Thesis (B.S.)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1905. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Illustrated by author. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed November 19, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-25).

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Chimie organique, minérale et industrielle : Poitiers : 2008. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. [173] réf.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2003. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Science and Engineering. Bibliography: leaves 190-209.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1970. / Mimeographed.

Actuellement, les supercondensateurs sont au centre de beaucoup de recherches. Ils offrent une solution potentielle pour le stockage réversible de l´énergie que ce soit pour le domaine spatial, aéronautique ou encore le transport (véhicules hybrides). Un axe de recherche important, visant à augmenter les densités d'énergie et de puissance, est consacré aux systèmes oxydes de métaux de transition /charbon actif (C) asymétriques. Les systèmes à base de RuO2 présentent les capacités les plus élevées, supérieures à 700 F/g, mais leur coût et leur toxicité limitent leur application aux petits appareils électroniques. Des oxydes moins coûteux tels que les oxydes de cobalt (notamment Co3O4), MnO2, V2O5, Fe3O4, NiO, Ni(OH)2, ainsi que des polymères conducteurs électroniques, ont été étudiés de manière approfondie au cours des dernières décennies jusqu’à être utilisés, pour certains, dans des dispositifs commerciaux. Mais aucun système n’a été aussi étudié que le C / MnO2. En effet, il a été démontré que ce dernier est particulièrement intéressant car il peut fonctionner dans des milieux aqueux à des tensions pouvant aller jusqu’à 2V tout en gardant une bonne stabilité électrochimique durant le vieillissement. Néanmoins, les performances du système, en particulier en termes de densité de puissance, sont limitées à cause de la mauvaise conductivité électronique du MnO2. Il est possible de surmonter ce problème en ajoutant à l’oxyde de manganèse, des matériaux conducteurs à base de carbone (noir de carbone, nanotubes de carbone…) ou encore, en développant des stratégies de greffage ou de décoration plus élaborées. La combinaison d’oxydes avec des espèces carbonées est très largement rapportée dans la littérature alors que le mélange d’oxydes de différente nature l’est beaucoup moins. Nous proposons dans ce projet de synthétiser et de développer des matériaux originaux améliorant, par un effet synergique, les propriétés intéressantes du manganèse, du cobalt et de l'oxyde / hydroxyde de nickel. Les inconvénients de chaque composant étant compensés par les bonnes propriétés complémentaires des autres. Nous cherchons à réunir en un seul matériau (ou composite), le bon comportement pseudocapacitif du manganèse, la bonne conductivité électronique associée aux oxydes de cobalt, la grande capacité de l'hydroxyde de nickel ainsi que les propriétés de conduction du carbone. Ce projet de doctorat vise à concevoir et à fabriquer de nouvelles classes d'électrodes composites hybrides basées sur des assemblages de graphène (pour la capacitance renforcée à double couche) et d'oxydes poreux de métaux de transition (pour une capacité faradique supplémentaire due à de multiples processus rédox réversibles). Les avantages combinés du graphène et des oxydes de métaux de transition permettront aux supercondensateurs à haute densité d'énergie de travailler dans des électrolytes aqueux respectueux de l'environnement ce qui est, aujourd’hui, un besoin reconnu. / Supercapacitors are the focus of much research at the present time. They offer a potential solution for reversible energy storage in the fields of space, aircrafts or transportation (hybrid vehicles). An important research line, aiming at increasing both energy and power densities, is devoted to asymmetric transition metal oxides / activated carbon (C) systems. RuO2-based devices exhibit the highest capacitance, more than 700 F/g, but their cost limits the applications to small electronic devices. Less expensive oxides such as cobalt oxides (especially Co3O4), MnO2, V2O5, Fe3O4, NiO, Ni(OH)2, as well as electrically conducting polymers, have been extensively studied in the past decades, or used in commercial devices; they EACH exhibit each drawbacks and advantages with regard to applications. But no system has been investigated as much as the C/MnO2 one, which is particularly interesting because it can work in aqueous media at tensions up to 2 V, and high stability in ageing has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, the performances of the system, especially in terms of power density, are limited by the poor electronic conductivity of MnO2. This problem is usually solved by simply mixing conductive carbon materials (carbon black, CNTs…) with MnO2 or by developing more elaborated grafting or