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    Rodrigo Antonio Henriquez Tapia
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    Material Conversion

    Загружено:

    Rodrigo Antonio Henriquez Tapia
    ingenieria

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Скачайте в формате PDF или читайте онлайн в Scribd
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    EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY OF COPPER FOUR EDITION W.G.Davenport, M.King, M.Schlesinger, A.K. Biswas. CHAPTER 9 Batch Converting of Cu Matte Converting is oxidation of molten Cu-Fe-S matte to form molten ‘blister’ copper (09% Cu}. It entails oxidizing Fe and § from the matte with oxygen-enriched aie or air ‘blast. It is mostly done in the Peirce-Smith converter, which blows the blast into molten matte through submerged tuyeres, Figs. 1.6 and 9.1. Several other processes are also used or are under development, Section 9.6 and Chapter 0. “The main raw material for converting is molten Cu-Fe-S mate from smelting Other ratv materials include silica ux, air and industrial oxygen. Several Cu- bearing materials are recycled to the converter ~ mainly solidified Cu-bearing reverts and copper serap. “The products of converting are: (a) molten blister copper which is sent to fire- and electrorefining {) molten iron-silicate slag which is sent to Cu recovery, then discard {e) SOrbearing offgis which is sent to coofing, dust removal and H,SOs manufacture. ‘The heat for converting is supplied entirely by Fe and $ oxidation, ic. the process is antothermal 941 Chemistry “The overall converting process may be described by the schematic reaction: cusfes + 0; + 50, + ca} + [HOBO + 50, ‘molten inairand in flux molten slag with oD. ‘matte oxygen somesolid Fes, 132 Extractive Metallurgy of Copper Fig. 9.1a, Peirce-Smith Converter, Note the blest supply, rotating seal and bustle pipe comected to the tuyeres. Flux and Cu-bearing reverts afe added from bins above the offeas uptake or by air gun (‘Gare Gun’) through an end ofthe converter, The converter rotates around its long axis in order to (lift its tyeres out ofthe Hiquids when its not blowing and (it) submerge them correctly in the matte during blowing, Fig. 1.6. ‘(Converter drawing courtesy Harbison-Walker Refractories, Pisburgh, PA) Boich Convering of Cu Monte 133 Fig. 9b, Deus of Peitce-Smih converter tuyere (fom Vogt etal 1979). The tayerss re nearly horizontal during blowing. "Blast pressure is typically 1.2 atmospheres (goge) atthe tuyere entrance. Reprinted by permission of TMS. Converting takes place in wo stages: (2) the slag-forming stage when Fe and S are oxidized to FeO, FeO, and SO: by reactions like FeS + 302 > FeO + SO, cs) 3FeS + 50) + Fey0, +3802 03) ‘The melting points of FeO and FesO, are 1385°C and 1597°C so silica ‘ux is added to form a liquid slag with FeO and Fe,0,. The slag-forming 134 Extractive Metallurgy of Copper slage is finished when the Fe in the matte has been lowered to about 1%. ‘The principal product of the slag-forming stage is impure molten Cu;S, “white meta’, ~1200°C, (b) the coppermaking stage when the sulfur in Cu,S ig oxidized 10 SO: Copper is not appreciably oxidized until itis almost devoid of S. Thus, the blister copper product of converting is low in both S$ and O (0.001- (003%, 0.1-0.8% 0). Nevertheless if this copper were east, the S and O ‘would form SO; bubbles or blisters which give blister copper its name. Industrialy, matte is charged to the converter in several steps with each step followed by oxidation of FeS from the charge. Slag is poured from the converter afier each oxidation step and a new matte addition is made. In this way, the amount of Cu in the converter gradually increases until there is sufficient (100- 250 tonnes Cu as molten CuzS) for a final coppermaking ‘blow*. Ar this point, the Fe in the matte is oxidized to about 1%, a final slag is removed, and the resulting CuzS ‘white metal” is oxidized to molten blister copper. The converting process is terminated the instant copper oxide begins to appear in samples of the molten copper. ‘The copper is poured from the converter into ladles and craned molten to a fire- refining fumace for S and O removal and casting of anodes. A star-to-inish converting cycle is 6 to 12 hours, Table 9.2. 