Swagat S. Rath

Treatment of electronic waste to recover metal values using thermal plasma coupled with acid leaching--a response surface modeling approach.

The global crisis of the hazardous electronic waste (E-waste) is on the rise due to increasing usage and disposal of electronic devices. A process was developed to treat E-waste in an environmentally benign process. The process consisted of thermal plasma treatment followed by recovery of metal values through mineral acid leaching. In the thermal process, the E-waste was melted to recover the metal values as a metallic mixture. The metallic mixture was subjected to acid leaching in presence of depolarizer. The leached liquor mainly contained copper as the other elements like Al and Fe were mostly in alloy form as per the XRD and phase diagram studies. Response surface model was used to optimize the conditions for leaching. More than 90% leaching efficiency at room temperature was observed for Cu, Ni and Co with HCl as the solvent, whereas Fe and Al showed less than 40% efficiency.

Screening of Fresh Water Microalgae from Eastern Region of India for Sustainable Biodiesel Production

Study of six different freshwater microalgae, collected from Odisha, eastern region of India, has been carried out to find out their potential for biodiesel production. The growth, total lipid, and fatty acid composition of six microalgal strains were determined. Chlorella sp. IMMTCC-2, which exhibited high lipid content with considerable amount of unsaturated fatty acids, was selected for culture in a self-designed photobioreactor in order to study the scale-up possibilities. The result shows significant increase in lipid accumulation from logarithmic phase to stationary phase in the photobioreactor, i.e., from 12.4 to 28.3%. Analyses of the present results suggest that Chlorella sp. IMMTCC-2 is appropriate for biodiesel production.

Bioleaching of copper from pre and post thermally activated low grade chalcopyrite contained ball mill spillage

Bioleaching of a low grade chalcopyrite (ball mill spillage material) was tested for copper recovery in shake flasks. The original samples (as received) were thermally activated (600°C, 30 min) to notice the change in physico-chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the host rock and subsequently its effect on copper recovery. A mixed culture of acidophilic chemolithotrophic bacterial consortium predominantly entailing Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain was used for bioleaching studies and optimization of process parameters of both original and thermally activated samples. Mineralogical characterization studies indicated the presence of chalcopyrite, pyrite in the silicate matrix of the granitic rock. Field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with Energy dispersive spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis indicated mostly SiO2. With pH 2, pulp density 10% w/v, inoculum 10% v/v, temperature 30°C, 150 r·min−1, 49% copper could be recovered in 30 days from the finest particle size (−1 + 0.75 mm) of the original spillage sample. Under similar conditions 95% copper could be recovered from the thermally activated sample with the same size fraction in 10 days. The study revealed that thermal activation leads to volume expansion in the rock with the development of cracks, micro and macro pores on its surface, thereby enabling bacterial solution to penetrate more easily into the body, facilitating enhanced copper dissolution.

Optimization of flotation variables for the recovery of hematite particles from BHQ ore

The technology for beneficiation of banded iron ores containing low iron value is a challenging task due to increasing demand of quality iron ore in India. A flotation process has been developed to treat one such ore, namely banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) containing 41.8wt% Fe and 41.5wt% SiO2, by using oleic acid, methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC), and sodium silicate as the collector, frother, and dispersant, respectively. The relative effects of these variables have been evaluated in half-normal plots and Pareto charts using central composite rotatable design. A quadratic response model has been developed for both Fe grade and recovery and optimized within the experimental range. The optimum reagent dosages are found to be as follows: collector concentration of 243.58 g/t, dispersant concentration of 195.67 g/t, pH 8.69, and conditioning time of 4.8 min to achieve the maximum Fe grade of 64.25% with 67.33% recovery. The predictions of the model with regard to iron grade and recovery are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Characterization and Processing of Iron Ore Slimes for Recovery of Iron Values

Intensive characterization studies of iron ore slime carried out by X-ray diffraction spectroscope (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and quantitative mineralogical evaluation by scanning electron microscope (QEMSCAN) are discussed. In slimes, mineral phases like hematite, goethite, gibbsite, kaolinite, and quartz are present in a complex and intricate way. SEM-EDS and QEMSCAN studies indicate that significant amounts of aluminum are associated with both ochreous and vitreous goethite. Hematite and goethite phases are contaminated with some amount of alumina and silica. The liberation of hematite in the coarser fraction (+500 µm) is only 20.6% compared to 40% in the finer fraction (−500 µm) size. A flow sheet, comprising of hydrocyclone and magnetic separation techniques, has been developed to produce an iron concentrate containing ∼63% Fe with 70.7% weight recovery from a feed sample containing 56.8% Fe, 5.1% SiO2, and 6.4% Al2O3.

