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Accretions of dust on the walls of the offtakes from furnaces and in the waste heat boiler are a cause of significant operating and maintenance problems in non-ferrous smelters. The dust originates from entrained solids in the gas stream and vaporised species that condense during gas cooling. Control of dust formation is very important for minimising the formation of accretions and reducing the severity of environmental problems caused by toxic species, such as those containing arsenic, in the dust. The present paper discusses the formation of accretions and the condensation of dust in copper smelting from a thermodynamic viewpoint. Changes, in gas composition and the amounts and identities of the condensed species in the dust are calculated using computational thermodynamics. Interactions between dust species to form accretions are considered in the light of appropriate phase equilibria. The results show that the nature of the dust formed varies greatly, depending on the temperature and the amount of oxygen present during cooling. Control of the amount of oxygen is required if offtake and waste heat boiler accretion problems are to be minimised.

Jan 1, 2002

By Brian Patrick, Norman Bell, Mark Schoenfield, Thomas Weber, Dietrich Gross

"The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the resultant greenhouse gas affect is hampered by the fact that all fossil fuels contain copious quantities of carbon. Process tweaking can keep the amount of carbon dioxide to a minimum but cannot significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated. The very nature of utilizing fuels requires that they be burned to release the heat required for the various processes. Reduction of metal oxides to manufacture or modify pure metals, generation of power, transportation and many other forms of fuel usage result in much of the generation of man made carbon dioxide. Oxyfuel is a unique contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. While creating higher concentrations of carbon dioxide the total volume of carbon dioxide generated is reduced. This paper will examine the unique characteristics and potential of oxyfuel that make the generation of lower volumes of carbon dioxide possible.Nearly ten years ago a commercial application of oxy-fuel was installed at Jupiter Aluminum Company in Hammond, Indiana. This process was funded and developed by Dietrich Gross CEO. This aluminum remelt facility now runs completely on oxy-fuel and has continuously for over ten years. This has reduced the melt rates to as low as 750 BTU per pound in continuous melting periods."

Jan 1, 2009

By Tianzu Yang, Weifeng Liu, Lin Chen, Xinxin Fu, Shuai Rao, DUCHAO ZHANG

It is well known that the gold ores containing a high content of arsenic and antimony are very refractory. In this paper, the adverse effect of antimony on the extraction of gold by pretreatment-cyanide leaching was discussed in detail. Moreover, these processes of removing and recovering antimony from alkaline sodium sulfide or hydrochloric acid systems were introduced. Last bu not the least, a novel cleaning technology for recovering antimony from refractory gold ores was proposed. Antimony was dissolved into the solution with sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide as leaching agents. And then pressure oxidation technology was applied to prepare sodium pyroantimonate from sodium thioantimonite solutions. This process is more promising owing to its high removal ratio of antimony, low production cost and environment friendly, which provides a positive guidance for the extraction of antimony from antimonial refractory gold ores.

Mar 1, 2017

By Donggen Fang, Liu Xuan, Jilai Xue

SiO2 and Al2O3 in the metallurgical slag of nickel laterite ore have great recycling values. In this work, Si and Al were extracted from the slag in NaOH based molten salts through alkali roasting and water leaching process for preparing zeolite materials. The extraction ratio of SiO2 increases with increased temperature and appropriately prolonged time, and more than 80% SiO2 can be recycled from the slag after roasting at 550°C. Si and Al from the slag are in the filtered liquor for producing zeolite materials, while Mg, Ca, Fe and other impurities remain in the leached residues. Adding Na2CO3 into the alkalin-slag roasting process can reduce the amount of pure NaOH used with minor decrease in extraction ratio of SiO2, while make better separation of Ca to avoid it getting into the filtered liquor. Adding Al2O3 into the alkalin roasting process can replace part of more expensive NaAlO2 addition that is required for preparing zeotite material, which may bring out a minor decrease in extraction ratio of SiO2 due to formation of NaAlSiO 4 in the filtered residues. Quality X zeolite and 4A zeolite materials can be made from the starting liquor containing Si and Al recycled from the laterite nickel slag through alkali roasting and water leaching process.

