The aluminium alloys for electrical conductivity applications are generally not grain refinedsince the addition of grain refiners drops the electrical conductivity by introducing impuritiesinto the melt. Non-grain refined aluminium may lead to bar fracture and cracks during themetalworking process. The present study focuses to find an optimum balance between the grain refiner addition andthe electrical conductivity of commercial EC grade 1070 aluminium alloy for electricalapplication. In order to reach this goal, the electrical conductivity and the macrostructure ofcommercial EC grade 1070 aluminium (commercial pure aluminium) have been studiedunder a series of controlled lab scale trails. Specific addition levels of different grain refiners(TiBloy, Al-5Ti-1B, Al-3Ti-0.15C, and Al-3Ti-1B) were added to the metal melt and sampleswere taken at specific time intervals. The collected samples were sectioned, ground andmacro-etched. Thereafter, the macrostructure was analysed by the use of a digital camera andthe electrical conductivity was measured at temperature. The obtained result was expressed asa percentage of the International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS %). The macro-structuralanalysis showed that TiBloy, Al-5Ti-1B, and Al-3Ti-1B, with the maximum addition level of0.1%, cannot grin refine commercial pure aluminium. However, at higher grain refiner levelsthe number of columnar grains increased and their size decreased. The Al-3Ti-0.15C master alloy, with the same addition level as the once chosen for the othergrain refiners (up to 0.1%), showed significantly better grain refining. By the addition of0.1% of this grain refiner the macrostructure became very equiaxed already after 30 minutesof grain refiner addition. The fading of the Al-3Ti-0.15 master alloy was, however, observedfor samples with a long holding time. Nevertheless, by maximum addition level (0.1%) and a90 minutes holding time the macrostructure remained as equiaxed grains. The electrical conductivity results showed that none of the applied grain refiners (TiBloy, Al-5Ti-1B, Al-3Ti-0.15C, and Al-3Ti-1B), with the maximum addition level of 0.1%, decreasedthe electrical conductivity of commercial pure aluminium.

Europe suffers from a new form of dependence. Not only does it need to import natural gas, crude oil, and nuclear fuel, but it also cannot meet its own demand for crude oil products such as the jet fuel and the diesel fuel, most of which comes from Russia. Furthermore, Russian state owned and private companies have been steadily extending their influence in the refining sector of the European Union. They possess a complete control over the refining sector of Bulgaria, and have a significant position in Romania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy. The leverage of Russian companies in European oil refining sector is set to rise, because Europe will inevitably experience further closures of refineries in the future. The overall level of risks associated with Russian control of European refineries is significant, and policy makers should see it in context with other tools of Moscow's influence such as the dependence on natural gas or the anti-EU and the anti-US propaganda, disinformation campaigns and financial support for the extremist parties.

Reducing energy consumption in pulp and paper refining requires a deep understanding of all the processes involved. This dissertation investigates fundamental mechanics of the low consistency mechanical refining process. Three studies investigate forces applied to wood fibers with the focus on how force profiles during bar passing events change with process variables such as fiber length and refiner load. In the first study a high resolution rotary encoder and a piezo ceramic force sensor are implemented in a 16-inch laboratory-scale low consistency refiner to explore the effect of plate gaps on bar-force profiles. The rotary encoder data is used to locate the rotor bars relative to the stator bar in which the sensor is located. Force profiles for bar passing events are registered to the position of rotor bars relative to the stator bar in which the sensor is located and mean force profiles are produced. These mean force profiles have potential to shed light on the fundamental mechanisms of mechanical refining. For large gaps, there is a late peak in the force profiles that occurs toward the end of the bar passing event. For gaps that are less than the critical gap, below which fiber cutting occurs, there is an early peak in the force profiles that occurs at the start of the bar passing event. It is hypothesized that the early peak represents the corner force and, therefore, that corner force is causal in the onset of fiber cutting. In the second study a set of piezo ceramic force sensors is implemented in a 52-inch mill-scale low consistency refiner to explore the effect of varying operating conditions on bar force profiles. Force profiles for individual bar passing events are identified based on key features in the time domain force data based on the knowledge acquired from the previous study in the pilot-scale refiner. The individual bar force profiles are classified as single peak events which feature one peak corresponding to the fiber compression force and as dual peak events corresponding to fiber compression force and the corner force. It is shown that dual peak events which are considered to represent the corner force, are present throughout the whole range of refining and increase with increased refining energy. After applying the dual peak analysis to the data from the previous study this behaviour was also found in the pilot-scale refiner data. Furthermore, it is found that different radial positions on the stator plate are subjected to different force profiles. This is thought to be due to the difference in tangential speed and a change in the fiber and floc material properties at different radial positions. In the third study the effect of refiner plate wear on bar force sensor measurements is explored by applying the dual peak analysis to long term data acquired from the mill-scale refiner. Bar passing events are analysed based on the dual peak ratio and the timing of the early peak in the dual peak events. Force measurements are evaluated over the full run time of a set of refiner plates. When comparing force profiles with refiner plate wear measurements and discharge fiber analysis, it is found that the decrease in the prevalence of the corner force correlates with the wear of the leading edge of the refiner bars, or bar rounding, for the run time of the refiner plate. This is accompanied by a decrease in plate performance which is represented by a decrease in fiber length and freeness reduction for the same refiner load. / Graduate