decoration strategies. The combination of oxide and carbonaceous species is widely reported in the literature, whereas combining oxides with different natures is less frequently encountered. We propose in this project to synthesize and develop original materials enhancing, through a synergistic effect, the interesting properties of manganese, cobalt and nickel oxide/hydroxide, the drawbacks of each component being overbalanced by the good complementary properties of the other components. We aim at gathering in one single material (or composite), the good pseudocapacitive behavior of manganese, the good electronic conductivity associated to cobalt oxides, the high capacity of nickel hydroxide, as well as the enhanced conduction properties of carbon. The present PhD project aims at designing and manufacturing new classes of hybrid composite electrodes based on assemblies of graphene (for enhanced double layer capacitance) and porous transition metals oxides (for additional faradaic capacitance due to multiple reversible redox processes) directly applied on metallic current collectors. The combined advantages of graphene with those of transition metals oxides will enable supercapacitors with high energy density, working in environmentally friendly aqueous electrolytes, which are an acknowledged need. / A procura crescente de energia em setores distintos, como residencial, transporte e industrial, bem como a proliferação de fontes renováveis de produção de energia, exigem novos e mais eficientes dispositivos de armazenamento de energia. Consequentemente, tem-se observado um interesse crescente na produção e engenharia de materiais para armazenamento de energia. Muito dos esforços de R&D estão centrados no desenvolvimento de materiais nanoestruturados que possam responder aos requisitos da aplicação, tais como densidade de energia, densidade de potência e estabilidade face à ciclagem do dispositivo. Presentemente são muitos os materiais investigados como potenciais candidatos para elétrodos para dispositivos de armazenamento de energia por via eletroquímia, nomeadamente baterias, condensadores, pseudocondensadores ou supercondensadores. O objetivo do presente trabalho é produzir e estudar novos materiais com uma resposta eletroquímica intermédia entre um elétrodo típico de supercondensador e um elétrodo típico de bateria, também conhecidos como elétrodos híbridos. Por essa razão, selecionaram-se hidróxidos e óxidos de níquel e cobalto devido à sua elevada atividade eletroquímica e baixo custo. Estes materiais foram combinados com derivados de grafeno, que exibem alta condutividade e elevada área superficial ativa. Portanto, este trabalho foca a síntese e caracterização fisico química e eletroquímica de hidróxidos e óxidos de níquel-cobalto nanoestruturados e sua combinação com óxido de grafeno reduzido para aplicações de armazenamento de energia. A síntese foi efectuada por duas vias distintas: eletrodeposição e exfoliação. A eletrodeposição é usada para obter hidróxidos e óxidos de níquel-cobalto em combinação com óxido de grafeno reduzido. Os resultados evidenciam um efeito sinérgico quando o óxido de grafeno reduzido é combinado com o (hidr)óxido de níquel- cobalto, isto é, um aumento na capacidade, condutividade e estabilidade do compósito quando comparado com o (hidr)óxido de níquel-cobalto. Neste trabalho é dada especial atenção à espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica que foi utilizada para avaliar os fenômenos que ocorrem durante a carga e descarga contínua e compreender os processos que ocorrem no material ativo e que resultam na sua degradação. O hidróxido de níquel-cobalto é também preparado por exfoliação, em meio aquoso, por meio da intercalação de lactato, enquanto o tetra-butilamónio é utilizado na exfoliação do óxido de níquel-cobalto. A resposta eletroquímica é avaliada em diferentes eletrólitos após reconstrução. Os resultados revelam a influência das espécies intercaladas durante o processo de exfoliação: quando a exfoliação é realizada para fins de armazenamento de energia, as espécies intercaladas e a força da interação com o material ativo devem ser consideradas de antemão para evitar o bloqueio superficial ou inibição da interação elétrodo-eletrólito. Os resultados mostraram que a exfoliação é uma rota promissora para aumentar a área de superfície ativa dos materiais, um parâmetro crítico no desempenho eletroquímico dos materiais dos eletrodos. Nesta dissertação é também estudado o mecanismo de carga-descarga do hidróxido de níquel-cobalto, que ainda não está completamente entendido. Assim, compreender esse mecanismo é um passo crítico para otimizar a morfologia e o desempenho do material e para projetar futuros dispositivos de armazenamento de energia. Para esclarecer os processos que ocorrem durante a carga, aplica-se o modelo de Mott-Schottky foi aplicado parade modo a avaliar a variação da conductividade do material e da sua capacidade na interface elétrodo-eletrólito. [...]

