Effect of Different Acids on Rice Husk Calcination and Extraction of Bio-Silica

Silica is an essential material which has many applications in various fields such as construction, catalyst, optical fibers and raw material of metallurgical industry. This work observed the recent trends in silica extraction from agro and natural wastes for high-tech applications. Hence, this work approached in new way for the bio-silica extraction from waste rice husk using HCl, H2SO4 and CH3COOH for the calcination. The results revealed that the effect of pH on ash nature and silica purity. The purity of silica was differed based on metal ions, rice husk ash color and non-combusted carbon. The results were compared with treatment in absence of acid ash using FT-IR, SEM, EDAX and XRD analysis to measure the effect of pH on the bio-silica purity. This work observed the lower carbon content in acid treated ash when compare to water washed rice husk.

The Mathematical Models of the Operation Process for Critical Production Facilities Using Advanced Technologies

The paper presents data on the problems of monitoring and diagnosing the technical conditions of critical production facilities, such as torpedo ladle cars, steel ladles. The accidents with critical production facilities, such as torpedo ladle cars, lead to losses and different types of damages in the metallurgical industry. The paper substantiates the need for a mathematical study of the operation process of the noted critical production facilities. A Markovian graph has been built that describes the states of torpedo ladle cars during their operation. A mathematical model is presented that allows determining the optimal frequency of diagnostics of torpedo ladle cars, which, in contrast to the existing approaches, take into account the procedures for preventive diagnostics of torpedo ladle cars, without taking them out of service. Dependence of the utilization coefficient on the period of diagnostics of PM350t torpedo ladle cars was developed. The results (of determining the optimal period of diagnostics for PM350t torpedo ladle cars) are demonstrated. The system for automated monitoring and diagnosing the technical conditions of torpedo ladle cars, without taking them out of service, has been developed and described.

USE OF THE BMP SYSTEM FOR BLOCKING OF DANGEROUS ENERGIES DURING REALIZATION OF WORKS FROM REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF TECHNIQUE

Creating healthy and safe working conditions is the main task of the employer when performing high-risk work. Practice shows that the cause of accidents during the repair and maintenance of equipment are uncoordinated and erroneous actions of staff, resulting in incorrect supply of hazardous energy to the installation where people work. In order to prevent injuries at metallurgical enterprises there is a need to revise and modernize the existing approach to control the supply of hazardous energy during repairs, improve the current labeling system of access to repairs of technological equipment based on the experience of advanced world technologies. Audit). The BMP system is used to perform maintenance and repair of equipment, as well as any other cases where personnel need to enter the danger zone, and includes not only the actual process of blocking and marking, but also all other activities: documentation, organization of storage and issuance of BMP devices, training and testing of personnel knowledge According to the analysis, the current tag system at the metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine is inferior in efficiency to the BMP system, which allows you to almost completely eliminate the risks associated with the human factor in the repair and maintenance of equipment. The foreign experience of using hazardous energy blocking and labeling systems and the existing legal framework on this issue in Ukraine are analyzed. According to the results of research, the basic principles of using the BMP system at the enterprises of the metallurgical industry are established. The sequence of BMP procedure implementation is offered. The information on the basis of which the BMP map is formed is considered in detail. An important stage in the formation of this map is the assessment of industrial risks of exposure to hazardous energies in the process of repair and maintenance of equipment. The direction of further research on the implementation of the BMP system and the legalization of the BMP standard at the state level is substantiated.

Titanium: An Overview of Resources and Production Methods

For several decades, the metallurgical industry and the research community worldwide have been challenged to develop energy-efficient and low-cost titanium production processes. The expensive and energy-consuming Kroll process produces titanium metal commercially, which is highly matured and optimized. Titanium’s strong affinity for oxygen implies that conventional Ti metal production processes are energy-intensive. Over the past several decades, research and development have been focusing on new processes to replace the Kroll process. Two fundamental groups are categorized for these methods: thermochemical and electrochemical. This literature review gives an insight into the titanium industry, including the titanium resources and processes of production. It focuses on ilmenite as a major source of titanium and some effective methods for producing titanium through extractive metallurgy processes and presents a critical view of the opportunities and challenges.