Mar 1, 2018

By S. Abe

An extensive study has been carried out to determine the true cause of floating slimes precipitation which sometimes occurs and badly affects the quality of copper cathodes. Soluhilities of floating slime compounds systematically measured for the ternary system As-Sb-Ri added solely or in combination with conventional copper electrolyte (63°C) and bench scale electrorefining experiments done by varying electrolyte composition, have shown conclusively that the level of Sb(V) ions plays a substantial role in the precipitation mechanism. It was, therefore, speculated that controlling the level of the less soluble S b ( V ) ions below a certain critical level should result in a complete elimination of the undesirable precipitation. This can be easily achieved, for instance, by the addition of a reducing agent such as SO2 gas and the simultaneous employment of a certain type of cheating agent that effectively removes excessive Sb and Bi from the contaminated electrolyte. Long-term pilot testing conducted in line with the above speculation has confirmed the SO2/chelating resin scheme to be industrially very attractive and feasible.

Jan 1, 1987

By Roberto Parra

The classic criteria of the preparation of the charge for the smelting of copper concentrates in at flash furnace considers the mass and energy balance from the chemical and mineralogy composition of the concentrates. The operation parameters fixed with this method don't assure the stability of the operation and the critical problems of the slag quality and dust formation occurs very often. This paper presents the results of a laboratory test that allows the prediction of the behavior of concentrates blends in the view of the minimization of the dust formation and the magnetite control in the slag. The combustion of different copper concentrates and blends were done in a drop tube furnace The results show that the magnetite and dust formation don't have a linear behavior with the weight proportion of the blend and some optimal blends of 2 or 3 types of concentrates can be identified. From the reasonable hypothesis that the qualitative behavior of blends in the drop tube represents the real behavior in the burner, the preparation of the charge with this approach could help to solve those operational problems.

Jan 1, 2003

Mineralogical and metallurgical scoping testwork were carried out to investigate the production of separate, marketable gold and platinum concentrates. The study utilized a flotation concentrate assaying approximately 5 wt% gold and 5 grams per tonne platinum. The gold-platinum mineralization was recovered from a placer deposit. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray analysis identified gold as zoned Au- Ag and Au-Ag-Cu alloys. Platinum primarily occurred as weakly zoned, variably magnetic Pt- Pd-Fe alloys. A combination of gravity and magnetic separations resulted in a gold concentrate grading 86.9 wt% Au (and 9.lwt% Ag) and a separate platinum concentrate grading 400 g/t Pt with recoveries of 94.5% and 96.7%, respectively. Magnetohydrostatic separation (MHS) using the Magstream 200 Separator indicated promising results.

