Copper Pyrometallurgy Research Articles

Synergy of energy resources of copper pyrometallurgy in RTB Bor-Serbia

Copper production is a significant consumer of energy, consisting of almost all fossil fuels, and also including electricity. This work presents a comparison of the specific energy consumption of several metallurgical copper producers in the world, with the installed different technological processes, in comparison to the production of copper in RTB Bor (Serbia). An important place is dedicated to the quantitative participation of energy fuels in the production of copper. In addition to this, an analysis of cost structure for energy fuels was shown in the production process of copper. This work particularly emphasizes the aspect of use the secondary (waste) heat energy as a prerequisite to improve the energy efficiency and economy of pyrometallurgical copper production. Using the waste heat of pyrometallurgical process, the protection of working and life environment is improved Selection and development of new metallurgical processes in order to achieve the best economic effects is achieved selecting the optimum technology, on one side, and selection of energy system with the best performances with the full utilization the secondary heat energy of the process. Concretization of this aspect also relates to the modernization of the Copper Smelter in RTB Bor installing the new technology for smelting of copper concentrates.

Implementation of integrated automatic control system of copper smelter based on bath smelting technique

Bath smelting technique is known to be effectively adopted in copper smelting. This paper proposes automatic control strategies and implementation methods of integrated all plant system in copper pyrometallurgy based on the real projects named Chambishi Copper Smelter in Zambia and Kunpeng Copper Smelter in China. We design and implement an all plant system which consists of oxygen-enriched air and top-blown furnace system, converter system, anode furnace system, electrical furnace system and some auxiliary system, such as waste heat boiler system, waste heat power generation system and sulphuric acid making system. Meanwhile, the configuration of the integrated control system based on Rockwell ControlLogix and Emerson DeltaV is also introduced. Our experiments show a remarkable result that the production process is steady and the equipments are stable and safe.

Comparative analysis of slag systems Cu–Fe–O–SiO2 and Cu–Fe–O–CaO between 1100 and 1300°C

The present work reviews the state of the art of the quaternary systems Cu–Fe–O–SiO2 and Cu–Fe–O–CaO during copper pyrometallurgy processes, mainly, matte converting and blister copper fire refining. Both systems are particularly important to be considered in physicochemical understanding and modelling of pyrometallurgical processes today, then their knowledge become of particular interest for fundamental research and its applications to the copper industry. This analysis includes Cu losses, behaviour of impurities, and the interaction of MgO/Cr2O3 refractories with Cu2O both in fayalite and calcium ferrite slags.

Waste Heat Recovery and Reuse of Flue Gas in Copper Pyrometallurgy

In the paper, we take current relatively advanced, the most widely used flash smelting furnace, converter and rotary anode furnace as the examples, the waste heat resources of the process of matte smelting, the process of matte converting and the process of fire refining of blister copper in copper pyrometallurgy are analyzed respectively. Meanwhile, based on the way of using waste heat reasonably to suitable heat consumer in production process and the grade recovery principle of energy level matching, the model of waste heat recovery and reuse of flue gas in copper pyrometallurgy is constructed.