POSSIBILITIES OF APPLICATION MACHINE LEARNING METHODS IN SOLVING ANALYTICAL PROBLEMS IN METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY

Background. Machine learning is a promising field for organization in the age of development of high-tech methods of management and organization of the company. As a rule, this term is used in relation to artificial intelligence, namely, machines that could learn independently. Thus, the main goal of this work is to assess the prospects for using these methods for solving various problems in a corporation. Methods. The article introduces the main methods of machine learning, their analysis, linear and non-linear learning methods are given, their use in practice is indicated, and the key advantages of using a trained artificial intelligence in a company are identified. Result. As a result, the author proposes ways of using machine learning methods in a firm, analyzes their advantages and disadvantages, identifies the problems of implementing artificial intelligence learning opportunities in practice.

Production of Sustainable Hydrogen and Carbon for the Metallurgical Industry

Hydrogen will presumably become an important substitute for carbon as a reductant in the metallurgical industry for processes such as steel production. However, the challenge to supply enough CO2-free hydrogen for metallurgical processes has not been resolved yet. This paper reviews different production technologies for hydrogen and their advantages and drawbacks. Additionally, it will highlight the development of plasma technology to produce hydrogen and carbon black which has been taking place at SINTEF during the last 30 years.

Application of Artificial Intelligence Technologies to Assess the Quality of Structures

The timeliness of the complex automated diagnostics of the metal condition for all characteristics has been substantiated. An algorithm for the automation of metallographic quality control of metals is proposed and described. It is based on the use of neural networks for recognizing images of metal microstructures and a precedent method for determining the metal grade. An approach to preliminarily process the images of metal microstructures is described. The structure of a neural network has been developed to determine the quantitative characteristics of metals. The results of the functioning of neural networks for determining the quantitative characteristics of metals are presented. The high accuracy of determining the characteristics of metals using neural networks is shown. Software has been developed for the automated recognition of images of metal microstructures, and for the determination of the metal grade. Comparative results of carrying out metallographic analysis with the developed tools are demonstrated. As a result, there is a significant reduction in the time required for analyzing metallographic images, as well as an increase in the accuracy of determining the quantitative characteristics of metals. The study of this problem is important not only in the metallurgical industry, but also in production, the maritime industry, and other engineering fields.

Upscaling Severe Torrefaction of Agricultural Residues to Produce Sustainable Reducing Agents for Non-Ferrous Metallurgy

Torrefaction of almond shells and olive stones, which are typically considered agricultural waste in the southern regions of the European Union, was investigated in this work for application as reducing agents in the metallurgical industry. Four different temperatures were tested: 250, 280, 300 and 350 °C. The evolution of the solid yields with the temperature was determined with TGA measurements. This showed that the duration of torrefaction should not exceed 45 min. The kinetic profiles were successfully fitted using the pseudo-first-order rate equation (PFORE). Then, torrefaction for 45 min was systematically carried out at every temperature and for each resource in a laboratory-scale batch device. The raw and torrefied biomasses were characterized using proximate, ultimate and calorific analyses. The carbon/oxygen ratio and the heating values were increased as a result of the torrefaction severity (from 20 MJ/kg for both raw biomasses to 30 MJ/kg at 350 °C). The highest mass losses were obtained at the highest temperature (67.35 and 65.04 %w for almond shells and olive stones, respectively, at 350 °C). The fixed carbon value also increased, being higher than 67 %w for torrefaction at 350 °C. The large-scale torrefaction at 350 °C (45 min) of these biomasses was carried out in a continuous pilot plant. The solids were characterized as well, and their properties were close to those of the biomasses torrefied in the laboratory-scale batch reactor under the same conditions. This thermal treatment provided biochars with all the required properties to be used as reducing materials in metallurgy.