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By Junbiao Liu

Rutile is mostly produced from placer sands. Its beneficiation from primary deposits has rarely been investigated. However, there is interest in primary deposit because of the depletion of sand deposits. The Zaoyang deposit in China is the only rutile primary deposit currently mined. The plant employs a Tabling-Magnetic process which recovers only 20% Ti02 at a grade of 87%. This study shows that significant improvement on the recovery (52% at the same grade) can be achieved. This study includes a detailed mineralogical examination and the development of a processing flowsheet of the ore. The gangues are primarily amphiboles, garnets, zoisites, and chlorites. The liberation of rutile occurs at about 200 mesh. Gravitational, flotation, and magnetic separations are all employed in the process developed, depending on the mineral characteristics and experimental results. The flotations circuit utilizes benzyl arsonic acid to float rutile and sodium fluosilicate to depress the gangues. This is a new reagent scheme for rutile flotation.

Jan 1, 1989

By Saeid Pournaderi, Ahmet Geveci, Ender Keskinkilic, Yavuz A. Topkaya

"This study investigated calcination behavior of one of the Turkish laterite deposits, which was recently found in Sivrihisar region. Representative limonitic laterite samples (1.26% Ni) taken from Yunusemre Karasivritepe and Kucuksivritepe location were first subjected to drying. Removal of chemically bound water and other volatiles were then studied, in detail. In the calcination experiments, temperature and time were the main experimental variables. Thermal treatment was conducted at the specific temperatures in 250 °C - 800 °C range. The weight losses due to elimination of chemically bound water and other volatiles were reported to be approximately 10 per cent of the weight of the ore. For the particle size used in the current work, 700 °C and 40 minutes were determined to be the optimum calcination temperature and time, respectively.IntroductionThe nickel ores that are economically valuable can be grouped into two categories: sulphide type nickel ores and oxide type nickel ores, namely laterites. Over all reserves in the world, 40% are sulphide nickel ores and the remaining 60% are laterites [1]. Pyrometallurgical nickel extraction from sulphide type nickel ores is conducted via matte smelting. More recently, laterite ore bodies have been subjected to nickel extraction. Depending mainly on the chemical composition of the laterite and the process economics, various extraction techniques have been implemented: pyrometallurgical route involves ferronickel smelting. High pressure acid leaching (HPAL) is the commercial method for hydrometallurgical nickel extraction, while ammonia leaching (CARON Process) is a combination of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes [2]. With the improvements in these processes, it is predicted that laterite’s share in the world nickel production will rise to 50% in 2012, while it was reported to be 42% in 1,200,000 tons of annual production in 2003 [3]."

Jan 1, 2011

By M. K. Mohan

During the processing of metals like Cu, Ni, Co, large quantities of solutions, which contain co- products such as Sb, Cd, Pb etc. are generated. These solutions if processed to recover the metals help in conservation of metals as well as environment preservation. The present study was taken up to recover antimony from process solutions using zeolites. The effect of pH of the solution, time and type of zeolite viz., chabazite, mordenite, erionite and clinoptilolite on the sorption of antimony was investigated. Rate of sorption increases with pH and about 77-pct. antimony sorption was observed with chabazite at a pH of 6. Optimal conditions were established for the maximum recovery of antimony fiom process solutions. The mechanism of sorption for Sb was proposed in terms of adsorption and intraparticle diffusion. The calculated adsorption constants from Langmuir and Freundlich equations indicated that the adsorption of antimony on chabazite was strong.

Jan 1, 1999

By Michael A. Eamon

Magma Copper Company has operated its San Manuel SX-EW Plant facilities since 1986. The original plant facilities have a design capacity of 25,000 tons per year of electrowon copper cathode produced by processing pregnant leach solutions from an open pit/heap leach operation. In 1988, the plant was expanded to 50,000 tons per year to incorporate processing leach solutions from an insitu leaching operation. This paper presents a general overview of plant practices with particular emphasis on process innovations developed and implemented by Magma during construction and operation.

