Thermodynamic Modeling and Optimization of the Copper Flash Converting Process Using the Equilibrium Constant Method
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INTRODUCTION
THE
copper flash converting process[1–3] is a novel technology to produce blister copper, the first industrial-scale application of which was started at the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (KUCC) in 1995.[4–6] The process has numerous advantages,[1,7] such as continuous operation, high capacity, low energy consumption, and less pollution. To date, Outokumpu installed over 40 flash converting furnace units worldwide. Although the copper flash converting process has developed rapidly, the experimental data are relatively insufficient because the reaction mechanisms are complex and strongly dependent on the local conditions. Suominen et al.[8,9] studied the reaction kinetics of the
MING-ZHOU LI is with the School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China and also with the School of Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, Jangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China. Contact e-mail: [email protected] JIE-MIN ZHOU is with the School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University and also with the School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China. CHANG-REN TONG and JIN-LIANG WANG are with the School of Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, Jangxi University of Science and Technology. WEN-HAI ZHANG is with the School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University. ZHUO CHEN is with the School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University. Manuscript submitted July 28, 2017. Article published online May 14, 2018. 1794—VOLUME 49B, AUGUST 2018
copper matte particles oxidized in simulated flash converting conditions by SEM combined with EDA for chemical microanalyses of the phases. The variables used in their experiments were matte grade, screen size fractions, preheating temperature, and the concentration of oxygen of the reaction gas. To further investigate the oxidation behavior of copper matte particles, the experiments were conducted by Perez et al.[2] in a large laboratory furnace. The test variables included the matte grade, oxygen content in the process gas, and particle size of the feed material. The observed variables included the fractional completion of the oxidation reactions, fraction of sulfur remaining in the particles, copper-to-iron atomic ratio, particle-size distribution, morphology, and metrology of the reacted particles. Researchers[10–12] at the University of British Columbia have subsequently studied the combustion of ‘MK’ concentrate particles, the composition of which resembles that of high-grade copper matte particles. The main goal of their laboratory tests was to elucidate the mechanisms of oxidation and dust generation of the combusting particles in a controlled environment. Overall, the above experimental research focused on the reaction kinetic mechanism of copper matte particles, and the experimental results provide process parameters and validation data for subsequent model studies. With the development of software technology, the computer simulation has g
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