Development of an efficient beneficiation technology for Carlin-type carbonaceous ores

Effect of Lump Coal Shape on Separation Efficiency of Gas-solid Fluidized Bed for Dry Coal Beneficiation

Recent developments in beneficiation of fine and ultra-fine coal -review paper

Technology planning for long range utilization of Space Station Freedom

With the help of innovations at an industrial enterprise, it is possible to increase labor efficiency and reduce the resource intensity of production. The relevance of the development of the technology of metal casting in sand molds, as the most common casting process, is justified by the fact that up to 80 % of the tonnage of castings is produced in such molds, including special types of casting in molds from sand materials. 60-70 % of the equipment capacities, areas, and personnel of foundry shops are attributed to molding processes, including mixing and rod production. Pollution "due to the mold" can reach up to 80%. A significant potential for the development of foundry mold technology is the improvement of the processes of casting metal into molds made of loose sand without a binding component, in particular, according to the Lost Foam Casting Process (LFC). The authors present the concept of improving the processes of casting metal into molds made of loose sand by the method of dual application of molding materials and give examples of such application. The use of loose molding sand for rapid cooling of the casting, including heat treatment, is able to strengthen its metal and reduce the duration of cooling of the casting in the mold, which leads to an increase in the productivity of foundries without increasing the number of furnace equipment and loose mold filler. The applied method of isothermal hardening (austempering) from the hot state of castings from iron-carbon alloys excludes heating with exposure for austenization of castings, which reduces the cost, time and energy consumption of obtaining products with a strengthened bainite structure, which, in fact, corresponds to the concept of realizing internal reserves as a foundry sand mold, and cast metal. Some foundry enterprises of the Vinnytsia region also use LFC or have concluded contracts, planning to reconstruct their shops for this ecological and economically beneficial foundry technology.

Many studies have been published in recent years focusing on the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-related materials, including coal, coal refuse, coal mine drainage, and coal combustion byproducts particularly fly ash. The scientific basis and technology development have been supported by coal geologists and extractive metallurgists, and through these efforts, the concept has progressed from feasibility assessment to pilot-scale production over the last five years. Physical beneficiation, acid leaching, ion-exchange leaching, bio-leaching, thermal treatment, alkali treatment, solvent extraction, and other recovery technologies have been evaluated with varying degrees of success depending on the feedstock properties. In general, physical beneficiation can be a suitable low-cost option for preliminary upgrading; however, most studies showed exceedingly low recovery values unless ultrafine grinding was first performed. This finding is largely attributed to the combination of small RE-bearing mineral particle size and complex REE mineralogy in coal-based resources. Alternatively, direct chemical extraction by acid was able to produce moderate recovery values, and the inclusion of leaching additives, alkaline pretreatment, and/or thermal pretreatment considerably improved the process performance. The studies reviewed in this article revealed two major pilot plants where these processes have been successfully deployed along with suitable solution purification technologies to continuously produce high-grade mixed rare earth products (as high as +95%) from coal-based resources. This article presents a systematic review of the recovery methods, testing outcomes, and separation mechanisms that are involved in REE extraction from coal-related materials. The most recent findings regarding the modes of occurrence of REEs in coal-related materials are also included.

Heavy Challenge of Bali Farmers Regeneration in Supporting Subak as Worldwide Cultural World. The problem facing Indonesian agriculture is the regeneration of farmers. Regeneration is important because based on data from the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) the number of farming business households experienced a drastic decrease that originally in the 2003 agricultural census amounted to 492,394 households in 2013 decreased to 408,233 households or decreased by 84,161 household. This will be a serious problem in maintaining the subak system that became world heritage because without regeneration of farmers by themselves the subak system will die. The regeneration of farmers has become a serious concern, the regeneration problem of this farmer looks mediocre, does not look important, does not have drastic impact, but one day will bring harmful effects in the community, especially for the sustainability of Subak in Bali.
 The challenge faced by regenerating farmers is that the agricultural sector is less competitive with the tourism sector, the risk of high failure in agriculture, the younger generation considers other sectors more economically and government favoring factors that are considered faster spur economic growth.
 Suggestions that can be given is the role of government should be enhanced by integrating tourism with agriculture so that there is a mutually beneficial relationship, multiply training and technology development and provide agribusiness terminals to facilitate farmers to market their agricultural products there is certainty for farmers where selling and the existence of price certainty

NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) is an industry leader in successfully applying new technology to meet business needs. The company has had a formal technology development program since 1983 and invests approximately $5.5 million annually towards developing and implementing beneficial new technology. Over the years, this leadership has provided tremendous value to NGTL’s customers, shareholders, employees and the communities in which it operates. In 1994, as part of the company’s re-engineering initiative, a high-level scoping effort identified several opportunities to further enhance the business value derived through the application of technology. To realize these opportunities, NGTL launched an effort to renew its processes for managing technology. Through this renewal effort, NGTL: 1) developed guiding organizational principles for managing technology, 2) established Key Technology Areas of focus, 3) re-structured its technology development organization, 4) leveraged best-practice concepts to improve the process of developing and implementing technologies, and 5) made significant progress in marketing the value of technological innovation across the organization. This paper will highlight NGTL’s technology management renewal effort including its historical context and rationale, the process used and the major outcomes.

“Genetically Modified Lite” placates public but not activists

Risk is ubiquitous and not necessarily bad. Risk management means balancing risks and benefits, or balancing risks one against another. Well-characterised catastrophic risks should be avoided. Poorly characterised potential catastrophes should be approached differently. Uncertainty must not be equated with risk. Decisions regarding the development and marketing of new technologies take place within a complex web of formal and informal institutions. To this, some groups have been attempting to add the "precautionary principle" (PP). However, the PP is not an appropriate tool for decision making under uncertainty. Application of the PP would actually create uncertainty and thereby undermine attempts to reduce risks; it would slow down economic growth and harm especially the poorest people in society. Applying the PP to biotechnology would lead to arbitrary - rather than scientifically justifiable - restrictions on the use of this most beneficial technology.

Accidental risk of superheated liquids and a framework for predicting the superheat limit

There is little question that we face substantial challenges in the 21st century: climate change, disease, poverty, natural resource depletion and degradation, war and terrorism — the list goes on. Emerging technologies will likely be integral in resolving or mitigating many of these challenges; prominent examples include renewable energy technologies, green chemistry, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and informatics. Government policies often play a significant or even central role in advancing the development and diffusion of such technologies. Yet, these policies typically fail to account for the unintended adverse health, environmental, social and other consequences that may flow from those technologies. This chapter starts with the premise that the United States’ technology policy ought to integrate principles of protection and promotion so as to ensure the availability of truly beneficial technologies. It examines the extent to which this integration can be accomplished through technology assessment at the legislative stage of policy formulation. For these purposes, technology assessment refers to the systematic assessment and evaluation of the positive and negative impacts of an ostensibly beneficial technology. Technology assessment has a decades-long history, starting primarily in the United States and more recently establishing itself in Europe. It takes many forms, not all of which will be appropriate for use in legislative settings in the United States.After some definitional matters regarding the notion of technological change, the chapter turns to two specific aspects of government technology policy. Promotional policies actively support the development and use of emerging technologies through research funding, direct subsidies and other strategies. Regulatory policies create a demand for emerging technologies by removing market competitors, creating a need for the emerging technology, or even requiring its use. Next, the chapter examines the problem of unintended consequences by identifying potential causes and exploring the historical example of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and the Clean Air Act. The chapter then briefly surveys the field of technology assessment, and considers how it could mitigate the problem of unintended consequences in the legislative setting. It concludes that, given the institutional structure and dynamics of Congress, technology assessment can address some, but not all, causes of such unintended consequences.

