Biodiversity and interactions of acidophiles:Key to understanding and optimizing microbial processing of ores and concentrates

Mining companies have become increasingly aware of the potential of microbiological approaches for recovering base and precious metals from low-grade ores, and for remediating acidic, metal-rich wastewaters that drain from both operating and abandoned mine sites. Biological systems offer a number of environmental and （sometimes） economical advantages over conventional approaches, such as pyrometallurgy, though their application is not appropriate in every situation. Mineral processing using micro-organisms has been exploited for extracting gold, copper, uranium and cobalt, and current developments are targeting other base metals. Recently, there has been a great increase in our knowledge and understanding of both the diversity of the microbiology of biomining environments, and of how the microorganisms interact with each other. The results from laboratory experiments which have simulated both stirred tank and heap bioreactor systems have shown that microbial consortia are more robust than pure cultures of mineral-oxidizing acidophiles, and also tend to be more effective at bioleaching and bio-oxidizing ores and concentrates. The paper presented a concise review of the nature and interactions of microbial consortia that are involved in the oxidation of sulfide minerals, and how these might be adapted to meet future challenges in biomining operations.     

Electrochemical behavior of chalcopyrite in presence of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

1 Introduction The bioleaching research has a great progress in metallurgy industry. A significant number of commercial applications have emerged and are able to compete with conventional processing, especially the application for the copper recovery. Fur…     

IMPROVED PROCESSING FOR MICROSTRUCTURES AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF A COMMERCIAL PIPELINE STEEL

The transformation productions of hot-deformation simulation experiments were investigated using a Gleeble-1500 hot simulator for a commercial pipeline steel. Based on the investigation results, the improved thermo-mechanical control processing (TMCP) schedules containing a two stage multi-pass controlled rolling coupled with moderate cooling rates were applied to hot rolling experiments and acicular ferrite dominated microstructure was obtained. Microstructures and mechanical properties of hot rolled plates were related to TMCP processing, and regression equations describing the relation between processing parameters and mechanical properties in the current TMCP were developed, which could be used to predict mechanical properties of the experimental steel during commercially processing. It was found that with an increase in cooling rate after hot rolling, grain size in the microstructure became smaller, the amount of polygonal ferrite decreased and acicular ferrite increased, and accordingly mechanical properties increased,     

Constructing a 3D multichannel structure to enhance performance of Ni–Co–Mn hydroxide electrodes for flexible supercapacitors

The balancing of the electrochemical performance,mechanical stability,and processing technology for applying supercapacitors to flexible and wearable electronics continues to encounter severe challenges.Herein,we prepare Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide electrodes with a threedimensional multichannel structure via a simple hydrothermal method.These are constructed using vertically contiguous nano sheets with a uniform thickness and rough surface.The electrodes can provide numerous electroactive sites and acce...     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Mg–RE–TM Cast Alloys Containing Long Period Stacking Ordered Phases: A Review

Casting magnesium alloys hold the greatest share of magnesium application products due to their short processing period, low cost and near net shape forming. Compared with conventional commercial magnesium alloys or other Mg–RE-based alloys, the novel Mg–RE–TM cast alloys with long period stacking ordered(LPSO) phases usually possess a higher strength and are promising candidates for aluminum alloy applications. Up to now, two ways: alloying design and casting process control(including subsequent heat treatments), have been predominantly employed to further improve the mechanical properties of these alloys. Alloying with other elements or ceramic particles could alter the solidifi cation pattern of alloys, change the morphology of LPSO phases and refi ne the microstructures. Diff erent casting techniques(conventional casting, rapidly solidifi cation, directional solidifi cation, etc.) introduce various microstructure characteristics, such as dendritic structure, nanocrystalline, metastable phase, anisotropy. Further heat treatments could activate the transformation of various LPSO structures and precipitation of diverse precipitates. All these evolutions exert great impacts on the mechanical properties of the LPSO-containing alloys. However, the underlying mechanisms still remain a subject of debate. Therefore, this review mainly provides the state of the art of the casting magnesium alloys research and the accompanying challenges and summarizes some topics that merit future investigation for developing high-performance Mg–RE–TM cast alloys.     

