interface during crystal growth. The sensor data was used to characterize the initial melt state, detect the onset of nucle-ation, determine the growth velocity, and identify the shape of the interface.IntroductionSingle crystal CdTe and its solid solution Cd1-xZnxTe alloys (0.03<x<0.05) are used as infrared transparent substrates for infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) detectors [1-6] and as solid state y- ray detectors [7-9j. Cd1-xZnxTe substrates are normally ""mined"" from large polycrystalline boules grown by the unseeded directional solidification of Cd1-xZnxTe melts using either a vertical or horizontal Bridgman process [10-14]. The vertical Bridgman method is particularly popular for growing CdTe and its related compounds. In this process, a Cd1-xZnxTe ingot is produced by first melting a charge in the hot zone of the furnace and then vertically translating the furnace (with its associated axial temperature profile) relative to the stationary crucible to cause directional solidification. In spite of many experimental efforts to investigate the relationships between material purity, stoichiometry, the controllable growth parameters (furnace temperature profiles, ampoule geometries/materials, furnace translation rates and starting position) and the resulting material characteristics (grain structure, dislocation densities, IR transmission, macro-segregation etc.), the yield of Cd1-xZnxTe of a quality suitable for large area (e.g. 4 cm x 6 cm) substrates remains low (<10%). Since much of this poor yield is directly associated with the crystal growth process (e.g. melt stoichiometry, solidification velocity, interface shape, temperature gradients, cooling rate, etc.) intensive efforts are under way to improve this technology."

Jan 1, 1997

By Mingchun Lu, Yunjin Yan

"This paper describes a new type of bell-less top installed on two relined blast furnaces at Tianjin Iron Works and another new-built at Echeng Steel Works in China. A compact installation was presented for existing furnace top innovation with the least reformation of existing top structure. A water cooling and sealing gearbox used for driving the chute discards completely the traditional idea about necessity of continuous supply of cooling gas for the gearbox. A multiring spreader and its dozens of selectable charging patterns enables an operator to achieve optimal burden distribution easily under the condition of a minimum investment of control equipment. Some useful conclusions have been made through a small-size model and a full-scale model tests. The excellent characteristics and the superiority of the new top have been fully proved at both works.IntroductionIt is known that there are some advantages with the bell-less top of a blast furnace: suitable for furnace to operate at high top pressure, capable of realizing optimal burden distribution, less investment and maintenance costs, etc. But why do most of blast furnaces in the world still remain using conventional bell top. One of the concerns is that current bell-less tops still have some shortcomings:1) The height of a current bell-less top might be lower than three or four-bell top or two-bell plus valve seal top, but still much higher than an ordinary two-bell top.2) The gearbox for driving the rotating chute is positioned onto the lip of the furnace. It is subject to attack by crude hot bf gas. Continuously pumping cooling gas (pressurized nitrogen or clean bf gas) into the gearbox is indispensable to withstand such a harsh working environment. Therefore, a plant furnished with blower8 and its ancillaries has to be built, It involves a large sum of investment and much expense in its annual running costs.3) Although the current bell-less charging device as a means of controlling burden distribution possesses a wide range of freedom, it is difficult to realize optimal burden distribution. There are some large blast furnaces realized better burden distribution, but sophisticated control means is indispensable so that the investment of control means is much higher."

Jan 1, 2000

By J. V. Happ

The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by the belief that vacuum processing of copper mattes could provide significant advancement to present-day copper smelting and converting technology. Specifically, vacuum distillation of copper mattes in a unit such as the R.H. vessel used in vacuum degassing of steel, can lead to improvements in: converter flue-gas-cleaning system, purity of acid (or liquid SO2), aisle hygiene, purity of electrorefined copper and smelter flexibility. In the study conducted, removal of Volatile impurities (arsenic, antimony, bismuth, lead and zinc) from liquid mattes, by vacuum distillation in a laboratory-scale equipment was performed. The conditions investigated covered a temperature range of 1123-1223K, absolute pressure of 6.5-0.5kPa (50 - 3 mm Hg) and with bleed gas consisting either of pure oxygen or argon. Six matte samples (four U.S. and two foreign) were tested. Under the "best" conditions arsenic and antimony were reduced to << 0.01% in the product matte. The removal of bismuth, lead and zinc was variable and appeared to be influenced by the matte composition of the sample. As might be expected, the rates of distillation of the various species were increased at higher temperatures and lower absolute pressures. The influence of a small flow rate of gas (02 or Ar) over the melt did not have a signifi¬cant influence on the extent of impurity removal. The magnetite content of the matte was reduced by up to 30% during vacuum treatment and was favored by a low partial pressure of oxygen over the melt. Substantial amounts of sulfur were also evaporated and an, overall increase in copper grade of the matte was realized. The paper concludes with an evaluation of industrial aspects of the process as applied to conventional smelters.

Jan 1, 1983

By Hao Rang

The article Is specially to Introduce the recovery process of Nb, Mn, P from slags and reutilization techniques of the remaining slags. Nb-Mn-Fe alloys which contain 14-16% Nb, 40-60% Mn can be obtained after using fire refining process of " Blast Furnace-Revolving Furnace-Electric Furnace -Electric Furnace, "meanwhile, phosphorous slags which the content of phosphorus pentoxide Is 29.21%. Further going through wet metallurgical processing and electrowinning technics to recover grading 99°o metallic manganese. Finally, phosphorous slags are grinded finely to be as phosporous fertilizers to be directly used for farmlands. Small particle size (0-8mm) rich slags are mixed with slight solid additions for balling directly, and taken Into blast furnace with blocky slags all together. The remaining tall slags are fully used as constructional materials, slags cement as well as a serial of wall materials, road materials, ground ornamental materials without burning operation and steam curing. The compressive strength range of those materials is up to 15-30 MPa. There is no more solid waste slags effluent In the full technical process.

Jan 1, 1994

By Victoria Vaccarezza, Corby Anderson

Due to the demand for rare earth elements for everyday technology and applications, there has been much research initiation into the extraction and recovery of rare earth elements. An otherwise unknown mineral, eudialyte is a zircon silicate consisting of rare earth oxides, specifically the heavy REO yttrium (III), with only trace amounts of thorium and uranium. The first part of this project aimed at finding an efficient way to liberate and upgrade eudialyte to concentrate the REO content. A combination of gravity and magnetic separation techniques were employed, resulting in limited success. The second part looked at the hydrometallurgical processing of eudialyte through various leaching experiments with sulfuric acid. In all, this project will discuss why certain processes were utilized over others, as well as the difficulties that arose during processing.

Mar 1, 2018