Modelling of liquid phases and metal distributions in copper converters: transferring process fundamentals to plant practice

Abstract

The quantity and accuracy of fundamental data available on copper smelting and converting systems has greatly increased over the past several decades. Engineers need no longer rely on approximations and interpolation of chemical behaviour from idealised or simplified loworder systems. Sophisticated thermodynamic databases and dedicated thermodynamic computer platforms make it possible to predict the outcomes of complex multicomponent, multiphase reactions, and to present this information in forms that are useful for industrial practice. In the present paper a summary and review of phase equilibria data on key Cu-Fe-O-S sub-systems including Ca, Si and minor elements, is provided, as are examples of the application of thermodynamic and thermochemical calculations to the modelling of copper converting. As further information on chemical behaviour and integration with process models become available these sophisticated predictive tools and approaches will become increasingly used to improve metallurgical process design and efficiency, and to optimise the productivity of integrated copper production operations.

Distribution of Ni, Co, Precious, and Platinum Group Metals in Copper Making Process

“…Its sulfur-oxygen potential diagrams were constructed by Yazawa [57] Since then, a continuous effort has been made to develop a comprehensive understanding of the quinary and its subsystems using investigations with experimental and computational tools. [58][59][60][61][62] However, in copper making of today, besides the main components, various impurities are present in the feed materials. Furthermore, the processing challenges are mainly related to quality of the raw materials, i.e., their copper content, mineralogy, the presence of various impurities, and their concentrations.…”

“…Concentrations of the following isotopes were measured in the LA-ICP-MS analysis: 59 Co, 60 Ni, 62 Au. The isotopes were selected with regards to possible interferences and natural abundances.…”

Copper Flash Smelting Process Balance Modeling

“…In this study, the copper smelting process has been modelled using a mass and energy balance [13] implemented with equations for coefficient distribution parameters of copper, lead, and zinc. Minor elements distribution and slag matte equilibria have been experimentally and extensively studied [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Furthermore, some equations incorporated molecular ratios (slag PbO/PbS, slag ZnO/ZnS, offgas PbS/PbO, offgas SO 2 /SO 3 , and O 2 offgas/O 2 process air).…”

“…The silica mass is conservative for the smelting reaction due to its participation being linked to the following reaction (Equation ( 6)). Thermodynamic databases for copper smelting have been developed as a result of experimental and theoretical work [15][16][17]20,21,23,29]. In this study, distribution coefficients (Table 1) have been calculated using thermodynamic databases of FactSage™ [30][31][32][33].…”

Study the effect of different operation parameters on the reaction shaft performance of a copper flash smelting furnace: Mass and energy balance analysis

“…Dispersion of elements and slag matte equilibria have been investigated considerably. 9–13 Because a large percentage of the concentrate entering the furnace is composed of three elements, copper, iron, and sulfur, and these elements react with oxygen, the elemental mass balance for these four elements is in the form of relations (5)–(8) as 14 : In the copper flash smelting process, some compounds do not participate in the reactions and leave the furnace intact. These compounds do not affect the mass balance, but they change the energy balance as their temperature rises so that they should be considered in energy balance. According to the above, the mass balance equation for the element copper can be written according to equation (3) as equation (12): About 2%–3% of the copper in the concentrate is dissolved in the slag 1 Therefore: Matte compounds are considered Cu 2 S and FeS.…”