9.1.1 Coppermaking reactions Blowing air and oxygen into molten “white metal” creates a turbulent Cu;S- copper mixture, The products of oxidation in this mixture are SOs, molten ‘copper and copper oxide. The molten copper is dense and fluid. It quickly sinks ‘below the ruyeres “The most probable coppermaking reactions are: cu38 + 202 > Cu20 + $0; os Cuz8 + 2,0 > 6Cuz + SO, es) though some copper may be made directly by CugS + 0 + 2Cuj + S02 06). In principe, there are three sequential steps in coppermaking as indicated on the (Cu-S phase diagram, Fig. 9.23. Batch Converting of Cu Matte 135 1.0 wold See comet || ate sr soe + alan whe maa g i ote Jjrsvc ano maka Biter copper + said Cus 107%) SEE “ore ae ‘solid copper + solid CusS ooo o 5 rr ness s Fig. 9.28, Cu-S equilibrium phase diagram showing coppermaking reaction path (a,b. 4, 1200%G) (Sharma and Chang, 1980). Air or oxygen ‘enriched air Fig. 9.2b, Sketch of Peirce-Smith converter and its wo immvseible liquids during the coppermaking stage of converting (after Peret, 1948). In practice, the liquid region is 2 Gas8-Cu-Cu,0 ers foanvemalsion ftom which metallic copper ‘& desconds 2nd SOr land Ny ascend. The immisiblity of copper and Cups is due to thee diferent structures = coppers metalic while Cu isa semiconductor. 136 swractive Melalurgy of Copper {a) The first blowing of air and oxygen into the CurS removes $ #6 SOs to give S-deficient “white metal, but no metalic copper. The reaction for this step is: Cus + x02 > CuzS,. 4 x80z 2). It takes place until the S is lowered to 19.6% (point b, 1200°C, Fig. 9.22). (b) Subsequent blowing of air and oxygen causes a second liquid phase, ‘metallic copper (1% S, point c), to appear. Tt appears because the average ‘composition ofthe liquids is now in the liquid-liquid immiscibility region. ‘The molten copper phase is dense and sinks to the bottom of the converter, Fig, 9.2b. Further blowing oxidizes additional § from the Cu; and the amount of molten copper increases at the expense of the ‘white ‘metal according to overall Reaction (9.6). As long as the combined average composition of the system is in the immiscbitity range, the ‘converter contains both ‘white metal’ (19.6% S) and molten copper (1% 5). Only the proportions change, (©) Eventually the “white metal’ becomes so $ deficient thatthe sulfide phase Gisappears and only molten copper (1% S) remains, Further blowing removes most of the remaining $ (point d). Great care is taken during this period to ensure that the copper is not overoxidized 10 Cu,0. This care is nevessary because Cu$ is no longer available to reduce Cu,0 beck to Cu by Reaction (9.5). Step (a) is very brief, ie. very litle $ oxidation is required. Step (¢) is also brief. Its beginning is marked by a change in the converter flame color from clear to ‘areen when metallic copper begins to be oxidized in front of the tuyeres. This tells the converter operator that the eopper Blow is nearly finished. 9.1.2 Elimination of impurities during converting “The principal elements removed ftom matte during converting are Fe and S. However, many other impurities are partially removed as vapor or in slag. Table 9.1 shows some distributions. The outstanding feature of the data is that impurity retention in the product blister copper increases significantly with increasing matte grade (%Cu in matte). This is because high-Cu mattes have less blast’ blown through them and they form less slag ‘The table also shows that significant amounts of impurities report to the offeas. ‘They are eventually collected during gas cleaning. They contain sufficient Cu to bbe recycled tothe smelting furnace. However, such recycle retums all impurities to the circuit Batch Converting of Cu Mate 137 ‘Table 9.1. Distribution of impurity lements during Peicoe-Smith converting of low and high grade mans (Vogt et af, 1979, Mendoza and Luraschi, 1993). Ag, Au and the Pt metals repor mainly o blister copper. Tenmaya e al, 1993 report that exta lowing of tirat the end ofthe coppermaking stage lowers As, Pb and Sb inthe converters product copper. ‘54% Cu mate feed 70% Cu wawe feed diibuion 2 blister convener converter | blister converter converter Element | copper sa colfgas | copper slag offzas AS 2 a 38 30 2 16 Bi 3 a 6 33 2 2 Pb 4 8 46 3 » 46 sb 2» 7 6 3 26 5 Se n 6 2 7 $ 25 Zs UL 86 3 5 p48 For this reason, some smelters treat the dusts for impurity removal before they ae reeycled (Shibasaki and Hayashi, 1991). Bismuth, in particular, is removed because (i) it causes brittleness in the final copper anodes and (ii) it ean be a ‘valuable byproduct. 