Analyzing the applicability of hydrometallurgical techniques to the Voronezh region ores

Copper-nickel sulphide ores serve as the main source of nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals in Russia. The conventional metallurgy of proces sing copper-nickel sulphide concentrates involves producing converter matte and its further refining. Ores found in the Voronezh Region are characterized with high concentrations of arsenic and magnesium, which hinders the application of pyrometallurgical techniques. At the same time, there is a trend in today’s science and industry to develop and adopt hydrometallurgical techniques, and this also applies to copper-nickel sulphide ores. Such techniques enable comprehensive utilization of ore and are environmentally friendly, highly efficient and easily automatable. The paper examines a number of well-known hydrometallurgical techniques for processing copper-nickel sulphide concentrates. Some of them have been implemented in industry and some have been studied by several authors on a laboratory or pilot scale. The most advanced techniques were identified for the ore concentrates obtained from the Voronezh Region ores. Studies were conducted in hydrometallurgical processing of copper-nickel ore concentrates of varying composition, including the copper-nickel concentrates obtained from the Voronezh ores. It is shown that these techniques can potentially be applied to copper-nickel concentrates, including those which have high concentrations of impurities, which would not be acceptable for conventional processing technology. Having analyzed the available solutions, as well as the results of the conducted studies, the authors have come to a conclusion that pressure oxidation leaching would offer the most innovative technology to be applied to the Voronezh Region ores.

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On the problem of processing of copper-nickel sulphide ores of the Voronezh region

Tsvetnye Metally ◽

10.17580/tsm.2020.09.03 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 18-23

Author(s):

L. B. Tsymbulov ◽

◽

V. I. Maksimov ◽

L. Sh. Tsemekhman ◽

Keyword(s):

Nickel Sulphide ◽

Copper Nickel ◽

Sulphide Ores ◽

Voronezh Region

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Application of SWOT analysis to select pyrometallurgical techniques for copper-nickel sulphide concentrates. Part 1. Selecting pyrometallurgical techniques for copper-nickel sulphide concentrates with the help of SWOT analysis

Tsvetnye Metally ◽

10.17580/tsm.2020.12.01 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 9-16

Author(s):

I. Yu. Parkhomenko ◽

◽

L. B. Tsymbulov ◽

K. P. Zlotnikov ◽

E. Yu. Sidorova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Swot Analysis ◽

Platinum Group Metals ◽

High Concentration ◽

Nickel Sulphide ◽

Stability Calculation ◽

Change Dynamics ◽

Copper Nickel ◽

Resultant Data ◽

Internal And External Factors ◽

The Given

This paper looks at substantiating the choice of a pyrometallurgical technique for processing of copper-nickel sulphide concentrates with a high concentration of platinum group metals. For this, it is proposed to use a modified SWOT analysis, which was also tested. The paper considers a classical SWOT analysis and its stages and gives examples of its application in different industries. Constraints have been identified for the pyrometallurgical processes recommended for analysis. Internal and external factors have been defined for the recommended pyrometallurgical processes. Each of the factors has been assigned relevance and impact coefficients with regard to an appropriate process. The obtained results have been included in an integrated estimator matrix. The obtained results have been evaluated on the basis of such indicators as overall, internal and external SWOT coefficients expressed as figures. The resultant data served as the basis for recommending the relatively most effective processes that would enable to achieve the project goals. This study can be used to issue recommendations on choosing the most advanced pyrometallurgical techniques for copper-nickel sulphide concentrates that will help reduce the number of processes involved and conduct a further detailed feasibility study. The given indicators may change considerably depending on the factor linked to the production hazards. That’s why a stability calculation was performed additionally for the overall SWOT estimates in relation to this criterion. The change dynamics of the overall coefficients is reflected in the graphs. Depending on the selected level of production hazards some processes may swap on the efficiency scale. The authors offer their recommendations on optimum processes that will enable to achieve the project goals considering the above mentioned factor.

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Some replacement phenomena in copper-nickel sulphide ores

Mineralium Deposita ◽

10.1007/bf00201892 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

A. Genkin

Keyword(s):

Nickel Sulphide ◽

Copper Nickel ◽

Sulphide Ores

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Production of raw copper through continuous converting of copper-nickel sulphide materials

Tsvetnye Metally ◽

10.17580/tsm.2020.12.10 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 70-76

Author(s):

S. S. Ozerov ◽

◽

R. A. Pakhomov ◽

V. M. Tozik ◽

L. Sh. Tsemekhman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Total Concentration ◽

Operating Mode ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Soluble Form ◽

