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By Murat Alkan

In this study, a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and following acid leaching techniques were carried out to produce boron carbide (B4C) powder. First, B2O3 was obtained through calcinations of H3BO3 at 1073 K for 2 hours. Then, the glassy B2O3 obtained was crushed and sieved. In the SHS experiments, different amounts of B2O3, Mg and C black were used. The SHS product was obtained in the form of black, spongy solid. In the leaching step, the SHS product was leached in a HCl solution to eliminate the MgO and Mg3B2O6. The effect of acid concentration on the selective leaching was studied at different concentration range, solid/liquid (S/L) ratio, and temperature. The products obtained were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis and SEM techniques.

Jan 1, 2009

By Corby G. Anderson

Antimony has been utilized by mankind for thousands of years. However, due to recent environmental concerns, antimony is often considered to be an impurity element, Since antimnoy is commonly found in precious metal refractory ore bodies, extraction is essential. The Sunshine Mine in Kellogg, Idaho has recovered antimony from its precious metal tetrahedrite deposits since the 1940's. A plant was initially constructed as a primary antimony source during World War II. This facility also decreased the downstream smelting penalty for the silver copper-lead concentrate and provided an industrial commodity from a potential environmental nuisance.' This paper describes the Sunshine antimony processing- facility. Specifically, the relevant process chemistries involved in concentrate leaching, metal electrowinning, and sodium antimonate production will be discussed. In addition, ongoing areas of research to improve unit operations and treatments implemented to meet environmental' discharge requirements will be covered.

Jan 1, 1992

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

By C. E. M. Meskers

Electronic and Electric Equipment contains a range of components made of a wide variation of metals, plastics and other substances. Up to 60 elements can be found in complex electronic equipment: base metals, precious metals and special metals in circuit boards and batteries. Because of its amount WEEE represents a considerable metal resource with a higher special and precious metal content than found in ores. The Umicore integrated smelter and refinery recovers and supplies back to the market 17 different metals from EEE. Pre-treated materials enter state of the art, material and energy efficient metallurgical processes for environmentally sound recovery of metals and treatment of off gasses and hazardous substances. The organics in the feed function as reducing agent and alternative energy source during smelting for precious metal recovery. Lithium-ion batteries are treated using a dedicated process. As a result the environmental footprint of metals produced from EEE is much smaller than primary production.

Jan 1, 2009

By N. L. Piret

In copper smelting minimization of solid waste generation is receiving increased attention with more stringent environmental legislation and lower disposal space availability. Copper smelting slags generally being valorizable, solid waste generation is attributed to the presence in the feed of unvalorizable impurities which do not report to the slag and to the unavoidable formation of contaminated dilute acid solutions which need neutralization. As to unvalorizable impurities, solid waste minimization is achieved by rejecting them in the highest possible concentration. Dilute acid is mainly due to the formation of SO3 in the smelter gases and to the discard of decopperized bleed-off electrolyte. Its generation is substantially lowered by preventing SO3 formation, by converting the dilute acid to a valorizable product, e.g., by thermal decomposition for H2S04 recovery or by precipitation as chemical gypsum, and by suitable treatment of the bleed-off electrolyte for impurity removal. Industrial processes are evaluated and alternatives are discussed.

Jan 1, 1994

By Alaina B. Hanlon

Keywords: Undercooling, Convection, Dendrites, Stainless Steel, Levitation Certain Fe-Cr-Ni stainless steel alloys solidify from an undercooled melt by a two-step process in which the metastable ferrite phase forms first followed by the stable austenite phase. Recent experiments have shown that the lifetime of the metastable phase is strongly influenced by flow within the molten sample. The current research will provide insight to why flow affects the metastable phase. This new understanding will lead to the use of convection to control microstructural evolution in spray-forming of stainless steels. Simulations using a commercial computational fluid dynamics package, FIDAP, yield a range of convective flow velocities that cause mechanical damage to the dendrites which is compared to experimental results. If the convective velocities are great enough that the dendrites bend, then low angle boundaries form at the points of collision. These result in high energy sites that could serve as nuclei for the stable phase.

Jan 1, 2005

By Daniel Bennett

There are few methods currently applied towards on-line bulk mineralogical analysis. Yet on-line knowledge of process mineralogy could potentially provide large benefits, such as increased extraction efficiency or resource optimization. The work described in this paper involves the development of radio frequency methods for bulk mineralogical analysis. Some resonances that occur in the radio frequency spectrum are mineral specific, and potentially allow quantitative estimation of mineralogy in an ore stream. Results will be presented on the specific detection of chalcopyrite. Initial quantitative measurements investigating matrix effects have indicated the feasibility of on-line mineralogical estimation using radio frequency techniques.

