Jinichiro Nakano

A STUDY ON TRANSFORMATION OF SOME TRANSITION METAL OXIDES IN MOLTEN STEELMAKING SLAG TO MAGNETICALLY SUSCEPTIBLE COMPOUNDS

Sustainable development of steelmaking requires solving a number of environmental problems. Economically feasible and environmentally friendly recycling of slag wastes is of special concern. Research of the team representing National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine, Royal Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and URS Corp revealed a possibility of the controlled phase transformations in the liquid silicate melts followed by formation of the magnetically susceptible compounds. This approach enables selective recovery of metal values from slag. In this paper, the results obtained and further research directions are discussed. A possibility to exploit physical properties of the transition metals, typical for the metallurgical slags (such as Fe, Mn, V and others), and corresponding specific properties of their compounds, such as non-stoichiometry, mixed valency, pseudomorphosis, thermodynamic stability etc, in production of value-added materials from slag wastes is discussed. The results of the studies of thermodynamics and kinetics of oxidation in slags followed by phase transformation with binary, ternary and complex oxides under various physicochemical conditions are discussed in the view of their application for production of the materials with predefined physical properties. Peculiarities of precipitation in slags with various basicities are analysed and demonstrate capacity of the proposed approach in the production of the material with a given structure and size – for example, nano-sized crystals with structure of spinel. The approaches towards industrial realization of the developed method are also discussed.

Viscosity Determination of Molten Ash from Low-Grade US Coals

Abstract In entrained slagging gasifiers, the fluidity of the molten ash is a critical factor for process control since it affects slag formation, the capture of inorganic constituents, refractory wear, and slag drainage along the gasification chamber walls. The use of western coal, or mixtures of eastern and western coals as gasifier feedstock, is likely to occur as western coals become available and technological issues that hinder their use are being resolved. In the present work, the viscosity of synthetic slags with ash chemistries simulating the western U.S. coals, was experimentally measured at a Po2 = 10−8 atm in the temperature range of 1773–1573 K (1500–1300 °C) using a rotating-bob viscometer. Alumina spindles and containment crucibles of both alumina and zirconia were used. Crystallization studies of this slag using a confocal scanning laser microscope found that a (Mg,Fe)Al2O4-based spinel precipitated at temperatures below 1723 K (1450 °C), and this agreed with FactSage equilibrium phase prediction. The same spinels were observed in the post-viscometry experiment slags when ZrO2 crucibles were used and assumed to be in equilibrium with the slag at the higher temperatures. Zirconia dissolution resulted in a slight increase in the solid fraction present in slags at lower temperatures, compared to spinel fraction. Crystal precipitation changed the apparent activation energy and required a longer stabilization times for viscosity measurements. The viscosity results were used in predictive equations based on Veytsman and Einsteins models, with critical nucleation temperatures and the solid fraction calculated with FactSage. In the simulated eastern/western coal feedstock blends based on ash compositions, the fractions of the solid precipitates were also calculated using the thermodynamic program FactSage for each blend composition, and the plastic viscosity of each eastern/western coal slag blend was predicted using Veytsmans model and compared to available experimental data.

Synthesis of nano-manganese ferrite by an oxalate method and characterization of its magnetic properties

Abstract In this work, nano-sized manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) was synthesized through the decomposition of the mixed oxalates. The formation of the spinel manganese ferrite was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphology of the ferrite products was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The particle size, which was determined using the Scherrer formula, ranged from 25 to 30 nm. Magnetic properties of the manganese ferrite were analyzed using a vibrating sample magnetometry technique; a narrow hysteresis loop indicated the MnFe2O4 obtained was a soft ferromagnet. Magnetic properties of the manganese ferrite produced were in agreement with those reported in literature for MnFe2O4 nanoparticles prepared by conventional methods, including co-precipitation and mechanochemical processes. By plotting a series of literature data determined by different authors and techniques, a correlation between saturation magnetisation and particle size has been noted regardless of the synthesis methods. In general, the oxalate method seems to be able to produce nano-manganese ferrite in a shorter time (2–3 h) as compared to other conventional techniques reported in literature (up to 54 h).

Impact of Temperature and Oxygen Partial Pressure on Aluminum Phosphate in High Chrome Oxide Refractories

Gasifiers are reaction vessels used to process carbon feedstock such as coal and/or petcoke at elevated temperature, high pressure, and in a reducing atmosphere (low oxygen partial pressure) to form CO and H2, called synthesis gas or syngas. Syngas is used as a fuel in power generation or as a feedstock material in chemical production. By-products of the gasification process include unreacted carbon, gases such as CO2 and H2S, and slag formed from mineral impurities or organic metallic compounds in the carbon feedstock that liquefy during gasification. In the gasifier, slags interact with the high chrome oxide refractory liner, causing wear and eventual failure of the refractory lining by two primary means - spalling (structural and chemical) and chemical dissolution. Failure of the refractory lining causes the gasifier to be shut down for repair, with increased service time identified by users as important for greater usage of gasification as an industrial process. Phosphate additions to high chrome oxide refractories have been found to increase service life during commercial service by reducing spalling and lowering chemical dissolution of the refractory liner. The mechanism of how they improve service life is not well understood. The microstructure and physical properties of high chrome oxide refractories with and without phosphate additions removed from a commercial gasifier after approximately eight months of exposure to a coal slag are evaluated in this report, with the emphasis on evaluating slag/refractory interaction in refractory pores. Details of the investigation are presented and possible mechanisms of how phosphate additives improve wear resistance discussed.