CuModel - A Thermodynamic Model and Program of Copper Smelting and Converting and Its Industrial Applications

TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society), 2004

CuModel - A Thermodynamic Model and Computer Program of Copper

Smelting and Converting Processes and Its Industrial Applications

Pengfu Tan

Portovesme s.r.l.
Carbonia/Portoscuso - km. 16.5
I-09010, Portoscuso (CA), Italy
tanpengfu@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

A thermodynamic model and computer program, CuModel, has been developed to model
the distribution behaviors of Cu, Fe, S, O, Ni, Co, Sn, Pb, Zn, As, Sb, Bi, Au and Ag, copper
loss in the slag, and heat balance in copper smelting process, matte converting process and
copper continuous smelting process. It can be predicted for any set of controllable process
parameters such as feed composition, smelting temperature, degree of oxygen enrichment and
volume of oxygen-enriched air. This model accounts for physical entrainment between matte
and slag phases. It can be used in Isasmelt process, copper flash smelting process, Mitsubishi
process, P-S converting process and Noranda process. The predictions by the present computer
model are compared with the known commercial data from Guixi Smelter in China, PASAR
Corporation in Philippines, Horne Smelter in Canada, MIM Limited in Australia and Naoshima
Smelter in Japan. The agreements between the computer predictions and the commercial data
are excellent. In this paper, the applications of CuModel in the copper metallurgical industries
have been presented. CuModel has been used by Daye Smelter and Guixi Smelter in China, and
by PASAR in Philippines as well.

1. INTRODUCTION

Because of the requirements of energy saving and of pollution control, many copper smelters
have been considering the modification of existing operating conditions or the development of
new processes with a view to reduction of slag losses, reduction of emissions of hazardous
gases, product quality control and energy saving in the face of a wide range of raw material and
scrap compositions.
Thermodynamic models can help engineers to understand better the relations between
operating parameters and products, and to optimize the operating conditions of the furnaces.
The author and his co-worker have developed thermodynamic models of copper process [1-2],
direct lead process [3-4], nickel process [5-9], and dioxin formation in thermal process [10-12].
Copper flash smelting, Mitsubishi copper smelting, Noranda copper smelting, nickel flash
smelting, direct high-grade matte smelting process, QSL lead smelting, KIVCET lead smelting,
Outokumpu flash lead smelting processes, and dioxin formation in thermal processes have been
simulated [1-12].
The thermodynamic model and program for copper smelting and converting processes,
named “CuModel”, has been developed by author during last decade. In this model, as more as
21 elements (Cu, S, Fe, Ni, Co, Sn, As, Sb, Bi, Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, O, N, C, H, Ca, Mg, Al, and Si)
and 70 compounds are considered. This model accounts for the physical entrainment in the
melts. It can be applied to copper flash smelting process, Mitsubishi process, Isasmelt process,
1
P-S converting process, Noranda matte-making process and Noranda copper-making process.
CuModel has been used by Daye Smelter and Guixi Smelter in China, and by Philippine
Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (PASAR) as well.

2. MODEL FORMULATION

Thermodynamic modeling was used to simulate copper smelting process [1-2], nickel smelting
process [3-4], and lead smelting process [5-9] in a number of studies and proved to be very
[13-14]
successful. The model in this work is based on the 'Goto' model in its conception.
The number of elements in the furnace is 21, and the chemical components formed in the
liquid metal, matte, slag, and gaseous phases after the attainment of equilibrium are assumed to
be those in Table 1. Slag-forming materials such as SiO2, Al2O3 , MgO and CaO do not react
with the gas or the matte, so these compounds are considered as inert materials.
If the number of different elements in a copper smelting furnace is Na and that of chemical
components is Nc, then the number of independent reactions is (Nc-Na), and therefore, the (Nc-
Na ) reactions which produce (N c-Na) dependent components out of the Na independent
components can be represented in terms of matrices as
(Vj,i)(Ai,k) = (Bj,k) (i=1 to Na, j=1 to (Nc-Na), k=1 to Na ) [1]
The matrix (Vj,i) can be obtained from the following calculation:
(Vj,i)= (Uk,i) (Bj,k) [2]
where (Uk,i) denotes the invert matrix of (Ai,k) which has to be calculable.