<p>The electric arc furnace (EAF) is a critical steelmaking facility that melts the scrap by the heat produced from electrodes and burners. The migration to EAF steelmaking has accelerated in the steel industry over the past decade owing to the consistent growth of the scrap market and the goal of "green" steel production. The EAF production already hit a new high in 2018, contributing to 67% of total short tons of U.S. crude steel produced. The EAF steelmaking process involves dynamic complex multi-physics, in which electric arc plasma and coherent jets coexist resulting in an environment with local high temperature and velocity. Different heat transfer mechanisms are closely coupled and the phase change caused by melting and re-solidification is accompanied by in-bath chemical reactions and freeboard post-combustion, which further creates a complicated gas-liquid-solid three-phase system in the furnace. Therefore, not all conditions and phenomena within the EAF are well-understood. The traditional experimental approach to study the EAF is expensive, dangerous, and labor-intense. Most of the time, direct measurements and observations are impossible due to the high temperature within the furnace. To this fact, the numerical model has aroused great interest worldwide, which can help to gain fundamental insights and improve product quality and production efficiency, greatly benefiting the steel industry. However, due to the complexity of the entire EAF steelmaking process, the relevant computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and investigations of the whole process have not been reported so far. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The present study was undertaken with the aim of developing the modeling methodologies and the corresponding comprehensive EAF CFD models to simulate the entire EAF steelmaking process. Two state-of-the-art comprehensive EAF CFD models have been established and validated for both the lab-scale direct current (DC) EAF and the industry-scale alternating current (AC) EAF, which were utilized to understand the physical principles, improve the furnace design, optimize the process, and perform the trouble-shootings.</p> <p><br></p> <p>For the lab-scale DC EAF, a direct-coupling methodology was developed for its comprehensive EAF CFD model which includes the solid steel melting model based on the enthalpy-porosity method and the electric arc model (for lab-scale DC arc) based on the Magneto Hydrodynamics (MHD) theory, so that the dynamic simulation of the steel ingot melting by DC arc in the lab-scale furnace can be achieved, which considered the continuous phase changing of solid steel, the ingot surface deformation, and the phase-to-phase interaction. Both stationary DC arc and the arc-solid steel interface heat transfer and force interaction were validated respectively against the experimental data in published literature. For the given lab-scale furnace, the DC arc behavioral characteristics with varying arc lengths generated by the moving electrode were analyzed, and the effects of both the initial arc length and the dynamic electrode movement on the steel ingot melting efficiency were revealed.</p> <p><br></p> <p>For the industry-scale AC EAF, an innovative integration methodology was proposed for its comprehensive EAF CFD model, which relies on the stage-by-stage approach to simulate the entire steelmaking process. Six simulators were developed for simulating sub-processes in the industry-scale AC EAF, and five models were developed for the above four simulators, including the scrap melting model, the electric arc model (for industry-scale AC arc), the coherent jet model, the oxidation model, and the slag foaming model, which can be partially integrated according to the mass, energy, and momentum balance. Specifically, the dual-cell approach and the stack approach were proposed for the scrap melting model to treat the scrap pile as the porous medium and simulate the scrap melting together with its dynamic collapse process. The statistical sampling method, the CFD-compatible Monte Carlo method, and the electrode regulation algorithm were proposed for the electric arc model to estimate the total AC arc power delivery, the arc radiative heat dissipation, and the instantaneous electrode movement. The energetic approach was proposed to determine the penetration of the top-blown jet in the molten bath based on the results from the coherent jet model. The source term approach was proposed in the oxidation model to simulate the in-bath decarburization process, where the oxidation of carbon, iron, and manganese as well as the effect of those exothermic reactions on bath temperature rising was considered. Moreover, corresponding experiments were performed in the industry-scale EAF to validate the proposed simulators. The quantitative investigations and analyses were conducted afterward to explore and understand the coherent jet performance, the AC arc heat dissipation, the burner preheating characteristics, the scrap melting behavior, the in-bath decarburization efficiency, and the freeboard post-combustion status.</p> <p><br></p>