Jan 1, 2006

By B. B. Agrawal

Iron ore fines is an area of concern in India. A possible avenue is to use these fines for sponge ironmaking. Work has been carried out to pelletize these fines with coal and a suitable binder, and cure them in ambient atmosphere to retain in-situ reductant. Pellets were characterized for physical strength and metallisation. Critical factors were granulometry was percentage of coal & binder. In laboratory tests, pellets got metallized faster compared to lump ore. Large-scale trials were conducted in a 12-meter long rotary kiln plant. For 90% metallization, required residence time was only 60 minutes against 240 minutes for lump ore. Coal requirement also decreased. Investigations established the fast reduction nature of pellets. This is due to reduction-reactions occurring simultaneously at many sited within the composite pellets, in addition to the diffusion of reducing gases from the surface of the pellets to its core. The developed process is a value addition in the conventional pelletmaking and is environment-friendly also.

Jan 1, 2006

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 Hani Henein

Recent innovations in atomization of molten metals have occurred in the area of single fluid atomization. Impulse Atomization (IA), one of the single fluid techniques, provides unique capabilities to study different regimes of atomization in a controlled environment. By changing processing variables, a mono-dispersed distribution of droplets above one millimeter in diameter can be produced. This is accomplished through proper characterization of the forces influencing the process and in particular the flow of melt through the orifice. This paper will discuss the approach and illustrate results with molten aluminum and cobalt.

Jan 1, 2006

By Yushiro Hirai

Saganoseki smelter & refinery had operated two flash smelting furnaces from 1973, attaining 330,000 mtpy of copper production in 1989. In 1996, however, it carried out a "integration of two flash furnaces". That is, it doubled the feeding capacity to one flash furnace to shut down another furnace while maintaining the same production. Single flash furnace operation has successfully started in March 1996 accomplishing a great reduction of the total production cost. The production had reached to 350,000 mtpy in 1997, and further increased to 450,000 mtpy by executing the expansion program with single flash furnace in 1998. This paper introduces results of the single flash furnace operation and describes about an outline of the expansion.

Jan 1, 1999

By Keith S. McIntosh

The fire assay process for the quantitative recovery of platinum group elements (PGE?s) prior to subsequent analysis traditionally is a time-consuming process. Samples derive from various ore types and contain PGE?s at the ppm or ppb levels, making concentration of the elements mandatory before assaying. Traditionally sample turn-around times are of the order of 24 hours. The whole sequence of sample preparation, fire assay and subsequent analysis of PGE?s have been automated by Anglo Platinum. Some of the major challenges on the road to automation will be discussed and the novel solutions that were implemented. The engineered solution included robotic automation of the whole sequence, from sample preparation, up to the final element by element assay. The final system allowed for rapid (less than one hour) and accurate analysis of PGE?s even in streams containing very low levels, such as flotation tailing streams and drill core samples.

Jan 1, 2006

By Linda Gaines

Use of vehicles with electric drive, which could reduce our oil dependence, will depend on lithium-ion batteries. But is there enough lithium? Will we need to import it from a new cartel? Are there other materials with supply constraints? We project the maximum demand for lithium and other materials if electric-drive vehicles expanded their market share rapidly, estimating material demand per vehicle for four battery chemistries. Total demand for the United States is based on market shares from an Argonne scenario that reflects high demand for electric-drive vehicles, and total demand for the rest of the world is based on a similar International Energy Agency scenario. Total material demand is then compared to estimates of production and reserves, and the quantity that could be recovered by recycling, to evaluate the adequacy of supply. We also identify producing countries to examine potential dependencies on unstable regions or future cartels.

Jan 1, 2010

By Ailton da Silva Ferreira

Thermoset polymers, like the polyester, become harder with increasing temperature owing to molecular crosslink formation, which is a thermal benefit for composite matrix applications. Natural lignocellulosic fibers, however, have low thermal resistance and tend to degrade with increasing temperature. Therefore, the combination of a lignocellulosic fiber, as reinforcement, with a thermoset polymer, as the matrix, results in a composite material with complex thermal behavior. In the present work, a thermal analysis was conducted on polyester composites with different amounts of curaua fibers. Both TGA and DTG curves were analyzed to determine the effect of the curaua fiber on the thermal resistance of the composites. It was found that the curaua fiber sensibly affects the thermal behavior of the polyester matrix for fiber amounts above 10% in volume. This effect is associated with an increase in thermal degradation.