Mode I ◽

Nickel Sulphide ◽

Environmentally Sustainable ◽

Copper Nickel ◽

Layer Mode ◽

Conventional Technology

The conventional technology of converting copper mattes in horizontal converters has its drawbacks and fails to conform with the current environmental norms and regulations applicable to metallurgical processes. Therefore, it should be replaced with an environmentally sustainable technology. This paper considers the results of a lab and pilot scale study that looked at converting nickel-bearing copper material into raw copper and running nickelbearing slag. It is demonstrated that the continuous converting process can be stable in both three-layer mode (i. e. slag – white matte – copper) and two-layer mode (i. e. slag – copper). With the help of scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis, it was established that most of copper, nickel and cobalt get wasted in a soluble form. Choice of fluxes produces a significant effect of the process performance. Fluxes were added to maintain the total concentration of SiO2 and CaO in the slag at 32%. At the same time, varying SiO2/CaO ratios were used depending on the operating mode — from pure Fe – Si slag to pure Fe – Ca slag. It is noted that a rising SiO2/CaO ratio leads to a higher recovery of nickel into slag. A pure Fe – Si slag mode is associated with foaming. The results of the lab study were verified through test heats carried out in a pilot Vanyukov furnace. The obtained raw copper has the following composition, wt %: 3.6–4.2 Ni; 0.6–1.2 S; 0.006–0.06 Fe; and it needs to be final converted for better refining.

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Removal of High Concentrations of Ammonium from Groundwater in a Pilot-Scale System through Aeration at the Bottom Layer of a Chemical Catalytic Oxidation Filter

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16203989 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (20) ◽

pp. 3989 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhang ◽

Yang ◽

Huang ◽

Wen

Keyword(s):

Catalytic Oxidation ◽

Bottom Layer ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Compressed Air ◽

Pure Oxygen ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Ammonium Removal ◽

Catalytic Filter ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Filter Bed

To remove high concentrations of ammonium from groundwater, pure oxygen and compressed air were fed into a chemical catalytic filter and the ammonium removal efficiency was investigated. The experimental results showed that the oxygen content is the critical limiting factor for ammonium removal. Aeration with 40 mL/min pure oxygen or 100 mL/min compressed air from the bottom of the filter supplied adequate oxygen and approximately 4.2 mg/L of ammonium was removed in this process. Moreover, when the aeration device was moved to 1/3 of the height of the filter bed, the required flow rates of pure oxygen and compressed air decreased further and the turbidity removal was improved. Pouring ozone gas into the filter system, which can inactivate bacteria effectively, can also obtain the remarkable ammonium removal, indicating that ammonium removal was mainly due to the chemical catalytic oxidation in this process rather than the biodegradation. This study provides a novel method for removing high concentrations of ammonium from groundwater.

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Preparation of prehydrolysis-TMPs with different severity factors and analysis of the pulps and byproducts

Holzforschung ◽

10.1515/hf-2015-0216 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 70 (11) ◽

pp. 1003-1013 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John A. Lloyd ◽

Karl D. Murton

Keyword(s):

Pilot Scale ◽

Pulp Yield ◽

Compression Screw ◽

Severity Factor ◽

Alkaline Peroxide ◽

Process Configuration ◽

Hydrolysis Products ◽

Wood Fibres ◽

Good Potential ◽

High Concentrations

Abstract Thermomechanical pulps (TMPs) were prepared from Pinus radiata D. Don wood chips at pilot scale with application of different preheating severities. The hydrolysis products were separated at the compression screw feeding of the prehydrolysed chips into the refiner. Prehydrolysis of chips with steam at severity factor (SF) 3.5 reduced the refining energy (at 200 CSF freeness) by 36% when compared with the TMP control; however, the pulp quality was unacceptable. In contrast, pulps produced by SF 3.1 at 155°C have physical properties similar to the TMP control, but the energy saving is only 12%. Prehydrolysis darkens wood fibres making pulps unsuitable for printing and writing papers. However, it was demonstrated that the brightness may be recovered via conventional alkaline peroxide brightening. Pulp yield is lower but this disadvantage is offset by the availability of a pressate flow rich in hemicelluloses and hemicelluloses derived sugars in high concentrations that has good potential for conversion to new products. Impregnation of chips with citric acid (CA) during normal TMP processing was also investigated. Although refining energy was lower with CA treatment, the amount of extracted hemicelluloses was too small to be commercially useful. The prehydrolysis-TMP process may be of interest to financially constrained TMP mills provided that: (1) the process configuration is suitable for retrofitting an extended preheating stage with compression screw and (2) the extracted hemicelluloses can be converted to products of higher value than TMP.

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An investigation of rainwater tanks quality and sediment dynamics

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2007.738 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 56 (9) ◽

pp. 21-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

M.I. Magyar ◽

V.G. Mitchell ◽

A.R. Ladson ◽

C. Diaper

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Sediment Resuspension ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Transport Processes ◽

Full Scale ◽

Quality Of Water ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Future Work ◽

Supply Systems ◽

Rainwater Tanks

Rainwater tanks are being introduced into urban areas in Australia to supplement centralised potable supply systems. A pilot scale tank study and a full-scale field tank study found that heavy metal concentrations in water samples taken from the tank's supply point can, in some cases, exceed levels recommended by guidelines. Both studies also found very high concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments accumulated at the base of rainwater tanks. Laboratory experiments are underway to investigate sediment transport processes within a full-scale tank. Preliminary results demonstrate the effect of sediment resuspension on the quality of water released from the tank outlet. Improved tank designs that reduce sediment resuspension and mitigate impacts on water quality are the focus of future work.

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