Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K35/00—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting
  • B23K35/22—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting characterised by the composition or nature of the material
  • B23K35/36—Selection of non-metallic compositions, e.g. coatings or fluxes; Selection of soldering or welding materials, conjoint with selection of non-metallic compositions, both selections being of interest
  • B23K35/362—Selection of compositions of fluxes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K35/00—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting
  • B23K35/22—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting characterised by the composition or nature of the material
  • B23K35/36—Selection of non-metallic compositions, e.g. coatings or fluxes; Selection of soldering or welding materials, conjoint with selection of non-metallic compositions, both selections being of interest
  • B23K35/3601—Selection of non-metallic compositions, e.g. coatings or fluxes; Selection of soldering or welding materials, conjoint with selection of non-metallic compositions, both selections being of interest with inorganic compounds as principal constituents
  • B23K35/3602—Carbonates, basic oxides or hydroxides
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K35/00—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting
  • B23K35/22—Rods, electrodes, materials, or media, for use in soldering, welding, or cutting characterised by the composition or nature of the material
  • B23K35/36—Selection of non-metallic compositions, e.g. coatings or fluxes; Selection of soldering or welding materials, conjoint with selection of non-metallic compositions, both selections being of interest
  • B23K35/3601—Selection of non-metallic compositions, e.g. coatings or fluxes; Selection of soldering or welding materials, conjoint with selection of non-metallic compositions, both selections being of interest with inorganic compounds as principal constituents
  • B23K35/3603—Halide salts
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
  • C22B21/00—Obtaining aluminium
  • C22B21/06—Obtaining aluminium refining
  • C22B21/062—Obtaining aluminium refining using salt or fluxing agents
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
  • C22B9/00—General processes of refining or remelting of metals; Apparatus for electroslag or arc remelting of metals
  • C22B9/10—General processes of refining or remelting of metals; Apparatus for electroslag or arc remelting of metals with refining or fluxing agents; Use of materials therefor, e.g. slagging or scorifying agents
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
  • C22B19/00—Obtaining zinc or zinc oxide
  • C22B19/32—Refining zinc
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
  • C22B26/00—Obtaining alkali, alkaline earth metals or magnesium
  • C22B26/10—Obtaining alkali metals
  • C22B26/12—Obtaining lithium
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
  • C22B26/00—Obtaining alkali, alkaline earth metals or magnesium
  • C22B26/20—Obtaining alkaline earth metals or magnesium
  • C22B26/22—Obtaining magnesium

