Abstract
Flash smelting and flash converting are mature technologies in copper and nickel sulfide smelting. The sensitivity of operation concerning the furnace design is evident. It is obvious that when two unit operations are carried out in separate spaces in the same furnace, skills related to maintenance of suspension oxidation of fine minerals, fluxing, fluid as well as heat flows and the overall energy balance are required. Despite these fundamental features, the flow-sheet wide understanding of linking the suspension oxidation of sulfides with the subsequent smelting processes in the furnace as well as the chemistry of its off-gas train is largely absent in the scientific literature. This review gives a detailed outlook on the microscale phenomena in flash smelting and flash converting furnaces accumulated during the last decades. It connects their vital features and chemistries with the reaction tendencies and heat fluxes in the different parts and reaction zones of the furnace as well as in the off-gas train from the smelter to the acid plant.Graphic
Highlights
THE flash smelting process has grown to be a major technology in copper and nickel sulfide smelting along with various bath smelting techniques
From the metallurgical engineering point of view, this process for sulfide minerals is used as a flash smelting furnace (FSF) and flash converting furnace (FCF) configuration
The limiting factors in the design of FSF and FCF in terms of engineering, throughput and smelting capacity will be discussed based on the fundamental principles of heat generation and dissipation as well as on mass transfer
Summary
THE flash smelting process has grown to be a major technology in copper and nickel sulfide smelting along with various bath smelting techniques. The attractiveness of the flash smelting is due to, e.g., its high on-line availability, high copper yield, low need of external energy, high sulfur fixing and small carbon footprint.[1] From the metallurgical engineering point of view, this process for sulfide minerals is used as a flash smelting furnace (FSF) and flash converting furnace (FCF) configuration. The available information on the thermodynamic and phase equilibria, end point of chemical reactions as well as general features of reaction kinetics including heat and mass transfer, enabling high capacity and smooth operation in each zone, will be reviewed. The limiting factors in the design of FSF and FCF in terms of engineering, throughput and smelting capacity will be discussed based on the fundamental principles of heat generation and dissipation as well as on mass transfer. The advanced oxide slag database Mtox was used for visualizing the phase equilibria.[3]
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