Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775721
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
Near Net Shaped Casting and Alloy Development Facility. Nearly all metal production is based around an initial casting phase, often followed by other deformation and thermal processes. This facility will allow us to study current and future advanced alloys and processing routes, including metals of strategic importance to Australia such as aluminium, titanium and magnesium. One of the major innovations for these metals is to directly cast to strip, followed by minimal processing to provide str ....Near Net Shaped Casting and Alloy Development Facility. Nearly all metal production is based around an initial casting phase, often followed by other deformation and thermal processes. This facility will allow us to study current and future advanced alloys and processing routes, including metals of strategic importance to Australia such as aluminium, titanium and magnesium. One of the major innovations for these metals is to directly cast to strip, followed by minimal processing to provide strip products with novel properties, low capital costs and short lead times. The outcomes from this research will support the development of existing and new metal industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Carbothermal synthesis of titanium carbide. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of carbothermal reduction of titania and ilmenite for titanium carbide production. The projects findings will be of importance to improving the efficiency of carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to the development of titanium industry in Australia.
Australia is the world largest producer of rutile and ilmenite, which are mainly s ....Carbothermal synthesis of titanium carbide. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of carbothermal reduction of titania and ilmenite for titanium carbide production. The projects findings will be of importance to improving the efficiency of carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to the development of titanium industry in Australia.
Australia is the world largest producer of rutile and ilmenite, which are mainly sold overseas and partly processed to titania pigment. Development of the cost-efficient technology for titanium carbide will stimulate a domestic production of this advanced material, what will add enormously to the value of titanium minerals.Read moreRead less
Utilisation of manganese sludge in production of manganese alloys. Australia possesses one of the world's best deposits of manganese ore, and has the potential to increase production of manganese alloys. This depends strongly on the competitiveness of Australian manganese industry. Deposition of manganese sludge, which is formed in ferroalloy furnaces, in fume dams in Bell Bay is costly, occupies valuable land, and causes an environmental concern. Utilisation of manganese sludge back into ferroa ....Utilisation of manganese sludge in production of manganese alloys. Australia possesses one of the world's best deposits of manganese ore, and has the potential to increase production of manganese alloys. This depends strongly on the competitiveness of Australian manganese industry. Deposition of manganese sludge, which is formed in ferroalloy furnaces, in fume dams in Bell Bay is costly, occupies valuable land, and causes an environmental concern. Utilisation of manganese sludge back into ferroalloy furnace will make operation of Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company more efficient, sustainable and will stimulate further development of manganese industry in Australia. Read moreRead less
A study of wettability and reduction behaviour in carbothermal production of manganese alloys. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of reactions between carbonaceous materials and molten slag relevant to carbothermal reduction of manganese ore. It will be achieved through experimental study of dynamic wettability and interfacial properties of the carbon - slag system for variety of carbonaceous materials and slag compositions. Reduction behaviour of different ma ....A study of wettability and reduction behaviour in carbothermal production of manganese alloys. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of reactions between carbonaceous materials and molten slag relevant to carbothermal reduction of manganese ore. It will be achieved through experimental study of dynamic wettability and interfacial properties of the carbon - slag system for variety of carbonaceous materials and slag compositions. Reduction behaviour of different manganese ores will also be examined in conjunction with the wettability study. The projects findings will be of importance to carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to further development of the manganese alloys industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of carbonaceous materials in production of manganese alloys. Optimisation of the carbonaceous materials feedstock in production of manganese alloys will increase energy efficiency and decrease environmental impact in operation of submerged electric arc furnace. Currently, Australia processes domestically only about 25% of produced manganese ore, while 75% is sold as raw material. Increase in production of manganese alloys will add value to the products and create additional empl ....Characterisation of carbonaceous materials in production of manganese alloys. Optimisation of the carbonaceous materials feedstock in production of manganese alloys will increase energy efficiency and decrease environmental impact in operation of submerged electric arc furnace. Currently, Australia processes domestically only about 25% of produced manganese ore, while 75% is sold as raw material. Increase in production of manganese alloys will add value to the products and create additional employment opportunities, what will be beneficial to the Australian economy. The project will also contribute to further understanding of behaviour of coals in pyrometallurgical processes what will be beneficial to coal industry.Read moreRead less
