Novel two-step process to improve efficiency of bio-oxidation of Axi high-sulfur refractory gold concentrates

In order to improve the bio-oxidation efficiency of Axi refractory gold concentrate, a two-step process including a high temperature chemical oxidation and a subsequent bio-oxidation, combined with p H control during the bio-oxidation step was used. The results revealed that the optimum mode was to maintain solution p H at 1.0-1.2 during the biological oxidation stage. Under this condition, the activity of mixed culture could be sustained and the formation of jarosite could be diminished, thus the oxidation efficiency was improved. The oxidation levels of iron and sulfur were improved by 12.50% and 15.49%, and the gold recovery was increased by 21.02%. Therefore, the two-step process combined with p H control is an effective method for oxidizing the biohydrometallurgical process of Axi gold concentrate, and it will have a broad prospect of application in dealing with complex refractory gold concentrate.

Cerium oxide inclusion nucleation mechanism based on classical nucleation theory and two-step nucleation

It is challenging to assess the mechanism responsible for the nucleation of inclusions in metals at high temperatures.The present work therefore systematically investigates the nucleation of cerium oxide inclusions according to classical nucleation theory and a two-step nucleation mechanism.The nucleation rates and nucleation radii of these inclusions are obtained,and the results demonstrate a considerable difference between theoretical and experimental values.On the basis of a two-step nucleation mechanism,(CeO_(2))_(n) and(Ce_(2)O_(3))_(n)(n=1-6)clusters were constructed and the thermodynamic properties of both these clusters and of cerium oxide nanoparticles were analyzed.In addition,the entropies and heat capacity changes of cerium oxides were determined using first principles calculations and are found to be consistent with literature data.The present data indicate that the cerium oxide inclusion nucleation pathway can be summarized as[Ce]+[O]→(CeO_(2))n/(Ce_(2)O_(3))_(n)→(Ce_(2)O_(3))_(n)→(Ce_(2)O_(3))_(2)→core(Ce_(2)O_(3)crystal)-shell((Ce_(2)O_(3))_(2) cluster)nanoparticles→(Ce_(2)O_(3))bulk.

Preparing low-oxygen Ti-6Al-4V alloy powder through direct reduction of oxides and its synergistic reaction mechanism

Ti-6Al-4V alloy powder was prepared through a two-step reduction of a mixture of TiO_(2),V_(2)O_(5) and Al_(2)O_(3) in this study.The oxide mixture was first reduced by Mg in MgCl_(2) at 750℃ in argon,where oxygen was reduced to 2.47 wt%from 40.02 wt%.The oxygen content in the final powder was eventually reduced to an extremely low level(0.055 wt%)using calcium at 900℃ in argon,and the final powder had the composition of 90.12 wt%Ti,5.57 wt%Al,and 3.87 wt%V,which meets the standard specification of Ti-6Al-4V(ASTM F1108-09).Between the two reductions,a heat treatment step was designed to help controlling the specific surface area and particle size.The effect of the heat treatment temperature on the morphology,and composition uniformity of the powder was investigated in detail.Heat treatment above 1300℃ attributed to a dense powder with a controlled specific surface area.Thermodynamic modeling and experimental results indicated that onlyα-Ti enriched with Al andβ-Ti enriched with V exist in the final powder,and other possible phases including Al-Mg and Al-V were excluded.This study also offers a triple-step thermochemical process for producing high-purity Ti-based alloy powder.

Balancing the Activity and Selectivity of Propane Oxidative Dehydrogenation on NiOOH(001)and(010)

Propane oxidative dehydrogenation(ODH)is an energy-efficient approach to produce propylene.However,ODH suff ers from low propylene selectivity due to a relatively higher activation barrier for propylene formation compared with that for further oxidation.In this work,calculations based on density functional theory were performed to map out the reaction pathways of propane ODH on the surfaces(001)and(010)of nickel oxide hydroxide(NiOOH).Results show that propane is physisorbed on both surfaces and produces propylene through a two-step radical dehydrogenation process.The relatively low activation barriers of propane dehydrogenation on the NiOOH surfaces make the NiOOH-based catalysts promising for propane ODH.By contrast,the weak interaction between the allylic radical and the surface leads to a high activation barrier for further propylene oxidation.These results suggest that the catalysts based on NiOOH can be active and selective for the ODH of propane toward propylene.

