Search2015 Vol. 22, No. 5
Pure mineral flotation experiments, zeta potential testing, and infrared spectroscopy were employed to investigate the interfacial reactions of oleic acid (collector), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS, synergist), and rhodochrosite in an anionic system. The pure mineral test shows that oleic acid has a strong ability to collect products on rhodochrosite. Under neutral to moderately alkaline conditions, low temperature (e.g., 10℃) adversely affects the flotation performance of oleic acid; the addition of SDBS significantly improves the dispersion and solubility of oleic acid, enhancing its collecting ability and flotation recovery. The zeta potential test shows that rhodochrosite interacts with oleic acid and SDBS, resulting in a more negative zeta potential and the co-adsorption of the collector and synergist at the mineral surface. Infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that when oleic acid and SDBS are used as a mixed collector, oleates along with -COO- and -COOH functional groups are formed on the mineral surface, indicating chemical adsorption on rhodochrosite. The results demonstrate that oleic acid and SDBS co-adsorb chemically on the surface of rhodochrosite, thereby improving the flotation performance of the collector.
The effects of rare-earth element Y in refining impure copper were investigated in this paper. The composition, microstructures, and corrosion resistance properties of impure copper before and after refinement with Y were investigated using direct-reading spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The results show that the concentrations of impurities S, As, Sb, Bi, Al, Cd, and Se are remarkably decreased. Adding an appropriate amount of Y refines the microstructure and enhances the corrosion resistance properties of impure copper in HCl solution via a purification effect. The formation enthalpies of compounds formed between Y and various impurity elements were calculated on the basis of Miedema's theory. The thermodynamic mechanisms of the refinement of impure copper by Y were also discussed
A process with potentially reduced environmental impacts and occupational hazards of lead-bearing zinc plant residue was studied to achieve a higher recovery of lead via a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. This paper describes an optimization study on the leaching of lead from zinc leach residue using acidic calcium chloride aqueous solution. Six main process conditions, i.e., the solution pH value, stirring rate, concentration of CaCl2 aqueous solution, liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio, leaching temperature, and leaching time, were investigated. The microstructure and components of the residue and tailing were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the basis of experimental results, the optimum reaction conditions were determined to be a solution pH value of 1, a stirring rate of 500 r·min-1, a CaCl2 aqueous solution concentration of 400 g·L-1, a liquid-to-solid mass ratio of 7:1, a leaching temperature of 80℃, and a leaching time of 45 min. The leaching rate of lead under these conditions reached 93.79%, with an iron dissolution rate of 19.28%. Silica did not take part in the chemical reaction during the leaching process and was accumulated in the residue.
Thermodynamic analyses and kinetic studies were performed on zinc oxide ore treatment by (NH4)2SO4 roasting technology. The results show that it is theoretically feasible to realize a roasting reaction between the zinc oxide ore and (NH4)2SO4 in a temperature range of 573-723 K. The effects of reaction temperature and particle size on the extraction rate of zinc were also examined. It is found that a surface chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step in roasting kinetics. The calculated activation energy of this process is about 45.57 kJ/mol, and the kinetic model can be expressed as follows:1-(1-α)1/3=30.85 exp(-45.57/RT)·t. An extraction ratio of zinc as high as 92% could be achieved under the optimum conditions.
Experiments comparing microwave blank roasting and conventional blank roasting for typical vanadium-bearing stone coal from Hubei Province in central China, in which vanadium is present in muscovite, were conducted to investigate the effects of roasting temperature, roasting time, H2SO4 concentration, and leaching time on vanadium extraction. The results show that the vanadium leaching efficiency is 84% when the sample is roasted at 800℃ for 30 min by microwave irradiation and the H2SO4 concentration, liquid/solid ratio, leaching temperature, and leaching time are set as 20vol%, 1.5:1 mL·g-1, 95℃, and 8 h, respectively. However, the vanadium leaching efficiency achieved for the sample subjected to conventional roasting at 900℃ for 60 min is just 71% under the same leaching conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the microwave roasted samples contain more cracks and that the particles are more porous compared to the conventionally roasted samples. According to the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analyses, neither of these roasting methods could completely destroy the mica lattice structure under the experimental conditions; however, both methods deformed the muscovite structure and facilitated the leaching process. Comparing with conventional roasting, microwave roasting causes a greater deformation of the mineral structure at a lower temperature for a shorter roasting time.
This article reports the morphology, size, and distribution evolution of MnS inclusions in non-quenched and tempered steel during heat treatment. The variation of single large-sized MnS inclusions at high temperature was observed in situ using a confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM). The slender MnS inclusions first changed to pearl-like strings. These small-sized pearls subsequently coalesced and became closer together as the temperature increased. Large-sized MnS inclusions in non-quenched and tempered steel samples with different thermal histories were investigated with respect to the evolution of their morphology, size, and distribution. After 30 min of ovulation at 1573 K, the percentage of MnS inclusions larger than 3 µm decreased from 50.5% to 3.0%. After a 3 h soaking period, Ostwald ripening occurred. Most MnS inclusions moved from the grain boundaries to the interior. The present study demonstrates that heat treatment is an effective method of changing the morphology, size, and distribution of MnS inclusions, especially large-sized ones.
High-boron steel is an important material used for thermal neutron shielding. The appropriate amount of added boron must be determined because excessive boron may deteriorate the steel's workability. A uniform microstructure can be formed by adding titanium to boron steel. In this study, casting and hot rolling were used to fabricate laminated high-boron steel plates whose cores contained 2.25wt% boron and 0wt%-7.9wt% titanium. The effects of titanium content and hot-rolling and heat-treatment processes on the microstructure and properties of the laminated plates were studied. The results indicated that the optimum titanium content was 5.7wt% when the boron content was 2.25wt%, and that the best overall properties were obtained after heat treatment at 1100℃ for 4 h. The tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation at the specified temperature and holding time were as high as 526.88 MPa, 219.36 MPa, and 29%, respectively.