Jan 1, 1994

By Sebastian Schmuck, Petrico von Schweinichen, Dieter Senk, Mohammad Peymandar

"At Department of Ferrous Metallurgy of the RWTH Aachen University in Germany steels in the system Fe-Mn-C(-Al) are investigated and produced in the framework of the SFB 761 ""steel-ab initio"". A new world of steel grades leads to special challenges regarding the production and recycling at the end-of-life cycle of product. In order to recycle high manganese steel alloys the EAF has to be chosen preferentially. A good slag practice is necessary avoiding loss of manganese content during melting in the EAF. This paper investigates on the reaction kinetics at the interface of slag and steel containing Mn (17-22 wt.-%) and up to 3 wt.-% Al. The effect of changes in the composition of slag and steel on the interfacial reaction kinetics is studied. The thermodynamic software FactSage™ is utilized to calculate the composition of slag and steel at equilibrium.IntroductionTRIP and TWIP steels are highly alloyed steels which show superior strength and ductility when compared to standard carbon steel and stainless steel alloys. These TRIP- and TWIPsteel grades contain typically 15-30 wt.-% manganese, 0-4 wt.-% silicon and aluminum, and up to 1 wt.-% carbon. Steels containing 18-28 wt.-% manganese and 0.7-1.2 wt.-% carbon together with aluminum addition from 3 to 12 wt. -% and without silicon refer to TRIPLEX high manganese steel alloys. These alloys combine high strength at even large ductility [ 1-4]. At the Department of Ferrous Metallurgy (IEHK) of the RWTH Aachen University in Germany, steels in the system Fe-Mn-C(-Al) is under investigation at the collaborative research center, SFB 761 ""Steel-ab initio"". In this project, high manganese alloyed TRIP and TWIP steels are in the focus.The mechanical properties such as high strength and high ductility make this kind of steels perfect candidates for impact absorption applications in auto body such as vehicle doors and bumpers [2, 5]. With increasing the use of TRIP-, TWIP- and TRIPLEX-steels more high manganese steel scraps will be available at the end of life cycle of products, which need to develop the technologies and metallurgical processes to recovery of high manganese steel. A new steel grade brings new challenges in recycling. In order to recycle high manganese steel scraps the electric arc furnaces (EAF) have to be chosen preferentially [1]. Nevertheless it's not easy to prevent the manganese loss during the process in EAF. During the oxygen refining of high manganese molten steel in EAF the manganese content decreases strongly by oxidation and vaporization, which is affected by slag composition, slag properties such as basicity and viscosity, slag weight as well as melt temperature [6-8]."

Jan 1, 2014

By Deventer Johanna van

Ore bodies around the world are declining in grade, whilst increasing in complexity. The level of impurities relative to the valuable metal is steadily increasing, posing new challenges to existing operations. Ion exchange is widely used in the hydrometallurgical industry for both primary recovery of metals and the removal of impurities. The superior selectivity of ion exchange resins makes them exceptionally suitable for the removal of target impurities to very low levels, thereby saving operating costs, increasing the value of the final product and significantly improving revenue. The ion exchange process in these applications is very simple, using standard ion exchange equipment and acid regeneration. The process can be fully automated, requiring minimal operator interference and supervision Examples of impurities that are successfully removed via ion exchange include iron, antimony and bismuth from copper electrolyte. In the copper electrolysis process, antimony, bismuth and arsenic tend to form slimes which are dispersed in the electrolyte. These slimes contaminate the cathode and/or decrease the quality of the copper deposition. A special chelating resin was developed to remove antimony and bismuth, while at the same time ensuring minimal chloride leakage to the sulphate matrix. The work is described in more detail in this paper. Ion exchange is also used to remove copper, zinc and nickel from cobalt electrolyte. This paper addresses a few of these examples in more detail.

By Junmo Ahn

This study investigated leaching kinetics by alternative lixiviants for copper leaching from chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), the most abundant copper resource in the world. As a refractory sulfide mineral, chalcopyrite shows low copper extraction due to passivation on chalcopyrite surface. Also, decrease of copper grade with high portion chalcopyrite requires the alternative leaching procedure to increase copper recovery. Therefore, alternative lixiviants such as sulfurous acid and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) were tested for both concentrate and low grade ore to enhance copper extraction. Also, an oxidant, hydrogen peroxide, was compared to ferric to find out the improvement of leaching kinetic. In concentrate leaching tests, 30 g/L MSA showed the highest copper extraction (47%), compared to other lixiviants at 75 °C. Periodical H2O2 addition enhanced copper extraction, and above 90% of copper extraction was observed within 96 h by periodical addition of 0.6% H2O2 at 75 °C. The activation energy of chalcopyrite leaching by MSA and H2O2 achieved 40 kJ/mol, which is chemical reaction control. The results of low grade ore leaching tests indicates that no significant difference among lixiviants (H2SO4, H2SO3 and MSA) with ferric was observed, all of which achieved around 37% within 24 h at room temperature. However, significant increase of copper extraction (>80%) was observed at both 20 g/L MSA and 10 g/L H2SO4 conditions by the addition of 10% H2O2.