Modern Continuous Smelting and Converting By Bath Smelting Technology

Throughout much of the twentieth century, bath smelting technologies have been important for the production and refining of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, a trend which is expected to continue into the next century. This situation is no less true than with copper pyrometallurgy where such primary smelting and converting technologies now account for about 30% of world copper output. Actually the notion of employing a metallurgical melt stirred in some manner for metal smelting and refining reactions has been in existence for several thousand years. It is the perfection of the technology to efficiently process huge tonnages of raw material which is the legacy belonging to the latter half of our century. Drawing on the more recent examples in copper pyrometallurgy, this paper provides a brief review of developments in bath smelting and converting from these perspectives. The current state of process knowledge of modern bath smelting operations, such as those typified by the Noranda and El Teniente processes and modern converting technologies, is then examined using examples from both operational and research-oriented developments. Professor Keith Brimacombe contributed much towards our present understanding of these modern processes and his contribution in this area is evaluated and recognized. The authors also provide some comments on the future of these technologies as the world enters the twenty-first century.Pendant une bonne partie du vingtième siècle, les techniques de bain de fonte ont eu une grande importance pour la production et l'affinage des métaux ferreux et non-ferreux, une tendance qui devrait se poursuivre au siècle suivant. Cette situation n'en est pas moins vraie en ce qui concerne la pyrométallurgie du cuivre où de telles techniques primaires de fonte et de cémentation comptent maintenant pour environ 30% de la production mondiale de cuivre. Actuellement, la notion d'emploi d'une fonte métallurgique, mélangée d'une façon ou d'une autre, pour la fonte du métal et les réactions d'affinage, existe depuis plusieurs milliers d'années. Le parachèvement de la technique, consistant á traiter efficacement d'énormes tonnages de matériaux bruts, constitue l'héritage de la seconde moitié de notre siècle. En se basant sur des exemples plus récents de la pyrométallurgie du cuivre, ce document fournit une brève revue des développements du bain de fonte et de la cémentation á partir de ces perspectives. Ensuite, on examine l'état courant de la connaissance du procédé des opérations modernes de bain de fonte, telles que celles typéfiées par les procédés Noranda et El Teniente, et des techniques modernes de cémentation, en utilisant des exemples de développements opérationnels ainsi que de développements orientés vers la recherche. Le professeur Keith Brimacombe a beaucoup contribué á notre compréhension actuelle de ces procédés modernes et l'on évalue et reconnaît sa contribution dans ce domaine. Les auteurs commentent également le futur de ces techniques au moment où le monde entre dans le vingt-et-unième siècle.

5616168 Hydrometallurgical processing of impurity streams generated during the pyrometallurgy of copper : Gabb Philip J; Evans J Philip Salt Lake City, UT, UNITED STATES assigned to Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation

5616168 Hydrometallurgical processing of impurity streams generated during the pyrometallurgy of copper : Gabb Philip J; Evans J Philip Salt Lake City, UT, UNITED STATES assigned to Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation

Thermodynamic considerations in copper pyrometallurgy

Thermodynamic considerations in copper pyrometallurgy

Direct Temperature Measurement of Melts in Continuous Copper Converter with Expendable Immersion Optical Fiber Thermometer

Newly developed expendable immersion optical fiber thermometer is a possible choice for the temperature measurement of the melts in copper pyrometallurgy. With this method the radiation is collected directly from inside the melt and transmitted to the pyrometer through the fiber, so that the measurement accuracy is hardly influenced by the surface condition and emissivity change of the melts. diffused reflection on the melt surface, and atmosphere, i.e. burner flame, combustion gases, dust etc. Since the fiber is expendable, this method is free from accretion problem as well. A series of plant tests were carried out in order to develop its application to the molten blister copper at the outlet of the continuous converter. The immersion time required for each measurement was less than 5 seconds, and the degree of accuracy was within ± 2 ∼ 5K. Consumption of the fiber was less than 0.01m for each measurement on average. Based on the obtained results, an automated temperature measurement system for molten blister copper was designed and installed at Naoshima Smelter & Refinery of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.

Vaporization studies of calcium arsenate under neutral conditions and in contact with copper pyrometallurgical slags

The feasibility of capturing As as calcium arsenate in reverberatory and Mitsubishi converter slags used in copper pyrometallurgy was studied by torsion-effusion, thermogravimetric, and mass spectrometric methods. In the temperature range from 1376 to 1489 K pure Ca3 (AsO4)2 decomposed to yield very low equilibrium pressures of AsO and O2. Mixtures of Ca3 (AsO4)2 with slag exhibited rapid mass losses between 973 and 1173 K. The vapor phase species evolved under these conditions were As2 and As4, indicating that the arsenate had been reduced by the slag to volatile elemental arsenic.

Phase relationships in the pyrometallurgy of copper

Phase relationships in the pyrometallurgy of copper

Phase relationships in the pyrometallurgy of copper

Phase relationships in the pyrometallurgy of copper