Table 1. Chemical Components in the model

Phases Chemical Components
Blister Copper Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, As, Sb, Bi, Ni, Co, Sn, Au, Ag
Matte NiS0.67, Cu2S, Cu, CoS, FeS, Fe3 O4, FeO, Pb, PbS, ZnS, As, Sb, Bi,
SnS, Au, AgS0.5
Slag FeO, Fe3O4, FeS, Cu2O, Cu2S, PbO, ZnO, AsO1.5, SbO1.5, BiO1.5,
SnO, CoO, NiO, MgO, CaO , Al2 O3, SiO2
Gas SO2, N2, CO, H2, O2, S2 , CO2, H2O, SO, Pb, PbO, PbS, Zn, ZnS,
AsS, AsO, As2 , SbS, SbO, Sb, Bi, BiO, BiS, SnO, SnS

The equilibrium constants, kj's, of the reactions that produce dependent components from
independent components are given as
k j = exp( −( ∆ G j − ∑V j,i • ∆ Gi ) / RT )
o o
[3]
i

The molar amounts of independent and dependent components in equilibrium state are related
to each other by Eq.[4]
k j = ( X j • γ / Z m( j) ) ∏ ( γ • X i / Z m(i ) )
j ,i V [4]
j i
i

If ideality is assumed for the gas phase, the value of the total pressure in the system can be
used for the values of i and j of the components which belong to the gas phase. The total molar
amount of the mth phase is denoted by Zm, and Zm(i) and Zm(j) denote the molar amounts of
the phases containing the ith independent and the jth dependent components, respectively.
As a closed system is considered, the total amount of each element is fixed, and so Eq.[4]
must be satisfied,
Q = ∑ Ai ,k • X i + ∑ B j ,k • X j [5]
k
i j

2
where Qk is the total molar amount of the kth element in the system.
Zm is expressed in terms of Xi and Yj as
Z m
=∑ X +∑X
i j
[6]
i ( m) j ( m)

In Eq.[6], i(m) means that the summation must be performed only when the ith independent
component belongs to the mth phase, and similarly, j(m) means that the summation must be
performed only when the jth dependent component belongs to the mth phase.
By solving these equations, the molar amount of each component in the equilibrium state can
be obtained. This calculation is carried out using the Newton-Raphson method to solve a set of
74 simultaneous equations.
Every molten phase in the metallurgical reactors may comprise other phases as mechanical
[15]
suspension. Estimated suspension indices for phases in Noranda process and flash smelting
[16]
process are used in CuModel. The apparent composition of each melt phase can be
calculated from the thermodynamically calculated compositions for suspension-free phases
using these suspension indices. Nagamori and Mackey presented general equations to relate
[17]
data for suspension-free phases to have entrainment of one phase in another.

Figure 1. The main interface of CuModel program

For the matte-making process, the equations are:

[M ]
Ap
= {[ M ] • (100 − S
Mt
) + [M ] • S
Mt
} / 100
[7]
Mt Mt Sl sl Sl

Ap
[M] Sl
= {[ M ]Sl • (100 − S Mt ) + [ M ]Mt • S Mt } / 100
SL Sl
[8]

3
 Thus, for the copper-making process, the equations are:
Ap
[ M ] = {[ M ] • (100 − S − S ) + [ M ] • S + [ M ] • S } / 100
Cu Cu
Cu
Mt
Cu
Sl Mt
Cu
Mt Sl
Cu
Sl
[9]
Ap
[ M ] = {[ M ] • (100 − S − S ) + [ M ] • S + [ M ] • S } / 100
Mt Mt
Mt
Cu
Mt
SL Cu
Mt
Cu Sl
Mt
Sl
[10]
Ap
[ M ] = {[ M ] • (100 − S − S ) + [ M ] • S + [ M ] • S } / 100
Sl Sl
Sl
Cu
Sl
Mt Cu
Sl
Cu Mt
Sl
Mt
[11]
The standard Gibbs energies of formation to be used in CuModel have been chosen critically.
The Raoultion activity coefficients of each component which are necessary for the calculation
are summarized. These thermodynamic data and the suspension indices have been listed in the
[1-2]
former papers .

3. CuModel PROGRAM

A computer program for this model, CuModel, has been developed by the author. Fortran
language, combined with C++, has been used in the development of the software. The
thermodynamic model in CuModel program and the computation of the model have been coded
in Fortran 77. The interfaces of CuModel have been coded in C++. Figures 1-3 show the
interfaces of CuModel. Parts of the calculated results are shown in Tables 2-3.