Tensile properties of 2024 Al alloy processed by enhanced solid-solution and equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing（ECAP） of an enhanced solid-solution treated 2024 Al alloy was successfully performed at room temperature, with an imposed equivalent normal strain of about 0.5. A very high hardness about HV191 and yield strength about 610 MPa （30% higher than those of the unECAPed 2024 Al alloy） in terms of commercial aluminum alloys were observed for the ECAPed 2024 Al alloy. In addition to the strengthening, this process allows the ECAPed 2024 Al alloy have a moderate level of tensile ductility （about 12.7%） and a significant strain hardening capability up to tensile failure. After aged at 373 K for 48 h, the ECAPed alloy increases its hardness （about HV201） and tensile ductility （about 14 %） further. The TEM results show that the ECAPed 2024 AI alloy presents a plate structure （about 50-100 nm） with high density of dislocation and additional thin plate （approximately 〈10 nm= inside. The XRD results show that the ECAP processing decreases the texture and increases the dislocation density of the alloy considerably. The theoretical calculations show that the increase of dislocation density resulting from ECAP processing makes a considerable contribution about 55.2 % for the improvement of yield strength.     

Engineering molecular regulation for SiOx with long-term stable cycle and high Coulombic efficiency as lithium-ion battery anodes

In the current situation where the practical application of silicon anode materials encounters great challenges,silicon oxide(SiO_x,0≤x≤2) has attracted the attention of researchers due to its relatively small volume expansion,stable cycling performance,and low cost,which is possible to realize commercial applications earlier than silicon anode.However,it remains a challenge to prepare SiO_x materials with long-term stable cycling performance and high Coulombic efficiency usi...     

Dynamic recrystallization behavior of commercial pure aluminum

The flow stress feature and microstructure evolvement of a commercial pure aluminum were investigated by compression on Gleeble-1500 dynamic materials test machine. Optical microscopy （OM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） were applied to analyze the deformation microstructure of the commercial pure aluminum.The results show that the flow stress tends to be constant after a peak value and the dynamic recovery occurs when the deformation temperatures is 220℃ with the strain rate of 0.01 s^-1; while the dynamic recrystallization occurs when the deformation temperature is higher than 380℃ and the flow stress exhibits a single peak at 460 ℃with different strain rates from 0.001 s^1 to 1 s^-1, and continuous dynamic recrystallization and geometric dynamic recrystallization occur during the hot compression of the commercial pure aluminum.     

Rapid fabrication and thermoelectric performance of SnTe via non-equilibrium laser 3D printing

Thermoelectric technologies based on Seebeck and Peltier effects,as energy techniques able to directly convert heat into electricity and vice versa, hold promise for addressing the global energy and environmental problems. The development of efficient and low-cost thermoelectric modules is the key to their large-scale commercial applications. In this paper, using a non-equilibrium laser3 D printing technique, we focus an attention on the fabrication of mid-temperature p-type SnTe thermoelectric materials. The influence of laser power, scanning speed and layer thickness on the macro-defects, chemical and phase composition, micro structure and thermoelectric performance was systematically investigated. First and foremost,the processing parameter window for printing a highquality layer is determined. This is followed by the finite element method used to simulate and verify the influence of the laser-induced molten pool temperature distribution on the final composition and microstructure. Finally, the high-performance SnTe layer with 10 mm × 10 mm in area is produced within seconds with room temperature Seebeck coefficient close to that of SnTe manufactured by the traditional methods. Consequently,this work lays a solid foundation for the future fabrication of thermoelectric modules using laser non-equilibrium printing techniques.     

Efficient fabrication of semisolid nondendritic Al alloy slurry with high quality

Subjecting a normal mechanical vibration to a cooling slope plate,is a proposed method for preparing semisolid nondendritic slurry,named shear-vibration coupling sub-rapid solidification(SCS).Taking Al-8Si alloy as model material,the temperature field and distribution field of solid or liquid phase during SCS were simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software to primarily choose the optimal processing parameters.Subsequently,the slurries were prepared with the parameters selected according to the simulation results and the microstructures of the slurries were experimentally investigated.Results indicate that the simulation results could provide a basis for roughly choosing the processing parameters,although the calculated solid fractions are always higher than the experimental ones.The processing parameters affect the primary grain size,shape factor and solid fraction mainly through altering the contact duration of melt on the plate,and thus affecting the cooling effect on the melt,nucleation rate,and grain dissociation and proliferation.Experiments with optimized processing parameters show that the primary grains in the slurry have an average size of about 32μm and shape factor of 1.38,and are quite uniform,even at the highest pouring rate of 2.81 kg·s^-1,the size and shape factor are about 46μm and 1.7,respectively,which implies that the proposed SCS is a promising technology for efficient fabrication of high-quality Al slurry available for engineering applications.     

