Pilot Plants in Metallurgical Research and Development

Abstract

THE National Metallurgical Laboratory has been organising symposia regularly on important subjects of topical metallurgical interest. This year's Symposium on "Pilot plants in Metallurgical Research and Development" had a great significance in view of the considerable stress laid today on basic concepts of constituent fundamental scie- nces followed by their applied pursuits and trials on semi-pilot and pilot plant scales. The Laboratory's own efforts to put up metallurgical pilot plants such as Pilot Plant on production of Electrolytic Manganese & Electrolytic Manga-nese Dioxide, production of Refractories, Pilot Plant on Aluminizing of Steel Wires and on Thermal and Ore-dressing Beneficiation of Low-grade Manganese, Chrome and other ores have reached the final stage of completion. The Low Shaft Furnace Pilot Plant established by the National Meta-llurgical Laboratory for the production of foundry grades of pig iron from non-metallurgical coal is also currently in operation. There have been several valuable technical exchanges of opinions especially from the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, regarding several aspects of pilot plant practice of common interest.