Jan 1, 1991

By Thomas R. Wildeman

Experimental methods for studying vapors over solid minerals are reviewed and an especially developed method using atomic absorption is described. The method is used to study vapor pressures over Te. Ag, Au, Ag2Te, and AuTe2 from 250°C through 10S0oe. Vapor pressures observed and, concurrently. sintering properties are significantly altered by the form of the solid. The vapor pressures of the tellurium compounds reveal complex processes occurring on the surfaces of the solids. The data given also point out a method of recovering precious metals from their telluride minerals w

Jan 1, 1987

By A. Dutta, B. Devulapalli, A. Mukhopadhyay, E. W. Grald

"Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFO) has matured over the past two decades as an analysis tool for conducting virtual experiments with significant time and cost savings. It complements and reduces physical testing. CFO has penetrated the diverse materials industry in much the same way as Computer Aided Design (CAD) did more than a decade ago. As the basic numerical algorithms used in CFO have steadily improved, so have the reliability, consistency and user-friendliness improved significantly, too. Other recent trends have also contributed to the rapid growth and widespread adoption of CFO. In this presentation, CFO applications from several materials processing industries will be presented using case studies. Emphasis will be on metals, glass and semiconductor applications.IntroductionThe term materials processing covers a diverse array of industrial applications and products today. From the continuous casting of steel, to the deposition of semiconductor materials atom by atom, to the extrusion of molten polymers, materials processing applications span an incredible range of length scale, process times, pressures, temperatures and velocities. The properties of the materials themselves, in terms of density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, etc., can be complex functions of temperature, shear rate, chemical composition and time. And the processing equipment may be very complicated in geometric shape.Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the technique of solving the governing equations of fluid motion and other related phenomena using a computer, has enjoyed widespread and rapid growth, which started in the aerospace and automotive industries. More recently, CFD has also been successfully applied to a great many materials processing problems, in spite of the challenges described in the previous paragraph. The reasons for the growing usage of CFD in materials processing are many. Using CFD to test design options and reduce the number of physical prototypes can decrease the time and cost associated with new product and process development. CFD gives insight and provides detailed predictions of operating conditions in lieu of difficult, intrusive and often expensive experimental methods. CFD can be used as an aid to scale-up processes from lab or pilot scale to full production. Troubleshooting the performance of existing equipment is often carried out with the help of CFD. Determining how an existing piece of process equipment will operate under new conditions, or with new input ,materials, is also a common task for CFD."

Jan 1, 2004

By V. R. Voller

"The World Wide Web (the web) provides a very useful resource for the enhancement of teaching and research dissemination. This paper advocates that researchers take control of this resource and become actively involved in creating web content. Two examples of the use of the web in a materials setting is provided. The first illustrates how a concept quiz for teaching can be developed. The second shows how a materials processing model can be run in real time over the web. The paper closes with a summary of some resources that can be used to create web materials.IntroductionA recent copy of a newspaper advertisement read""Share what you know, learn what you don't""This neat phrase sums up a powerful teaching and research philosophy. In an educational setting a prime motivation for research is to uncover the unknown and venture in directions previously uncharted. The balance to this search for knowledge should be a desire to share that knowledge with others; whether it be with students in the classroom or research colleagues in a wider setting.The .World Wide Web and its associated multi-media software offer a perfect platform for researchers to share their knowledge with an extremely wide sector of the research community. To enable the use of this resource researchers must take the power that the web offers them into their own hands and create products that take maximum advantage of the medium. It is key that researches at the forefront become directly involved, otherwise a potential powerful medium will not realize it's true potential, and colorful products with no core content will proliferate. The object of this paper is to outline two ways in which the web can be used to enhance teaching and research objectives."

