Pyroprocessing

Pyroprocessing Latest News

Pyroprocessing is being used in many sectors across the globe.

About Pyroprocessing

• It is a way to change a solid material physically or chemically using high temperature.
• It is a dry process and very energy-intensive.  Three sectors that use it most are cement-making, metallurgy, and nuclear power.

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Applications of Pyroprocessing

• Cement Making
  • This sector uses pyroprocessing the most and it involves
  • First, finely ground limestone, clay and iron — the raw materials — are fed into a rotary kiln.
  • As the temperature increases to 900° C, the limestone loses its carbon dioxide, and at around 1,450° C, the mix partly melts to form marble-sized nodules called clinker.
  • The clinker is then ground to produce cement.
• Metallurgy Sector
  • Pyroprocessing is used to extract metals from their ores in multiple stages.
  • For example, sulphide ores are heated in air — or roasted — to convert them into metal oxides, like zinc sulphide.
  • Smelting melts an ore to separate the metal from waste impurities called slag.
• Nuclear industry
  • It uses pyroprocessing to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
  • First, used nuclear fuel is broken up into pieces and placed in a salt bath — usually a mixture of lithium and potassium chlorides at 500° C or more.
  • Then, an electric current is passed through the salt bath, causing different elements to become separated depending on their electrochemical properties.
  • Operators then recover the elements of interest in separate streams.

Source: TH