Patents Assigned to Vale
  • Publication number: 20110175604
    Abstract: A stabilized field sensor apparatus collects field data, in particular magnetic field data, with reduced motion noise. The apparatus includes a tear drop shaped housing, a tow frame in the housing, a plurality of vibration isolating dampers spaced around the frame, a base assembly mounted to the dampers, a support pedestal having a bottom end fixed to the base assembly and an upper free end, a single spherical air bearing connected to the upper free end of the pedestal, an instrument platform with a lower hollow funnel having an upper inside apex supported on the air bearing for a one point support, principal and secondary gyro stabilizers for maintaining pivotal and rotational stability, and at least one field sensor mounted to the instrument platform for collecting the field data while being stabilized against motion noise including vibration, pivoting and rotation from the base assembly, from the tow frame and from the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Applicant: VALE S.A.
    Inventors: Benjamin David POLZER, Gordon Fox West, Peter Whyte Walker, Peter Anthony Hurley, Robert Leslie Scott Hogg
  • Patent number: 7964016
    Abstract: The present invention embodies a process for extraction of nickel, cobalt, and other metals from laterite ores by heap leaching, and of the product obtained as well, characterized by the fact that it is comprised of crushing (I), agglomeration (II), stacking (III), and heap leaching (IV) stages, with this last stage being a continuous, counter-current, heap leaching system with two or more stages, comprised of two phases, one of which is composed of the ore (solute), and the other is composed of the leaching solution, or solvent, which are supplied at opposite ends of a series of stages and flow in opposite directions. Upon cessation of leaching in the last stage, its solute is removed and a new stage is introduced at the first position, formed by new ore (solute) to be leached by the solvent solution, which is introduced from the last stage, percolating or flowing though all the previous stages until it reaches the first stage, being separated if loaded with target metals (PLS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Companhia Vale Do Rio Doce
    Inventors: Geysa Santos de Pontes Pereira, Oliver Renato de Araujo Gobbo
  • Publication number: 20110142736
    Abstract: A method for recovering base metal values from oxide ore is provided, where the ore includes a first group metal selected from iron, magnesium and aluminum and a second group metal selected from nickel, cobalt and copper. The method includes reducing ore particle size to suit the latter unit operations, favoring contact of the metal elements, contacting the ore with ferric or ferrous chloride, hydrated or anhydrous, to produce a mix of ore and iron(II or III) chloride, subjecting the mixture of the ore and ferric or ferrous chloride to enough energy to decompose the chlorides into hydrochloric acid and a iron oxide, contacting the readily-formed hydrochloric acid with the base metal oxides from the second group, forming their respective chlorides, selectively dissolve the produced base metal chlorides, leaving the metals as oxides and in the solid state, and recovering the dissolved base metal values from aqueous solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2010
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Applicant: VALE S.A.
    Inventors: Antonio Clareti Pereira, Tiago Valentim Berni
  • Publication number: 20110110832
    Abstract: The present invention resides in a process of recovering nickel and cobalt, regenerating the main raw materials, said process including the steps of: granulometric separation; leaching; neutralization; MHP production in only one stage and the pressure crystallization of magnesium sulphite. The process proposes a way to recovery nickel and cobalt from laterite ores through the atmospheric and heap leaching with staged addition of ore—by size separation—and H2SO4, decreasing the nickel losses and simplifying the neutralization circuit and producing a more purified MHP. The present process route is employed for nickel extraction, including the one from high magnesium containing lateritic ores.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2009
    Publication date: May 12, 2011
    Applicant: VALE S.A.
    Inventors: Antonio Clareti Pereira, Felipe Hilario Guimaraes, Joao Alberto de Lessa Tude, Lino Rodrigues de Freitas, Tiago Valentim Berni
  • Patent number: 7901484
    Abstract: A hydrometallurgical resin-in-leach (RIL) process for directly recovering nickel and/or cobalt. Simultaneous pulp leaching by adding an acid or base, dissolves the metals of interest with adsorption of the metals rendered soluble in on ionic exchange resin. Following elution of the changed resin, purification of nickel and cobalt present in the eluate can be recovered by conventional methods, such as precipitation, extraction by solvents and membranes. The regenerated resin is recirculated for further use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: Vale Inco Limited
    Inventor: Flavia Dutra Mendes
  • Publication number: 20100303907
    Abstract: The present invention refers to a process for obtaining a standardized extract having antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties, from at least one part of a plant of genus Aleurites. Furthermore, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising an active ingredient of a pharmaceutically efficient quantity of standardized extract from at least one part of the plant of genus Aleurites. Finally, the present invention describes a method of treatment and use of the said extract, isolated or in a pharmaceutical composition, for the prevention, control or treatment of painful, inflammatory or febrile affections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 2, 2010
    Applicants: EUROFARMA LABORATÓRIOS LTDA., FUNDACÃO UNIVERSIDADE DO VALE DO ITAJAÍ
    Inventors: Valdir Cechinel Filho, Tania Mari Belle Bresolim, Christiane Meire Bittencourt, Marcia Maria De Souza, Ruth Meri Lucinda, Nara Lins Meira Quintao, Ticiana Camila Mora, Carlos Picolli, Marcello Creado Pedreira, Marcelo Eidi Nita, Rodrigo Spricigo