Jan 1, 2000

By Yong .. Jun Wu

Laminated ceramics have received widely scientific and commercial attention because their properties, such as mechanical properties and electrical properties, can be tailored by adjusting the structure, thickness and composition of the different layers. For example, ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT) which has a positive temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (,E) can be used to modify the negative tE of typical microwave dielectric ceramic BaNd2Ti4O12(BNT), However, BaNd2Ti4O12/Bi4TiO12/Bi4Ti3O12/BaNd2Ti4O12 (BNT/BIT/BNT) laminated ceramics could not be prepared by the general method because the optimal sintering temperature of BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramic (around 1350°C) was much higher than that of Bi4Ti3O12 ceramic (around 1100°C). In this research, a new method of spark plasma sintering (SPS) combined with post-sintering was successfully proposed to prepare BNT/BIT/BNT laminated ceramics. It was divided into three steps. In first step, the BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramics were prepared by conventional sintering method. In second step, the calcined and pre-pressed Bi4Ti3O12 powders were sandwiched between BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramic pellets and spark plasma sintered at 900°C for 10min to synthesize BNT/BIT/BNT composite ceramics. In the last step, a post-sintering was employed to reoxidize the partially reduced BNT/BIT/BNT composite ceramics. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) showed that BNT layer and BIT layer were well bonded and no significant interfacial infiltration between them was observed. The sandwiched BNT/BIT/BNT ceramic with 10.7% BIT in volume has a dielectric constant of 92.85, a low dielectric loss of 01068 and a small temperature coefficient of dielectric constant of 35 ppm/°C at MHz.

Jan 1, 2003

By D. A. Salinas G., A. H. Castillejos E.

Pachuca tanks are commonly used in the hydrometallurgical industry to carry out leaching operations. The fluidynamic characteristics of the liquid phase, resulting from the injection of gas into the draft tube, are important to achieve the complete suspension of the mineral particles and has a decisive influence in the mass transfer processes occurring in this reactor. This study investigated the effect of different design and operating characteristics on the liquid velocity field. using a laboratory-scale Pachuca tank. The transparent model was filled with water, and air was injected through the bottom in the absence of mineral particles. The liquid velocities over the whole reactor were measured under several experimental conditions using particle image velocimetry (PIV). This technique allowed to obtain a very detailed picture of the liquid motion even in the draft tube, as long as bubbles were absent from the measured field of view. The experiments have shown that the liquid velocities increase with increasing the draft tube to tank diameters ratio, the distance from the conical bottom to the draft tube entrance, or the gas superficial velocity. On the other hand, an increase in the water level with respect to the draft tube outlet caused a decrease. A mathematical model, which used the no-slip model, to calculate the variation of axial effective density along the two-phase region, was found to predict liquid velocity fields which agree very satisfactory with the experimental results obtained under all the conditions studied.

Jan 1, 1999

By Ilie Butnariu

Steel manufacture in VOD procedure needs a very attentive correlation and pursuit of the technological stages ,on the background of keeping the influence factors within best performances zones. For a better co-ordination of the main stages specific to this process ,this work presents a detailed study of the optimization possibilities for each stages ,beginning with the furnace charging ,going on with the pre-aftinage and aftinage stages in the electrical furnace and then with the refinement stages in the VOD installation. One has intended the effective emphasis of the main influence factors with global implications on the process and especially on the purity and quality of the stainless steel ,Among the main novelties proposed by this work , we can emphasize the following: - a computer assisted charging method ,with the possibility of using a large scale of wastage, also respecting the density proportions of the components of the charges; - the advanced recuperation of the elements of the charge by reducing the combustion of the valuable elements ; - the optimization of the oxygen blast conditions and of the aftinage stage ,by establishing some calculations concerning critical carbon content , that requires the oxidation to be continued very carefully; - the simulation of the thermic and chemical parameters by modeling the alloying process of the stainless steel in the case of some large amounts of additions.

Jan 1, 1994

By J. Fraser Forbes

"The meaning of the term ""process control"" has evolved significantly since its widespread use began in the manufacturing industries in the 1940s. Further, the scope of process control applications has drastically increased both in terms of the breadth of industries using process automation technologies and the vertical integration of these technologies within a single industry. This evolution and integration of process control technologies within the manufacturing industries has proceeded to such an extent that process automation is an integral part of modern business practices.This paper will examine the current status of process control technology from simple process regulation through process performance optimization to business planning. Each layer of the operations automation hierarchy will be discussed both in. terms of the current state-of-the-art and the directions in which these technologies are evolving. The key tools and tasks necessary for success at every level of the automation hierarchy will be introduced. Finally, the critical challenges that must be faced in accomplishing the goal of complete Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) will be described.Finally, although this paper addresses issues of practical importance to any manufacturing company, the discussions will be framed in terms of the particular challenges facing and the opportunities available within the materials manufacturing industries."