9.2 Industrial Peirce-Smith Converting Operations (Tables 9.2, 9.3) Industrial Peisce-Smith converters are typicelly 4 m diameter by 11 m tong, Table 9.2. They consist of a 5 om steel shell lined with ~0.5 m of magnesite- chrome reftactory brick. Converters ofthese dimensions teat 300-700 tonnes of ‘matte per day 10 produce 200-600 tonnes of copper per day. A smelter has two to five converters depending on its overall smelting capacity COxygen-entiched air or ar is blown into a converter at ~600 Nm*/minute and 1.2 atmospheres gage. It is blown through a single line of 5 em diameter tuyeres, 40 to 60 per converte, It enters the matte 0.5 to | 1 below its surface, nearly horizontal (Lehner er al, 1993). ‘The flowrate per tuyere is about 12 Nm/minute ata velocity of 80 to 120 meters per second. Blowing rates above about 17 Nnv/minutetuyere cause sloping of Imatte and slag from the converter (Johnson et al, 1979). High blowing rates ‘without sloping are favored by deep tuyere submergence in the matte (Richards, 1986). ‘About half of the world’s Peitce-Smith converters encich their air blast with industrial oxygen, up o~29 volume% O,-in-blast, Table 9.2. 138 Exiracive Metalgy of Copper Table 92. Production details of industrial ‘Nonldetehe| ‘Onakama ‘Aare ‘meting and Refrog Sele Hamburg, Germeny _"Oaahera Japan Converter Pere Sith Peirce Sith amber of converters vex 3 s bot 2 4 wing at oe tine 2 3 Converter detalls 46122 four 396% 9.15 “deter = eng ieee abe tyres one 396 11.0 ‘ol a os sve « « tuyere diameter em 6 s {bal lat le per convene le blow, Nevminte 200 0 Capper ow, 3m 700-800 500 sul alarm Os nt “ing low a 21, than 60 mits M38 copper tow 2» 2 SOs inotigas volume’ eb ° Production dtalls (per converter) Teputs toasty) ‘moles mts 270 (64600) 14944340) foure Ouokampe Nas Reverberaary (rhe np (omnes) Tumaoe YESCF slag blow seine stalls S01 coneenate Si strevess copper bow 15t Case soiCaseap ee. ‘Oupus, onset) ‘ie poe 10 os 130 Sveage mass Cu 3 IraseSiOyeaseaFe 083 cyetetine ‘ial convener eye sine hours 8 2 sg blow, hours 2 5 ‘Sorpe blow, hours as 3 Campaign dete Mn Between tye fin resis ys o 100 ‘hype produced bates tye Tine repair nes sao00 21.600 me between complete convener re es, ya L ‘facing consumption, kghoone of Cu 13 Peirce Smith and Hoboken converters. Mexiana de Cobre Batch Converting of Cu Matte 139 Sumitomo Necaza, Mesico Bshia aeil Caltex. Cle __Toyo, Japan Peirce Smith Zee ast 1067 se 56 5 100 50 226 2326 75 211 (665% Cupe73 WH (uokarpa fash furace ‘Tenens famace 301 Cuscnp et. 20 661 Mes 30 v0 000 p anita Metis ‘copeLco Hotoken Pires a 4 2 3 468 11 Ure 108 ‘ne 0106 2 ‘6 % 4% $8 es 380.588 only oppo low 330558 00 as sone 2s 2 2 is wo (6a%Cw 200 783%) Couitumpe Nash Tenkete slag ‘une cleaning fracas Sanne of rene ‘otomnes aoades, 35 lonnes eves “aod, old, reverse 180 us se 30 3 as 031 86 16075 13s one 351 s astute @ body 30 ter tine (180 tuyere line & body) #000 1100) as 20 23s 5 Petee-Sith saeine se 5 no ™ 21, en 60 i wien or 1 220 60%) tok Mash tumace Sto revens 01 Cuserap et ws o 6s oss 96 ts 33 9s 45400 as 13 Expactive Metallurgy of Copper 140 ° so v0 0 so seoe oesi —orse » qs onw6> st ° 0 so oro 60 uy on oz oW op OW GOS ume o's ed Foto eo-t000 so 2 oe (sta) 14H coo ora ro 00H S00 wor oe sam ye ec ence edd eo) eer) s a ‘61 "7 19 JouNe] PUR 6 "VEAL > wosuyor pus suns [emp addy way ae ep 4. 94850 ‘sronposd pu seoteu wer 2384009 Jo sossevESAnEUREEEy “6 SIGE. Boich Converting of Cu Mane 143 9.2.1 Tuyeres and offgas collection Peirce-Smith tuyeres are carbon steel or stainless steel pipes embedded in the converter refractory (Figs. 1.6 and 9.1b). They are joined to a distribution “bustle pipe which is affixed the length of the converter and connected through a rolatable seal toa blast supply flue. The blast air is pressurized by electric or steam driven blowers. Industrial oxygen is added to the supply flue just before it ‘connects to the converter. Steady flow of blast requires periodic clearing ‘punching”) of the tuyeres to remove matte accretions which build up at ther tips — especially during the slag blow (Fig. 9:3, Bustos e/a, 1984, 1988). Punching is done by ramming astel bar completely through the tuyere, It is usually done with a Gaspé mobile cariage puncher (Fig. 1.6) which runs on rails behind the converter. The puncher is sometimes sutomatically positioned and operated (Dutton and Sims, 1988; Fukushima eral, 1988) Peirce-Smith converter offgas is collected by a stee! hood (usually water cooled) which fits as snugly as possible over the converter mouth (Fig. 1.6, Sharma et al, 1979, Pasca, ef al, 1999). The gas then passes through a waste heat boiler or ‘water-spray cooler, electrostatic precipitators and a sulfuric acid plant. Peirce- ‘Smith converter offgases contain ~8 volume% SO; (slag blow) to ~10 volume% 0; (copper blow) after cooling and dust removal, Table 9.2. 