By Hector M. Henao

To provide thermodynamic data for converting nickel matte to liquid nickel at high temperature, an experimental study was conducted on the phase equilibrium between the Ni-S alloy and the FeOX-SiO2, FeOx-CaO, and CaO-A12O3 base slag in a magnesia crucible and the CaO-Al2O3-MgO slag in an alumina crucible. All experiments were carried out at 1773 K under controlled pso2 of 0.1 atm and po2 in a range between 5x10- and 10-5 atm by using CO-CO2-SO2 gas mixtures. The dissolution of nickel in the slag was found to be minimum for the CaO-Al203¬-MgO slag with a molar ratio of NCaO/NA1203=1.7. The solubility of nickel in this slag at p02 of 6x10 atm (just before the precipitation of solid NiO) was 4 mass%. This result suggests that a CaO-A12O3 base slag could be used in converting Ni-S melt to nickel while minimizing nickel losses to the slag.

Jan 1, 2002

By Guojun Qi

This work relates to wafer bumping technologies for flip chip packaging applications in the electronics industry. Nickel and its alloys are alternative under bump metallization (UBM) materials because of their slower reaction rates with Sn-based solder as compared to Cu-based UBMs. In this study, we compared the morphologies of the intermetallic compounds (IMC) formed between Sn-bearing solders (Sn3.5Ag and eutectie Sn-Pb) and two types of nickel- based UBMs, electro less Ni-P (EN) and sputtered nickel. Both chunky-type and needle-type of intermetallics were observed between the EN UBM and the solders. In the case 'of sputtered Ni UBM, there is only a layer of scallop-type intermetallics formed, The morphology change and growth kinetics of the IMC in thermal aging process were analysed. Kirkendall voids were noticed from samples ofSn3.5Ag solder vs Ni-P UBM that have undergone prolonged thermal aging at high temperature.

Jan 1, 2003

By F. M. Wang, J. P. Lin, G. Y. Tang, H. C. Zhou, Y. F. Liang, F. Ye

"Fe-6.5%Si alloy is a very excellent soft magnetic material compared with conventional Si steel (Si content ~ 3.5%), especially in high frequencies with reduced iron losses and noises. But it is hard to be fabricated due to its brittleness at room temperature. Dynamic electropulsing is applied to the cold rolled Fe-6.5%Si sheet during tensile deformation. Mechanical and microstructural properties are investigated with different electropulsing and strain rate. It is found that the yield stress decreases and the elongation increases dramatically with the application of dynamic electropulsing. It is indicated that the work hardening could be reduced with the dynamic electropulsing during deformation, which provides a promising way to fabricate this alloy sheet much easier.Introduction Fe-6.5%Si (weight percent, same as below) alloy has more excellent soft magnetic properties compared with conventional silicon steel (Si content ~ 3.5%), such as higher resistivity, higher permeability, near zero magnetostriction, etc. and exhibits much lower core losses and noises [1]. However, Fe-6.5%Si is very brittle at room temperature and hard to be fabricated in strip by conventional hot-cold rolling process [2]. This lack of low-temperature ductility has been generally attributed to structural ordering ofB2 and D03 phases [3]. Several methods have been developed to avoid its brittleness, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [4], rapid quenching [5, 6], dipping and diffusion [7, 8], direct powder rolling (DPR) [9], etc. However, hot-cold rolling method is still of interest for industrial applications. In our previous work, this alloy can be cold rolled after certain thermomechanical process and heat treatment [10-13]. The cold rolled sheet exhibits some extent of ductility [11]. However, side cracks are common for the rolled sheet, it is very necessary to improve the ductility of this alloy by other technical applications."