Procurement of copper concentrate is becoming increasingly more challenging as the general quality of concentrates are decreasing. Concentrates are now coming with higher shares of impurities and secondary materials, which makes them harder to process. These concentrates are refereed to as complex concentrates and has historically been purchased by refineries pursuing a high margin strategy, as it is cheaper for refineries to buy. As the global copper concentrate quality decreases, traditional smelters may have to revisit their procurement strategy in order to continue to be competitive and cost efficient, gradually moving towards a strategy which today is considered a niche. This notion raises several questions as to what situation future refineries might find them selves in, when treating increasing shares of complex copper concentrates. On that perceptive, this study addresses this topic from a holistic business perspective by investigating managerial challenges which may occur from procurement of complex copper concentrates. We did this through an exploratory investigation on two smelter facilities within Boliden Group, operating on with this procurement strategy. Our aim was to identify important aspects within the procurement itself, inventory management and processing. We conducted eight interviews with company representatives and analysed data on purchasing behaviour, inventory holdings and process quantities in order to understand critical aspects emerging from this strategy. From there, we identified one general challenge containing three sub challenges. We concluded that the management of risk and productivity balance was essential for the whole business, as complex concentrates aggravates already present supply chain and industry risks. Furthermore we saw challenges with maintaining sufficient and balanced inventory levels, due to arrival uncertainties and vague shipping agreements. Also, aligning goals and priorities was identified as a challenge. As complex concentrates have both attractive margin figures and complex processing requirements, differences in prioritisation surrounding profitability and process stability was evident. Lastly, we uncovered potential productivity losses when treating both clean and complex concentrates. / Inköp av kopparkoncentrat blir alltmer utmanande i takt med att koncentratens allmänna kvalitet minskar. Koncentrat kommer nu med större andelar av orenheter och sekundära material, vilket gör dem svårare att bearbeta. Dessa koncentrat betecknas som komplexa koncentrat och har historiskt bearbetats av raffinaderier som bedriver en högmarginalstrategi, eftersom dessa är billigare för raffinaderier att köpa. Då den globala kopparkoncentratkvaliteten minskar kan traditionella smältverk behöva se över sin inköpsstrategiför att fortsätta vara konkurrenskraftiga och kostnadseffektiva. Denna uppfattning väcker flera frågor om vilken situation framtida raffinaderier kan komma att befinna sig i, med ökande andelar av komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Med barkund i detta undersöker denna studie frågan ur ett helhetsperspektiv, genom att utforska operativa utmaningar som kan uppstå till följd av inköp av komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Vi genomförde en fallstudie på två smältverk inom Boliden Group, som förvärvar en hög andel komplexa kopparkoncentrat. Vårt mål var att identifiera viktiga aspekter inom själva upphandlingen, lagerhanteringen och bearbetning av koncentraten samt att identifiera utmaningar som beslutsfattare står inför. Vi genomförde åtta intervjuer med företagsrepresentanter och analyserade data om inköpsbeteende, lagerhållning och processkvantiteter för att förstå kritiska aspekter som framgår av denna strategi. Därifrån identifierade vi en allmän utmaning innehållande tre underutmaningar. Resultatet visade på att hantering av risk- och produktivitetsbalans var väsentlig för hela verksamheten, eftersom komplexa koncentrat förvärrar redan närvarande utmaningar med försörjningskedjan och industririsker. Därtill identifierade vi utmaningar med att upprätthålla en tillräcklig och balanserad lagernivå, på grund av osäkerheter om ankomst och vaga sjöfartsavtal. Gemensamma mål och prioriteringar identifierades också som en utmaning. Eftersom komplexa koncentrat både har attraktiva marginaler och komplexa bearbetningskrav var skillnader i prioritering kring lönsamhet och process-stabilitet uppenbara. Slutligen upptäckte vi potentiella produktivitetsförluster vid behandling av både rena och komplexa koncentrat.

This investigation is a study of the issues involved in the disputed cases pertaining to the Oil Refining Industry which were certified to the Eighth Regional War Labor Board serving Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana during World War II.

Inhalation risks on human health for hazardous air pollutants emitted from MACT I petroleum refining industry were determined using EPA HEM-3 Program. Methodology included compiling vertical and fugitive emissions from 2002 National Emissions Inventory for sources inside two facilities in Louisiana, 'Motiva Norco' and 'Valero St. Charles' refineries. Six cases were modeled applying EPA criteria, where cancer risks are 'low' if the probability is. 1/1, 000, 000, and non-cancer risks are harmful when hazard quotient is > 1. It was demonstrated that fugitive emissions have more impact on human health than the verticals because of their significant portion of the total refining emissions. HAPs can cause moderate adverse effects in humans living nearby refineries, as 113 people resulted in high risk of respiratory problems with Valero emissions, 4571 people resulted in 'moderate' risk of getting cancer with Motiva emissions, 2702 people with Valero emissions, and 11, 282 people with both refineries' emissions.

