Obtenção de pós de tântalo metálico a partir da redução aluminotérmica com ignição a plasma

Metallic tantalum has a high commercial value due to intrinsic properties like excellent ductility, corrosion resistance, high melt and boiling points and good electrical and thermal conductivities. Nowadays, it is mostly used in the manufacture of capacitors, due to excellent dielectric properties of its oxides. In the nature, tantalum occurs in the form of oxide and it is extracted mainly from tantalite-columbite ores. The tantalum is usually produced by the reduction of its oxide, using reductants like carbon, silicon, calcium, magnesium and aluminum. Among these techniques, the aluminothermic reduction has been used as the industrial method to produce niobium, tantalum and their alloys, due to the easy removal of the Al and Al2O3 of the system, easing further refining. In conventional aluminothermic reduction an electrical resistance is used to trigger the reaction. This reaction self-propagates for all the volume of material. In this work, we have developed a novel technique of aluminothermic reduction that uses the hydrogen plasma to trigger the reaction. The results obtained by XRD, SEM and EDS show that is possible to obtain a compound rich in tantalum through this technique of aluminothermic reduction in the plasma reactor

Estudo do desempenho de resinas poliméricas para remoção de H2S do gás natural

The natural gas (NG) is a clean energy source and found in the underground of porous rocks, associated or not to oil. Its basic composition includes methane, ethane, propane and other components, like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide and water. H2S is one of the natural pollutants of the natural gas. It is considered critical concerning corrosion. Its presence depends on origin, as well as of the process used in the gas treatment. It can cause problems in the tubing materials and final applications of the NG. The Agência Nacional do Petróleo sets out that the maximum concentration of H2S in the natural gas, originally national or imported, commercialized in Brazil must contain 10 -15 mg/cm3. In the Processing Units of Natural Gas, there are used different methods in the removal of H2S, for instance, adsorption towers filled with activated coal, zeolites and sulfatreat (solid, dry, granular and based on iron oxide). In this work, ion exchange resins were used as adsorbing materials. The resins were characterized by thermo gravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy and sweeping electronic microscopy. The adsorption tests were performed in a system linked to a gas-powered chromatograph. The present H2S in the exit of this system was monitored by a photometrical detector of pulsing flame. The electronic microscopy analyzes showed that the topography and morphology of the resins favor the adsorption process. Some characteristics were found such as, macro behavior, particles of variable sizes, spherical geometries, without the visualization of any pores in the surface. The infrared specters presented the main frequencies of vibration associated to the functional group of the amines and polymeric matrixes. When the resins are compared with sulfatreat, under the same experimental conditions, they showed a similar performance in retention times and adsorption capacities, making them competitive ones for the desulphurization process of the natural gas

Estudo do desempenho de resinas poliméricas para remoção de H2S do gás natural

The natural gas (NG) is a clean energy source and found in the underground of porous rocks, associated or not to oil. Its basic composition includes methane, ethane, propane and other components, like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide and water. H2S is one of the natural pollutants of the natural gas. It is considered critical concerning corrosion. Its presence depends on origin, as well as of the process used in the gas treatment. It can cause problems in the tubing materials and final applications of the NG. The Agência Nacional do Petróleo sets out that the maximum concentration of H2S in the natural gas, originally national or imported, commercialized in Brazil must contain 10 -15 mg/cm3. In the Processing Units of Natural Gas, there are used different methods in the removal of H2S, for instance, adsorption towers filled with activated coal, zeolites and sulfatreat (solid, dry, granular and based on iron oxide). In this work, ion exchange resins were used as adsorbing materials. The resins were characterized by thermo gravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy and sweeping electronic microscopy. The adsorption tests were performed in a system linked to a gas-powered chromatograph. The present H2S in the exit of this system was monitored by a photometrical detector of pulsing flame. The electronic microscopy analyzes showed that the topography and morphology of the resins favor the adsorption process. Some characteristics were found such as, macro behavior, particles of variable sizes, spherical geometries, without the visualization of any pores in the surface. The infrared specters presented the main frequencies of vibration associated to the functional group of the amines and polymeric matrixes. When the resins are compared with sulfatreat, under the same experimental conditions, they showed a similar performance in retention times and adsorption capacities, making them competitive ones for the desulphurization process of the natural gas

Obtenção de pós de tântalo metálico a partir da redução aluminotérmica com ignição a plasma

Metallic tantalum has a high commercial value due to intrinsic properties like excellent ductility, corrosion resistance, high melt and boiling points and good electrical and thermal conductivities. Nowadays, it is mostly used in the manufacture of capacitors, due to excellent dielectric properties of its oxides. In the nature, tantalum occurs in the form of oxide and it is extracted mainly from tantalite-columbite ores. The tantalum is usually produced by the reduction of its oxide, using reductants like carbon, silicon, calcium, magnesium and aluminum. Among these techniques, the aluminothermic reduction has been used as the industrial method to produce niobium, tantalum and their alloys, due to the easy removal of the Al and Al2O3 of the system, easing further refining. In conventional aluminothermic reduction an electrical resistance is used to trigger the reaction. This reaction self-propagates for all the volume of material. In this work, we have developed a novel technique of aluminothermic reduction that uses the hydrogen plasma to trigger the reaction. The results obtained by XRD, SEM and EDS show that is possible to obtain a compound rich in tantalum through this technique of aluminothermic reduction in the plasma reactor