Production of Manganese and Manganese Dioxide - Pilot Plant Investigations

Abstract

Investigations on production of electrolytic manganese and electrolytic manganese dioxide were initiated in this laboratory in 1950 for the utilisation of low-grade manganese ores. Basic data for the two processes were collected by 1953 and the processes developed were covered by patents. Before the processes could be handed over for commercial exploitation, it was thought necessary that the processes should be tried on a comparatively larger scale of a pilot plant to find the soundness of the processes, to visualise the relative sizes of various equipment, materials of construction, relative effects of different stages of the processes, working conditions, quality of products and a preliminary idea about cost, i.e., in short to find how far the conditions and data found in laboratory scale experiments were applicable on a large scale. A beginning in the establishment of a pilot plant was made in 1954.