Soybean oil is commercially obtained through an extraction process using hot commercial hexane. This toxic solvent, derived from petroleum, must be subsequently evaporated before the oil can be submitted to refining steps prior to storage and transportation or directly moving to biodiesel synthesis. Extraction of soybean oil with ethanol, a renewable, low-toxicity solvent, results in the production of an oil-rich miscella that can be directly esterified to produce ethyl esters (biodiesel) without the need for oil-refining steps and evaporation of the solvent. This extraction also generates an oil-poor miscella that has been successfully reinserted in further extractions as the solvent. The theoretical bases of the ethanolic extraction of soybean oil have been established by the works of many authors, focusing on the insurance of high oil yields. However, the effects of the ethanolic extraction of vegetable oils on the antioxidant profile and oxidative stability of the extraction products have not yet been addressed. This study aimed to increase the knowledge on the antioxidant composition of the rich and poor miscella derived from the extraction of soybean oil using ethanol as solvent. Results showed that although the rich miscella presents lower amounts of tocopherols in comparison to oils extracted with hexane, it contains antioxidant compounds of polar character with high affinity to ethanol, which would not be found in soybean oils extracted with hexane. Among these compounds isoflavones have been identified and quantified. The reuse of the poor miscella in subsequent extractions promotes an increase in the oxidative stability of the rich miscella, possibly, by adding antioxidant compounds with high affinity to ethanol. This effect was also observed in the use of the oil-poor miscella in liquid-liquid washings with waste cooking oil, resulting increase of the induction period. However, consecutive extractions of soybean oil have shown that the increase in the induction period of the oil-rich miscella reaches a limit. This phenomenon may be an indication of pro-oxidant effects, resulting from the increase in the content of the compounds present in the rich-miscella. For this reason, the study of the interactions between different classes of antioxidant compounds present in the soybean ethanolic extraction products may be an excellent way to understand the mechanisms involved in the oxidative stability of complex lipid systems. / O óleo de soja é obtido comercialmente através de um processo de extração a quente utilizando a hexana, também conhecida como hexano comercial. Esse solvente tóxico, derivado de petróleo, deve ser posteriormente evaporado para que o óleo passe por etapas de refino antes de seguir para o armazenamento e transporte ou diretamente para a síntese de biodiesel. A extração de óleo de soja com o etanol, um solvente renovável e de baixa toxicidade, resulta na produção de uma miscela rica em óleo que pode ser diretamente esterificada para produzir ésteres etílicos (biodiesel), sem a necessidade de etapas de refino de óleo e evaporação do solvente. Essa extração gera também uma miscela pobre em óleo que pode ser reutilizada em extrações posteriores como solvente. As bases teóricas da extração etanólica de óleo de soja foram estabelecidas pelos trabalhos de muitos autores, visando maiores rendimentos de extração. No entanto, o perfil antioxidante e a estabilidade oxidativa dos produtos da extração etanólica de óleos vegetais não foram abordados até o momento. Este estudo visou ampliar os conhecimentos sobre a composição antioxidante das miscelas ricas e pobres, oriundas da extração de óleo de soja, utilizando o etanol como solvente. Os resultados evidenciaram que embora a miscela rica apresente quantidades inferiores de tocoferóis em relação a óleos extraídos com hexano, a mesma é acrescida de compostos antioxidantes de natureza polar, devido a afinidade com etanol. Entre esses compostos foram identificadas isoflavonas, que normalmente não são encontradas nos óleos de soja obtidos pela extração com hexano. A reutilização da miscela pobre promove o aumento da estabilidade oxidativa das miscelas ricas, através da adição de compostos antioxidantes de maior afinidade pelo etanol. Esse efeito foi também observado no uso da miscela pobre em lavagens do óleo de fritura, resultando em aumento no período de indução. No entanto, a reutilização de miscelas pobres em extrações consecutivas demonstrou atingir um limite no aumento do período de indução das miscelas ricas. Esse fenômeno pode ser um indício de efeito pró-oxidante decorrente do aumento das concentrações de compostos presentes na miscela rica. Por essa razão, o estudo das interações entre diferentes classes de compostos antioxidantes nas miscelas oriundas da extração de óleo de soja pode ser uma excelente via para a compreensão dos mecanismos envolvidos na estabilidade oxidativa de sistemas lipídicos complexos.