  • Publication number: 20100264152
    Abstract: A container having a body which defines a volume for storing a liquid. The body has a sidewall and the container also has a cover arranged to be mounted to the body. The sidewall and the cover are arranged such that, when the cover is mounted to the body, a space is defined between the cover and the sidewall in which an article may be stored. The container may be a bottle made from plastics material and the cover may be pivotally attached to the body so that it can be moved from a first position in which access to the space is permitted to a second position in which access to the space is restricted. The article may be a cleaning tool.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Publication date: October 21, 2010
    Applicant: VALE MILL (ROCHDALE) LIMITED
    Inventors: Tom Hirst, John Cocksedge
  • Publication number: 20100242317
    Abstract: An ironing board 1 having a permeable ironing surface 5 mounted on a body 3. The body 3 has one or more ports 54 through which fluid may be driven to cause the fluid to flow through the permeable surface 5. The body 3 also has a means for modifying the flow of fluid through selected regions of the surface 5. The means for modifying the flow of fluid may be one or more fans which are capable of sucking fluid from the body interior or blowing fluid into the body interior. The permeable surface may be a steel mesh surface with holes of different cross-sectional area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: VALE MILL (ROCHDALE) LIMITED
    Inventors: Dan Trowsdale, Paul Wigzell, John Cocksedge
  • Publication number: 20100196190
    Abstract: The process, according to the invention, comprises the following stages: (a) processing (1) of the laterite ore (O) by crushing, scrubbing, attrition, separation, and high-intensity magnetic separation; (b) Leaching (2) of the non-magnetic fraction (CN) obtained form the previous stage (a); (c) optionally, neutralization (3) of the effluent from the leaching and/or solid-liquid separation stages (4); (d) treatment of the effluents from stages (b) or (c) using an ion-exchange hybrid system (5) comprising at least one circuit for removal of impurities and at least one circuit for recovery of nickel and cobalt; (e) elution (6) of the ion-exchange resin used; (f) separation, purification, and recovery (7) of the nickel and cobalt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2007
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: COMPANHIA VALE DO RIO DOCE
    Inventor: Flavia Dutra Mendes
  • Patent number: 7641801
    Abstract: A method and system of removing or decreasing waste liquor manganese concentration to less than about 1 mg/L total manganese without the precipitation of significant amounts of magnesium. The method and system include steps for treating the waste liquor using three separate circuits in which in the first circuit, manganese is reduced, for example, from about 2 g/L to <500 mg/L using pH adjustment with a suitable neutralizing agent; and in the second circuit, the final target manganese level is achieved by oxidative precipitation using a suitable oxidizing agent. Part of the precipitated manganese product, e.g., MnO2, is recycled to the oxidative precipitation circuit as seed and the balance proceeds to a third circuit wherein the precipitated manganese product is re-dissolved, and then recycled to the first neutralization circuit. In the first neutralization circuit and the second oxidative precipitation circuit, the process conditions are selected to minimize the precipitation of magnesium, e.g., Mg(OH)2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: Vale Inco Limited
    Inventors: Mohamed Buarzaiga, Eric Devuyst, Julian Edwards, Joe Paventi
  • Publication number: 20090297709
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing commercial grade, carbon-coated or core-shell type metal powders with highly thermostable characteristics utilizes high-temperature carbonyl decomposition in the presence of carbon monoxide under normal atmospheric conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2008
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: ALEXANDRE YOURI ZAITSEV, FRANCISCO ROBINSON, NAM HOAI NGUYEN, VLADMIR PASERIN, CUONG VAN LUONG
  • Patent number: 7618601
    Abstract: A process for the enrichment of anatase mechanical concentrates, in order to obtain synthetic rutile with low contents of rare earth and radioactive elements, comprising the steps of: calcination of the anatase concentrate; reduction of the calcined product; dry or wet low-intensity magnetic separation of the reduced product; dry, high-intensity, high-gradient magnetic separation of the non-magnetic fraction from the low-intensity separation; leaching of the high-intensity magnetic fraction; oxidation of the dried product; leaching of the quenched product; filtering of the product from the second leaching; drying of the filtered product; and dry, high-intensity, high-gradient magnetic separation of the product of the second leaching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Companhia Vale Do Rio Doce
    Inventors: Lino Rodrigues De Freitas, Ronaldo Moreira De Horta, Joao Alberto Lessa Tude
  • Publication number: 20090249921
    Abstract: A method for producing metal oxide from a metal salt selected from nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide, nickel carbonate, cobalt carbonate, mixed nickel-cobalt carbonate and combinations thereof includes providing a mixture of the metal salt, mixing the metal salt with a binder selected from the group consisting of inorganic binder, organic binder and combinations thereof, forming the mixture into agglomerates, and calcining the agglomerates to produce metal oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2009
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: Geoffrey Edwin Osborne, Ahmed Vahed, Samuel Walton Marcuson
  • Publication number: 20090241731