Approximately 70% of the western world's known nickel reserves are contained in laterite ores, but only 30% of the world's nickel production comes from these ores. This is due to the lack of economically viable technology to extract the nickel from these ores. However, recent advances in pressure acid leaching technology have resulted in new commercial attempts to extract nickel and its valuable by-product, cobalt, from laterite ores. The commissioning of three nickel laterite projects in Western Australia in the late 1990s represents the first of these new generation nickel operations, with several other projects; in Australia and overseas, in various stages of development. Unfortunately, several technical issues have hindered full production in these new refineries. Some of these problems are directly attributable to the mixer-settler contactors used in the solvent extraction process. This has highlighted a need to develop alternative contactors for industrial use. Electrostatic Pseudo Liquid Membrane (ESPLIM) is an alternative, novel technique to conduct the solvent extraction process. It combines the basic principles of solvent extraction, liquid membrane and electrostatic dispersion into a simple, compact reactor that utilises many advantages of each technique. The aim of this study w as to develop a method of extracting and separating cobalt from an acidic nickel laterite leach solution using ESPLIM. Bench scale tests using synthetic and actual leach solutions have shown that: the design and construction materials of the baffle plate and electrodes have a significant effect on the performance of the reactor; an AC power supply provided better droplet dispersion than a DC power supply; an increase in the applied electric field strength above a critical value resulted in a decrease in the aqueous droplet size and an increase in residence tune. / These effects increased the extraction efficiency and the concentration of the loaded strip solution. However, further increases in applied electric field strength decreased efficiency due to excessive levels of swelling and leakage; the known extraction isotherms for cobalt and nickel apply in the ESPLIM technique; salts of soluble organic acids influence extraction efficiency by changing the aqueous pH and interfacial tension; the use of ammonia was found to be effective as a replacement for salts of soluble organic acids; the ESPLIM reactor can cope with large changes in the flow rates of both feed and strip solutions. However, an increase in the feed flow rate should be accompanied by a relative increase in the ship flow rate to maintain high extraction efficiencies; the baffle design has a significant impact on the levels of swelling and leakage; provided the electrostatic field strength is maintained and flow rates are increased proportionately to the size of the reactor, no significant scale-up issues were observed, indicating that the data generated in bench scale studies could be applied to plant scale contactors. The optimum conditions, devised as a result of this investigation, to extract cobalt from an acidic nickel laterite leach solution using the ESPLIM technique are as follows: an applied electric field strength of 5.5 kV/cm. a raffinate pH of 5.5, a solvent containing 10% Cyanex 272 with 5% TBP in Solvent HF diluent, a feed to strip flow ratio of approximately 5 and a 1 M H[subscript]2S0[subscript]4 strip solution. At these conditions, almost complete cobalt extraction is achieved after only two extraction stages. A comparable extraction using conventional mixer-settlers could only be achieved after five stages.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2005. / CD-ROM contains appendix G. Thesis submitted to the Division of Science and Engineering. Bibliography: leaves 205-218.

The demand for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been growing exponentially in recent years due to the proliferation of electric vehicles (EV). A large amount of lithium-ion batteries are expected to reach their end-of-life (EOL) within five to seven years. The improper disposal of EOL lithium-ion batteries generates enormous amounts of flammable and explosive hazardous waste. Therefore, cost-effectively recycling LIBs becomes urgent needs. Lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides (NCM) are one of the most essential cathode materials for EV applications due to their long cycle life, high capacity, and low cost. In 2008, 18.9% of Lithium-ion batteries used NCM cathode material worldwide while this number increased to 31% six years later. An environment–friendly and low-cost direct recycling process for NCM has been developed in this project. The goal of this project is to recycle the EOL NCM and yield battery-grade NCM with equivalent electrochemical performance compared to virgin materials. In order to achieve this goal, four different heat treatment conditions are investigated during the direct recycling process. From the experimental results, the charge and discharge capacities of the recycled material are stable (between 151-155 mAh/g) which is similar to that of the commercial MTI NCM when sintered at 850 °C for 12 hours in the air. In addition, the cycling performance of recycled NCM is better than the commercial MTI NCM up to 100 cycles. / Master of Science / The demand for Lithium-ion batteries has been growing exponentially in recent years due to the proliferation of electric vehicles. A large amount of lithium-ion batteries are expected to reach their end-of-life within five to seven years. The improper disposal of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries generates enormous amounts of flammable and explosive hazardous waste. Therefore, cost-effectively recycling Lithium-ion batteries becomes urgent needs. Lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides are one of the most essential cathode materials for electric vehicles applications due to their long cycle life, high capacity, and low cost. In 2008, 18.9% of Lithium-ion batteries used Lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides cathode material worldwide while this number increased to 31% six years later. An environment–friendly and low-cost direct recycling process for Lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides material has been developed in this project. The goal of this project is to recycle the end-of-life manganese oxides cathode material. In order to achieve this goal, four different heat treatment conditions are investigated during the direct recycling process. From the experimental results, the cycling performance of recycled NCM is better than the commercial MTI NCM.