Shape Character of Fusion-solidification Zone of EBW Joints for Titanium Alloy

Shape character of fusion-solidification zone of electron beam welding (EBW) joints was studied for TC4 alloy.Four typical shapes of the fusion-solidification zone were gained by appropriate welding processes.The shapes and dimensions of the fusion-solidification zone of TC4 titanium joints were apparently influenced by processing parameters,focusing state and power density distribution.Based on the analyses of processing parameters,focusing state and power density distribution,the integrated parameters of n1 and n2 were put forward,which represented the distribution and intensity of electron beam energy.And a series of the formulations are developed to predict the shape of fusion-solidification zone by the processing parameters.     

Superplastic behavior of Al-Cu-Li based alloy

The superplastic behavior was studied in an Al-4Cu-ILi-0.4Mg-0.4Ag-0.1Zr alloy. The alloys were manufactured both by＂ a conventional rolling route and a thermo-mechanical treatment route. The superplastic properties were evaluated as a function of temperature, strain rate, and processing history. Prior to thermo-mechanical processing, the alloys have elevated-temperature ductilities of 94% to 130%, strain rate sensitivities of about 0.25, and activation energies corresponding to lattice diffusion. After thermo-mechanical processing, the alloys have ductilities of 200% to 630%, strain rate sensitivity of about 0.42, and activation energies corresponding to grain boundary diffusion or a mixture of grain boundary diffusion and lattice diffusion. Skipping rapid recrystallization annealing can supply a higher value of elongation-to-failure.     

Microbial community structure and function in sulfide ore bioleaching systems

The severe current situation facing to minerals processing is that the most minerals are characterized by low-grade, being complex and very hard to deal with. It is necessary to find a new way to solve these questions. Nowadays, biohydrometallurgy draw more and more attention because of its simple process, low cost and kindness to environment. However, the lack of suitable bacteria and hard research on the mechanisms between the bacteria and ores or bacteria in gene level result in the low efficiency and poor yield of the target metal in bioleaching. Therefore, the understanding of the microbial community structure and function in the bioleaching systems is very important for the optimization of microbial community by controlling the operating conditions in bioleaching systems, thus enhancing the leaching rate. A review is given on the achievements and progress related to the study on microbial community structure and function in sulfide ore bioleaching systems made in our research group.     

Structure engineering of cathode host materials for Li-S batteries

Although lithium-sulfur batteries are one of the favorable candidates for next-generation energy storage devices,a few key challenges that have not been addressed have limited its commercialization.These challenges include lithium dendrite growth in the anode side,volume change of the active material,poor electrical conductivity,dissolution and migration of poly sulfides,and slow rate of solid-state reactions in the cathode side.Since the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries i...     

Influence of Multi-pass Friction Stir Processing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Die Cast Al–7Si–3Cu Aluminum Alloy

The influence of overlap multi-pass friction stir processing on the microstructure and the mechanical properties, in particular, strength, ductility and hardness of die cast Al–7Si–3Cu aluminum alloy was investigated.It was observed that increase in the number of overlap passes friction stir processing resulted in significant refinement and redistribution of aluminum silicon eutectic phase and elimination of casting porosities. The microstructural refinement by the friction stir processing not only increases the ultimate tensile strength from 121 to273 MPa, but also increases the ductility as observed by the increase in fracture strain from 1.8% to 10%. Analysis of the fractured surface reveals that the microstructural refinement obtained by friction stir processing plays a vital role in transforming the fracture mode from completely mixed mode to the ductile mode of the fracture with increasing number of passes. The change in the size, shape, morphology and distribution of eutectic silicon particles and elimination of the porosities are the main reasons for the increases in tensile strength and ductility due to friction stir processing.     

