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Application of Electromagnetic (EM) Separation Technology to Metal Refining Processes: A Review

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Abstract

Application of electromagnetic (EM) force to metal processing has been considered as an emerging technology for the production of clean metals and other advanced materials. In the current paper, the principle of EM separation was introduced and several schemes of imposing EM field, such as DC electric field with a crossed steady magnetic field, AC electric field, AC magnetic field, and traveling magnetic field were reviewed. The force around a single particle or multi-particles and their trajectories in the conductive liquid under EM field were discussed. Applications of EM technique to the purification of different liquid metals such as aluminum, zinc, magnesium, silicon, copper, and steel were summarized. Effects of EM processing parameters, such as the frequency of imposed field, imposed magnetic flux density, processing time, particle size, and the EM unit size on the EM purification efficiency were discussed. Experimental and theoretical investigations have showed that the separation efficiency of inclusions from the molten aluminum using EM purification could as high as over 90 pct. Meanwhile, the EM purification was also applied to separate intermetallic compounds from metal melt, such as α-AlFeMnSi-phase from the molten aluminum. And then the potential industrial application of EM technique was proposed.

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Abbreviations

g :

Acceleration gravity vector, m s−2

l 0 :

Acting length of EM force, m

k :

Blockage ratio

F b :

Buoyancy force exerted on particle per unit volume, N m−3

I :

Coil current, A

ρ :

Density of metal melt, kg m−3

ρ p :

Density of particle, kg m−3

d p :

Diameter of particle, m

D :

Diameter of separator, m

d c/h c :

Diameter to height ratio of the cylindrical particle

d :

Distance between the two spherical particles, m

σ f :

Electrical conductivity of metal melt, s m−1

σ p :

Electrical conductivity of particle, s m−1

F em :

EM force acting on a unit volume of metal melt, N m−3

F emp :

EM force exerted on a unit volume of particle, N m−3

F p :

Expulsive force exerted on a unit volume particle, N m−3

f :

Frequency of imposed field, Hz

F r :

Froude number

G :

Gravity of a unit volume particle, N m−3

Ha:

Hartman number

h :

Height of separator, m

J :

Imposed electric current density, A m−2

B 0 :

Imposed magnetic flux density, T

c 0 :

Initial particle concentration, kg m−3

r 0 :

Initial position of particle along radial direction, m

x 0 :

Initial position of particle in x direction, m

y 0 :

Initial position of particle in y direction, m

R H :

Magnetic pressure number

Gc large :

EM migration force imposed on the large particle, N m−3

Gc small :

EM migration force imposed on the small particle, N m−3

B m :

Maximum magnetic flux density, T

µ 0 :

Magnetic permeability, H m−1

u m :

Maximum velocity of metal melt, m s−1

u 0 :

Mean velocity of metal melt, m s−1

µ :

Molecular viscosity of metal melt, Pa s

Z :

Non-dimensional axial distance

C I :

Non-dimensional parameter (including current)

D R :

Non-dimensional particle diameter

γ :

Particle–fluid density ratio

v t :

Perpendicular terminal migration velocity of the particle, m s−1

t :

Processing time, s

a :

Radius of circular pipe, m

a/δ :

Ratio of separator size to skin depth

η :

Removal efficiency

Re :

Reynolds number of fluid

b :

Size of square pipe, m

δ :

Skin depth, m

F :

Total body force, N m−3

B :

Total magnetic flux density, T

u t :

Terminal velocity of particles, m s−1

V max :

The maximum velocity inside the fluid, m s−1

u :

Velocity of metal melt, m s−1

u p :

Velocity of particle, m s−1

V p :

Volume of particle, m3

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the authors of the literatures cited in the current paper and publishers for their permission to reproduce figures from their publications and are grateful for the support from the National Science Foundation China (Grant Nos. 51274034, 51334002, U1360201, and 51204110), Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Recycling and Extraction of Metals (GREM), the Laboratory of Green Process Metallurgy and Modeling (GPM2) and the High Quality steel Consortium (HQSC) at the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering at University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Recycling and Extraction of Metals (GREM), University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, 100083, P.R. China

    Lifeng Zhang (Professor) & Shengqian Wang (Ph.D. Student)

  2. School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, 100083, P.R. China

    Lifeng Zhang (Professor) & Shengqian Wang (Ph.D. Student)

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China

    Anping Dong (Lecturer)

  4. Shanghai Institute of Quality Inspection and Technical Research (SQI), Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China

    Jianwei Gao (Deputy Senior Engineer)

  5. SELEE Corporation, 700 Shepherd Street, Hendersonville, NC, 28792, USA

    Lucas Nana Wiredu Damoah (Aluminum Cast House Development Engineer)

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  1. Lifeng Zhang
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  2. Shengqian Wang
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Correspondence to Lifeng Zhang.

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Manuscript submitted July 29, 2010.

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Zhang, L., Wang, S., Dong, A. et al. Application of Electromagnetic (EM) Separation Technology to Metal Refining Processes: A Review. Metall Mater Trans B 45, 2153–2185 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-014-0123-y

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