FIELDS
|
DESCRIPTION
OF CAPABILITIES
|
Industrial
Electrochemistry
Electrochemical Processes
Electrometallurgy
Electrochemical Remediation
Electrochemical Recycling
|
• Inorganic
Electrosynthesis
- Electrochemical
Processes.
- Electrosynthesis of
inorganic chemicals.
- Electrodialysis.
•
Electrowinning
and
Electrorefining of Metals in Aqueous Solutions
- Electrowinning of metallic iron in sulfate
media
- Electrochemical production of vanadium
electrolyte from vanadium pentoxide
•
Electrochemical
Treatment of Metallurgical Wastes
- Electrochemical
regeneration of spent acids
from pregnant
leach solutions (PLS).
- Electrochemical recovery
of metal values
from pregnant
leach solutions.
- Electrochemical removal
of traces of heavy
metals from
industrial
effluents and acid
mine drainage (AMD).
- Electrochemical recovery
of metals values
from mining
residues, metallurgical and industrial wastes.
- Electrowinning of iron
and iron-rich alloys
- Electrowinning of
manganese
•
Electrochemical
Treatment of Organic Wastes and Liquid Effluents
- Electrochemical
destruction of agricultural
wastes (e.g., hog manure).
- Electrochemical
oxidation (e.g., ammonia
waters, landfill leachate).
- Electrocoagulation
(e.g., acid mine
drainage).
- Electroflocculation
(e.g., black liquors).
•
Design
and Scale-up of
Electrolyzers
- Design and construction
of electrolyzers
from bench scale
to mini-pilot scale.
- Polymer concrete cells,
rectangular cells,
three-compartment cells, tubular
cells.
|
Electrodes
Materials
Separators and Membrane Materials
|
• Preparation
of Novel Electrode
Materials
- Composite electrode
materials.
- Preparation of
dimensionally stable
electrodes.
- Preparation of mixed
metal oxides anodes
(MMO).
- Preparation of
sacrificial electrodes and
nonconventional ceramic materials.
•
Selection
and Benchmarking
of
Industrial Electrode Materials
- Service life and failure
mode analysis of
electrodes.
- Benchmarking of
commercial electrode
materials.
•
Selection
and Benchmarking
of
Separators and Membranes
- Service life and failure
mode analysis of
ion exchange
membranes.
- Benchmarking of
commercial ion exchange
membrane materials.
|
High
Temperatures Electrolysis
Electrochemistry in Molten Salts (Fused Salts)
|
• Electrowinning
and Electrorefining
of
Refractory Metals
- Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta,
Cr, Mo, W, and Rhenium
- Lanthanides and rare
earth elements (REEs)
& Mischmetal
- Inert anodes for
electrowinning lithium,
magnesium, and aluminum.
•
Electrowinning
of Alkali
Metals (Lithium
and Sodium)
- Electrocoating of
metallic substrates in
molten
salts.
•
Electrochemical
Measurements in
Molten Salt Electrolytes
- Steady state and
transient voltammetry.
- Electrical conductivity
and transport
properties.
- Fabrication of reference
electrodes.
- Measurement of dissolved
oxygen.
|
Hydrometallurgy
|
- Sulfuric acid digestion and sulfation
reations in concentrated sulfuric acid
- Acid leaching of ores
and concentrates using counter-current cascade reactors.
- Alkaline or caustic
leaching or ores and
concentrates using
counter-current cascade reactors.
- Hydrometallurgical
processes for the
recovery of
vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten.
|
Materials
Selection
Materials Processing
|
• Selection
of Corrosion
Resistant
Materials
- Refractory metals and
their alloys (e.g.,
Ti, Zr, Hf, V,
Nb, Ta, Cr,
Mo, W).
- Precious and noble
metals (e.g.,Cu, Ag, Au).
- Platinum Group Metals
(e.g.,Ru, Rh, Pd, Os,
Ir, Pt).
- Advanced ceramics and
high temperature
refractories.
- Corrosion resistant
materials and coatings
towards
molten
caustic alkali-metal
hydroxides and carbonates
(e.g., NaOH, KOH, LiOH).
- Corrosion resistant
materials and coatings
towards
strong
mineral acids
and their mixtures (e.g., HF, HCl,
H2SO4,
HNO3).
