Froth flotation is the most commonly used process to recover and upgrade the portion of the coal preparation plant feed that has a particle size smaller than 150 microns. Problems that occur when employing froth flotation in the coal industry include i) coal surfaces that are weakly-to-moderately hydrophobic, and ii) flotation systems that are overloaded and limited by insufficient retention time. Research was performed to evaluate techniques that could be implemented to improve flotation performance under the aforementioned scenarios. Pre-aeration of flotation feed using a cavitation system was extensively evaluated in laboratory and full-scale test programs. The benefits of adding hydrophobic, magnetic plastic particles were also investigated to improve froth stability and increase bubble surface area. Laboratory tests revealed that pre-aeration through a cavitation tube improved coal recovery by as much as 20 absolute percentage points in both conventional cells and flotation columns when treating difficult-to-float coals. Carrying capacity increased by 32% which was projected to provide a 4 t/h increase in flotation recovery for a typical 4-m diameter flotation column. Product size analyses suggest that the improved particle recovery was more pronounced for the finest coal fractions as a result of particle agglomeration, resulting from the use of the nucleated air bubbles on the coal surfaces as a bridging medium. In-plant testing of a commercial-scale cavitation system found that feed pre-aeration could reduce collector dosage by 50% when no additional air is added and by 67% when a small amount of air is added to the feed to the cavitation system. At a constant collector dosage, recovery increased by 10 absolute percentage points with cavitation without additional air and 17 absolute points when additional air is provided. The addition of hydrophobic plastic particles to the flotation feed at a 10% concentration by weight was found to substantially improve froth stability thereby elevating the recovery and enhancing carrying-capacity. Test results showed that the primary flotation improvements were directly linked to the coarsest particle size fractions in the plastic material which supports the froth stability hypothesis. Combustible recovery was increased up to 10 percentage points while producing the desired concentrate quality.

<p>Dams that comprise broadly and widely graded glacial materials, such as moraines, have been found to be susceptible to internal erosion, perhaps more than dams of other soil types. Internal erosion washes out fine-grained particles from the filling material; the erosion occurs within the material itself or at an interface to another dam zone, depending on the mode of initiation. Whether or not internal erosion proceeds depend on the adequacy of the filter material. If internal erosion is allowed, it may manifest itself as sinkholes on the crest, increased leakage and muddy seepage once it surfaces, which here is called surfacing internal erosion (i.e. internal erosion in the excessive erosion or continuation phase). In spite of significant developments since the 1980s in the field of internal erosion assessment, the validity of methods developed by others on broadly graded materials are still less clear because most available criteria are based on tests of narrowly graded granular soils. This thesis specifically addresses dams that are composed of broadly graded glacial soils and investigates typical indicators, signs and behaviors of internal erosion prone dams. Based on a review of 90+ existing moraine core dams, which are located mainly in Scandinavia as well as North America and Australia/New Zealand, this thesis will show that not only the filter’s coarseness needs to be reviewed when assessing the potential for internal erosion to surface (i.e., erosion in the excessive or continuing phase); in addition, the grading stability of the filter and the core material as well as non-homogeneities that are caused by filter segregation need to be studied. Cross-referencing between these aspects improves the assessment of potential for internal erosion in dams of broadly graded soils and furthermore it provides aid-to-judgment.</p> / QC 20100715