9.2.2 Temperature control ‘Al the heat for maintaining the converter liquids at their specified temperatures results from Fe and S oxidation, i. from reactions like FeS + 40) > FeO + S02 + heat (2) CugS + 07 + 2Cuy + S02 + heat (96). Converter temperature is readily controlled with this hea by (a) raising or lowering O; entichment level, which raises or lowers the rate at ‘which Ny ‘coolant’ enters the converter (b) adjusting revert and serap copper ‘coolant’ addition rates. 9.2.3 Choice of temperature Representative liquid temperatures during converting are: 142 Extractive Metallurgy of Copper Fig. 9.3. Photograph showing buildup of accretion atthe interior end of a Pitce-Smith converter tuyere (Bustos eal, 1984)- Left, ruyere is nearly blocked; right, the acretion has dislodged spontaneously. Bustos ta. (1988) report that accretion ‘tubes’ are formed in front ofthe tuyeres. They also indieate that cuyere blockage is discouraged by high tate temperature and oxygen-enrichment ofthe blast. This is particularly important next the end ofthe slag blow and te start ofthe copper blow. Clear tuyere conditions atthe beginning of the copper blow often give fee blowing” conditions (without punching) Guring mest oral of the copper blow. (Photograph courtesy of Dr. Alejandro Buses, Air Liquide). input matte 120°C skimmed slag 120°C Final blister copper 120°C, ‘The high temperature during the middle ofthe cycle is designed to give (i) rapid slag formation and (ii) uid slag with a minimum of entrained matte. It also discourages tuyere blockage (Bustos ef al, 1987). An upper limit of about 1250°C is imposed to prevent excessive refractory wear 9.2.4 Temperature measurement Converter liquid temperature is measured by means of (i) an optical pyrometer Batch Comerting of Cu Mate 43 sighted downwards through the converter mouth or (ji) a two-wavelength optical pytometer periscope sighted through a tuyere (Pelletier eral, 1987). ‘The tuyere pytometer appears to be more satisfactory because it sights directly on the matte rather than through a dust-laden atmosphere. 9.2.5 Slag and flux control The chief objective of creating a slag in the converter isto liquify newly formed solid FeO and FeO. so they can be poured from the converter. SiO,-bearing flux (e.g. quartz, quartzite, sand) is added for this purpose. ‘A common indicator of slag composition isthe ratio: %Si0. in slag massvoFein slag Enough SiO;-in-fux is added 10 give SiO,/Fe ratio of ~0.5. Acceptable FesOs levels are typically 12-18% (Eltringham, 1993). Some smelters use Au- and Ag- bearing siliceous material as converter flux. The Au and Ag dissolve in the matte and proceed with copper to the clectrorefinery where they are profitably recovered. These smelters tend to maximize flux input. Most smelters, however, use just enough flux to obtain an appropriately fluid slag. This ‘minimizes fux cost, slag handling and Cu-from-slag recovery expense, 9.2.6 Slag formation rate Flux is added through chutes above the converter mouth or via a high pressure ‘ir gun (‘Garr Gun’) at one end of the converter. It is added at a rate thet matches the rate of Fe oxidation (usually after an initial several-minute delay while the converter heats up). The flux is commonly crushed to 1-5 em diameter, Sand (0.1 cm) is used in some smelters. Rapid reaction between O,, matte and flux to form liquid slag is encouraged by: (a) high operating temperature (b) steady input of small and evenly sized flux (Schonewille er al., 1993) (©) deep tuyere placement in the matte (to avoid overoxidation of the slag) (2) the vigorous mixing provided by the Peirce-Smith converter (©) reactive flux. Casley et al. (1976) and Schonewille er al. (1993) report that the most reactive fluxes are those with a high percentage of quartz (rather than tridymite or feldspar). 