Open burning of straw in China has degraded agricultural environments and has become a contributor to air pollution. Development of efficient straw-reuse technologies not only can yield economic benefits but also can protect the environment and can provide greater benefit to society. Thus, the overall benefits of straw-reuse technologies must be considered when making regional development planning and enterprise technology decisions. In addition, agricultural areas in China cross several climatic zones and have different weather characteristics and cultural conditions. In the present study, we assessed five types of straw-reuse technologies (straw-biogas production, -briquetting, -based power generation, -gasification, and -bioethanol production), using emergy analysis, in northeast China. Within each type, five individual cases were investigated, and the highest-performing cases were used for comparison across technologies. Emergy indices for comprehensive benefits for each category, namely, EYR, ELR, and ESI were calculated. Calculated indices suggest that straw-briquetting and -biogas production are the most beneficial technologies in terms of economy, environmental impact, and sustainability compared to straw-based power generation, -gasification, and -bioethanol production technologies. These two technologies can thus be considered the most suitable for straw reuse in China.

A novel dry gravity separation method for cleaner production of fine sized iron ore concentrate

Self-learning algorithms are gradually dominating more and more aspects of our lives. They do so by performing tasks and reaching decisions that were once reserved exclusively for human beings. And not only that—in certain contexts, their decision-making performance is shown to be superior to that of humans. However, as superior as they may be, self-learning algorithms (also referred to as artificial intelligence (AI) systems, “smart robots,” or “autonomous machines”) can still cause damage. When determining the liability of a human tortfeasor causing damage, the applicable legal framework is generally that of negligence. To be found negligent, the tortfeasor must have acted in a manner not compliant with the standard of “the reasonable person.” Given the growing similarity of self-learning algorithms to humans in the nature of decisions they make and the type of damages they may cause (for example, a human driver and a driverless vehicle causing similar car accidents), several scholars have proposed the development of a “reasonable algorithm” standard, to be applied to self-learning systems. To date, however, academia has not attempted to address the practical question of how such a standard might be applied to algorithms, and what the content of analysis ought to be in order to achieve the goals behind tort law of promoting safety and victims’ compensation on the one hand, and achieving the right balance between these goals and encouraging the development of beneficial technologies on the other. This Article analyzes the “reasonableness” standard used in tort law in the context of the unique qualities, weaknesses, and strengths that algorithms possess comparatively to human actors and also examines whether the reasonableness standard is at all compatible with self-learning algorithms. Concluding that it generally is, the Article’s main contribution is its proposal of a concrete “reasonable algorithm” standard that could be practically applied by decisionmakers. This standard accounts for the differences between human and algorithmic decision-making. The “reasonable algorithm” standard also allows the application of the reasonableness standard to algorithms in a manner that promotes the aims of tort law while avoiding a dampening effect on the development and usage of new, beneficial technologies.

Tungsten is a strategic metal for India, and almost the entire requirement is met by imports. Extensive search for tungsten in recent years has led to the discovery of several deposits. However, almost all these are of low grade compared to world resources. Techno-economic exploitation of these deposits depends to a great extent on the development of suitable beneficiation technology within the framework of an ore-to-product integrated approach. This paper presents a review of the current research and development status of beneficiation technology applicable to these deposits.The deposits covered are: (i) Degana, comprising of four distinct types, namely, quartz vein, eluvial, phyllite and granite, (ii) Balda, (iii) Khobna-Kuhi-Agargoan, (iv) Burugubanda-Tapaskonda, (v) Scheelite-bearing gold ores of Kolar and Hutti, and (vi) Madurai. Investigations on these ores have been mainly carried out by BARC, IBM, BRGM (France), NML and RRL (Bhubaneswar). While studies of BARC have been described in detail, those of the other laboratories are briefly discussed. Emphasis has been laid on discussing the industrial flow-sheets recommended during these investigations.The strategy needed for the techno-economic feasibility of beneficiation of low grade tungsten ores are (i) effective pre-concentration at as coarse a size as possible, (ii) emphasis on higher recovery rather than on high grade of the concentrate, (iii) a two-product approach, one of high grade feasible by physical beneficiation methods and the other of low grade, to be upgraded by chemical methods to directly usable products, thus maximizing recovery, and (iv) a maximum utilization concept, aiming to recover all possible byproducts. The flow-sheets developed for the beneficiation of individual deposits are discussed in the light of the above strategy.