Mining in a Sacred Landscape: Adivasis, Deities and Alliances in a Former Princely State in Odisha/India

The papers explores ideas of a sacred landscape inhabited by indigenous people as well as other communities, deities as well as other beings manifested in localities and ‘objects’ forming various relationships, alliances and a thick web of relationality in a former kingdom in central-eastern India. It introduces these historically evolved ties through the foundational narratives as well as contemporary rituals, while the area is undergoing major transformations after Indian independence and even more so in a phase of accelerated industrialisation, especially tied to a mining boom and sponge iron factories. The latter not only threatens to uproot an existing, though changing sacrificial polity around local deities, but it also has massive ecological consequences and leads to partially successful protests.

Synergistic Degradation of Chloramphenicol by an Ultrasound-Enhanced Fenton-like Sponge Iron System

In this study, an ultrasound Fenton-like sponge iron system was used to enhance the degradation efficiency for chloramphenicol (CAP). Three single-factor experiments of reaction pH, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration, and sponge iron (Fe) concentration were used to explore the impact on CAP degradation efficiency. The response surface method revealed the interactions between various factors. The degradation efficiency for CAP was as high as 99.97% at pH = 3, 3.19 mmol/L H2O2, and a sponge iron concentration of 2.26 g/L. The degradation rate for CAP was significantly reduced upon the addition of some inorganic salts, mainly due to the quenching of OH radicals. Gram-negative (G(−)) Escherichia coli and Gram-positive (G(+)) Staphylococcus aureus were used to evaluate the changes in the antibacterial activity of CAP. Finally, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the degradation products and the degradation path for the products was proposed based on the detected products.

A Study on the smelting process of low carbon steel scrap and sponge iron in medium frequency induction furnace for production of front bumper beams

MS1200 steel grade is now widely utilized in the automotive sector because it is a good solution for the current trend of vehicle chassis frame construction. This research presents a technology procedure for producing MS1200 steel grade from low carbon steel scrap and sponge iron – a product of MIREX Vietnam. The smelting using up to 30 % sponge iron briquettes combined with low carbon scrap, FeSi, FeMn, FeCr, FeTi,… was realized in a medium frequency induction furnace. The heat treatment for forged steel was performed to obtain required properties. The steel product has the following properties: tensile strength σb = 1280 MPa, yield strength σ0.2 = 990 MPa and impact toughness ak = 769 J/mm2, that meets the need of industrial use.

Phosphorus Recovery From Waste Activated Sludge by Sponge Iron Seeded Crystallization of Vivianite and Process Optimization With Response Surface Methodology

As a novel phosphorus recovery product, vivianite (Fe3(PO4)2·8H2O) has attracted much attention due to its enormous recycling potential and foreseeable economic value. Taking sponge iron as seed material, the effect of different reaction conditions on the recovery of phosphorus in waste activated sludge by vivianite crystallization was studied. Through single factor test, the optimal conditions for vivianite formation were in the pH range of 5.5–6.0 with Fe/P molar ratio of 1.5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to analyze the components of the crystals. The results showed that the vivianite produced with sponge iron as the seed crystal were larger and thicker (300-700 μm) than other seed (200-300 μm) and without seed (50-100 μm). Moreover, vivianite, which was synthesized with sponge iron as seed, was obviously magnetic and could be separated from sludge by rubidium magnet. The Box-Behnken design of the response surface methodology was used to optimize the phosphorus-recovery process with sponge iron (maximum phosphorus recovery rate was 83.17%), and the interaction effect of parameters was also examined. PH had a significant effect on the formation of vivianite. In summary, this research verifies the feasibility of using sponge iron as seed crystal to recover phosphorus in the form of vivianite from waste activated sludge, which is conducive to the subsequent separation and utilization of vivianite.