Jan 1, 2000

By Dan Wang, Qian Li, Yong-bin Yang, Tao Jiang

"Thiosulfate is one of the most promising non-cyanide lixiviants for gold leaching. However, the undesirable reaction between thiosulfate and copper (II) gives rise to increased reagent consumption, which results in high cost and huge limit to its development. This paper presents study on the effect of ammonia, copper (II) and Cu(NH3)l+ ions on the oxidative decomposition of thioulfate. It shows that the presence of copper (II) and Cu(NH3)l+ can significantly increase the thiosulfate oxidation, while ammonia is relatively unaffected. The oxidation of thiosulfate by copper(II) in the absence of ammonia is fast at first and then decreases as time increased within a certain time, which can postulate that an intermediate product is responsible for the decreased consumption. The effect of ammonia is depended on the interaction with copper (II), which was found to significantly affect the consumption of thiosulfate.IntroductionFor over one century cyanidation is widely used in industrial production of gold, due to its simplity of process and low cost of production. However, cyanide is a highly toxic chemical reagent used dangerously and brings serious environmental pollution. What's more, cyanidation has slow speed of leaching gold and poorly leaching effective for refractory ores. With the exhausting of free-milling gold ores and promoted environmental protection requests, the disadvantage of cyanidation becomes a growing problem. In recent years, more and more research activities have been focused on alternative processes using non-cyanide lixiviants. Among the non-cyanide lixiviants, thiosulfate is considered as the most promising one[l-5].Compared to cyanide, thiosulfate is an inexpensive, nontoxic and less-pollution reagent, which can form complexes with many metal ions. Thiosulfate leaching of gold has an acceptable leaching rate and is insensitivity to impurities. Moreover it presents advantage on the treatment of refractory gold ores such as carbonaceous gold ores, copper gold ores, complex arsenic and sulfur gold ores, and so on[6]."

Jan 1, 2013

By Marshall Khan

The Goodfellow Expert Furnace System Optimization Process (Goodfellow EFSOP?) is a proprietary process that uses real-time and continuous off-gas analysis, along with process monitoring to optimize the operation of electric arc furnaces (EAF) for steelmaking. With the exception of off-gas composition, dynamic process measurements within the EAF are not possible due to the harsh operating environment. The Goodfellow EFSOP? system provides a dynamic indication of the operating conditions within the EAF. Continuous measurement of furnace off-gas composition, along with other furnace operating parameters is used to elucidate the fate of chemical energy usage within the EAF including: the evolution of carbon from the molten steel bath; the in-leakage of air into the furnace; the extent of combustion above the molten steel bath and the occurrence of dangerous water-leaks from the furnace cooling system. The ability to measure the process reliably and continuously enables Techint Goodfellow Technologies Inc (TGTI) to implement dynamic process control of combustion within the electric arc furnace and to optimize the overall operation through adjustments to the EAF process based on off-gas measurement. This paper discusses the methodology and results achieved from several recent Goodfellow EFSOP? installations in South East Asia.