Ohmic Hetero-Junction of n-Type Silicon and Tungsten Trioxide for Visible-Light Sensitive Photocatalyst

Visible light-sensitive photocatalyst was developed by combining n-type silicon (n-Si) and tungsten trioxide (WO3, n-Si/WO3), yielding an ohmic contact in between. In this system, the ohmic contact acted as an electron-and-hole mediator for the transfer of electrons and holes in the conduction band (CB) of WO3 and in the valence band (VB) of n-Si, respectively. Utilizing thus- constructed n-Si/WO3, the decomposition of 2-propanolto CO2 via acetone was achieved under visible light irradiation, by the contribution of holes in the VB of WO3 to decompose 2-propanol and the consumption of electrons in the CB of n-Si to reduce O2. The combination of p-type Si (p-Si) and WO3 (p-Si/ WO3), not the ohmic contact but the rectifying contact, was much less effective, compared to n-Si/WO3.

Characterization of ZnO Based Varistor Derived from Nano ZnO Powders and Ultrafine Dopants

Nanosized ZnO powders were prepared with a two-step precipitation method. The average size of ZnO particles was about 80 nm and their size distribution was narrow. Combining with ultrafine additive powders, ZnO base varistor was produced via an oxide mixing route. ZnO varistor derived from normal reagent grade starting materials was investigated for comparison purpose. Outstanding microstructure of the ZnO varistor derived from nanosize ZnO powders and ultrafine dopants was obtained: uniform distribution of fine ZnO grains (less than 3 microns), grain boundary and the dopant position. Higher varistor voltage (U=492 V/mm) and nonlinear coefficient (α=56.2) as well as lower leakage current (TL=1.5 μuA) were achieved. The better electrical properties were attributed to the uniform microstructure, which in turn led to stable and uniform potential barriers. Also this improved technique is more feasible for producing ZnO nanopowders and resulting varistor in large scales.

Synthesis and electromagnetic wave absorption performances of a novel(Mo_(0.25)Cr_(0.25)Ti_(0.25)V_(0.25))_(3)AlC_(2)high-entropy MAX phase

Herein,a novel kind of high-entropy MAX phases,(Mo_(0.25)Cr_(0.25)Ti_(0.25)V_(0.25))_(3)AlC_(2)powders were success-fully synthesized by a newly proposed two-step solid state reaction process.The oxidation experiments demonstrate that the oxidation products of Al_(2)Mo_(3)O_(12) and rutile TiO 2 are formed at about 600 and 800℃,respectively.Besides,the dielectric and electromagnetic(EM)wave absorption properties of(Mo_(0.25)Cr_(0.25)Ti_(0.25)V_(0.25))_(3)AlC_(2)powders and those after oxidation at different temperatures were also exam-ined.The results show that the as-synthesized(Mo_(0.25)Cr_(0.25)Ti_(0.25)V_(0.25))_(3)AlC_(2)powders possess excellent EM wave absorption performances with the minimum reflection loss(RL)of-45.80 dB(at 1.7 mm thickness)and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth(E AB)of 3.6 GHz(at 1.5 mm thickness).After oxidation at 400-800℃,due to the coupling of conductivity loss and polarization loss,(Mo_(0.25)Cr_(0.25)Ti_(0.25)V_(0.25))_(3)AlC_(2)powders can retain good EM wave absorption properties in a certain frequency range.In this paper,the effects of oxidation on EM wave absorption properties of high-entropy MAX phases were systematically investigated for the first time.This work manifests that high-entropy MAX phases are promising EM wave absorbing candidates and can maintain good EM wave absorption performances after oxidation.