Metallurgical Processes (UoA)

This course aims to provide the Chemical Engineering students with an understanding of metallurgy techniques that are used in the processing of minerals. The course provides an introduction to the thermodynamics of pyrometallurgical processes including predominance area and Ellingham diagrams and the physical chemistry and transport phenomena involved in a number of pyrometallurgical unit operations including, agglomeration, roasting, smelting, thermal and electrolytic refining. The course covers the processes used in zinc roasting, copper smelting and refining, iron and steel making, lead smelting and refining, nickel smelting, aluminium production, synthetic rutile and titanium production. At the end of this course you should be able to undertake a range of pyro-metallurgical calculations and have an appreciation of the wide range of thermal processes used to extract useful metals and minerals from their ores. The main topics covered in hydrometallurgy include acid, alkaline and pressure leaching, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of leaching, purification of leach liquors by ion exchange, solvent extraction, adsorption using activated carbon, selective precipitation operations, and solid-liquid separation techniques. Several practical processes are studied including heap and tank leaching, copper extraction, nickel, zinc, cobalt, gold and uranium processing etc. The main topics in electrometallurgy include Pourbaix diagrams, recovery of metal values by cementation, electrowinning and refining from aqueous solutions, electrolyte preparation, cell potential, effect of additives, aluminium smelting from molten salt electrolytes, design of electrochemical reactors and application of processes for the recovery of copper, zinc, gold and aluminium. At the end of this course you should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the key factors that govern the successful operation of metallurgical processes in the minerals industry.