Preparation of ZrO2 spherical nanometer powders by emulsion processing route

ZrO2 precursor powders containing 3% Y2O3 were prepared via a single emulsion processing route and a double emulsion processing route. In both routes xylol was used as the oil phase, span-80 as the surfactant, and an aqueous solution containing zirconium or ammonia as the water phase. The calcination of the precursor powders was performed at 600 ℃ for 2 h, leading to tetragonal phase ZrO2 nanometer powders. The ZrO2 powders and the precursor powders were analyzed and characterized by means of TGA-DTA, XRD, TEM, BET and laser particle size analyser. The results indicate that xylol-span-80-water phase system contain more water phase, which to a certain extent overcomes the disadvantages of low output by emulsion route in preparing powders. The best volume ratio Vxylol ： Vspan-80 ： Vwater= 95 ： 5 ： 25 leads to the attaining of powders. The special tetragonal phase powders with less agglomeration were prepared via either the single emulsion processing route or the double emulsion processing route according with the ratio. But compared to the single emulsion processing route, the powders prepared via the double emulsion processing route display smaller particles with more even size distribution, the average size of around 15 nm.     

Effect of barium on the refinement of primary aluminum and eutectics in a hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy

The effect of barium on the refinement of primary aluminum and on the modification of eutectics in a hypoeutec-tic aluminum-silicon alloy was investigated. The results indicate that barium not only modifies the eutectic silicon but also refines the primary aluminum and there is a relationship between the retained barium and the second spacing of primary aluminum. Experiments of barium-treated commercial Al-Si hypoeutectic alloy show that barium is a better modifier than sodium when there is a longer holding time.     

Optimization of TC11 alloy forging parameters using processing maps

Isothermal compression of TC11 alloy at the deformation temperatures ranging from 1023 to 1323 K with an interval of 20 K, the strain rates of 0.001, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 s-1, and the height reductions of 50% and 70% was conducted on a Gleeble-1500D thermomechanical simulator. According to the experimental results, the isothermal compression and the processing maps of TC11 alloy at different strains were drawn by using the dynamic material model (DMM). Based on the processing maps, the proper forging parameters, including a combination of defor-mation temperature and strain rate, vary with the strain in different phases of TC11 alloy.     

Bioleaching of refractory gold ore （ Ⅲ ）——Fluid leaching Jinya refractory gold concentrate by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

A novel fluidized-bed reactor was designed and installed for bloleaching in a semi-continuous way, by which a process for biuleaching-cyanidation of Jinya refractory gold arsenical concentrate was studied. The arsenic extraction rate reaches 82.5 % after 4-day batch biooxidation of the concentrate under the optimized condition of pH 2.0, ferric ion concentration 6.Sg/L and pulp concentration 10%. And leached rate of gold in the following cyanida.tion is over 90%. The parameters of three series fluidized-bed reactors exhibit stability during the semi-continuous bioleaching of the concentrate.Armmic in the concentrate can be got rid of 91% after 6-day leaching. Even after 4 days, 82% of arsenic extraction rate was still obtained. The recovery rates of gold are 92 % and 87.5 % respectively in cyaniding the above bioleached residues.The results will provide a base for further commercial production of gold development.     

First large scale application of novel Si stripixel detector in experiment： Si VTX in PHENIX upgrade at RHIC real large

2D position sensitive, single-sided Si stripixel detector was selected as the one of the two main components of the Si vertex tracker （Si SVX） in the upgraded PHENIX detector at RHIC （relativistic heavy ion collider） in Brookhaven National Laboratory （BNL）. This is the first large scale application of the novel Si stripixel detector in a real large experiment after many years of research and development at BNL. The first and second prototype fabrication runs of the SVX stripixel detectors were carried out successfully in BNL＇s Si detector development and processing Lab. The processing of these stripixel detectors is similar to that for the standard single-sided strip detectors： one-sided processing, single implant for the pixel （strip） electrodes, etc. The only additional processing step is the double metal process, a technology that is simple and well matured by many Si detector processing industries and labs, including BNL. The laser and beam tests on those prototype detectors show the 2D position sensitivity and good position resolution in bothXand U coordinates （about 25 μm for 80 μm pitch）. For the mass production of 400 sensors needed for the Si SVX, the processing technology has been successfully transferred to the industrial： Hamamatsu Photonics （HPK）. HPK has produced a pre-production run of stripixel sensors with the full PHENIX SVX specification on 150 mm diameter wafers. The laser tests on these pre-production wafers show good signal to noise ratio （about 20 ： 1）.