Comparison of effective parameters for copper powder production via electrorefining and electrowinning cells and improvement using DOE methods

The influences of cupric ion concentration (5-35 g/L),current density (500-2000 A/m2),circulation rate of the electrolyte solution (15-120 mL/min),and temperature (25-60℃) on the physical and chemical properties of copper powders obtained in electrolysis cells were investigated.Two industrial processes,electrorefining (ER) cells with a synthetic electrolyte and electrowinning (EW) cells with an original solution of coppermineral leaching,were utilized to produce copper powders.Finally,the statistical full factorial method of design of experiments (DOE) was employed to investigate the interaction or the main effects of processes.The results show that increasing the copper concentration and temperature can increase the grain size,apparent density,and electrical energy consumption.On the other hand,increasing the current density and circulation rate of the electrolyte can decrease them.This production process is optimized via DOE to control the interactive and main effects to produce copper powders with favorable properties.     

Modeling the effects of ore properties on water recovery in the thickening process

A better understanding of solid-liquid separation would assist in improving the thickening performance and perhaps water recovery as well. The present work aimed to develop an empirical model to study the effects of ore properties on the thickening process based on pilot tests using a column. A hydro-cyclone was used to prepare the required samples for the experiments. The model significantly predicted the experimental underflow solid content using a regression equation at a given solid flux and bed level for different samples, indicating that ore properties are the effective parameters in the thickening process. This work confirmed that the water recovery would be increased about 5% by separating the feed into two parts, overflow and underflow, and introducing two different thickeners into them separately. This is duo to the fact that thickeners are limited by permeability and compressibility in operating conditions.     

Thermodynamic study and methanothermal temperature-programmed reaction synthesis of molybdenum carbide

Nanostructured molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) was successfully prepared from molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) using methanothermal temperature-programmed reaction. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that in presence of methane, the formation of Mo₂C from MoO₃ occurs through the path of MoO₃ → MoO₂ → Mo₂C. The carburized MoO₃ was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), CHNS/O analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). At final carburization temperatures of 700 and 800℃ and at methane contents ranging from 5vol% to 20vol%, Mo₂C was the only solid product observed in the XRD patterns. The results indicated that the effect of methane content on the formation of the carbide phase is substantial compared with the effect of carburization time. Elemental analysis showed that at a final temperature of 700℃, the carbon content of carburized MoO₃ is very close to the theoretical carbon mass percentage in Mo₂C. At higher carburization temperatures, excess carbon was deposited onto the surface of Mo₂C. High-surface-area Mo₂C was obtained at extremely low heating rates; this high-surface-area material is a potential electrocatalyst.     

Comparison of effective parameters for copper powder production <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> electrorefining and electrowinning cells and improvement using DOE methods

The influences of cupric ion concentration (5–35 g/L), current density (500–2000 A/m²), circulation rate of the electrolyte solution (15–120 mL/min), and temperature (25–60°C) on the physical and chemical properties of copper powders obtained in electrolysis cells were investigated. Two industrial processes, electrorefining (ER) cells with a synthetic electrolyte and electrowinning (EW) cells with an original solution of copper mineral leaching, were utilized to produce copper powders. Finally, the statistical full factorial method of design of experiments (DOE) was employed to investigate the interaction or the main effects of processes. The results show that increasing the copper concentration and temperature can increase the grain size, apparent density, and electrical energy consumption. On the other hand, increasing the current density and circulation rate of the electrolyte can decrease them. This production process is optimized via DOE to control the interactive and main effects to produce copper powders with favorable properties.     

Mineralogical and sink-float studies of Jajarm low-grade bauxite

Jajarm’s bauxite deposits are mainly diasporic, and they have a low mass ratio of Al₂O₃/SiO₂. It is necessary to increase the run-of-mine mass ratio before feeding the material to the Bayer process. Chemical analysis indicated that the low-grade bauxite sample from Jajarm contained 43.9wt% Al₂O₃ and 13.35wt% SiO₂, resulting in a mass ratio of 3.29. According to mineralogical studies, the presence of aluminosilicate minerals such as kaolinite, illite, and quartz was the main reason for the decrease of the mass ratio. Microscopic observations revealed that, with the size reduction from -1000+710 to -38 μm, the liberation degree of diaspore increased from 10% to 60%, and that of aluminosilicates increased from 20% to 85%. Heavy liquids with the densities of 2.8, 3.0, 3.2, and 3.4 g/cm3 were used to evaluate the heavy media separation in three sizes, i.e., -3350+710, -710+212, and -212+125 μm. Laboratory studies confirm that the density of 3.2 g/cm3 can produce the concentrates (in sunk fractions) with recoveries of 89.09%, 91.24%, and 84.68% with the Al₂O₃/SiO₂ mass ratios of 5.03, 5.16, and 5.15 for the -3350+710, -710+212, and -212+125 μm sizes, respectively.