Study on mechanisms of different sulfuric acid leaching technologies of chromite

The extraction of chromate from chromite via the sulfuric acid leaching process has strong potential for practical use because it is a simple and environmentally friendly process. This paper aims to study the sulfuric acid leaching process using chromite as a raw material via either microwave irradiation or in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The results show that the main phases in Pakistan chromite are ferrichromspinel, chrompicotite, hortonolite, and silicate embedded around the spinel phases. Compared with the process with an oxidizing agent, the process involving microwaves has a higher leaching efficiency. When the mass fraction of sulfuric acid was 80% and the leaching time was 20 min, the efficiency could exceed 85%. In addition, the mechanisms of these two technologies fundamentally differ. When the leaching was processed in the presence of an oxidizing agent, the silicate was leached first and then expanded. By contrast, in the case of leaching under microwave irradiation, the chromite was dissolved layer by layer and numerous cracks appeared at the particle surface because of thermal shock. In addition, the silicate phase shrunk instead of expanding.

Sulfuric acid leaching kinetics of South African chromite

The sulfuric acid leaching kinetics of South African chromite was investigated. The negative influence of a solid product layer constituted of a silicon-rich phase and chromium-rich sulfate was eliminated by crushing the chromite and by selecting proper leaching con- ditions. The dimensionless change in specific surface area and the conversion rate of the chromite were observed to exhibit a proportional re- lationship. A modified shrinking particle model was developed to account for the change in reactive surface area, and the model was fitted to experimental data. The resulting model was observed to describe experimental findings very well. Kinetics analysis revealed that the leach- ing process is controlled by a chemical reaction under the employed experimental conditions and the activation energy of the reaction is 48 kJ.mol-1.

Descaling Behavior of 430 Hot-rolled Stainless Steel in HCl-based Solution

Descaling of hot-rolled stainless steel is generally implemented through pickling process in HNO_3-HF mixed acids,which induces severe environmental concerns of nitrogen oxide（NOx）gases and nitrites.According to the electrochemical measurement,the mass loss test and the appearance analysis,a new pickling process which employed HCl-based solution was proposed and evaluated to provide theoretical basis for the development of environment-friendly and highly effective pickling process.Under the experimental condition,the HCl-based solution can compete with ordinary HNO_3-HF mixed acids in terms of pickling efficiency,surface integrity and the removal of Crdepleted layer.The descaling process of 430hot-rolled stainless steel in the HCl-based solution consisted of three steps.The descaling solution penetrated the oxide scales into the underlying metal,dissolving the Cr-depleted layer and part of substrates.The oxide scales peeled off from the stainless steel and a polished and smooth surface was exposed.The descaled stainless steel was dissolved uniformly in the HCl-based solution;therefore,the pickling duration was vital for desired surface integrity.Under the static condition,the appropriate descaling time of 430 hotrolled stainless steel in HCl-based solution was 400 s.

Corrosion Behavior of S450EW Low-alloy Weathering Steel in Cyclically Alternate Corrosion Environments

Weathering steel is widely used in various fields due to its excellent mechanical properties and high corrosion resistance. The effect of chromium content on the S450 EW weathering steel in cyclic immersion test was studied. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of S450 EW weathering steel is closely related to chromium content. The addition of chromium significantly inhibited the weathering steel corrosion. The corrosion rate of experimental steel after 96 h immersion was 1.101 g·m-2·h-1. The rust of S450 EW weathering steel was mainly constituted of Fe OOH and Fe3O4 phase, and the elevation of chromium content promoted the formation of α-Fe OOH. The fine precipitates of the two phases contributed to the formation of dense dust layer of test steel. Furthermore, the increase of chromium is beneficial for the cure of original defects and cracks of the rust layer via the enrichment of chromium. The corrosion potential and the resistance of corrosion process were thus increased, protecting the experimental steel from further corrosion. A S450 EW steel with corrosion resistance more than 1.5 times of Q450NQR1 steel was prepared.

Effects of Different Oxidants on HCl-based Pickling Process of 430 Stainless Steel

To shorten the time required for the pickling process and to enhance the quality of ferritic stainless steel plates,the effects of oxidants including hydrogen peroxide（H2O2）,potassium permanganate（KMnO4）,and potassium chlorate（KClO3）on the pickling behavior in HCl-based electrolyte as well as the surface quality of hot-rolled and blasted 430 stainless steel（430-SS）were studied.Experiments were conducted using mass-loss tests,microstructure analyses,potentiodynamic polarization curves,and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements.The results showed that the addition of oxidants substantially accelerated the pickling process of 430-SS by enhancing the cathodic reaction rate and reducing the charge transfer resistance.In electrolytes comprising 5-8mass% HCl at a temperature of 40-60 ℃ and at the same concentration within the range from 0to 2mass%,H2O2 was demonstrated to be superior to KMnO4 and KClO3in accelerating the pickling process.The surface quality of 430-SS pickled in the presence of H2O2 was better than those of specimens pickled in the presence of KMnO4 and KClO3 when the removal of the oxide layer,intergranular corrosion,and surface roughness were collectively considered.When 1mass% H2O2 was added,the mass loss rate of 430-SS was increased by 629%and no residual oxide layer or intergranular corrosion was observed on the surface of the steel;in addition,the roughness was only 1.7μm.H2O2 was determined to be a better oxidant than KMnO4 and KClO3 when the pickling process,surface quality,solution recycling,and environment protection were considered as a whole.