O processo de tomada de decisão que envolve a priorização e a seleção de projetos de investimentos na indústria do petróleo está longe de ser uma tarefa trivial. Ao mesmo tempo em que a empresa deve buscar relações favoráveis entre risco e retorno econômico-financeiro também deve se alinhar cada vez mais aos princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável em seus negócios. Em se tratando do caso da indústria petrolífera brasileira, formada essencialmente por um monopólio estatal, esta tarefa se torna ainda mais difícil, já que uma série de interesses públicos relacionados ao investimento também devem ser considerados. Sendo assim, o objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi o desenvolvimento e a aplicação de um modelo original de análise usando múltiplos critérios que auxiliasse na priorização e na seleção de projetos de investimentos nas refinarias de petróleo brasileiras. Utilizou-se uma metodologia de pesquisa quantitativa com o uso de diversos artefatos de matemática aplicada capazes de lidar adequadamente com as avaliações muitas vezes incompletas e subjetivas que caracterizam o problema da análise de investimentos em refinarias de petróleo. Ao final do trabalho, conseguiu-se obter um modelo suficientemente simples, ao ponto de ser facilmente implementado em uma planilha eletrônica, robusto, ao ser capaz de lidar de maneira bastante adequada com as principais peculiaridades que envolvem o setor do refino de petróleo no Brasil e flexível, de maneira que os critérios de análise e as alternativas de decisão pudessem ser facilmente adicionados, removidos ou alterados de acordo com as necessidades específicas exigidas para cada caso. / The decision-making process involving the prioritization and selection of investment projects in the oil industry is far from being a trivial task. At the same time that the company must seek for a favorable relationship between risk and economic-financial return it must also be more and more aligned to the principles of sustainable development in their business. Regarding to the case of the Brazilian oil industry, essentially formed by a state monopoly, this task becomes even more difficult, since a number of public interests related to investment should also be considered. Thus, the main objective of this research was the development and application of an original analysis model using multiple criteria that help in the prioritization and selection of investment projects on the Brazilian oil refineries. We used a quantitative research methodology using various applied mathematical tools capable of dealing properly with often incomplete and subjective valuations of investment analysis in oil refineries. At the end, it was possible to obtain a sufficiently simple model, that could be easily implemented in a spreadsheet, robust, to deal in a properly way with the main peculiarities involving the oil refining sector in Brazil and sufficiently flexible so that the criteria for analysis and decision alternatives could be easily added, removed or modified in accordance with the specific needs required for each case.

Nesta dissertação de mestrado foram utilizadas duas ligas de alumínio (AA1100 e AA5052) para a produção de uma microestrutura final apresentando tamanho médio de grãos menores que um micrometro. Tal fato foi possível através do processo de Accumulated Roll Bonding (ARB). Tais materiais produzidos por ARB, foram caracterizados conforme propriedades mecânicas (microdureza, limite de escoamento e resistência) e microestruturais (tamanho de grão e macrotextura e composição química dos precipitados). O principal resultado para este trabalho foi a produção de tiras de AA 1100 e AA 5052 com tamanho médio de grão de 0,50 ± 0,04 m e 0,42 ± 0,06 m respectivamente. Tal resultado é coerente em comparação à literatura. Com relação aos resultados de textura, tais amostras apresentaram temperatura de recristalização acima de 473K e componente de textura típicas de cisalhamento (tanto para o material oriundo de fábrica como para o material laminado). Tal fato é esperado já que não se utilizou lubrificação durante ensaios de laminação. A propriedade mecânica de microdureza de AA 1100 ficou coerente com a literatura embora as propriedades de limite de escoamento e de resistência possuíram módulos abaixo da literatura. / The present work is related to the production, in a laboratory scale, of a metallic microstructure having a grain size smaller than one micrometer, through the Accumulated Roll Bonding technique(ARB), for two different aluminum alloys, namely AA 1100 and AA 5052. The strips obtained by the ARB technique have been characterized by their mechanical properties (microhardness, yield and tensile strength), and their microstructure (grain size, macrotexture and precipitates chemical composition). The main result of this work has been the rolling of AA1100 and AA5052 strips with an average grain size of 0.5 ± 0.04 m and 0.42 ± 0.06 m respectively. Such results are consistent with the literature. Relative to the texture, the samples presented a recrystallization temperature higher than 473K and typical shear texture components (due to the dry rolling conditions during the ARB). Microhardness of the AA110 was consistent with literature data; however yield and tensile strength presented values that were lower than those observed in the literature.