- Corrosion resistant
materials and coatings
towards mixtures of iodine-hydroiodic acid and bromine and hydrobromic
acid (e.g., HI-I2, HBr-Br2,).
•
Surface
Finishing of
Refractory Metals
- Chemical and
electrolytic polishing of
titanium,
zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, niobium, molybdenum, and tungsten.
|
High
Temperature Chemistry
Pyrometallurgy
and Pyrochemistry
Molten
Slags and Liquid Metals
|
•
Design and Construction of High Temperature Furnaces
- Design and construction
of thermal
insulation, selection of power supply
and
instrumentation.
- Electrothermal
processes.
- Transfered
and
submerged DC/AC electric arc furnaces (EAF, SAF).
- Aluminothermic
and
carbothermic reduction.
- Ferroalloys,
and
electrofused
ceramics.
- Selection of
refractories and castables.
- Heat transfer and
electrical calculations.
•
Measurement
of Physical
Properties of Molten Slags, Salts and Ionic Melts
- Density, viscosity,
surface tension,
wetting and contact
angles.
- Electrical conductivity,
vapor pressure,
and specific heat
capacity.
•
Pyroprocessing
and
Pyrometallurgy
- Metallothermic reduction
of reactive and
refractory metal
oxides
(e.g., aluminothermic, calciothermic).
- Purification and
handling of liquid alkali
metals
(lithium, sodium and potassium).
- Pyrometallurgical
processes for the
recovery of
vanadium, niobium, tantalum, tungsten and rare earths.
- Ferroalloys production
(ferro-titanium,
ferro-silicon, ferro-niobium).
- Soda-ash roasting of
vanadium concentrates and vanadium slags
- Sulfation roasting of
lithium concentrates with sulfuric acid and alkali-metal sulfates
•
Carbo-chlorination
of Titanium and Niobium (Columbium) rich Feedstocks
- Design of bench and
pilot scale chlorinator
(i.e.,
fluidized bed,
feeder, cyclones and settling chambers).
- Low temperature
carbo-chlorination of
titanium
oxycarbides (TiOCs) and oxynitrides (TiONs).
- Carbo-chlorination of
ferroniobium (FeNb)
and
ferrotantalumniobium
(FeTaNb).
- Monitoring of phosgene
(COCl2)
concentrations in
off-gases
and refractory metal chlorides.
- Reduction of carryover
by various
techniques (e.g.,
quenching,
free-board expansion, cyclones).
|
Sourcing
of Strategic Raw
Materials and
Metals
Applied Mineralogy and Petrography
|
• Geological
Exploration
and
Mining
Prospection
- Sourcing of strategic
metals (lithium,
vanadium, niobium,
tantalum,
tungsten, rhenium, rare earths and thorium).
- Abandonned or active
mine sites auditing
with team of
professional geologists and mining engineers.
- Site auditing and due
diligence
•
Mineral
Dressing
Techniques and Ore
Beneficiation
- Crushing and grinding.
- Gravity separation
(heavy media, jigs,
hydrocyclones, spirals).
- Magnetic and
electrostatic separation.
- Froth flotation.
Applied
Mineralogy and Petrography
- Practical mineral
identification techniques and optical crystallography (orthoscopic and
conoscopic microscopy)
- Polarizing microscopy
and thin sections (minerals, rocks, cements, refractories)
- Opaque minerals
microscopy and ores metallography
- Microchemical analysis
|
Radioactivity
in
the
Mining and Metallurgical
Industries
|
- Radioactivity from rare
earths oxides
(REOs)
concentrates
(monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime and loparite).
- NORM and TENORM in the
mining, mineral
processing and
metallurgical
industries.
|
Project
Management
|
- Project Management.
- Planning.
- Plant Auditing and Due
Diligence.
- Capital Costs (CAPEX)
& Operating
Costs
(OPEX)
estimates.
- Preliminary financial
evaluation (NPV, IRR,
ROI, payback), sensitivity and risk
analysis.
- Business Plan.
- Control Plan.
|
Technical
Writing
On-site Training
|
- Reference handbooks.
- Securing Intellectual
property and patents.
- Professional reports and
market analysis.
|
Français