The welded joints of 3Cr pipeline steel were fabricated with commercial welding wire using the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) technique. Potentiodynamic polarization curves, linear polarization resistance (LPR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were used to investigate the corrosion resistance and the growth of a corrosion film on the weld zone (WZ). The changes in electrochemical characteristics of the film were obtained through fitting of the EIS data. The results showed that the average corrosion rate of the WZ in CO2 environments first increased, then fluctuated, and finally decreased gradually. The formation of the film on the WZ was divided into three stages:dynamic adsorption, incomplete-coverage layer formation, and integral layer formation.
The effects of pulling velocity on the solidification behavior and microstructural parameters of AlSi10Mg alloys prepared in a Bridgman-type directional solidification furnace were investigated. The microstructure, particularly the secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS), and the Brinell hardness (BH) of the solidified AlSi10Mg alloys were characterized for samples with cylindrical shapes and different conicities (θ=0°, 5°, and 10°). Microstructural studies revealed an increased density of α-Al phase dendrites and a decreased interdendritic distance with increasing pulling velocity. The dendrites were found to be preferentially oriented along the pulling direction for low pulling velocities. For larger pulling velocities, the dendrites grew first in the cooling direction but then broke as others nucleated and coarsened. The HB values of the solidified samples increased as the pulling velocity increased. In regard to sample conicity, smaller dendrites were observed for an apex angle of θ=5°, resulting in the largest HB value. This result was interpreted in terms of the favorable orientation of the dendrite along the pulling direction.
Microstructural evolution in a new kind of aluminum (Al) alloy with the chemical composition of Al-8.82Zn-2.08Mg-0.80Cu-0.31Sc-0.3Zr was investigated. It is found that the secondary phase MgZn2 is completely dissolved into the matrix during a short homogenization treatment (470℃, 1 h), while the primary phase Al3(Sc,Zr) remains stable. This is due to Sc and Zr additions into the Al alloy, high Zn/Mg mass ratio, and low Cu content. The experimental findings fit well with the results calculated by the homogenization diffusion kinetics equation. The alloy shows an excellent mechanical performance after the short homogenization process followed by hot-extrusion and T6 treatment. Consequently, a good combination of low energy consumption and favorable mechanical properties is obtained.
A first-principles method is applied to comparatively study the stability of lithium metal oxides with layered or spinel structures to predict the most energetically favorable structure for different compositions. The binding and reaction energies of the real or virtual layered LiMO2 and spinel LiM2O4 (M=Sc-Cu, Y-Ag, Mg-Sr, and Al-In) are calculated. The effect of element M on the structural stability, especially in the case of multiple-cation compounds, is discussed herein. The calculation results indicate that the phase stability depends on both the binding and reaction energies. The oxidation state of element M also plays a role in determining the dominant structure, i.e., layered or spinel phase. Moreover, calculation-based theoretical predictions of the phase stability of the doped materials agree with the previously reported experimental data.
An FeMo-alloy-doped β-SiAlON (FeMo/β-SiAlON) composite was fabricated via a reaction-bonding method using raw materials of Si, Al2O3, AlN, FeMo, and Sm2O3. The effects of FeMo on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite were investigated. Some properties of the composite, including its bending strength at 700℃ and after oxidization at 700℃ for 24 h in air, thermal shock resistance and corrosion resistance to molten aluminum, were also evaluated. The results show that the density, toughness, bending strength, and thermal shock resistance of the composite are obviously improved with the addition of an FeMo alloy. In addition, other properties of the composite such as its high-temperature strength and oxidized strength are also improved by the addition of FeMo alloy, and its corrosion resistance to molten aluminum is maintained. These findings indicate that the developed FeMo/β-SiAlON composite exhibits strong potential for application to molten aluminum environments.
The surface properties of superfine alumina trihydrate (ATH) after surface modification were studied by measuring the contact angle, active ratio, oil adsorption, total organic carbon, adsorption ratio, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. The contact angle increased initially and then slowly decreased with an increase of the amount of stearic acid. However, the surface free energy decreased initially and then increased. Surface modification with stearic acid or sodium stearate can benefit from elevating temperature. The base surface tension component and the free energy of Lewis acid-base both declined sharply following the surface modification. Excess stearic acid was physically adsorbed in the form of multilayer adsorption, and an interaction between oxygen on the ATH surface and hydroxyl in stearic acid was subsequently determined. Our results further indicated that the contact angle and adsorption ratio can be used as control indicators for surface modification compared with active ratio, oil adsorption and total organic carbon.
Oil-soluble In2O3 nanoparticles and In2O3-SnO2 nanocomposites were prepared in oleylamine via decomposition of metal acetylacetonate precursors. Thin films of In2O3 and In2O3-SnO2 were obtained by spin-coating solutions of the oil-soluble In2O3 nanoparticles and In2O3-SnO2 nanocomposites onto substrates and then calcining them. Transmission electron microspectroscopy, scanning electron microspectroscopy, atomic force microspectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to investigate the properties of the nanoparticles and thin films. The In2O3 nanoparticles were cubic-phased spheres with a diameter of ~8 nm; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak centered at 348 nm. The In2O3-SnO2 nanocomposites were co-particles composed of smaller In2O3 particles and larger SnO2 particles; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak at 355 nm. After the In2O3-SnO2 nanocomposites were calcined at 400℃, the obtained thin films were highly transparent and conductive, with a thickness of 30-40 nm; the surfaces of the thin films were smooth and crack-free.
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