Agglomeration behavior of TiB 2 particles in 5%TiB 2 /Al-4.5%Cu composites (all compositions are in wt.% unless otherwise specified) is studied by adding different content of Mg to improve its strength and ductility, a widely used in-situ molten salt reaction process is used to produce the composites. The results show that addition of Mg could not only significantly segregate TiB 2 particles but also further refine the α-Al grains and then improve the mechanical properties of the composites on the basis of TiB 2 particles. Here, 0.5% Mg is considered the optimum mass fraction for dispersion, refinement, and modification of particles based on the results of investigation. The yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elastic Young’s modulus (EM), and Vicker’s hardness (VHN) of the composites in T6 heat treatment are increased to 375 MPa, 486 MPa, 88 GPa, and 167 HV - an improvement of 21.8%, 16.5%, 20.9%, and 9.4%, respectively, versus the original TiB 2 /Al-4.5%Cu composite (308 MPa, 417 MPa, 63 GPa, and 153 HV). The elongation of the composite is improved by 20.9%. These merits are mainly attributed to addition of Mg, which increases the surface-spread coefficient of TiB 2 particles by reducing the surface tension of the Al melt, thereby improving the wettability .
The recovery of boron from salt lake brines has become an effective way to meet the increasing demand, particularly in China. In this study, nine commercially available monohydric alcohols with different structures were selected for boron extraction from a salt lake brine with high magnesium content. Passing through the optimization, isodecanol was finally selected for the detailed study on boron recovery from brine due to its moderate viscosity, lower solubility water entrainment and high extraction efficiency. Parameter effects on boron extraction were systematically studied, including equilibrium pH, organic concentration, phase ratio, temperature, and salting-out effect. A McCabe–Thiele diagram was established to determine the boron extraction and stripping stages. An organic solution containing 2.5 mol L−1 isodecanol was used for a simulated three-stage counter-current extraction test under optimized extraction conditions, and the boron extraction reached 99.07%. A simulated four-stage counter-current stripping test was carried out with water with the stripping efficiency of 98.71%. In total the boron recovery reached 97.79%. Additionally, the mechanism of boron extraction by isodecanol was investigated using both slope analysis method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stoichiometric ratio of isodecanol to boron required to form boric acid ester was found to be 1.268. These results indicate that the extraction system has great potential for commercial application in boron recovery from salt lake brines with high magnesium content.