144 Briracive Metallurgy of Copper 9.2.7 End point determinations Stag blow “The slag-forming stage is terminated and slag is poured from the converter when there is about 1% Fe left in the matte. Further blowing causes excessive Cu and solid magnetite in slag. The blowing i terminated when: (a) metallic copper begins 10 appear in matte samples or when X-Ray ‘Muorescence shows 76 t9 79% Cu in matte (Mitral ero, 1993) (©) the converte flame turns green fom Cu vapor inthe converter offs (6) PbS vapor (from Pb in the matte feed) concentration decreases and PbO ‘vapor concentration increases (Persson et al, 1999). Copper biow “The coppermaking stage is terminated the instant that copper oxide begins to appear in copper samples. Copper oxide attacks converter refiactory 50 itis, avoided as much as possible ‘The copper blow is ended and metallic copper is poured from the converter shen: (@) copper oxide begins to appear in the samples (b) SO; concentration in the offgas falls because $ is nearly gone from the ratte (Shook er a, 1999) (©) PbO concentration in the offgas falls and CuOH concentration increases (H from moisture inthe air blast, Persson, eta, 1999), 93 Oxygen Enrichment Of Peiree-Smith Converter Blast ‘An increasing number of smelters enrich their converter blast during part or all of the converting cycle. The advantages of O;-entichment are (@) oxidation rate is increased fora given blast input rate (©) SO» concentration in offgas is increased, making gas handling and acid ‘making cheaper (©) the amount of N; “coolant” entering the converter per kg of Oy-in-blast is diminished. ‘The diminished amount of N; ‘coolant is important because it permits: (@) generation of high temperatures even with high Cu grade — low FeS “fuel” mates Baich Converting of Cu Matte 145 (6) rapid heating of the converter and its contents (©) melting of valuable "coolants" such as Cu-bearing reverts and copper scrap, ‘The only disadvantage of high-O: blast is that it gives a high reaction temperature atthe tuyere tip. This leads to rapid reftactory erosion im the tuyere area. This erosion is discouraged by blowing at a high velocity which promotes tubular accretion formation and pushes the feaction zone away {rom the tuyere tip (Bustos e a, 1988) (On balance, the advantages of O;-enrichment outweigh the reftactory erosion disadvantages, especially in smelters which wish to: (2) convert high Cu grade — low FeS “fuel” matte (b) maximize converting rate, especially if converting is a production bottleneck (6) maximize melting of solids, eg. ux, reverts and scrap, ‘The present upper practical limit of oxygen-enrichment seems to be about 29 vol% 03. Above this level, refractory erosion becomes excessive. This is because strong tubular accretions do not form in font of the tuyeres above 29 ‘y0l% Os ~ causing the Oz-mate resctions to take place flush with the tuyere tip and refractory. Sonic high-pressure blowing is expected to permit higher oxygen levels, Section 9.5. 9.4 Maximizing Converter Productivity ‘The production rate of a converter, tonnes of copper produced per day, is ‘maximized by: (a) charging high Cu grade (low FeS) matte to the converter, Fig. 9.4 (8) blowing the converter blast at its maximum rate (including avoidance of tuyere blockages) (©) enriching the blast to its maximum feasible O> level (@) maximizing O; wilization efficiency (@) maximizing campaign life, Section 9.43. High grade matte contains litle FeS so that it requires litle O, (and time) to conver, Fig. 9.4. Rapid blowing of blast, a high %O; in blast and a high Os utilization efficiency all lead to rapid oxidation High O; utilization efficiency is obtained by ensuring that the tuyeres are submerged as deeply a8 possible in the matte, This gives maximum Oy-in-matte residence time, 146 Extractive Metallurgy of Copper 9.4.1 Maximizing solids melting ‘An important service of the Peirce-Smith converter is melting of valuable solids ‘with the heat from the converting reactions. The most usual solids are (i) Cu- bearing revert materials; (ii) scrap copper and (iii) Au and Ag flux. Cu concentrate is also melted in several smelters ‘Melting of solids is maximized by: (2). maximizing blast O3 enrichment {b) blowing the converter ata rapid rate with the tuyeres deep in the matte. ‘This maximizes reaction rate, hence heat production rate (at an approximately constant heat loss rate fom the converter). “The solids are added steadily to avoid excessive cooling of the converter liquids. ‘This is easily done with flux and reverts which can be erushed and added at controlled rates from storage bins