Definitions

• the present exemplary embodiment relates to a unique flux compound. It finds particular application as a salt inclusive flux compound which is used for the treatment of aluminum, aluminum alloys, and other non-ferrous metals such as zinc, lithium, or magnesium, and their alloys.
• MgCL 2 is one of the chemical active agents used for the withdrawal of impurities in alloys. Its concentration and distribution have a direct effect on the kinetic of withdrawal of calcium and sodium.
• the present disclosure is directed to a flux material providing the major advantages of flux addition to molten metals wherein the flux materials are present as a combination in granulated particles having a process friendly melting temperature.
• Embodiments of the present disclosure show the following advantages: economic advantages; lower production costs; lower costs of raw material; efficiency equivalent to the purification methods using existing well known salt flux; and economic alternative to existing salt flux without creating any significant accumulation of sodium within aluminum or aluminum alloys weight and more particularly aluminum alloys having magnesium content higher than 3% by weight.
• FIGURE is a schematic illustration of an exemplary apparatus suitable for manufacturing of the present flux.
• a method for the treatment of a metal bath includes combining alkali chloride salt, alkaline-earth chloride salt, and at least one salt of nitrate, carbonate, sulfate or a combination thereof and/or a fluoride containing salt to form a mixture. Granules are formed from the mixture and added to the metal bath.
• a method of making the salt of paragraph [0012] comprises providing the materials in powder form, mixing the combined materials, melting the combined materials, solidifying the melted combined materials to obtain a fused compound, and crushing then sieving the fused compound.
• a method of making the salt of paragraph [0012] comprises providing the salts in powder form, wherein at least the fines of a fused binary salt material are included, mixing the combined salts, compacting the combined salts, and crushing then sieving the compacted material.
• FIG. 1 A more complete understanding of the components, processes and apparatuses disclosed herein can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawing.
• the figure is a schematic representation based on convenience and the ease of demonstrating the present disclosure, and is, therefore, not intended to indicate relative size and dimensions of the devices or components thereof and/or to define or limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.
• the term “comprising” may include the embodiments “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”
• the terms “comprise(s),” “include(s),” “having,” “has,” “can,” “contain(s),” and variants thereof, as used herein, are intended to be open-ended transitional phrases, terms, or words that require the presence of the named ingredients/steps and permit the presence of other ingredients/steps.
• compositions or processes as “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” the enumerated ingredients/steps, which allows the presence of only the named ingredients/steps, along with any impurities that might result therefrom, and excludes other ingredients/steps.
• the present disclosure is directed to a unique fused flux granulated material which can be used for the treatment of aluminum, aluminum alloys, and other non-ferrous metals such as zinc, lithium, or magnesium and their alloys.
• Fused flux is intended to encompass granules that are a blend of salt compounds.
• granule is intended to encompass forms such as particles, briquettes, pellets, strips, shavings, etc.
• Flux can be distributed into or on top of moiten metal baths using a variety of techniques.
• the present flux material advantageously provides at least three major metal treatment functions.
• the three functional aspects of the present flux can include: (1) to remove unwanted non-metallic inclusions and impurities, (2) to remove alkali and alkali earth elements (sodium, calcium, and lithium) and (3) to dry layers of metal oxide "dross” that form on the surface of metal baths (i.e., lower liquid metal content in dross layers).
• the present flux material will also provide grain refinement, hydrogen removal and/or chemistry modification.
• Alkali chloride salt can also clean the furnace environment when injected sub-surface.
• Another of the components can be an alkaline-earth chloride salt, such as magnesium (Mg), barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), and/or calcium (Ca) chloride.
• the alkaline -earth chloride salt can be used to remove alkali and alkaline earth elements to ppm or lower levels, and in many instances can replace chlorine.
• the alkaline-earth chloride salt can also form a eutectic with the alkali chloride salt to provide a lower salt melting temperature.
• fluoride salts such as earth alkali fluorides, aluminum fluoride, and/or double salts, e.g. alkali metal fluorides, calcium fluoride, sodium aluminum fluoride, potassium aluminum fluoride, sodium borofluoride, potassium borofluoride and alkali metal silico-fluorides.
• the fluoride salts can lower the surface tension of the aluminum, allowing droplet coalescence.
• Some fluorides can also affect metal chemistry, such as AIF3, which removes magnesium and alkali elements.
• Fluorides are also generally known in literature to lower surface tension between the flux and the metal, and the flux and the metal oxides. Also, it is thought that aluminum oxides are slightly soluble in them, so they help to break up dross.
• the flux can be composed of engineered ratios of at least three of the following families of salt constituents: akali chloride salt(s) (e.g., LiCI2, NaCI, KCI); alkaline-earth chloride salt(s) (e.g., MgCI2, CaCI2, SrCI2, BaCI2); salt(s) containing fluorine (e.g., NaF, CaF2, MgF, AIF3, NaAIF6, Na2SiF6, KAIF4, etc.); and nitrate, carbonate, or sulfate salts (e.g., CaCO3, KNO3, K2SO4). In certain embodiments, all four of the salt constituent categories will be present.
• akali chloride salt(s) e.g., LiCI2, NaCI, KCI
• alkaline-earth chloride salt(s) e.g., MgCI2, CaCI2, SrCI2, BaCI2
• salt(s) containing fluorine e.g., Na
• the alkali chloride salts can comprise the highest concentration of the overall flux composition.
• the alkaline-earth salts can comprise the highest concentration of the overall flux composition.
• An exemplary composition of the flux can include alkali chloride salt between about 25 and 75 wt.% or about 30 and 75 wt.%, alkaline-earth chloride salt between about 5 and 60 wt.% or about 20 and 60 wt.%, and/or at least one nitrate, carbonate, or sulfate salt between about 5 and 25 wt.% or about 8 and 18 wt.% (when present), and/or a fluoride containing salt between about 5 and 25 wt.% (when present).
• the present flux material can have a density between about 1 .5 and 2.0 g/cm 3 .
• the grain sizes of the granulated material can vary within a certain band width.
• An exemplary range is between greater than 0 mm and 6 mm, particularly between 0.5 mm and 4 mm, or between 0.8 and 3 mm.
• grain sizes are generally present in distributions, for example in Gaussian distributions.
• the granulated particulate flux of the present disclosure can be formed for example by blending the desired constituents in powder form.
• the blended powder is then compacted under high pressure (e.g. roll compacting) to form either briquettes or rolled ribbons.
• the briquette/ribbon form is then granulated using milling techniques (e.g. crushing) and sieved to a desired particle size distribution.
• the Roll Compaction System of the FIGURE is a suitable apparatus for production of the flux of the present disclosure.
• at least two of the salt raw materials are provided as an already fused binary material.
• the binary material can be obtained from the fines of a multifaceted refining agent (e.g. Promag® Plus).
• the use of binary fines as a starting material has been found to improve product yield, improve chemistry uniformity within granules and granule-to-granule, and improve particulate durability (e.g. less brittle).
• the granulate particulate flux can also be obtained from liquid solutions, for example by cultivating crystals or by recrystallization.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Metallurgy (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
• Compounds Of Alkaline-Earth Elements, Aluminum Or Rare-Earth Metals (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (5)

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• 2021
  • 2021-08-03 US US18/019,076 patent/US20230278146A1/en active Pending
  • 2021-08-03 EP EP21852620.0A patent/EP4192992A4/en active Pending
  • 2021-08-03 WO PCT/US2021/044370 patent/WO2022031721A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2021-08-03 JP JP2023507751A patent/JP2023538267A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (5)

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