<p>Mine waste from Ljusnarsbergsfältet in Kopparberg, Sweden, is considered to constitute a great risk for human health and the surrounding environment. Some of the waste rock consists of sulphide minerals. When sulphide minerals come into contact with dissolved oxygen and precipitation, oxidation may occur resulting in acid mine drainage (AMD) and the release of heavy metals. The purpose of this study has been to characterise the waste material and try to chemically stabilize the waste rock with a mixture of sewage sludge and calcium carbonate. The drawback of using organic matter is the risk that dissolved organic matter can act as a complexing agent for heavy metals and in this way increase their mobility. An additional study to examine this risk has therefore also been performed.</p><p>The project started with a pilot study in order to identify the material fraction that was suitable for the experiment. When suitable material had been chosen, a column test was carried out for the purpose of studying the slurry’s influence on the mobility of metals along with the production of acidity. To clarify the organic material’s potential for complexation a pH-stat batch test was used. Drainage water samples, from the columns, were regularly taken during the experiment. These samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, redox potential, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulphate and leaching metals. The effluent from the pH-stat-test were only analysed on a few occasions and only for metal content and change in DOC concentration.</p><p>The results from the laboratory experiments showed that the waste rock from Ljusnarsberg easily leached large amounts of metals. The stabilization of the waste rock succeeded in maintaining a near neutral pH in the rock waste leachate, compared to a pH 3 leachate from untreated rock waste The average concentration of copper and zinc in the leachate from untreated waste rock exceeded 100 and 1000 mg/l respectively, while these metals were detected at concentrations around 0.1 and 1 mg/l, respectively, in the leachate from the treated wastes. Examined metals had concentrations between 40 to 4000 times lower in the leachate from treated waste rock, which implies that the stabilisation with reactive amendments succeeded. The long term effects are, however, not determined. The added sludge contributed to immobilise metals at neutral pH despite a small increase in DOC concentration. The problem with adding sludge is that if pH decreases with time there is a risk of increased metal leaching.</p> / <p>Gruvavfallet från Ljusnarsbergsfältet i Kopparberg anses utgöra en stor risk för människors hälsa och den omgivande miljön. En del av varpmaterialet, ofyndigt berg som blir över vid malmbrytning, utgörs av sulfidhaltigt mineral. Då varpen exponeras för luft och nederbörd sker en oxidation av sulfiderna, vilket kan ge upphov till surt lakvatten och läckage av tungmetaller. Syftet med arbetet har varit att karaktärisera varpen och försöka stabilisera den med en blandning bestående av mesakalk och avloppsslam, samt att undersöka risken med det lösta organiska materialets förmåga att komplexbinda metaller och på så vis öka deras rörlighet.</p><p>Efter insamling av varpmaterial utfördes först en förstudie för att avgöra vilken fraktion av varpen som var lämplig för försöket. När lämpligt material valts ut utfördes kolonntest för att studera slam/kalk-blandningens inverkan på lakning av metaller, samt pH-statiskt skaktest för att bedöma komplexbildningspotentialen hos det organiska materialet vid olika pH värden. Från kolonnerna togs lakvattenprover kontinuerligt ut under försökets gång för analys med avseende på pH, konduktivitet, alkalinitet, redoxpotential, löst organiskt kol (DOC), sulfat och utlakade metaller. Lakvattnet från pH-stat-testet provtogs vid ett fåtal tillfällen och analyserades endast med avseende på metallhalter och förändring i DOC-halt.</p><p>Resultatet från den laborativa studien visade att varpmaterialet från Ljusnarsberg lätt lakades på stora mängder metaller. Den reaktiva tillsatsen lyckades uppbringa ett neutralt pH i lakvattnet från avfallet, vilket kan jämföras med lakvattnet från den obehandlade kolonnen som låg på ett pH kring 3. Medelhalten av koppar och zink översteg under försöksperioden 100 respektive 1000 mg/l i lakvattnet från det obehandlade avfallet, medan halterna i det behandlade materialets lakvatten låg kring 0,1 respektive 1 mg/l. Av de studerade metallerna låg halterna 40-4000 gånger lägre i lakvattnet från den behandlade kolonnen, vilket innebär att slam/kalk-blandningen har haft verkan. Stabiliseringens långtidseffekt är dock okänd. Det tillsatta slammet resulterade inte i någon större ökning av DOC-halten i det pH-intervall som åstadkoms med mesakalken. Utifrån pH-stat-försöket kunde det konstateras att det tillsatta slammet bidrog till metallernas immobilisering vid neutralt pH, trots en liten ökning av DOC-halten. Om en sänkning av pH skulle ske med tidens gång föreligger dock risk för ökat metalläckage.</p>