above the converter. Scrap copper, on the other hand, is often large and uneven in shape. It is usualy ‘added in batches by crane with the converter in charging position (Fig. 1.6). ‘This has the disadvantages that () blowing must be stopped and (i) the large batch of serap may excessively cool the converter liquids. ‘Several converters have conveyor systems which feed large pieces of copper (eg, serap anodes and purchased blister copper) at a steady rate during blowing. (Folaishima eral, 1988, Maruyama et al. 1998). This avoids excessive cooling, and maximizes the converters Scrap melting capability. Up to 30% of a converter's blister copper product comes from copper scrap (Fukushima eral, 1988; Pannell, 1987), 9.4.2 Smelting concentrates inthe converter Melting of serap copper and solid revens in the Peiree-Smith converter is done in most smelters. "Several smelters also smelt dried concentrates in their converters by injecting the concentrates through several tuyeres (Godbehere et al, 1993, Oshima and Igarashi 1993, Mast eral, 1999) ‘The process has the advantage that; (@) it can increase smelter capacity without major investment in a larger smelting furnace (b) it can lengthen the converting blow and improve impurity removal, especially bismuth and antimony (Godbehere et al., 1993), “The technology is well-proven (Godbehere et a., 1993, Mast et al., 1999). Bach Converting of Cu Mane 187 400 g 21 vol% Os in bast (aie) 30 ¥01% Or in bast pertone eum? g 8 0 0 CI 70 Motte grade, Cu Fig 94. Theocetical ai and oxygen-enrched ac bast requirements for converting CusS- eS mattes to copper. Blast requirement decreases with increasing mate grade and KO; Inmblast. 100% Oz eficiency i assumed, 9.4.3 Maximizing campaign life Converters produce 20 000 $0 000 tonnes of blister copper before they must be taken out of service for tuyere-refractory replacement, The replacement takes about two weeks and it is done many times before the converter must be ‘completely relined (‘shelled’), Several Chilean smelters remove and replace segments of the tuyere line refractories from the outside of the converter (Campos and Torres, 1993). This lowers converter off-line time to several days butt may weaken the converter shel. Copper production per myere-refractory replacement period (campaign life) increased markedly during the late 20" Century due to: (2) improved refractories (b) higher Cu-grade matte feeds (requiring less blowing per tonne of Cu) {@) better temperature measurement and control ‘The most durable refractories in 2002 are burned or direct bonded chrome- magnesite bricks. Induswial evidence suggests that oxygen-enrichment up «6 25% O3 enhances converter productivity without shortening campaign life. This is especially rue if UUs Extroctive Metallurgy of Copoer converter blowing rates are high (Verney, 1987). Enrichment above this level Should be tracked to dete:mine the optimum from the points of view of converter productivity and campaign life. 9. Recent Developments In Converting - Shrouded Blast Injection [ALSI (Ait Liquide Shrouded Injector) technology has been successfully Gemonsirated in Peiree-Smith converters which process copper-iead matte {(4596Cu-25%4Pb) and copper-nickel mate (13%Cu-22%4Ni) (Bustos et a., 1995, Bustos etal, 1999). The objectives ofthe ALSI process are to: (@) oxidize matte using 30%-60% O; blast ~ thereby increasing the converters productivity and its ability to melt solids (B) eliminate the need to “punch” the converte, Section 9.2.1 {(@) minimize refractory wear in tuyere area, “The tuyere used to achieve these objectives is shown in Fig. 9.5a. It consists of ‘wo concentric pipes ~ the inner pipe for oxygen-enriched air “blast” (30-60% 0) and the annulus fornitogen ‘coolant’ The purpose ofthe nitrogen is: (a) t0.coo! the circumference of the tuyere tip (©) to protect the refractory around the tuyere by building up an accretion of solidified mattelsiag, Fig. 9.56. “The blast and nitrogen are blown in at high pressure, ~6 atmospheres gage. This prevents the accretion from bridging across the tuyere and it eliminates the need for ‘punching’ ALSI technology has been successfilly implemented on 2 Peirce-Smith converter at the Falconbridge nickel smelter near Sudbury, Ontario. It has yet to be fully tested in a copper smelter, perhaps because it requires installation of high pressure blowing equipment 9.6 Alterni ives (o Peirce-Smith Converting Peirce-Smith