Figure 2. The interface of the feed input

4. MODEL VALIDATION

Tables 4 and 5 show the compositions of charge and the operating conditions of an
Outokumpu flash smelting process located at Guixi Smelter (in 1993) in China and at PASAR
[18]
Corporation in Philippines (in 2002), of Noranda matte-making process (in 1988) and
[19]
Noranda continuous copper-making process (in 1972) located at Horne Smelter in Canada,
[20]
of Mitsubishi process at Naoshima Smelter (in 1985) in Japan, and of Isasmelt process
[21]
located at MIM Limited in Australia , respectively.

4
 Comparison of the prediction with the commercial data of flash smelting process at Guixi
[20]
Smelter and PASAR in Philippines, Mitsubishi process at Naoshima Smelter , Noranda
[18] [19]
matte-making process and Noranda copper-making process at Horne Smelter , and
[21]
Isasmelt process at MIM Limited are listed in Table 6. The agreement between the
computer predictions and the commercial data is excellent, therefore, CuModel can be used to
control and optimize the practical operations of copper smelting and converting processes.

Figure 3. The interface of the computational results

Table 2. The Calculated Entrainment Values of the Copper Flash Furnace at PASAR
Elements Mass Fractions Distribution Ratios
Matte Slag Metal Metal/Matte Metal/Slag Matte/Slag
S 0.2277E+00 0.4313E-02 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.5280E+02
O 0.1647E-01 0.1101E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1496E+00
Cu 0.5216E+00 0.8866E-02 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.5882E+02
Fe 0.2038E+00 0.3636E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.5606E+00
Pb 0.1990E-02 0.1628E-03 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1222E+02
Zn 0.1196E-01 0.9398E-02 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1273E+01
As 0.1737E-03 0.2319E-03 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.7492E+00
Sb 0.9190E-04 0.1361E-03 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.6755E+00
Bi 0.3351E-03 0.1732E-04 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1935E+02
Ni 0.1645E-03 0.1756E-04 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.9370E+01
Co 0.1599E-03 0.2670E-04 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.5987E+01
Sn 0.1533E-03 0.4288E-05 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.3575E+02
Au 0.3630E-04 0.3509E-06 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1034E+03
Ag 0.1046E-03 0.1012E-05 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.1034E+03
SiO2 0.9760E-02 0.3223E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.3028E-01
CaO 0.7906E-03 0.2611E-01 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.3028E-01
Al2O3 0.3904E-02 0.1289E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.3028E-01
MgO 0.7808E-03 0.2578E-01 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.3028E-01

