Abstract
Copper technology changed from the vertical to the horizontal furnace and from the roast reaction to the converting reaction towards the end of the last century. However, the horizontal furnace proved to be an inefficient and polluting reactor. As a result many attempts were made to replace it. In the past 40 years new successful melting processes were introduced on an industrial scale that were more energy efficient and less polluting. In addition, smelting and converting were conducted in a single reactor to which the concentrate was fed and the raw copper was produced. The standing problem in many countries, however, is marketing 3 tons of sulfuric acid per ton of copper produced. The new technology offers the option of reducing SO2, to elemental sulfur by injecting a reducing agent in the gas stream. Another possibility is injecting NH3, gas to form ammonium sulfate as a co-product. The hydrometallurgical route offers the possibility of obtaining elemental sulfur at moderate temperature and pressure t...
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