converting accounts for over 90% of Cu matte converting. This is due to its simplicity and high chemical efficiency. It suffers, however, from the ‘problems that: (a) it leaks SO,-bearing gas imo the workplace during charging and pouring. (b) it leaks air into its offgas benween its mouth and gas-collection hood, producing a relatively weak SO; gas Batch Converting of Cu Mae 149 converter ‘hal Fig. 958, ALSI shrouded injector tuyere detail, Oxygen enriched air is blown through the center pipe. Nitrogen is blown trough the annul ra 7 stl ath Fig, 9.50, ALSI schematic of accretion growth mechanism with shrouded tuyere. The accretion atthe tip of the tuyere protects the adjacent refractory ffom wear. 150 tractive Metallurgy of Copper (©) it operates batchwvse, giving uneven flow of SO, offgas into the sulfuric acid plant, ‘These deficiencies are attacked by several different altemative converters: (a) Hoboken or siphon converter which is a Peitce-Smith converter with an improved gas-collection system, ~10 units operating, 2002 (6) Mitsubishi top-blown converter which blows oxygen enriched blast onto the molten matte surface via vertical lances, 5 units operating, 2002 (©) Outokumpu flash converting which oxidizes solidified crushed matte in @ ‘small Outokurpu flash furnace, one unit operating, 2002 (@ Noranda continuous converting which uses submerged tuyeres to blow ‘oxygen-enriched air into matte in a Noranda-type furnace, one unit ‘operating, 2002. Hoboken converting is discussed next, the others in Chapter 10. 9.6.1 Hoboken converter “The Hoboken converte collects its offyas through an axial flue at one end of the converter (Gomez, 1979, Coelho and Morais, 1993, Binegar and Tittes, 1993). A “goose neck’ is provided to allow the offgas (but not the liquids) to enter the flue. The offgas is collected efficiently Considerable care must be taken to prevent buildup of splash and dust in the goose-neck. This appears to have prevented wider adoption of the process. 9.7 Summary Converting isthe second half of the smelting/converting sequence by which most of the world’s Cu-Fe-sulfide concentrates are made into metalic copper. ‘The process oxidizes the Fe and S from molten smelting fumace matte with oxygen-enriched air or air to produce molten metallic copper. It is most often carried out in the cylindrical Peirce Smith converter. “The products of the process are: (2) molten blister copper (999% Cu, 0.02% $ and 0.6% 0) which is sent forward to fire refining for final $ and O removal, then anoée casting (b) molten Fe-silicate slag (4 to 8% Cu) which is sent to Cu recovery, then discard (©) SOx bearing offgas which is treated for heat, dust and SOs caprure, All of the heat for converting comes from Fe and S oxidation. Borch Converting of Cu Matte 151 Peirce-Smith converting is a batch process. It produces SO; intermittently and captures it somewhat inefficiently. Alternatives are: (a) Hoboken converting, which is Peitce-Smith converting with an improved ‘285 collection system (b) Mitsubishi continuous downward lance converting (©) Outokumpu continuous flash converting (@) Noranda continuous submerged tuyere converting. (b), (6) and (@) are described in Chapter 10 Suggested Reading Diaz, C, Landolt, C, Laraschi, A. and Newman, C4. (1991) Copper 91/Cobre 91, Volume IV, Pyrometallurgy of Copper, exgamon Press, New York. JFotinson, RE. (1979) Copper and Nickel Converters, TMS, Warcndale, PA Lehner, T. Ishikawa, O., Smith, T, Floyd, J, Mackey, P. and Landolt, C. (1993) The 1993 survey of worldwide copper and nickel converte practice, In Converting, Fire Refining and Casting, ed. McCain, .D. and Floyd, JM, TMS, Warrendale, PA, 1 58. Marcuson, S.W. (1993) Copper converting ~ an historical perspective. CIM Bulletin, 86(966), 92 96 ‘Taylor, LC. and Travlen, H.R, (1987) World Survey of Nonferrous Smelter, TMS, Warrendale, PA. \Vemey, LR. (1987) Peirce Smith copper converter operations and economies. In Copper 87, Vol 4, Pyrometalurgy of Copper, ed. Diaz, C, Landalt,C, and Luraschi, A, Alfabela Impresors, Lira 140, Santiago, Chile, 55 75. References Binegar, A.H. and Tites, AF. (1993) Cypris Miami Mining Corporation siphon converter operation, past and present. In Converting. Fire Refining and Casting, 9 ‘McCain, 1D. and Floyd, IM, TMS, Wartendale, PA, 297 310. Bustos, A.A.» Brimacombe, JK. and Richards, G.G. (1988) Accretion growth at the tuyeres of e Peirce Smith copper converter, Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 21(), 7 2 Bustos, A.A., Brimacombe, JK.. Richards, G.G.. Vahed, A. and Pelletier. A. (1987) Developments of punchless operation of Peirce Smith converters. In Copper 87, Vol. 4 Pyrometalurgy of Copper, ed. Diaz, C., Landol, C. and Luraschi, A, Alfabets Trmpresores, Lira 140, Santiago, Chile, 347 373. 