Climate change is emerging as a significant challenge in terms of the response needed to mitigate or adapt to the predicted global changes. Severe impacts due to rising sea-level, seasonal shifts, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as storms, floods or droughts have become accepted by the scientific community as a real and present threat to civilisation. The most significant impacts are expected in the Arctic, the Asian mega-deltas, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and sub-Saharan Africa (IPCC 2007). There are two approaches to global climate change either mitigation or adaptation. This dissertation aims to provide the initial design concepts for a system to mitigate methane, a significant Greenhouse Gas (GHG), emitted from coalmines by ventilation air circulated through the underground workings. The VamTurBurner©, a Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) gas turbine based methane burning system, is proposed as a method of extracting the thermal energy from the VAM. A key aspect of the problem responsible for the difficulty in extracting the energy from VAM is the low concentration of methane in the high volume ventilation airflow. This approach recasts the concepts of combustion dynamics of a premixed fuel flow to that expected for VAM to ascertain the conditions conducive to combustion or oxidation of the methane in the ventilation air. A numerical model using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to study the combustion dynamics revealed that the temperature of the incoming ventilation air is a key variable related to the concentration of the VAM. Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling was used to study the design features needed to engineer a system capable of providing the required temperature of the incoming ventilation air. Applications for the available thermal energy are discussed in terms of the potential to generate electricity with steam turbines, provide space heating, produce hot water for many uses, and use the heat for industrial drying or as desired. The efficiency of the energy system is enhanced when the output from the amount of natural gas or electricity purchased is compared to the output enhanced by the addition of methane, considered as free. The VamTurBurner© concept, as described in this dissertation, appears to be a viable method of mitigating atmospheric methane in the pursuit greenhouse gas reduction.

Este trabalho começa abordando os aspectos estudados: visualização e gerenciamento de informações. Verifica-se hoje que uma das grandes dificuldades com eles é conseguir-se uma visão integrada de todas as atividades de uma empresa, especialmente nas de grande porte, bem como se manter dados precisos e atualizados sempre à disposição, para que se consiga identificar com rapidez possíveis erros e soluções. Estuda-se a utilização de conceitos de mapeamento de processos e de realidade virtual nas áreas de mineração e petrolífera - incluindo um breve histórico e exemplos de aplicações - para suprir estas dificuldades. Descreve-se, a seguir, os objetivos do trabalho, que envolvem o desenvolvimento de um modelo de integração de informações para as duas áreas citadas, além da análise dos benefícios inerentes ao acesso gráfico a repositórios centrais de dados. Parte-se de uma revisão bibliográfica relacionada aos problemas e soluções analisados, e de uma metodologia de trabalho adequada ao tema proposto, baseada em observação, entrevistas e análises com profissionais dos setores envolvidos. Passa-se para o estudo de caso da mina Rio das Pedras, da empresa PETROBRAS, em São Mateus do Sul, PR, que explora folhelhos para obtenção de óleo, escolhida para este estudo por envolver simultaneamente mineração e petróleo, focos dessa tese. Obteve-se diversos resultados, atendendo aos objetivos propostos. Foi desenvolvido um modelo de gerenciamento integrado de informações. Para isso, foi criado um diagrama representando a cadeia de valor de petróleo e foram mapeadas as atividades principais dessa cadeia, bem como as da mineração. Também foram criados modelos, com o auxílio de avançadas ferramentas computacionais, para uso de realidade virtual, além de um roteiro para implantação destes modelos. Estes resultados foram sendo divulgados ao longo deste projeto em diversos eventos, incluindo o Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference, em 2006 e o SIAEM, em 2004. Ao final, observou-se que há a possibilidade de uma boa integração dentro de cada setor, de mineração e petrolífero, e até a integração dos dois setores em alguns aspectos comuns a ambos, permitindo maior facilidade na obtenção de dados e na tomada de decisão. Com isso, verifica-se que essa tecnologia pode trazer melhorias importantes para os setores envolvidos, e muito pode ser feito para desenvolvê-la ainda mais. / This thesis starts by identifying the key issues of the research: visualization and management of information. It is widely known that one of the most common difficulties in information management is to obtain a complete and integrated view of all the company processes and activities. Another common difficulty is to maintain the necessary data always precise, updated and available to whoever needs them, so that it will be possible for the user to identify discrepancies right at the beginning and to immediately visualize the most appropriate solutions for each case. Evaluating the use of process mapping and virtual reality applied to the mining and petroleum industry - including a brief historical background and examples of applications - it is verified how these technologies can help to solve the problems identified. This thesis describes then the research objectives, which are based on developing a model suited for the integration of information in the mining and oil industry. The integration between mine planning and operation, and between oil exploration and production, together with the analysis of the benefits of a central graphical database, are also included. The thesis includes a bibliographic review, related to the problems and solutions analyzed, and also the methodology that has been developed, including observation, interviews, discussions, and analysis with professionals from the mining and petroleum industry. The thesis uses as a case study the oil shale mine Rio das Pedras (a mine from PETROBRAS, in São Mateus do Sul, Paraná). A brief description of this mine, and the reasons for its use on this study, related to the fact that it combines oil and mining engineering, are also presented here. The results of the research includes the development of an information management model, an oil production chain model, and models for processes mapping and virtual reality. These results were presented at international events like Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference, in 2006, and SIAEM, in 2004. Through the simulation of basic operations, as ore transport to the plant, and with the aid of the most advanced software tools available, it was verified how the data could be easily obtained, and how these technologies could be improved - it is already possible to integrate some mining and oil industry aspects - with a quite favorable forecast for its future use in several applications in the mining and petroleum industry.

