Process mineralogy of suspended particles from a simulated commercial flash smelter
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I.
INTRODUCTION
REFLECTED light microscopy was utilized to study the mineralogy and mineral reactions shown by flash furnace pyrometallurgical products. Reflected light microscopy provided the means to directly observe and determine the following characteristics of the particles in the flash furnace: (1) particle structure, (2) particle size, (3) phases present, (4) phase abundance, (5) grain size, and (6) intergrowths of mineral grains. The ancillary techniques of electron microprobe analysis and image analysis further extended the importance of reflected light microscopic studies. Electron microprobe analysis provided compositional data on the chemical content of each mineral grain, provided confirmations of optical phase determinations, and allowed comparisons of variations in phase compositions. Image analysis provided the modern capability to quantitatively measure phase abundance. Papers that deal with the process mineralogy of flash furnace products appeared only recently in the literature. Jorgensen and Segnit m studied, by reflected light microscopy, flash furnace products produced from a laminar flow furnace. Jorgensen f2'31 described the formation of cenospheres in laboratory flash furnace products. PignoletBrandom et al.141 examined products from an experimental flash furnace at Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, New York by ore microscopy and electron microprobe analysis. They found that the minerals could be identified readily, the mineral reactions could be observed directly, and the extent of mineral reactions could be assessed. Hagni et al. LSIhave reviewed the application of these techniques to a wide variety of pyrometallurgical products, including the process mineralogy of flash furnace products. RICHARD D. HAGNI, C h a i r m a n , and C H R I S T O P H E R B. VIERRETHER, Research Assistant, are with the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO 65401. H.Y. SOHN is Professor, Department of Metallurgy and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-1183. Manuscript submitted January 4, 1988. METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONS B
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of an applied mineralogical study of products from a simulated commercial flash furnace at the University of Utah.
II. SIMULATED C O M M E R C I A L FLASH SMELTING FURNACE The simulated commercial flash furnace shaft at the University of Utah was built in 1982 in order to study the fundamental aspects of flash smelting processes. A brief description of the reactor and the experimental conditions under which the product samples for this study were produced are given in the following sections. A. Flash Smelting Reactor
The flash smelting reactor at the University of Utah consists of three main units: the solids and gas feeding unit, the reactor shaft, and the off-gas handling system. To obtain a uniform feed rate of the solid particles, combination of a screw feeder and a vibratory feeder is used. The concentrate burner is of relatively simple geomet
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