Jan 1, 2006

Laminated ceramics have received widely scientific and commercial attention because their properties, such as mechanical properties and electrical properties, can be tailored by adjusting the structure, thickness and composition of the different layers. For example, ferroelectric Bi4T13O12 (BIT) which has a positive temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (TE) can be used to modify the negative of typical microwave dielectric ceramic BaNd2Ti4O12(BMT). However, BaNd2Ti4O12/Bi4Ti3O12/BaNd1Ti4O12 (BNT/BIT/BNT) laminated ceramics could not be prepared by the general method because the optimal sintering temperature of BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramic (around 1350°C was much higher than that of Bi4Ti3O12 ceramic (around /1100°C). in this research, a new method of spark plasma sintering (SPS) combined with post-sintering was successfully proposed to prepare BNT/BIT/BNT laminated divided proposed to prepare ceramics. It was divided into three steps. In first step, the BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramics were prepared by conventional sintering method. In second mop, the calcined and pre-pressed Bi4Ti3O12 powders were sandwiched between BaNd2Ti1O12 ceramic pellets and spark plasma sintered at 900'C for 10min to synthesize BNT/BIT/BNT composite ceramics. In the last step, a post-sintering was employed to reoxidize the partially reduced BNT/BIT/BNT composite ceramics. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron probe mircoanalysis (EPMA) showed that BNT layer and BIT layer were well bonded and no significant interfacial infiltration between them was observed. The sandwiched BNT/B1T/BNT ceramic with 10.7% BIT in volume has a dielectric constant of 92.8, a low dielectric loss of 0.0068 and a small temperature coefficient of dielectric constant v/35 ppm/C at 1 MHz.

Jan 1, 2003

By John Hanna

The University of Alabama Mineral Resources Institute (MRI) has developed a unique process for selective fatty acid flotation of carbonate gangue from sedimentary apatites (francolite) in the pH range of 4-6, without collector conditioning of the pulp. The process, which does not require an apatite depressant, was modified to beneficiate a high MgO siliceous phosphate matrix from South Florida. The modified process includes two flotation stages, one for carbonate removal, as mentioned above, and the other for phosphate recovery from the siliceous gangue. The selective flotation separation of the carbonate and phosphate from siliceous constituents of the matrix at various pH levels and collector dosages are discussed. In the carbonate flotation stage, about 70% of the MgO was rejected in the froth, and the phosphate flotation stage produced concentrates analyzing about 31% P20S' 0.7% MgO and 4% acid insolubles. The overall P20S recovery in the two stages is about 85%.

Jan 1, 1989

By Bo Björkman

Four different arsenic containing dusts from the Boliden plant, Boliden mineral AB, Sweden have been examined. A kinetic study of the As elimination was performed in a laboratory scale roasting furnace for roasting furnace ESP dust and smelting furnace ESP dust. Characterisation and thermodynamic calculations were carried out to determine the mineralogy, and the stability of compounds in the dusts studied. The characterisation methods used were chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis and microprobe analysis. It was found in the experiments that a high degree of As elimination was obtained for roasting fumace ESP dust and a low degree for smelting fumace ESP dust. Derived kinetic models are given. A prediction of the As-elimation for settling furnace dust and converter ventilation dust is presented.

Jan 1, 1994

By Daniel Kim, Ari Rantala

Efficient on-line monitoring of electrolytic cell performance in copper electro-refining has been challenging due to the need for complex electrical measurement systems and the management of the enormous volume of data. Based on Kennecott Utah Copper's innovation Outotec has developed a novel and innovative electrolytic cell monitoring system called CellSense™ System. As the system is based on self-powering from bus bars, wireless communication, on-line adaptive modeling and easy to access information and alarming, traditional obstacles of electrolytic cell monitoring are eliminated. With cell voltage and electrolyte temperature measurements, CellSense System enables real-time cell performance discovery and early reaction to critical production or quality disturbances such as short-circuiting, flow blockages, cold cathodes or electrolyte temperature excursions. During the past few years the system has been delivered to over 3500 commercial cells. In this paper the largest CellSense™ System ever delivered and recently adapted by Kennecott Utah Copper with 1412 cells monitored on-line for high tankhouse performance, cathode quality and optimized operator work flow is presented. Early results and benefits are discussed.

