Abstract
The effects of the amphoteric and basic oxides alumina and lime on the phase equilibria of copper matte and silica-saturated slags were investigated at 1300 °C and P_{{{text{SO}}_{ 2} }} = 0.1 atm in a controlled CO-CO2-SO2-Ar gas atmosphere using a high-temperature isothermal equilibration technique followed by rapid quenching. The equilibrium phase compositions were obtained by Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis. The relationship between the copper concentration in matte and the oxygen partial pressure, iron, and sulfur in matte was quantified. The pure iron-silicate slag exhibited the highest copper loss in slag, although the addition of alumina and lime decreased its value by approximately a quarter and a half, respectively, at a matte grade of 65 wt pct Cu. In contrast, copper and sulfur were highly distributed in the matte phase, and their deportment to the matte was favored by addition of alumina and lime.
Highlights
THE flash smelting technology developed by Outokumpu in 1949 in Harjavalta (Finland) is regarded as one of the most important innovations in metallurgy in the 20th century.[1]
The copper concentration in the slag obtained in the present study indicates that the copper loss increased with increasing matte grade
The phase equilibrium of copper matte with three different silica-saturated slags (FeOx-SiO2, FeOxSiO2-Al2O3, and FeOx-SiO2-Al2O3-CaO) was studied at 1300 °C and PSO2 = 0.1 atm using a high-temperature equilibration technique followed by rapid quenching
Summary
THE flash smelting technology developed by Outokumpu in 1949 in Harjavalta (Finland) is regarded as one of the most important innovations in metallurgy in the 20th century.[1]. The most recent systematic research on the effects of the basic oxides Al2O3, CaO, and MgO on the phase equilibrium of copper matte and slag at tridymite saturation was conducted by Shishin et al.[20] at 1200 °C and PSO2 = 0.25 atm, using both experimental and thermodynamic modeling. They suggested that the Fe/ SiO2 ratio as well as the sulfur and copper concentrations in slag decreased with increasing Al2O3, CaO, and MgO concentrations. The detailed distributions of precious metals in the same experiments were reported in our previous study.[21]
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