Search Results for Extraction plants

Beryllium is the 44th most abundant element on Earth, with an estimated concentration of six parts per million in the Earth’s crust. It is found in various forms in more than 100 minerals, two of which, beryl and bertrandite, account for most of the beryllium produced throughout the world. This chapter describes where and how beryllium is obtained and provides facts, figures, and insights on global supply and demand.

This chapter describes some of the chemical processes that have been developed to extract beryllium from different types of ore. It covers the Kjellgren-Sawyer sulfate method, the Degussa method, Copaux-Kawecki fluoride extraction, solvent extraction, and leaching and settling. It also provides information on electrolytic extraction and the use of electrorefining.

This chapter describes some of events and developments that helped drive the commercialization of beryllium and its acceptance as an engineering material. It traces the growth of the domestic beryllium industry from its origins in the 1920s to the present time, and provides a status update on the primary beryllium producers throughout the world.

This chapter describes a process for recovering beryllium from industrial waste associated with beryllium-copper production. It presents several detailed flowsheets along with typical operating parameters such as flow rates, chemical concentrations, particle sizes, and compositional ranges.

This chapter provides an overview of the production and use of titanium and its significance as an engineering material. It begins by identifying important deposits and ores and assessing current and future production capacities and how they align with global consumption trends. It then describes the physical and mechanical properties of pure titanium and numerous grades of wrought titanium alloys and explains how they compare with other aerospace materials in terms of processing complexity and cost. The chapter also includes information on extractive metallurgy, current and emerging processes, product forms, and related costs.

Coal-based thermal power plants play a major role in the welfare of many nations and the overall global economy. This chapter describes the basic equipment requirements and operating principles of thermal power plants, particularly subcritical, supercritical, and ultra-supercritical types.

The discovery and use of materials have shaped civilization since ancient times. This chapter traces the history of the use of metals from hammered copper estimated to be 11,000 years old to the development of electrolytically refined aluminum in 1884. The discussion covers the advent of the Bronze Age, extraction of metals from their respective ores, and the discovery of modern metals such as chromium, vanadium, platinum, and titanium.

This chapter describes some of the processes used to concentrate beryllium-rich minerals from ores. It discusses the flotation of bertrandite and phenacite from calcite, mica, fluorspar, and quartz-containing ores, the flotation of beryl from pegmatitic gangues and low-grade deposits, and the use of chemical activators and conditioning agents. It also explains that hand sorting is still very common because of processing challenges and inefficiencies.

Boilers are engineered systems designed to convert the chemical energy in fuel into heat to generate hot water or steam. This chapter describes boiler applications and types, including firetube boilers, watertube boilers, electric boilers, packaged boilers, fluidized bed combustion boilers, oil- and gas-fired boilers, waste heat boilers, and black liquor recovery boilers. It also describes the operation and working principle of utility or power plant boilers, covering conventional subcritical and advanced supercritical types.

The manufacture of all aluminum wrought products begins with an ingot or a continuous strip solidified from the liquid state. During molten metal processing (MMP), aluminum undergoes a series of operations that are described in this chapter including melting and alloying, recycling, molten metal treatment, control of inclusions, ingot grain refinement, and direct chill (DC) or continuous casting.

This chapter discusses the development of aluminum, its industry growth, and its modern uses in manufacturing. It begins with the biography of Charles Martin Hall, who invented the process for reducing aluminum from its ore. The evolution of aluminum production from the Pittsburgh Reduction Company to a pilot plant on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh, to a production plant in New Kensington, and to Niagara Falls, New York, is then described. This is followed by a discussion on early aluminum applications and the usage of lower-cost raw materials. The chapter provides information on aluminum production process integrated by Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and the numerous technical problems and solutions related to Alcoa's research from World War I to World War II. The aerospace applications for aluminum alloys are also presented. The chapter concludes with a section on aluminum alloys developed by Alcoa.

This chapter focuses on the evolution of steel production from 1870 to 1900. It begins with a review of the life of the inventor of the air-boiling process, William Kelly. This is followed by a discussion on how Bessemer's air-blowing process entered the steel production industry and the development of the Kelly-Bessemer process by Alexander Holley. The chapter then discusses how Andrew Carnegie lowered the cost to produce steel, how he entered the iron and steelmaking industry, and how Captain Billy Jones joined Carnegie to expand Carnegie steel. The chapter further provides information on the great strike of 1892 at Homestead and the rapid growth in steel markets. It ends with a discussion about the factors that led Carnegie to sell his steel empire.

The machinery and equipment required for rod and tube extrusion is determined by the specific extrusion process. This chapter provides a detailed description of the design requirements and principles of machinery and equipment for direct and indirect hot extrusion. It then covers the presses and auxiliary equipment for tube extrusion, induction furnaces for billet processing, handling systems for copper and aluminum alloy products, extrusion cooling systems, and age-hardening ovens. Next, the chapter describes the principles and applications of equipment for the production of aluminum and copper billets. Then, it focuses on process control in both direct and indirect hot extrusion of aluminum alloys without lubrication. The chapter describes the technology of electrical and electronic controls in the extrusion process. It ends with a discussion on the factors that influence the productivity and quality of the products in the extrusion process and methods for process optimization.

Boilers are often classified based on the maximum operating temperature and pressure for which they are designed. Classifications, in ascending order, are subcritical, supercritical, ultra-supercritical, and to advanced ultra-supercritical. At each higher operating point comes greater efficiency, as well as greater demand on construction materials. This chapter discusses the primary requirements for boiler tube materials, including oxidation and corrosion resistance, fatigue strength, thermal conductivity, and the ability to resist creep and rupture. It also provides information on various steels and alloys, covering cost, engineering specifications, and ease of use.

This chapter addresses the hardware requirements for filament winding, from elementary processing equipment to more advanced systems. The chapter describes the equipment, defines how it is best used, and presents real-life examples. It describes a helical horizontal filament winding machine system and a vertical winding machine. The chapter provides information on in-plane (polar) winders and several types of creels, namely stationary and no twist, rotating, braking, and combinations thereof. Comprehensive descriptions of mandrel designs used in filament winding are presented in text and illustration. The chapter also reviews process control of filament winding parameters, including for some specialized winding processes and unique component types.

This introduction presents an overview of the discovery of aluminum, the origins of the aluminum industry, and the evolution of the industry.

This chapter covers the failure modes and mechanisms associated with boiler components and the tools and techniques used to assess damages and predict remaining component life. It begins with a review of the design and operation of a utility boiler and the materials used in construction. It then describes the various causes of failure in boiler tubes, headers, and steam pipes, explaining how and why they occur, how they are diagnosed, and how to mitigate their effects. The final and by far largest section in the chapter is a tutorial on damage and life assessment techniques for boiler components and assemblies. It demonstrates the use of various methods, including analytical techniques that estimate life expenditure based on operating history, component geometry, and material properties; predictive methods based on the extrapolation of failure statistics; methods that predict life based on dimensional measurements; methods based on metallographic studies; methods based on temperature estimates; and a method for estimating remaining life under creep conditions based on stress-rupture testing of service-exposed material samples. The chapter also discusses the use of fracture mechanics and presents a number of cases in which life assessments are made based on the integration of several methods.