Jan 1, 2012

By Kirsi M. Riihilahti

The oxidation characteristics of solid copper matte particles under simulated Kennecott-Outokumpu Flash Converting conditions are presented. The effects of feed matte grade, matte particle size, oxygen-to-matte mass ratio, oxygen content of the process gas and temperature on the particle oxidation rate, quality of conversion, particle size change and particle morphology were determined. The converting quality was highest (~68) with the 58% copper matte at 1100°C. At similar conditions, the 72% copper matte was more likely to produce copper oxides and leave unoxidized particles rather than directly produce sulfur dioxide at 1100°C, resulting in an average converting quality of 55. The quality of conversion was poorest for the 72% matte at 920°C (~45); the sulfur removal was extremely low even with a relatively high degree of oxidation. Fragmentation of the particles was significant in all cases with the 72% matte. A higher O2/matte .ratio and higher temperature, in general, resulted in increased fragmentation while oxygen enrichment had no significant effect. With the 58% matte, particle size was found to increase for the finest fractions rather than to decrease due to particle expansion.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. L. Holman

The Bureau of Mines is investigating recovery of Ni, Co, Cr, and other metals from mixed contaminated supera110y scrap. The scrap is melt-refined and cast into anodes for electrodeposition of recyclable Ni-Co alloy. Melt oxidation using roasted superalloy grinding sludge as oxygen source can divert the Cr to the slag but with excessive Ni-Co loss. Melt oxidation-carburization or direct melt carburization retains -95 pct of the Ni-Co in the anode alloy. With direct carburization, -90 pct or more of the Cr and other refractory metals report to the anode alloy, largely as carbide phases insoluble in electrolysis. Electrorefining data relate parameters such as controlled cathode potential, Fe and Cr impurities, pH, and compartmented cell use, to current efficiency and Ni-Co deposit quality. Recovery of -90 pct of the Ni-Co in the scrap can be achieved. Preliminary experiments to recover Cr, W, and other metals from the anode sludge and other byproducts are discussed. 347

Jan 1, 1987

By J. K. Brimacombe, I. V. Samarasekera, B. G. Thomas

"Mathematical models have been developed for the processing of static cast steel ingots and are app1ied to investigate the mechanisms for the formation of panel cracks. Panel cracking is an intermittent but persistent defect that causes affected steel ingots to be scrapped. A two-dimensional, finite-element, heat-transfer model was formulated and employed to calculate the temperature distribution in both large and small steel ingots during the various processing stages from initial casting to the start of rolling, including solidification, cooling in the mold and in air, reheating in the soaking pit, and subsequent air cooling. The stress state in the ingot arising from the calculated temperature variations was then determined. This involved the development of a transient, elasto-visco-plastic, finite element, thermal stress model, including the effects of phase transformation volume changes and kinetics creep, and temperature-dependent, mechanical properties. The results of the mathematical model predictions of temperature and stress were then used to determine the mechanisms and to suggest solutions for two different types of panel crack formation. Mid-face panel cracks apparently form during air cooling when the mid-face surface temperature is between the Arl and 500~C. Off-corner panel cracks appear to initiate internally during the early stages of reheating but do not propagate to the surface until much later. IntroductionPanel crack formation in static-cast steel ingots is a defect that has been plaguing the steel industry for several decades. Although the problem is intermittent, it is also serious since affected ingots must be scrapped. Panel cracks are manifested as two distinct types of cracking problems. ""Mid-face"" panel cracks are found exclusively in small, 2 to 6 ton, medium carbon steel (0.3 to 0.7% C) ingots and usually exhibit a single, continuous, longitudinal crack down the center of one of the ingot faces as shown in Fig. l (l). ""Off-corner"" panel cracks often form roughly oval, discontinuous crack patterns on the wide faces of large, 20 to 30 ton ingots as seen in Fig. 2 (2). They affect only low carbon steels (0. l to 0.2% C) with high manganese content. Both defects affect only aluminum-treated steels and are caused by a combination of intermediate temperature ductility loss involving aluminum-nitride precipitation and thermal stress generation. The ductility problem has received a good deal of attention which was the subject of a recent review (3). The present study was undertaken to investigate the thermal stress aspects of the problem through the development of mathematical models of heat transfer and stress generation in static-cast steel ingots. The ultimate objective was to elucidate the mechanisms of formation for both types of panel crack and to evaluate possible solutions to the problem."

Jan 1, 1986