Jan 1, 2012

By Katia Vutova, Vania Vassileva

Investigations and results on the refining of tungsten scrap applying electron beam melting (EBM) in vacuum are presented and discussed. In this work EB melting experiments were performed in single or double-melt operations with different power inputs and refining times for tungsten purification and recovery of multiple metals (including refractory and other metals such as Mo, Nb, Cu, Zn, etc.), which are alloyed elements or impurities with high concentrations in the initial materials. Evaluations for extraction of some valuable metals, generated in the condensate at their removal from the liquid metal during the refining process are provided. Efficient technological regimes for e-beam melting and refining that enable the simultaneous production of pure metal ingots and condensates that can be used directly or can be used for subsequent extraction of expensive and valuable metals are presented.

Jan 1, 2016

By James Cornwell, John A. Elton

"Thermionic induced reactions and radiation resonance catalysis of aluminum and aluminum oxide materials exposed to microwaves and triboemissions will be described and explained from both a fundamental and practical level. Magnetron operation at distinct operating conditions that generates both plasmon and triboemissive radiation will be explained and the resulting tribochemical and radiation resonance catalytic reactions between aluminum, aluminum oxide, water and graphite will be delineated. The generation of hydrogen from these materials using triboemissive radiation and microwaves will be described, and the application of this methodology for hydrogen based technologies will be discussed.IntroductionProtective Systems Directed Energy RadiationProtective Systems, Inc, has developed a new radiation device called the EMR (Electromagnetic Resonator) that has unique characteristics that separates it from traditional microwave and rf radiation devices. The radiation from the EMR device is generated using a modified electronresonance magnetron with proprietary filters and operating characteristics.Electronic Device Shutoff. When electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, and other IC based electronics are placed within the EMR radiation, these devices become non-functional as long as the EMR beam is active. Upon removal of the EMR radiation the devices either become operational again or become operational after a cold start. The devices are not damaged by the irradiation.Faraday Cage Interaction Effect. When any of the above electronic devices are placed in a Faraday cage and activated within the Faraday cage without EMR radiation, they operate normally. However, these devices will still be rendered inoperative when an EMR beam generated outside the Faraday cage is directed at the electronic."

Jan 1, 2010

By C. Dupuis

Thiourea is a promising reagent for gold extraction especially from refractory ores that cannot be treated by traditional cyanidation route. In this study recovery of gold from thiourea leaching solutions was investigated by direct electrowinning. The electrolysis cell consisted of a carbon flow-through cathode and a lead anode. The anodic and cathodic compartments were separated by a membrane. Galvanostatic mode was chosen for operation of the cell. Factors affecting recovery efficiency such as cathode thickness, linear flowrate, current intensity, thiourea and gold concentrations were investigated. The influence of some species in solution on efficiency and selectivity of recovery was investigated. Gold recovery reached 99% but current efficiency was lower than 10%. The complex formed with ferric ion and formamidine disulfide are reduced before gold-thiourea complex. Thiourea consumption occurred during leaching mainly by oxidation and reaction with dissolved copper.

Jan 1, 1989

By Zhou Jun

Water-quenched samples were taken from a commercial flash furnace at three levels along its reaction shaft during operation at high feed rate. The samples were subjected to a series of analysis and observation. Such processes of the feed in reaction shaft as oxidation, desulfurization, melting, slag and matte formation and etc., variations of particle size along axial and radical direction of the shaft are investigated. The following smelting mechanism in reaction shaft named as “Multi-particle and multi-phase fusion model” is proposed: (1) Fragmentation and collision of concentrate particles take place simultaneously in reaction shaft with particle size growing up. Collision produces large-size “unit melt” which falls into the reaction layer in the settler bath. (2) In the settler reaction layer below the shaft, weak bath smelting reactions take place among the shaft products, producing final matte and slag which separate into two layers. (3) The processes in the shaft are all progressive along the whole height of the shaft. The predominant reaction in the shaft is oxidation, not reduction.