Compte tenu de l'épuisement en cours des ressources naturelles qui ont lieu dans le monde entier, le prix élevé, la forte demande et la pénurie future des ressources minérales primaires pour Mo, Ni et Co, il est extrêmement important de mettre en œuvre le recyclage des métaux/récupération/réutilisation partir des demi-finis produits, sous-produits, des matériaux secondaires et des déchets, y compris les déchets dangereux (ce est à dire des catalyseurs usés, boues minérales). En outre, il est nécessaire d'utiliser des technologies plus efficaces pour récupérer des métaux à partir de déchets/ressources secondaires afin de minimiser les dépenses en capital, l'impact environnemental et de répondre à l'augmentation de la demande de métal. Parmi les différentes ressources secondaires, les catalyseurs usés et les boues minérales générés aux catalyseurs usés usines de recyclage pourrait être une très bonne ressource secondaire, car ils contiennent des concentrations élevées de métaux différents (en particulier Mo, Ni et Co). Par conséquent, ils doivent être considérés comme une ressource et non comme un déchet. Dans notre étude, nous traitons avec le catalyseur, l'oxyde métallique et le recyclage des piles minérales de la plante boues. Ce type de matériau contient de fortes concentrations de métaux différents. Cependant, au mieux de nos connaissances de spéciation, lixiviation et de récupération des propriétés de ce type de matériel n'ont pas été étudiés auparavant. Boues minérales a été minutieusement caractérisée où le pH, La perte au feu (LOI), Toxicité Caractéristique Lixiviation Procédure (TCLP), Diffraction des rayons X (XRD), Microscopie électronique à balayage (SEM) avec dispersion d'énergie des rayons X spectroscopie (EDS), Total Métal Contenu (TMC) et Extraction Séquentielle (SE) ont été effectuées. Sur la base des résultats de la caractérisation des boues minérales, le taux de lixiviation et les rendements de Mo, Ni et Co à partir de l'échantillon de boue minérale ont été quantifiés. Différents réactifs de lixiviation (autonome acides (nitrique, sulfurique et chlorhydrique) et les mélanges d'acides (eau régale (nitrique + chlorhydrique (1:3)), nitrique + sulfurique (1:1) et nitrique + sulfurique + chlorhydrique (2:1:1)) ont été étudiés à changer les paramètres de fonctionnement (solides ratio liquide, le temps de lixiviation et de la température), afin de comprendre les caractéristiques de lixiviation et sélectionnez le réactif de lixiviation approprié qui permet d'atteindre les plus hauts rendements de lixiviation de métal. Acide sulfurique (H2SO4) a été trouvé d'être le produit de lixiviation avec le potentiel de lixiviation des métaux les plus élevés. Les conditions de lixiviation optimales étaient une lixiviation en trois étapes successives, la température de 80°C, le temps de lixiviation 2 h, et S/L rapport 0.25 g L-1. Dans ces conditions, les rendements de lixiviation à partir de notre échantillon de boue minérale a atteint 85.5, 40.5 et 93.8% pour Mo, Ni et Co, respectivement / In view of the on-going depletion of the natural resources taking place worldwide, the high price, high demand and future shortage of the primary mineral resources for Mo, Ni and Co it is extremely important to implement metals recycling/recovery/reuse from semi-finished products, by-products, secondary materials and wastes, including hazardous waste (i.e. spent catalysts, mineral sludges). Furthermore, there is a need to utilize more efficient technologies to recover metals from wastes/secondary resources in order to minimize capital outlay, environmental impact and to respond to the metal increased demand. Among the different secondary resources, spent catalysts and mineral sludges generated at the spent catalysts recycling plants could be a very good secondary resource, as they contain high concentrations of different metals (especially Mo, Ni and Co). Therefore, they should be viewed as a resource, not as a waste. In our study we are dealing with the catalyst, metallic oxide and battery recycling plant mineral sludge. This type of material contains high concentrations of different metals. However, to the best of our knowledge, speciation, leaching and recovery of Mo, Ni and Co