A disclosed process produces at least one concentrated copper product together with at least one crude solder product, starting from a black copper composition with at least 50% of copper together with at least 1.0% wt of tin and at least 1.0% wt of lead The process includes the step of partially oxidizing the black copper thereby forming a first copper refining slag, followed by partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The total feed to the reducing step includes an amount of copper that is at least 1.5 times as high as the sum of the amounts of Sn plus Pb present, and the first spent slag includes at most 20% wt total of copper, tin and lead together.

The present invention relates to a HEA foam prepared by selective dissolution of a second phase within a two-phase separating alloy comprising the HEA and a manufacturing method thereof. The manufacturing method of the HEA foam of the present invention has the effect of preparing a novel HEA foam, which was not available in the past, by leaving only a first phase after manufacturing a two-phase separating alloy comprising a first phase by HEA, wherein at least 3 metal elements act as a common solvent. Furthermore, the HEA foam of the present invention has a structure, wherein pores are distributed inside the HEA, in which at least 3 metal elements act as a common solvent. By adding a functional characteristic of low heat conductivity, etc., to the existing high strength characteristic of HEA, the HEA foam of the present invention can exhibit a complex effect by the combination of the two particular effects, thereby being capable of exhibiting excellent physical characteristics.

A process for producing a solder product and a copper product from a first lead-tin based metal composition having at least 40% wt of copper and at least 5.0% wt together of tin and lead. The process includes the steps of partially oxidizing a first liquid bath having the first lead-tin based metal composition, thereby forming a first dilute copper metal composition and a first solder refining slag, followed by separating the slag from the metal composition, and partially oxidizing a second liquid bath having the first dilute copper metal composition, thereby forming a first high-copper metal composition and a third solder refining slag, followed by separating the third solder refining slag from the first high-copper metal composition,
whereby the solder product is derived from the first solder refining slag.

Processes for the production of platinum group metal (PGM)-enriched alloys are described. The PGM enriched-alloys can have 0 to 60 wt.-% of iron and 20 to 99 wt.-% of one or more PGMs selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium and rhodium. The described processes exhibit remarkably low PGM losses during production of PGM-enriched alloys therefore yield alloys having considerably high PGM levels.

In an embodiment, an alloy is exposed to a hydrophilic solvent at least until at least one Group I or Group II element is substantially removed so as to produce a nanomaterial that substantially includes a metal, semimetal or non-metal material and that exhibits a desired set of microstructure characteristics. The hydrophilic solvent is configured to be reactive with respect to the at least one Group I or Group II element and substantially unreactive with respect to the metal, semimetal or non-metal material. In another embodiment, an active material is infiltrated into pores of a nanoporous metal or metal oxide, after which the infiltrated nanoporous metal or metal oxide material is annealed to produce an active material-based nanocomposite material. A protective coating layer is deposited on at least part of a surface of the active material-based nanocomposite material.

Metal compositions and production processes are described. A process for the production of a metal composition includes a first distillation step separating off by evaporation primarily lead from a solder mixture of lead, tin, and antimony, thereby producing as a first concentrated lead stream. The process includes a second distillation step separating primarily lead and antimony from the metal composition, thereby producing a second concentrated lead stream and a second bottom product. The method also includes a third distillation step separating primarily lead and antimony from the second concentrated lead stream, thereby producing a third concentrated lead stream and a third bottom product.

A process for the production of a PGM-enriched alloy comprising 0 to 60 wt.-% of iron and 20 to 99 wt.-% of one or more PGMs selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium and rhodium, the process comprising the steps of (1) providing a PGM collector alloy comprising 30 to 95 wt.-% of iron, less than 1 wt.-% of sulfur and 2 to 15 wt.-% of one or more PGMs selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium and rhodium, (2) providing a copper- and sulfur-free material capable of forming a slag-like composition when molten, wherein the molten slag-like composition comprises 40 to 90 wt.-% of magnesium oxide and/or calcium oxide and 10 to 60 wt.-% of silicon dioxide, (3) melting the PGM collector alloy and the material capable of forming a slag-like composition when molten in a weight ratio of 1:0.2 to 1 within a converter until a multi- or two-phase system of a lower high-density molten mass comprising the molten PGM collector alloy and one or more upper low-density molten masses comprising the molten slag-like composition has formed, (4) contacting an oxidizing gas comprising 0 to 80 vol.-% of inert gas and 20 to 100 vol.-% of oxygen with the lower high-density molten mass obtained in step (3) until it has been converted into a lower high-density molten mass of the PGM-enriched alloy, (5) separating an upper low-density molten slag formed in the course of step (4) from the lower high-density molten mass of the PGM-enriched alloy making use of the difference in density, (6) letting the molten masses separated from one another cool down and solidify, and (7) collecting the solidified PGM-enriched alloy.

Device and method for melt treatment of aluminium alloys having excessive inclusions, impurities and unwanted gases to be removed, by (a) cooling the melt at an appropriate cooling rate to a temperature below the liquidus by shearing the melt associated with the introduction of at least one type of inert gases into the melt to form fine bubbles and high shear in the melt, and (b) purifying inclusions in the melt by floating them to the top surface, degassing the undesirable gases by reacting with the inert gas, and forming solid intermetallics containing impurity elements and transferring the melt mixture by the shearing device into a holding furnace, and (c) maintaining the melt in the holding furnace at a temperature below the liquidus and above the solidus temperature to settle the solid intermetallics formed by impurity elements as sediment at the bottom of the holding furnace while flowing the melt with much reduced inclusions, impurities and unwanted gases out of the holding furnace as applicable materials. The method is advantageously applicable for upgrading aluminium alloys from recycled and/or scrapped materials.