This thesis presents computational work on the structures, characterisation and optical properties of homogeneous gold nanoclusters, and gold-containing bimetallic nanoalloys. An introductory overview of nanoscience is followed by four results chapters in which various computational methods are applied to elucidate properties that are not fully understood; from these results areas for future development, and application, are identifed. Chapter 2 looks at structural motif preference as a function of composition and size for Au and Pd. Bimetallic (AuPd)_N particles are further studied, with thermodynamic preference found for Au_shellPd_core configurations with a monolayer Au shell. Chapter 3 discusses the development and implementation of a genetic algorithm designed to aid the determination of the structures of small nanoclusters from images taken with a scanning transmission electron microscope. The implementation of a search method proves efficient at identifying high-symmetry test clusters, and shows promise for further application to the identification of cluster structure from experimental images. Chapter 4 contains a first-principles study of Au₁₆ deposited on a graphite substrate. We introduce surface defects to see their influence on the nanocluster structure, as well as testing for potential catalytic applications. Finally, Chapter 5 looks at the optical response of monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles. Surface plasmon resonance spectra are calculated for a variety of geometries, compositions and chemical ordering. The greatest influence on the extinction spectra is attributed to the particle shape and its environment.

Hospital-acquired infections, a large proportion of which are derived from contact transmission, represent a massive global challenge. It has been proved that surface modification of biomaterials with Ag or Cu has evolved as a potentially effective method for preventing bacterial proliferation on the devices surfaces. However, thin antimicrobial coatings on materials such as austenitic stainless steels can be easily worn and removed in relative motion with other surfaces. The purpose of this study is to develop multi-functional stainless steel surfaces which combine greatly improved wear resistance, at least maintain corrosion resistance and provide long-lasting, high efficacy, antimicrobial effects. In this thesis a series of surface engineering technologies, including active screen co-alloying, active screen plasma duplex alloying and double glow plus active screen duplex plasma alloying, were developed for surface alloying stainless steel with Ag or Cu and N; the phase constitution, microstructure, composition, and surface roughness of the alloyed surfaces were fully characterized, and the surface hardness, wear resistance, bonding strength, antimicrobial efficiency and corrosion behaviour of the treated surfaces were evaluated. In addition, further inspection of the wear mechanisms and corrosion mechanisms were conducted on post-exposure surfaces. It was found that the adhesive wear mechanism of austenite can be reduced by this alloying combination and the wear resistance was improved by up to 1000 times, and the Ag/Cu alloyed surface was bactericidal and growth-inhibitive for many pathogens including E. coli NCTC 10418 and S. epidermidis NCTC 11047 effectively up to 99%/6h. The mechanism of bactericidal efficiency of Ag/Cu is found dependent on the structure of the bacterial membrane and a higher efficiency of antibacterial agents is found associated with the higher elemental concentration of copper and silver. With regard to corrosion, it is affected largely by the configuration of surface structure and several corrosion mechanisms were evolved. One principal conclusion was that it is feasible to generate long lasting antimicrobial stainless steel surface to fulfil growing demands from industry for practically robust multifunctional medical device surfaces.