Jan 1, 2010

By William A. Enrico

Umicore acquired the Pirdop Smelter in a privatization offering by the Bulgarian government in September 1997. Since that time, an investment program has been conducted to increase capacity to 225 000 tons per year of anode copper, while improving the environmental performance to meet Bulgarian and European standards. A significant part of this investment program involved reconstruction of the three Peirce-Smith converters and the associated gas handling system. During the period June, 2000 through April, 2002, converter capacity was increased, the existing water-cooled hoods were replaced, the waste heat boiler was replaced by two evaporative coolers, the dry ESP's were rebuilt and extended, and a Converter Control System (CCS) installed. From 2002 until the present, a continuous improvement of operating and environmental performance has been achieved. This paper will describe the converter reconstruction project, the operational, maintenance, and environmental improvements achieved since then and additional projects presently under consideration.

Jan 1, 2005

Gas-liquid contacting in the packed bed is a common operation in metallurgical reactors. Research has shown that, unlike wetting flow, non-wetting liquid flows in the form of discrete droplets or rivulets. Thus, modeling of the liquid phase as a continuum is in contradiction to the observations. Also, for the non-wetting case, continuum models have failed to describe liquid flow path when the liquid source is a point source. The aim of the current work is to put forward a combined Lagrangian-Eulerian approach to model the liquid and gas flow in the packed bed. Liquid is assumed discrete and modeled using a force balance approach. Gas is assumed to be interpenetrating continua and modeled using k-emodel for turbulent flow. Structured packing is assumed and x- ray imaging technique is used to visualize liquid flow lines in the bed. Simulation results for liquid flow path compared with the experiments.

Jan 1, 2006

By Leon H. Bruner

This paper presents a case study describing how a global consumer products company with 138,000 employees that markets over 300 brands in 180 countries is building sustainability into the rhythm of its business. This strategy extends beyond social investment programs by incorporating sustainability into the fabric of product design, manufacturing operations, employee engagement and stakeholder partnerships. During the implementation of this program it has been necessary to be explicit about sustainability and its importance to the business, to broadly define sustainability, to ensure that sustainability is not added work, to eliminate trade-offs between performance, value and sustainability and to implement programs to ensure that sustainability is incorporated into the DNA of the company. Our program continually emphasizes the importance of making no tradeoffs between consumer acceptance of sustainable products and sustainability investments. We also work diligently to overcome the challenges of engaging employees around the world to implement a single coherent sustainability strategy that delivers great results.

Jan 1, 2010

This paper outlines the complete failure of the U.S. in status and relevance in Rare Earth Oxides (REO). Although rare earth oxides are strategic and critical in their own right, refining these REOs into elements and alloys is even more important for the development of "Green Technologies" and advanced weapons systems. America does not have an active domestic source of rare earth oxides. America does not have any heavy rare earth elemental or alloy capabilities. The magnitude of this failure continues to become more apparent as the manufacture of REO based electronics and magnetic components moves eastward towards China. China has succeeded in outmaneuvering the United States and the world in its quest to control the rare earth oxides, elements and alloys, and the many industries dependent upon REO. What can be done?

Jan 1, 2010

By Liyuan Chai

In this study, spent grain was used as an adsorbent for the removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solutions, the process parameters such as contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dose, and initial Hg(II) concentration were studied in batch experiments. The initial adsorption process was fast, 91.08% of adsorption occurred within 5 min and equilibrium was reached at around 30min. Adsorption process was found to follow pseudo-second-order kinetics. The equilibrium data were better fitted to Langmuir isotherm than Freundlich isotherm with the maximum adsorption capacity 41.36 mg/g. The structure and component of spent grain before and after adsorption of Hg(II) were investigated using scanning electron microscope(SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDAX), these analysis also confirmed the adsorption of Hg(II) onto spent grain. The results indicated that spent grain had potential as a new inexpensive adsorbent for Hg(II) removal from aqueous solutions.

Jan 1, 2009

By M. I. Brasileiro

The use of experimental design to the study of mixtures has found a wide range of applications, even in laboratory scale or in industrial development works. The aim of this work was to maximize granite sawing waste content in ceramic tiles using experimental design. Based on the raw materials, specific formulations were developed using the experimental design. The raw materials were mixed and sample bodies were produced using uniaxial pressing. The sample bodies were fired and characterized in terms of water absorption, mechanical strength and X-ray diffraction. Regression models were adjusted relating the water absorption and mechanical strength with the amount of raw materials. The results showed that the methodology of experimental design maximize the content of wastes incorporated in ceramic tiles formulations. Formulations containing up to 40% of waste can be used for the production of ceramic tiles.

Jan 1, 2009