152 Extractive Metallurgy of Copper Bustos, A.. Cardoen, M. and Janssens, B. (1995) High oxygen enrichment at UM Hoboken conveners, In Copper 95.Cobre95 Proceedings of the Third International Conference. Vol. 1? Pyrometallurgy of Copper, e4. Chen, W-1, Diaz, C., Luraschi, A. and ‘Mackey, Pl, The Metallurgical Society of CIM, Montreal, Canada, 255269. Bustos, A.A. Kapusta, LP, Macnamara, BLR. and Coffin, M.R. (1999) High oxygen ‘Shrouded injceion at Falconbridge. In Copper 99-Cobre 99 Proceedings ofthe Fourth International Conference, Vol. I Smelting, Technology Developmen, Process Modelling and Fundamentals, ed. itz, C., Landolt, C. and Usigad, T., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 93 106. Bustos, AA, Richards, G.G,, Gray, NB, and Brimacombe, JK. (1984) Injection ‘heoowena in nonferous processes. Metallurgical Transactions B, 15B, 7779. Campos, Rand Torts, L. (1993) Caletones Smelter: two decades of technological Improvements. In Exiroctive Metallurgy of Copper. Nickel and Cobalt (the Paul E. (Queneau laterstionel Symposium), Yo. If: Copper and Nickel Smaltor Operations, e Landolt, C. TMS, Warrendale, PA, 1441 1460, Casley, ©. E, Midlin, J. and White D, (1976) Recent developments in reverberatory furnace and converter practice at the Mount Isa Mines copper smelter. In Exractive Metallurgy of Copper Volume 1, Pyrometallurgy and Electrolytic Refining, ed. ‘Yannopouls, JC. and Agarwal, J.C, TMS, Warrendale, PA, 117 138 Cociho, A.C. and Mortis, S.N. (1983) Syphon type converters operation and improvements. In Converting, Fire Refining and Casting, e&. MoCain, J.D. and Floyd, IM, TMS, Warrendale, PA, 6978 Dutton, W. and Sims, D. (1988) Avtomated Gaspé puncher. In Process Control and Automation in Exeractve Metallurgy, ed, Patelpoeg, EH. and Himmeseete, D.C, TMS, Warrendale PA, 131 137 Eltinghams, GLA, (1993) Developments in converter fluxing. In Converting. Fire Refining and Casting, ed, MeCain, .D. and Floyd, .M., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 325 331 Fukushima, K., Baba, K, Kurokawa, H. and Yamagiva, M. (1988) Development of ‘sutomation systeme for capper converters and anode casting wheel at Toyo smelter, In Process Control and duwomation in Exiractive Metallurgy, ed, Partelpocg, EH. and Himsmesocte, D.C., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 113 130. Godlehere, .W., Cloutier, JP, Carissimi, E. and Vos, R.A (1993) Recent developments land future operating strategie atthe Home smelter. Paper presented at TMS anausl meeting, Denver Colorado, February 1993. Gomez, J.D. (1979) Paipote smelter: seven years operating Hoboken converters. In Copper and Nickel Converters, ed. Sohnton, RE, TMS, Warrendale, PA, 291 311 Johnson, RE, Themes, NJ and Elingham, G.A. (1979) A survey of worldwide copper Converter practices. In Copper and Nickel Converters, ed. Johnson, RE, TMS, ‘Warrendale, PA, 1 32 Batch Converting of Cu Matte 153 Lehner, T., Ishikawa, O., Smith, T, Floyd, 1. Mackey, P. and Landolt, C. (1993) The 1993 survey of worldwide copper and nickel converter practices. In Converting, Fire Refining and Casting, ed. MeCain, J.D, and Floyd, 1M., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 1 58. Maruyama, T, Saito, T. and Kato, M, (1998) Improvements ofthe converters operation at Tamano smelter In Sulfide Smelting 98, e8, Avteljok,J.A. and Stephens, RL, TMS, ‘Warrendale, PA, 219 227 Mast, ED, Amrian V., J, Benavides V., J. (1999) Concentrate injection and oxygen enrichment in Peite-Smith converters at Noranda’s Altonore smelter. In Copper 99- Cobre 99 Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference, Vol. V Smelting Operations and Advances, ed. George, D.B., Chen, W., Mackey, P., Weddick, A, ‘TMS, Warrendale, PA, 433 445, ‘Mendoza, H. and Luraschl, A. (1993) Impurity elimination in copper converting, In Converting, Fire Refining’ and Casting, ed. MeCaia, I.D, and Floyd, JM., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 191202. Mitarai, T., Akagh, S. and Masatoshi, M. (1993) Development of the technique 10

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