A Novel Approach to Processing of Australian Laterite Ores through Selective Reduction and Carbonylation. Processing of laterite ores, started in 1998 in Australia, has significantly enhanced Australian role on the international nickel market. However, the production of nickel from oxide ores by established technologies consumes two to three times energy as processing of sulphide ores with significant environmental impact. This underlines the importance of development of more energy efficient pr ....A Novel Approach to Processing of Australian Laterite Ores through Selective Reduction and Carbonylation. Processing of laterite ores, started in 1998 in Australia, has significantly enhanced Australian role on the international nickel market. However, the production of nickel from oxide ores by established technologies consumes two to three times energy as processing of sulphide ores with significant environmental impact. This underlines the importance of development of more energy efficient processes for oxide ores. The proposed technology will significantly decrease energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions in nickel production. It will enhance the competitiveness of Australian Nickel Industry and stimulate its expansion with significant economy and social benefits.Read moreRead less
The Fundamentals of Liquid Flow Through A Reactive Packed Bed. A new and improved understanding of reactions that occur between liquids and coke in the lower zone of the blast furnace will enable ironmaking process optimization, and result in a significant reduction in carbon usage. This will decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The results will benefit metal refiners and associated support industries that utilize coal or coke in their process. Process optimization also helps to ensu ....The Fundamentals of Liquid Flow Through A Reactive Packed Bed. A new and improved understanding of reactions that occur between liquids and coke in the lower zone of the blast furnace will enable ironmaking process optimization, and result in a significant reduction in carbon usage. This will decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The results will benefit metal refiners and associated support industries that utilize coal or coke in their process. Process optimization also helps to ensure that Australia's vitally important steel industry remains internationally competitive, able to provide both quality steel for domestic and export markets and employment for thousands of Australians.Read moreRead less
Insoluble Oxide Product Formation and its Effect on Coke Dissolution in Liquid Iron. This investigation addresses the key issue of the effect of oxide formation on coke dissolution during ironmaking. A fundamental understanding of the nature of the oxide layer and its penetration by liquid metal is critical to the optimization of both traditional and new ironmaking technologies. The project will obtain kinetic data that will be used in process models to improve productivity, reduce coke consump ....Insoluble Oxide Product Formation and its Effect on Coke Dissolution in Liquid Iron. This investigation addresses the key issue of the effect of oxide formation on coke dissolution during ironmaking. A fundamental understanding of the nature of the oxide layer and its penetration by liquid metal is critical to the optimization of both traditional and new ironmaking technologies. The project will obtain kinetic data that will be used in process models to improve productivity, reduce coke consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This knowledge is particularly important for maintaining the competitiveness of Australian iron producers due to the high refractory oxide content of local coking coals.Read moreRead less
Development and Use of Ionic Liquids in Metal Recovery from Ores, Concentrates and Mattes. Ionic liquids, which are liquid over a wide temperature range and can dissolve a wide range of solutes to high concentrations, promise new and yet unexplored approaches in processing ores. We aim to prepare ionic liquids and apply these to increase the intensity of copper and gold sulfide processing, and to explore more efficient separation of platinum group metals from mattes. New oxidative leaching techn ....Development and Use of Ionic Liquids in Metal Recovery from Ores, Concentrates and Mattes. Ionic liquids, which are liquid over a wide temperature range and can dissolve a wide range of solutes to high concentrations, promise new and yet unexplored approaches in processing ores. We aim to prepare ionic liquids and apply these to increase the intensity of copper and gold sulfide processing, and to explore more efficient separation of platinum group metals from mattes. New oxidative leaching techniques will be developed to diminish ore passivation and enhance recovery; high current electrowinning of copper in ionic liquids will be probed. Evolving technology should yield economic and environmental benefits for a nationally important industry.Read moreRead less
Competitive nucleation and growth during rapid solidification of steel. This research will assist in maintaining Australia at the forefront of research into strip casting of steel. Fundamental understanding and new modelling capabilities will help to promote the take-up of this energy/emission/cost efficient revolutionary process. It will furthermore provide, through the development of a novel experimental technique, new research capabilities for Australian researchers in other fields such as ra ....Competitive nucleation and growth during rapid solidification of steel. This research will assist in maintaining Australia at the forefront of research into strip casting of steel. Fundamental understanding and new modelling capabilities will help to promote the take-up of this energy/emission/cost efficient revolutionary process. It will furthermore provide, through the development of a novel experimental technique, new research capabilities for Australian researchers in other fields such as rapid solidification of advanced materials, e.g. hard magnets and thermoelectric alloys.Read moreRead less