Metallurgy refining

Malmstrom, R., Tuominen, T., Advan. Extract. Metallurgy Refining,... 

Reduction of metal oxides with hydrogen is of interest in the metals refining industry (94,95) (see Metallurgy). Hydrogen is also used to reduce sulfites to sulfides in one step in the removal of SO2 pollutants (see Airpollution) (96). Hydrogen reacts directiy with SO2 under catalytic conditions to produce elemental sulfur and H2S (97—98). Under certain conditions, hydrogen reacts with nitric oxide, an atmospheric poUutant and contributor to photochemical smog, to produce N2 ... 

HBI is an effective trim coolant for molten steel in ladle metallurgy faciUties, ladle refiners, ladle furnaces, and vacuum degassers. It provides cold iron units in an ideal size and density for penetrating the ladle slag and cooling the metal. 

Lithium is used in metallurgical operations for degassing and impurity removal (see Metallurgy). In copper (qv) refining, lithium metal reacts with hydrogen to form lithium hydride which subsequendy reacts, along with further lithium metal, with cuprous oxide to form copper and lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide. The lithium salts are then removed from the surface of the molten copper. 

Pyrometallurgy. Metallurgy involved in winning and refining metals where heat is used, as in roasting and smelting. PyrometaHurgy is the oldest extractive process and is probably the most important. 

Approximately three-quarters of the elements in the Periodic Table are metals. The winning, refining, and fabrication of these metals for commercial use together represent the complex and diverse field of metallurgy. Metallurgy has played a vital role in society for thousands of years, yet it continues to advance and to have increasing importance in many areas of science and technology. 

The preparation, reduction, and refining operations are very much interdependent, and for a given metal must be considered as parts of a single flow sheet. To illustrate the principles of extractive metallurgy, however, it is convenient to discuss the various operations separately. 

B. R. Steele and D. Geldait, "Extraction and Refining of the Raiei Metals," Proceedings of the Symposium on the Institute ofMiningand Metallurgy,... 

Ores are mined and are then refined in an energy intensive process to produce pure metals, which in turn are combined to make alloys (see Metallurgy Mineral RECOVERY and processing). Corrosion occurs because of the tendency of these refined materials to return to a more thermodynamically stable state (1—4). The key reaction in corrosion is the oxidation or anodic dissolution of the metal to produce metal ions and electrons... 

The synthetic method used in preparing a particular boride phase depends primarily on its intended use. Whereas for basic research borides of high purity are desirable, for industrial applications, e.g., in coatings, tools and crucibles, as a refining agent in metallurgy or in control rods in nuclear energy plants, pure borides are unnecessary. 

The Industrial Revolution came hand-in-hand with the use of fossil fuels. Although coal had been used for heating and in metallurgy since at least the thirteenth century, it was not until the invention and refinement of the steam engine that coal consumption increased greatly. By the middle of the nineteenth century, work done by machines exceeded the work done by animal power. While steam engines were mainly fueled by coal, the advent of the internal combustion engine required a volatile fuel, and petroleum distillates are perfectly suited for this purpose. 

Metallurgy includes separation, conversion, reduction, and refining steps. The starting material is an impure ore, and the end product is pure metal. 

Sulfur displays rich and varied chemical behavior, but from the commercial standpoint, sulfuric acid dominates the chemistry of this element. Sulfuric acid is used in every major chemical-related industry fertilizers (60% of annual production), chemical manufacture (6%), petroleum refining (5%), metallurgy (5%), detergents, plastics,... 

Finally, it may be pointed out that none of the rare metals can be smelted directly from the ore. The concentrate must first be converted to a pure chemical compound which is utilized as the raw material for the production of the metal. The refractory rare metals are often obtained in the form of a powder or sponge. They are consolidated and refined by powder metallurgy techniques or by arc melting or by electron beam melting. In fact, the current refractory rare metals technology has been crucially dependent on the development of vacuum metallurgical techniques and processes. 

V. H. Aprahamian and D. G. Demopoulos, The Solution Chemistry and Solvent Extraction Behaviour of copper, iron, nickel, zinc, lead, tin, Ag, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, selenium and tellurium in Acid Chloride Solutions Reviewed from the Standpoint of PGM Refining, Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, Vol. 14, p. 143,1995. 

To protect humans and other mammals, proposed air-quality criteria range from 0.01 to less than 1.0 mg/m3 for metallic nickel and slightly soluble nickel compounds, 0.015-0.5 mg/m3 for water soluble nickel compounds, and 0.005 to 0.7 mg/m3 for nickel carbonyl (Table 6.10). Inhalation of nickel subsulfide concentrations (0.11 to 1.8 mg Ni/m3) near the current threshold limit value of 1 mg Ni/m3 can produce detrimental changes in the respiratory tract of rats after only a few days of exposure (Benson et al. 1995). Additional animal studies are recommended to identify minimally effective inhalation exposure levels for the various nickel compounds (USPHS 1993). Continued monitoring of nickel refining, nickel-cadmium battery manufacture, and nickel powder metallurgy installations is recommended because ambient air levels of bioavailable nickel at these... 

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