    Abstract: A method for recovering base metal values from oxide ore is provided by the present disclosure. The ore includes a first metal selected from the group consisting at least one of iron and aluminum and a second metal selected from the group consisting of at least one of nickel, cobalt and copper. The method includes the steps of: contacting the oxide ore with hydrogen chloride gas to obtain chlorides of the first and second metals and subjecting at least the first and second metals to pyrohydrolysis at a predetermined temperature to decompose the chlorides of the first metal into oxides. The method also includes the step of mixing the oxides of the first metal and the chlorides of the second metal in an aqueous solution to dissolve the chlorides of the second metal and recovering the dissolved ions of the second metal from the aqueous solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2008
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: Antonio Clareti Pereira, Flavia Dutra Mendes, Tiago Valentim Berni, Ahmed Vahed
  • Publication number: 20090208405
    Abstract: A method for producing prefluxed metal oxide from a metal salt selected from nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide, nickel carbonate, cobalt carbonate, mixed nickel-cobalt carbonate and combinations thereof includes providing a mixture of at least one slag making oxide and a metal salt selected from the group consisting of nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide, nickel carbonate, cobalt carbonate, mixed nickel-cobalt carbonate and combinations thereof, blending with a binder, blending in a flux additive to form a slag-making mixture, forming the slag-making mixture into prefluxed agglomerates, and calcining the prefluxed agglomerates to produce a prefluxed metal oxide. An agglomerate is provided which includes a metal salt selected from nickel hydroxide, cobalt hydroxide, mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide, nickel carbonate, cobalt carbonate, mixed nickel-cobalt carbonate and combinations thereof, a slag making oxide, and a flux additive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2009
    Publication date: August 20, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: Geoffrey Edwin Osborne, Ahmed Vahed, Samuel Walton Marcuson
  • Patent number: 7572418
    Abstract: A process for production of titanium concentrate with low contents of radionuclide elements from anatase mechanical concentrates. The process involves calcination in air and reduction with hydrogen or any other reducing gas, both in fluidized bed reactor or rotary kiln, low-intensity magnetic separation of the reduced product, high-intensity magnetic separation of the non-magnetic fraction resulting from the low-intensity magnetic separation, hydrochloric acid leaching of the product of high-intensity magnetic separation, filtering and dewatering of the leached product, high temperature oxidation of the dewatered material, cooling of the oxidized ore, hydrochloric acid leaching of the oxidation product in the presence of sodium fluoride, filtration and drying of the product of the second leaching and high intensity magnetic separation, the non-magnetic fraction of this final magnetic separation becoming the end product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
    Inventors: Ronaldo De Moreira Horta, Lino Rodrigues De Freitas, João Alberto Lessa Tude
  • Publication number: 20090194747
    Abstract: A method for improving the environmental stability of cathode materials used in lithium-based batteries. Most currently used cathode active materials are acutely sensitive to environmental conditions, e.g. leading to moisture and CO2 pickup, that cause problems for material handling especially during electrode preparation and to gassing during charge and discharge cycles. Binder materials used for making cathodes, such as PVDF and PTFE, are mixed with and/or coated on the cathode materials to improve the environmental sensitivity of the cathode materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2008
    Publication date: August 6, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: Feng Zou, Huan Huang, Lunzhi Liao, Quan Min Yang
  • Publication number: 20090178987
    Abstract: A clothes airer with a number of pairs of pivotally connected pairs of frames 1. The pairs of frames are pivotally connected to each other at their free ends and to legs 5. One frame of each pair is pivotally connected to one or more legs 5 and the other is pivotally connected to one or more fittings 7 slidably mounted on respective legs 5.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2009
    Publication date: July 16, 2009
    Applicant: VALE MILL (ROCHDALE) LIMITED
    Inventors: DAN TROWSDALE, TOM HIRST
  • Publication number: 20090178990
    Abstract: A connecting member for connecting a plurality of frame elements. The connecting member has a core section having a width and two supporting members for supporting frame elements extending in different directions from the connecting member. The connecting member has at least one additional member for supporting a further frame element. The or each additional supporting member is pivotally connected to the core section and moveable between a first position in which the additional supporting member lies within the width of the core section and a second position in which a frame element supported by the additional support will extend in a direction generally perpendicular to a frame element supported by a supporting element of the core section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2009
    Publication date: July 16, 2009
    Applicant: VALE MILL (ROCHDALE) LIMITED
    Inventors: DAN TROWSDALE, PAUL WIGZELL, RYAN HOBSON
  • Publication number: 20090180945
    Abstract: A process for recovering metals such as Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Zn, among others, through precipitation as sulphides, enabling recovery of magnesium in the form of hydroxide, carbonate and oxide and providing recovery of sulphate as gypsum and ammonium sulphate. Liquid phase, after full treatment, comprises recovered water with a quality proper for total reuse in industrial process. This process of liquid and solid effluent treatment is provided with flexibility to process several types of effluents presenting wide variations in their chemical composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2009
    Publication date: July 16, 2009
    Applicant: VALE INCO LIMITED
    Inventors: Salomao Solino Evelin, Roberto Mattioli Silva