Pyrometallurgy, or smelting, usually used in the smelting process of copper ore with sulfide and iron sulfide minerals. The concentrate is dried and fed into a furnace. The minerals are partially oxidized and melted, resulting in segregated layers.
Matte coating refers to a mixture of the iron sulfide-copper sinks to the bottom. The slag, which refers to the remaining impurities, floats on top of the matte. The slag is discarded on site or sold as railroad ballast and sand blasting grit. Sulfur dioxide gases are also collected and made into sulfuric acid for use in hydrometallurgical leaching (discussed below) or sold off-site.
The initial melting of the material to be smelted is usually referred to as the smelting or matte smelting stage. The denser molten matte layer captures the copper-iron sulphides below the unwanted upper slag layer, which is skimmed off periodically via skim bays and launders into large pots destined for rail transportation to the slag stockpile.
Products from the smelting stage is a mixture of copper, iron and sulfur enriched with copper, and called matte or matte copper. The term matte grade is normally used to refer to the copper content of the matte.
The purpose of the matte smelting stage is to eliminate as much as iron, sulfur and gangue minerals are undesirable (such as silica, magnesium, alumina and limestone) as possible, and minimize the loss of copper. This is achieved by reacting iron sulfides with oxygen (in air or oxygen enriched air) to produce iron oxides (mainly as FeO, but with some magnetite (Fe3O4)) and sulfur dioxide.
The purpose of the matte smelting stage is to eliminate as much as iron, sulfur and gangue minerals are undesirable (such as silica, magnesium, alumina and limestone) as possible, and minimize the loss of copper. This is achieved by reacting iron sulfides with oxygen (in air or oxygen enriched air) to produce iron oxides (mainly as FeO, but with some magnetite (Fe3O4)) and sulfur dioxide.
Matte with 42% copper content is tapped off periodically via open launders. The slag and the matte form distinct layers that can be removed from the furnace as separate streams. The slag layer is periodically allowed to flow through a hole in the wall of the furnace above the height of the matte layer into ladles , which are transferred by rail and overhead crane to one of three tilting converter furnaces.
These are operated batch-wise, by blowing hot air through the matte to oxidise the sulphur and the iron, and then adding silica flux to form an iron-rich slag before returning it to the reverberatory furnace. Reverberatory furnaces were often used to treat molten converter slag to recover contained copper.
Once all of the iron has been removed, further air blowing without flux oxidises the rest of the sulphur, and ultimately produces blister copper that is 98% pure. The converting process is exothermic and the excess heat is used to melt internal recycle materials and copper scrap from the refinery.
These are operated batch-wise, by blowing hot air through the matte to oxidise the sulphur and the iron, and then adding silica flux to form an iron-rich slag before returning it to the reverberatory furnace. Reverberatory furnaces were often used to treat molten converter slag to recover contained copper.
Once all of the iron has been removed, further air blowing without flux oxidises the rest of the sulphur, and ultimately produces blister copper that is 98% pure. The converting process is exothermic and the excess heat is used to melt internal recycle materials and copper scrap from the refinery.
Blister copper is then transferred to one of three anode furnaces, where the last traces of sulphur are removed by blowing air through the molten metal. This is followed by an injection of hydrocarbon fuel to reduce oxygen to very low levels. 99.5% copper is cast into copper anodes by means of a single rotating anode casting wheel. Anodes are hoisted into water quench tanks and racks for sorting and cooling; and then transferred by rail to the copper refinery. A 'melting' or 'holding' furnace is used to supplement production by melting anode scrap that has returned from the refining process.
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Off-gas from the reverberatory furnace passes through two waste heat boilers and a balloon flue before it reaches a final process of cleaning by electrostatic dust precipitation. The flue dust is returned to the furnace and the low concentration off-gas can be discharged directly into the atmosphere via a 152 meter high concrete stack.
It can also be treated in the wet gas scrubbing plant, if the precipitator is off-line. In this instance, once scrubbed, the off-gas is released to the atmosphere via a 70 meter high clean gas stack.
Steam generated by the waste heat boilers is used to pre-heat primary combustion air for the coal pulverisers and to direct secondary air to the furnace. Excess steam is used to drive a 9.6 MW turbo-generator. Higher strength off-gas from each of the converters is passed through separate electrostatic precipitators for gas cleaning. The gas is then treated in a single contact sulphuric acid plant to produce 98% sulphuric acid for sale to the domestic market.
It can also be treated in the wet gas scrubbing plant, if the precipitator is off-line. In this instance, once scrubbed, the off-gas is released to the atmosphere via a 70 meter high clean gas stack.
Steam generated by the waste heat boilers is used to pre-heat primary combustion air for the coal pulverisers and to direct secondary air to the furnace. Excess steam is used to drive a 9.6 MW turbo-generator. Higher strength off-gas from each of the converters is passed through separate electrostatic precipitators for gas cleaning. The gas is then treated in a single contact sulphuric acid plant to produce 98% sulphuric acid for sale to the domestic market.
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