Flowsheet Options for Cobalt Recovery in African Copper–cobalt Hydrometallurgy Circuits

The price of cobalt has increased by some 450% in the past two years, mainly due to increasing demand for lithium–ion batteries. With an official 2017 production of 64 kt, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces more than half of the world’s cobalt. African Copperbelt operations have traditionally focused on copper production; however, it has now become imperative to also consider cobalt recovery from these ores. A plethora of processing routes is possible. Most hydrometallurgical flowsheets recover cobalt from the raffinate of the low-grade copper solvent-extraction circuit. Downstream purification processes include sequential precipitation with a variety of reagents, solvent extraction, and ion exchange. Product choices include hydroxide, carbonate, sulfate, and metal cathode. This study assesses technical and economic advantages and limitations of various approaches to the hydrometallurgical processing of cobalt in an African context.     

西气东输对南水北调穿黄隧洞影响动力分析计算

西气东输管线距离南水北调工程穿黄河隧道的最近距离:河漫滩仅150 m,主河槽仅205 m.输气管线在运行过程中,存在着因误操作、管道腐蚀、自然灾害或人为破坏等因素引发事故发生爆炸的可能.对深泓区穿黄隧洞地下部分在天然气爆炸冲击波作用下的安全性进行动力分析计算,认为西气东输管道破裂引起的天然气爆炸,不会对南水北调输水隧洞产生破坏影响.     

黄河黑山峡河段大柳树水库比小观音水库原始库容多40亿m3的作用

一级开发大柳树高坝原始库容比二级开发小观音高坝多 4 0亿m3 ,库容大带来的好处体现在 5～ 7月可多向下游增供水量 ,缓解下游河道断流 ;延长泄放清水时间 ;增加发电效益 ;满足宁蒙河段防凌要求 ;增加汛期集中泄水 ,减缓下游河道淤积萎缩 ;满足南水北调西线工程水量调节要求等。为了更好优化配置黄河水资源 ,从全局和长远利益考虑 ,应采用一级开发方案 ,修建大柳树高坝大库     

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白马庙气田蓬莱镇气藏储层致密 ,孔隙结构复杂 ,非均质性强 ,单井产能低 ,研究储层特征和受控因素 ,加强储层改造方是气藏效益开发的出路。储层精细研究揭示 ,气井产能受沉积相和构造条件控制 ;高、中产井与大而厚、物性好的河口坝、河道砂坝沉积微相有关 ,纵向上具很强的层段性 ,主产层集中在Ⅳ～③、Ⅲ～③两套砂组 ,其钻探成功率分别达 82 %和 10 0 % ;平面上多分布于主体构造和东南鼻状突起 ,二者高、中产能井分别占 30 %和 70 %。在深入的地质研究和储层压裂评层选井的基础上 ,采用多层打开、分层压裂、多层合采的方法可提高气井产能 ,并形成了一套行之有效的压裂评层选井的综合配套技术。采用该技术优选出 19口井 ,已实施 5口井全获成功 ,气产量成倍或十几倍增加 ,其中白浅 4 5井气无阻流量高达 18× 10 4m3 /d ,白浅 38井投产 16 5d净增产值 10 0余万元     

A preliminary analysis of the biomass energy production potential in Africa in 2025 considering projected land needs for food production

This paper provides a preliminary examination of present and projected land use in Africa to estimate the potential availability of land in 2025 for use in producing biomass energy. Fifty countries are included in the analysis. Future cropland requirements are projected on the basis of average African cereal crop yield improvements since 1972, and minimum nutritional requirements are assumed to be met in 2025 without increasing imports above present absolute levels. Cropland, natural forests and other wilderness areas are excluded from consideration for biomass energy use. Woody biomass energy yields are estimated on the basis of nationally averaged precipitation, using a yield-precipitation correlation for commercial eucalyptus plantations in Brazil. The total African bioenergy production potential in 2025 is estimated to be about 18 EJ per year for a set of baseline assumptions that includes planting only 10% of the available non-crop, non-forest, non-wilderness area with biomass energy crops. A preliminary cost assessment suggests that much of this biomass could be produced for $1–2 GJ⁻¹. A number of uncertainties in the modelling assumptions are examined through a sensitivity analysis. Despite limitations in the model used here, one robust conclusion is that Africa as a whole has a significant biophysical potential for producing biomass energy. This result suggests that more detailed country and sub-country level assessments would be worthwhile to understand better the practical prospects for future biomass energy production in Africa.     

