Novel method to study volatile trace elements in electric furnace nickel slag cleaning

Experimental studies of the equilibrium behavior of easily vaporizing elements, such as As, Pb and Sb, at atmospheric pressures and in pyrometallurgical process temperatures is challenging. Previ-ously, systems containing volatile elements have been studied using conventional methods with closed vessels or by adding sufficient amounts of the volatile materials to the starting mixtures to retain them in the system after experiment. However, some of these previously used techniques often lack sufficient accuracy and involve concentration gradients typical to non-equilibrium sys-tems. In addition, external control of the gas atmosphere is difficult, which limits the use of these techniques. Thus, innovative experimental techniques to study the equilibria in systems involving volatile elements are needed.