In recent years, it has been recognised that a better understanding of processes involving particulate material is necessary to improve manufacturing capabilities and product quality. The use of Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) for more complicated particulate systems has increased concordantly with hardware and code developments, making this tool more accessible to industry. The principal aim of this project was to study DEM capabilities and limitations with the final goal of applying the technique to relevant Johnson Matthey operations. This work challenged the DEM numerical technique by modelling a mixer with a complex motion, the Turbula mixer. The simulations revealed an unexpected trend for rate of mixing with speed, initially decreasing between 23 rpm and 46 rpm, then increasing between 46 rpm and 69 rpm. The DEM results were qualitatively validated with measurements from Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT), which revealed a similar pattern regarding the mixing behaviour for a similar system. The effect of particle size and speed on segregation were also shown, confirming comparable results observed in the literature. Overall, the findings illustrated that DEM could be an effective tool for modelling and improving processes related to particulate material.

Active Screen Plasma Nitriding (ASPN) is a novel surface engineering technique, the main advantage of which is the capacity to treat homogeneously all kind of materials surfaces of any shape. Here, ASPN is used to modify the surface properties of ionomer glasses and polymers in order to improve the surface cellular compatibility of these materials. A conventional DC nitriding unit has been used together with an AS experimental arrangement. The materials that were treated were an ionomer glass composition and UHMWPE. All treated/untreated samples were seeded with the 3T3 fibroblasts. In order to identify the effect of the plasma treatment, chemical and mechanical properties characterization was conducted. For the cellular samples, SEM, Interferometry, AFM and MTT assay were conducted in order to observe cells’ behavior on the untreated and treated materials. The inert surface of the untreated glass showed good interaction with fibroblasts only after the ASPN treatment which resulted in enhanced fibroblasts attachment and proliferation. The treatment temperature, the length of treatment and the presence of nitrogen had an influence on the surface properties of glass. UHMWPE treated samples chemical characterization showed the formation of C-N and N-H groups resulting in an increase of the functionality of treated surfaces. 3T3 fibroblasts cell culture studies showed that the ASPN treatment had a positive effect on the adhesion and proliferation of cells according to the time of treatment and the increase of the nitrogen concentration in the gas mixture. As a conclusion ASPN treatment can be a very effective method to modify inorganic and organic polymeric surfaces in order to improve cellular compatibility.

The stability of the high-walls is one of the major concerns for open pit mines. Among the various factors affecting the stability of high-walls, blast vibrations can be an important one. In general, worldwide the established respective government regulations and industry standards are used as guidance to determine the maximum recommended levels of the peak particle velocity and frequency from the blast to avoid any effects on the structures around the mining project. However, most of the regulations are meant for buildings or houses and do not concern high-walls. This thesis investigates the response of high-walls under the effects of vibrations from mine blasting. In this research, the relationship between the high-wall response, the geometry of the slope, the frequency and the amplitude, of the ground vibration produced by blasting, is explored using numerical models in 3DEC. The numerical models were calibrated initially with data collected using seismographs installed in a surface mine operation and recording vibrations produced by an underground mine drill and blast operation. Once the calibration was accomplished, a parametric study was developed to explore the relationships between various parameters under study and its impact on the stability of high-walls.