“The Iron Crucible” and Loci of Religious Contact

Chapter 14 focuses on the meaning and loci of religious encounters in the Bible and in the Jewish tradition, and analyzes the concept of “iron crucible,” the metaphor Benamozegh used for the complexity of religious assimilation. This metaphor, which refers to the Israelites’ sojourn in Egypt, designates a place where identities intermingled and where the Jewish religion was refined through its contact with paganism—but also where, paradoxically, this blending did not preclude a sense of hierarchy in this assimilation process. This concept is a crucial aspect of Benamozegh’s system, whereby the greater the proximity, the greater the tension across religious traditions.

Study on electrolytic reduction with controlled oxygen flow for iron from molten oxide slag containing FeO

A ZrO2-based solid membrane electrolytic cell with controlled oxygen flow was constructed: graphite rod /[O]Fe+C saturated / ZrO2(MgO)/(FeO) slag/iron crucible. The feasibility of extraction of iron from molten oxide slag containing FeO at an applied voltage was investigated by means of the electrolytic cell. The effects of some important process factors on the FeO electrolytic reduction with the controlled oxygen flow were discussed. The results show that: solid iron can be extracted from molten oxide slag containing FeO at 1450?C and an applied potential of 4V. These factors, such as precipitation and growth of solid iron dendrites, change of the cathode active area on the inner wall of the iron crucible and ion diffusion flux in the molten slag may affect the electrochemical reaction rate. The reduction for Fe2+ ions mainly appears on new iron dendrites of the iron crucible cathode, and a very small amount of iron are also formed on the MSZ (2.18% MgO partially stabilized zirconia) tube/slag interface due to electronic conductance of MSZ tube. Internal electronic current through MSZ tube may change direction at earlier and later electrolytic reduction stage. It has a role of promoting electrolytic reduction for FeO in the molten slag at the earlier stage, but will lower the current efficiency at the later stage. The final reduction ratio of FeO in the molten slag can achieve 99%. A novel electrolytic method with controlled oxygen flow for iron from the molten oxide slag containing FeO was proposed. The theory of electrolytic reduction with the controlled oxygen flow was developed.