By Stanko Nikolic

The Top Submerged Lance (TSL) technology, developed in the 1970s, is now widely used for the processing of a range of materials. TSL technology for continuous converting was first patented in the 1990s. The process is based on the use of calcium ferrite slag. Although this slag system had been applied elsewhere the phase equilibria had not been thoroughly investigated. This lead to a collaboration between the Process Technology group of Mount Isa Mines, now part of Glencore, and the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre (PYROSEARCH) at The University of Queensland. Through multiple research programs this complex system was successfully investigated. The results were then implemented within thermodynamic modelling tools. This combined new knowledge was then applied to the design and industrial implementation of the TSL continuous converting technology, ISACONVERT™. This paper describes the key findings of the research and how this was applied to the industrial implementation of the technology.

By Guojun Qi

This work relates to wafer bumping technologies for flip chip packaging applications in the electronics industry. Nickel and its alloys are alternative under bump metallization (UBM) materials because of their slower reaction rates with Sn-based solder as compared to Cu-based UBMs. In this study, we compared the morphologies of the intermetallic compounds (IMC) formed between Sn-bearing solders (Sn3.5Ag and eutectic Sn-Pb) and two types of nickel- based UBMs, electroless Ni-P (EN) and sputtered nickel. Both chunky-type and needle-type of intermetallics were observed between the EN UBM and the solders. In the case of sputtered Ni UBM, there is only a layer of scallop-type intermetallics formed. The morphology change and growth kinetics of the IMC in thermal aging process were analysed. Kirkendall voids were noticed from samples of Sn3.5Ag solder vs Ni-P UBM that have undergone prolonged thermal aging at high temperature.

Jan 1, 2003

By Reza Kamali, Mohsen Bashiri, Hadi Fanisalek

"Nomenclature: A: area (m2), C: heat capacity (WIK), cp: specific heat (J/Kg K), d: internal tube diameter (in), F: correction factor for multi-pass and crossflow heat exchanger, h: convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K), k: thermal conductivity (W/mK), L: length (m), m: mass flow rate (Kg/s), W: flow rate, N: number, Q: heat rate (W), R: thermal resistance, T: temperature (°C), U: overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K), ;1,,P: pressure drop (Pa), ;1,,T: temperature difference (°C), p: density (lb/ft3), N: number of tube passes, U,: velocity in tubes, iJh: head loss in feet of flowing fluid, Up: velocity in the pipe leading to and from the heat exchanger (ft/sec), µ: viscosity ( cp ), Llpf frictional pressure loss (psi/l 00 equivalent ft of pipe) Subscripts: b: baffle, c: cold, cf counter flow, ex: exchanger, f: fouling, h: hot, i: inlet-inner, ib: inlet baffle, lm: logarithmic mean, m: mean, o: outlet-outer, s: shell, t: tube, w: wall AbstractThe main bottleneck for primary aluminum production industry is dealing with a huge amount of input energy. The fact is that part of provided energy to aluminum production smelters will be lost as waste heat and it never used for aluminum production. One part of waste heat is escaping from the potroom exhaust gases, which was studied for possible recovery in a desalination plant to produce distilled water and the paper was presented in 2011 TMS Annual Meeting. However, it was shown that waste heat recovery plant to produce distilled water is highly profitable but the main fact is that the exhaust gases from potroom are highly corrosive, abrasive and dusty. The main challenge for desalination plant construction, which is using aluminum smelter exhaust gases as the main heat source, is the highly corrosive environment that makes the situation difficult and complicated for equipments design and plant construction. In this paper, we are trying to study a detailed investigation regarding the heat exchangers fouling, corrosion in heat exchangers including heat exchangers' material, how often we need to shut down the plant for maintenance or cleaning, and plant thermal efficiency with considering fouling."

Jan 1, 2012