from this type of material were not investigated before. Mineral sludge was minutely characterized where pH, Loss On Ignition (LOI), Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Total Metal Content (TMC) and Sequential Extraction (SE) were performed. Based on the mineral sludge characterization results the leaching rate and yields of Mo, Ni and Co from mineral sludge sample were quantified. Different leaching reagents (stand-alone acids (nitric, sulfuric and hydrochloric) and acid mixtures (aqua regia (nitric + hydrochloric (1:3)), nitric + sulfuric (1:1) and nitric + sulfuric + hydrochloric (2:1:1)) were investigated at changing operational parameters (solid to liquid ratio, leaching time and temperature), in order to understand the leaching features and select the suitable leaching reagent which achieves the highest metal leaching yields. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) was found to be the leachant with the highest metal leaching potential. The optimal leaching conditions were a three stage successive leaching, temperature 80°C, leaching time 2 h and S/L ratio 0.25 g L-1. Under these conditions, the leaching yields from our mineral sludge sample reached 85.5, 40.5 and 93.8% for Mo, Ni and Co, respectively

Le passage de la technologie au slurry à celle au fil diamanté sur les machines à fils de découpe des blocs de silicium en wafers est motivé par des enjeux économiques et environnementaux. Depuis peu, cette transition de technologie dans l’industrie photovoltaïque s’est accélérée avec la commercialisation d’une nouvelle génération de machines. Afin de profiter de cette transition et de son avenir prometteur, Thermocompact s’est engagé dans le développement de fils diamantés. Le procédé choisi pour le dépôt des particules et du liant métallique enchâssant les particules à la surface du fil est la voie électrochimique. Les premiers essais de fabrication de fils diamantés ont révélé un manque de maîtrise du procédé d’élaboration et un échec pour atteindre les caractéristiques techniques demandées pour la découpe du silicium. Les travaux de cette thèse se sont donc axés dans un premier temps sur la relation entre le bain électrolytique, les conditions de dépôt et ses propriétés, puis sur le comportement des particules à la fois dans le bain jusqu’à leur incorporation à la surface du fil. L’étude s’est poursuivie sur la relation complexe entre les caractéristiques du fil produit, la matière à découper et la machine de découpe utilisée (design, paramètres utilisés). Ce travail a abouti à produire un fil diamanté de diamètre 70µm conforme aux exigences des usineurs pour la découpe à l’échelle industrielle du silicium monocristallin sur des machines de nouvelle génération. Les résultats de découpe vont permettre désormais de démarcher des clients potentiels dans l’industrie photovoltaïque. / The change of technology from slurry to diamond wires in the wafer slicing machines is motivated by economic and environmental issues. Only recently, this transition of technology in the photovoltaic industry has ramped up with the commercialization of a new generation of wafering machines. So as to take advantage of this situation, Thermocompact has launched the development of diamond wires. The selected process is an electrochemical codeposition of metal and diamond particles embedded on the wire surface.The first tests of diamond wire production have shown a lack of process control and a failure to reach the technical characteristics requested by its use. The studies in this thesis are based on the relationship between the electrolytic bath, the coating conditions and the coating properties, then on the behavior of particles both in the bath and up to their incorporation on the wire surface. The researches continued afterwards on the complex link between the characteristics of diamond wire, the material to slice and the machine used for slicing (design, recipe). This work has succeeded in defining a diamond wire with a diameter of 70µm in compliance with customer requirement for the industrial slicing of single crystalline silicon with the new generation of machines. These results will be now used for prospecting new customers in the photovoltaic industry.