Lake-Level Change and Water Balance Analysis at Lake Qinghai,West China during Recent Decades

Lake Qinghai, the largest saline lake with an area of 4,260 km² (2000) and average depth of 21 m (1985) in West China, has experienced severe decline in water level in recent decades. This study aimed to investigate water balance of the lake and identify the causes for the decline in lake level. There was a 3.35-m decline in water level with an average decreasing rate of 8.0 cm year⁻¹ between 1959 and 2000. The lake water balance showed that mean annual precipitation between 1959 and 2000 over the lake was 357 ± 10 mm, evaporation was 924 ± 10 mm, surface runoff water inflow was 348 ± 21 mm, groundwater inflow was 138 mm ± 9 and the change in lake level was −80 ± 31 mm. The variation of lake level was highly positively correlated to surface runoff and precipitation and negatively to evaporation, the correlation coefficients were 0.89, 0.81 and −0.66, respectively. Water consumption by human activities accounts for 1% of the evaporation loss of the lake, implying that water consumption by human activities has little effect on lake level decline. Most dramatic decline in lake level occurred in the warm and dry years, and moderate decline in the cold and dry years, and relatively slight decline in the warm and wet years, therefore, the trend of cold/warm and dry climate in recent decades may be the main reasons for the decline in lake level.     

线缆护套材料在我国西部环境中的试验研究

本文通过对线缆外护套材料在我国西部地区严酷环境试验站中土壤和大气1～5年的试验结果分析，总结了塑料护套材料的耐蚀性能。为线缆护套的防护设计、合理选材及制定标准提供科学依据。     

注凝析油开采稠油的地质工艺

在西西伯利亚俄罗斯油田开展了注凝析油开发稠油的研究，现场实验结果表明，注入25%的凝析油，可使其混合液粘度达到原高粘油粘度的1/60，以俄罗斯油田为例，探讨了注凝析油矿场试验的可行性，预测了凝析油的用量和可能产出的油量，并对原油外输提出了一系列更换工艺设备的要求。     

Corrosion Condition Evaluation at Muddy Creek Bridge

Corrosion rates were measured at the exposed spots of rebars near three corners of Muddy Creek Bridge located in northern West Virginia using a 3LP device. Also, chloride contents of the concrete samples taken from the vicinity of the spots were analyzed using a wet chemical method that had been developed in this study. The average corrosion rate over the three spots was 4.66 mA/m2, which is in the range of corrosion damage possible in 10–15 years. The average chloride content of the concrete over the three spots was 703 parts per million (ppm), which is well above the threshold limit value of 260 ppm. Although the corrosion rate measurement method using a 3LP device is by manual operation, it is found to be reliable and effective, and, thus, recommended for future studies of this kind of research. The wet chemical method developed in this study is found to be effective.     

Decision support for AIDS control programmes in Eastern Africa

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) constitutes the worst hazard to health care systems in Eastern Africa. Misallocation of scarce resources of AIDS Control Programmes will unavoidably lead to additional infections and casualties. The following paper discusses a system dynamics model which allows to assess the impact of different interventions on a pattern population in Eastern Africa. It becomes obvious that short- and long-term consequences of these programmes differ significantly. The optimal allocation of resources, therefore, is highly complex and calls for decision support systems to sustain AIDS control programmes.