Measuring and Modeling Corrosion in Hydrometallurgical Process Systems

金属腐蚀是一个非常普遍且代价高昂的问题，也是化学加工工业(CPI)工厂停工的最常见原因。对于大多数人来说，腐蚀是一种难看的麻烦，但对CPI来说，它会导致设备故障、泄漏和污染，这些都可能导致重大的健康和环境问题。如果了解其发生的原因并采取适当的措施，就可以防止这种腐蚀损害的大量发生。*CPI的一部分专注于矿物加工，其中加拿大是全球领先的。加拿大拥有世界一流的铀和钾肥等矿产储量，其经济在很大程度上依赖于这些材料的提取和加工。加拿大是世界第二大铀生产国，世界最大的铀矿位于萨斯喀彻温省。该研究项目致力于提高对铀矿加工系统中腐蚀问题的认识并开发缓解技术。*将铀加工成可用材料的初始阶段包括使用焙烧和酸浸技术进行提取。酸具有天然的腐蚀性，通过使用橡胶状屏障来保护设备不受酸的影响。然而，有时这些栅栏会损坏，使设备不受保护。这项研究的重点是确定浸出过程中使用的酸性溶液侵蚀金属的机理。它将包括仔细地进行模拟材料分解的实验，以及创建描述这一过程的数学模型。这将使工程师和科学家能够创造出更好的方法来保护设备。这个为期五年的项目将阐明金属受到侵蚀的机制，确定腐蚀侵蚀率，并开发预测模型，在设计新设备和改造现有设备的过程中，这些模型可以在假设情况下使用。

Corrosion of metals is a very common and costly problem and it is the most frequent cause of plant downtime in the Chemical Processing Industries (CPI). For most people corrosion is an unsightly nuisance but for CPI it causes equipment failure, leaks and contamination, and these can cause significant heath and environmental issues. A great deal of this corrosion damage can be prevented when the reasons its occurrence are understood and appropriate measures are undertaken.***Part of CPI is focused on mineral processing, of which Canada is a global leader. Canada has world-class reserves of minerals such as uranium and potash and its economy relies, to a great extent, on the extraction and processing of these materials. Canada is the second largest producer of uranium in the world and the world's largest mine is located in Saskatchewan. This research project is focused on improving the understanding of and developing mitigation technology for corrosion problems in uranium ore processing systems.******The initial stages of processing uranium into usable material involve extraction by using roasting and acid leaching technology. Acids are naturally corrosive and equipment is protected from them by using rubber-like barriers. However, sometimes these barriers becomes damaged leaving the equipment unprotected. This research is focused on determining the mechanisms by which the acidic solutions, used in the leaching process, attack the metal. It will involve carefully performing experiments that mimic the breakdown of the materials as well as creating mathematical models that describe the process. This will allow engineers and scientists to create better ways of protecting the equipment. This five-year project will elucidate the mechanism by which the metal is attacked, determine the rate of corrosion attack and develop predictive models that can be used in “what if” situations during the design of new and retrofit of existing equipment.********