Effect of reductant type on the embedding direct reduction of beach titanomagnetite concentrate

Iron and titanium were recovered from beach titanomagnetite(TTM) concentrate by embedding direct reduction and magnetic separation. The reduction products and the effects of the reductant type and reduction temperature on the reduction behavior were investigated. The results showed that the reduction of TTM concentrate was strongly related to the gasification reactivity of the reductant. Bitumite presented a better product index than wheat-straw biochar and coke, mainly because the gasification reactivity of bitumite was better than that of the other reductants. In addition, high temperatures were not beneficial to embedding direct reduction because of the emergence of a molten phase and iron-joined crystals, which in turn reduced the diffusion rate of the reducing gas and impeded the reduction reaction in the central area of the roasted briquette. The use of bitumite as the reductant at a C/Fe molar ratio of 1.4 and a reduction temperature of 1200°C for 120 min resulted in direct-reduction iron powder assaying 90.28 wt% TFe and 0.91 wt% TiO_2 with an iron recovery of 91.83% and titanium concentrate assaying 46.01 wt% TiO_2 with a TiO_2 recovery of 91.19%. Titanium existed mainly in the form of anosovite and ilmenite in the titanium concentrate.

Measurement and study of the distributing law of in-situ stresses in rock mass at great depth

To solve the technical cruxes of the conventional system in deep rock mass, an automatic testing system for hydraulic fracturing that includes a single tube for hydraulic loop, a pressure-relief valve, central-tubeless packers, and a multichannel real-time data acquisition system was used for in-situ stresses measurement at great depths （over 1000 m） in a coalfield in Juye of Northern China. The values and orientations of horizontal principal stresses were determined by the new system. The virgin stress field and its distributing law were decided by the linear regression from the logged 37 points in seven boreholes. Besides, the typical boreholes arranged in both the adjacent zone and far away zone of the faults were analyzed, respectively. The results show that a stress concentration phenomenon and a deflection in the orientation of the maximal horizontal stress exist in the adjacent zone of the faults, which further provides theoretical basis for design and optimization of mining.

Comprehensive recovery of lead, zinc, and iron from hazardous jarosite residues using direct reduction followed by magnetic separation

Lead, zinc, and iron were recovered from jarosite residues using direct reduction followed by magnetic separation. The influence of the coal dosage, reduction temperature, and reduction time on the volatilization rates of lead and zinc and the metallization rate of iron were investigated. The results show that the volatilization rates of lead and zinc were 96.97% and 99.89%, respectively, and the iron metallization rate was 91.97% under the optimal reduction roasting conditions of a coal dosage of 25.0 wt% and reduction roasting at 1250°C for 60 min. The magnetic concentrate with an iron content of 90.59 wt% and an iron recovery rate of 50.87% was obtained under the optimum conditions in which 96.56% of the reduction product particles were smaller than 37 μm and the magnetic field strength was 24 k A/m. Therefore, the results of this study demonstrate that recovering valuable metals such as lead, zinc, and iron from jarosite residues is feasible using the developed approach.

Instrumented borehole drilling for interface identification in intricate weathered granite ground engineering

The successful application in drilling for HK simple weathered granite foundation has revealed its further use in instru- mented drilling system as a ground investigation tool in the detection of other lithology formations, geohazards, underground water, and boundary of orebody. To expand the further use and test the accuracy in identification of formation, an R-20 rotary-hydraulic drill rig was instrumented with a digital drilling process monitoring system （DPM） for drilling in an intricate decomposed granite site. In this test ground, the boreholes revealed that the weathered granite alternately changes between moderate and strong. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the penetrating parameters, indicates the effective thrust force, rotary speed, flushing pressure, penetrating rate, and displacement of the bit fluctuate at ground interfaces. It shows that the parameters get a good response with the change of rock strength at the interfaces, which can reveal the change of the intricate granite formation. Besides, a variable-slope method has been established, for identification of dominative and subsidiary interfaces in the granite site. The result from a t-test shows that the confi- dence of the instrumented drilling system in identification of the geotechnical interfaces is up to 99%.

Statically accelerated experimental simulation on the deterioration of dynamic strength of rock

In order to reveal the strength deterioration law of rock mass under an acidified environment, a series of experiments on strength deterioration and the environmental effect on marble and diabase under the conditions of three kinds of acids （H2SO4, HNO3 and HC1） with three contents （1.0%, 5.0% and 10.0%） in a static fluid surrounding were carried out by single factor simulation. After the stones had been saturated in the above solutions for 90 days, an indoor weathering simulation had been observed for 300 days and its strength characteristics were measured under static/dynamic load and that results were compared with those under the natural condition. It is evident that the strength is emaciated greatly after the stones eroded by the liquids, whether under the static or dynamic load.