Optimal Recovery of Iron Values from a Low Grade Iron Ore using Reduction Roasting and Magnetic Separation

A low grade iron ore containing 51.6% Fe, 17.6% SiO2, 4.3% Al2O3, and 3.8% LOI was subjected to reduction roasting followed by low intensity magnetic separation studies. The phase transformation of hematite into magnetite and fayalite due to reduction roasting was investigated using reflected microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The effects of reduction variables such as reduction time (40−175 min), temperature (750−1000°C), and reductant dosage (3−11%) using activated charcoal were studied. The process was optimized by using central composite rotatable design (CCRD) and response surface methodology. Iron grade from 59−66% with recovery of 9.5−87% was achieved using CCRD experiments. Model equations were developed both for Fe grade and recovery and then optimized within the bounds of experimental conditions. The program predicted 63.3% Fe with 79% recovery with the following optimum conditions: temperature: 950°C, time: 53.04 min, and reductant: 3%.

Statistical Modeling Studies of Iron Recovery from Red Mud Using Thermal Plasma

Optimization studies of plasma smelting of red mud were carried out. Reduction of the dried red mud fines was done in an extended arc plasma reactor to recover the pig iron. Lime grit and low ash metallurgical (LAM) coke were used as the flux and reductant, respectively. 2-level factorial design was used to study the influence of all parameters on the responses. Response surface modeling was done with the data obtained from statistically designed experiments. Metal recovery at optimum parameters was found to be 79.52%.

Kinetics and Statistical Behaviour of Iron Recovery from Red Mud using Plasma Arc Furnace

Abstract Study of the recovery of pig iron from dry red mud through plasma smelting has been done. The reductant used was graphite. Various fluxes were used for the formation of slag. The parameters varied were smelting time, basicity and concentration of reductant and fluxes. It was observed that the reduction kinetics improved progressively with the increase of all the variables up to certain level and on further increase the metal recovery decreased. The results were interpreted kinetically and rate determining step was evaluated. Multi Linear Regression Analysis studies were carried out. The variables were subjected to Principal Component Analysis. Four factors could explain 75.4% of the variables.

Dolochar as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes

The present investigation examines the viability of dolochar, a sponge iron industry waste material, as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes, which are another waste generated by iron ore beneficiation plants. Under statistically determined optimum conditions, which include a temperature of 900°C, a reductant-to-feed mass ratio of 0.35, and a reduction time of 30–45 min, the roasted mass, after being subjected to low-intensity magnetic separation, yielded an iron ore concentrate of approximately 64wt% Fe at a mass recovery of approximately 71% from the feed iron ore slime assaying 56.2wt% Fe. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the magnetic products contain magnetite and hematite as the major phases, whereas the nonmagnetic fractions contain quartz and hematite.

Characterization and beneficiation studies for the removal of iron from a china clay from India

Abstract A china clay sample from Jharkhand State, India, containing 65.0 wt.% SiO2, 22.7% Al2O3, 1.77% Fe2O3 and 9.10% LOI was subjected to physical beneficiation and acid leaching studies to improve its quality. The clay was characterized by optical microscopy, XRD, and wet chemical analysis methods. Quartz and goethite are the two major impurities. High intensity magnetic separation removed only 10% of the total iron. Experiments with oxalic acid were carried out to establish the leaching kinetics of iron and the effects of acid concentration, time and temperature on iron leaching were also examined. The study demonstrated that ~90% of total iron could be removed using 5% oxalic acid. The dissolution of iron from clay is best described by diffusion of ions through the product layer of constant size spherical particles. The activation energy of the leaching process over the temperature range was calculated to be 51.14 kJ/mol.