5
 Table 3. Equilibrium Results for the Copper Flash Furnace at PASAR in Philippines
Elements Mol kg Mass Fraction Distribution
Gas Phase:
S 0.457316E+06 0.146634E+05 0.325449E+00 0.565477E+00
O 0.879477E+06 0.140711E+05 0.312303E+00 0.798623E+00
Pb 0.431876E+02 0.894804E+01 0.198599E-03 0.809777E-01
Zn 0.457192E+03 0.298912E+02 0.663425E-03 0.351661E-01
As 0.362558E+02 0.271628E+01 0.602869E-04 0.159781E+00
Sb 0.500611E+01 0.609745E+00 0.135331E-04 0.717347E-01
Bi 0.204050E+03 0.426464E+02 0.946523E-03 0.716747E+00
Sn 0.741762E+01 0.880472E+00 0.195418E-04 0.103585E+00
N 0.113755E+07 0.159334E+05 0.353636E+00 0.100000E+01
C 0.216940E+05 0.260571E+03 0.578329E-02 0.100000E+01
H 0.414426E+05 0.417700E+02 0.927071E-03 0.100000E+01
Total 0.104576E+07 0.450559E+05
Matte Phase:
S 0.349673E+06 0.112119E+05 0.234705E+00 0.432374E+00
O 0.404475E+05 0.647136E+03 0.135469E-01 0.367290E-01
Cu 0.404111E+06 0.256796E+05 0.537566E+00 0.996087E+00
Fe 0.170093E+06 0.949916E+04 0.198851E+00 0.498905E+00
Pb 0.471859E+03 0.977646E+02 0.204656E-02 0.884747E+00
Zn 0.879799E+04 0.575212E+03 0.120412E-01 0.676720E+00
As 0.109599E+03 0.821118E+01 0.171889E-03 0.483011E+00
Sb 0.355028E+02 0.432424E+01 0.905218E-04 0.508735E+00
Bi 0.788618E+02 0.164821E+02 0.345029E-03 0.277010E+00
Ni 0.137651E+03 0.807871E+01 0.169116E-03 0.950437E+00
Co 0.132977E+03 0.783631E+01 0.164042E-03 0.921919E+00
Sn 0.635679E+02 0.754551E+01 0.157954E-03 0.887707E+00
Au 0.907386E+01 0.178755E+01 0.374198E-04 0.100000E+01
Ag 0.477544E+02 0.515270E+01 0.107864E-03 0.100000E+01
Total 0.364414E+06 0.477702E+05
Slag Phase:
S 0.173717E+04 0.557005E+02 0.213194E-02 0.214803E-02
O 0.181317E+06 0.290097E+04 0.111034E+00 0.164648E+00
Cu 0.158753E+04 0.100881E+03 0.386122E-02 0.391307E-02
Fe 0.170839E+06 0.954084E+04 0.365175E+00 0.501095E+00
Pb 0.182799E+02 0.378742E+01 0.144963E-03 0.342753E-01
Zn 0.374574E+04 0.244896E+03 0.937340E-02 0.288113E+00
As 0.810536E+02 0.607254E+01 0.232426E-03 0.357208E+00
Sb 0.292776E+02 0.356601E+01 0.136489E-03 0.419531E+00
Bi 0.177721E+01 0.371436E+00 0.142167E-04 0.624262E-02
Ni 0.717816E+01 0.421286E+00 0.161247E-04 0.495631E-01
Co 0.112623E+02 0.663689E+00 0.254027E-04 0.780811E-01
Sn 0.623565E+00 0.740172E-01 0.283300E-05 0.870790E-02
SiO2 0.141467E+06 0.850000E+04 0.325337E+00 0.100000E+01
CaO 0.122771E+05 0.688500E+03 0.263523E-01 0.100000E+01
Al2O3 0.333464E+05 0.340000E+04 0.130135E+00 0.100000E+01
MgO 0.168693E+05 0.680000E+03 0.260270E-01 0.100000E+01
Total 0.364546E+06 0.261267E+05

Table 4. Compositions of Charge in the Different Processes

Compositions(%) Cu Fe S SiO2 Pb Zn As Sb Bi Ni Co Sn Au Ag
Flash Smelting at Guixi Smelter 21.07 26.34 28.36 12.24 0.13 0.33 0.12 0.09 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.001 0.0007 0.0077
Flash Smelting at PASAR 30.33 22.4 30.5 10.0 0.13 1.0 0.02 0.01 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.0021 0.0061
Mitsubishi Process 24.50 25.90 29.00 10.50 0.12 0.43 0.16 0.05
Noranda Matte-making Process 21.68 23.57 26.21 10.04 1.76 2.87
Noranda copper-making Process 26.21 22.13 21.42 12.98 1.97 3.50
Isasmelt Process at MIM Limited 29.40 26.86 25.79 12.78

6
 Table 5. Operating Conditions for the Different Processes
Operating Conditions Guixi Flash Noranda Mitsubishi Naranda PASAR MIM
Smelting Matte-making Process Copper-making Flash Isasmelt
Process* Process Process Smelting* Process
Amounts of Charges (kg/h) 60000 120000 60800 33500 70000 86314
Smelting Temperature (K) 1483 1523 1523 1505 1523 1450
Volume of Oxygen Enriched 45350 76000 23000 72200 24000 60580
Air (Nm3 /h )
O2 % in Oxygen-enriched Air 27.0 35.0 51.3 53.1 21.0 35.3
Heavy Oil (kg/h) 780 970 Coal: 1048 3250
Oil:400 Coal:
Coke: 1330 3070
Oxygen Efficiency (%) 99.0 95.0 95.0 95.5 98.0 85.5
(* The Operating conditions and commercial data of copper flash smelting were obtained from Guixi Smelter by
the author in July, 1993. The Operating conditions and commercial data of copper flash smelting in PASAR in
Philippines were obtained from PASAR by the author in November, 2002.)

Table 6. Comparison of the Prediction with the Commercial Data

Compositions(wt,%) Cu S Fe SiO2 Pb Zn As Sb Bi Co Au Ag Sn Ni
Flash Smelting Process at Guixi Smelter in China:
Industrial Matte 51.94 22.63 - 0.24 0.24 0.35 0.10 0.083 0.061 0.016 0.0017 0.0182 0.002 0.018
Predicted Matte 51.47 20.97 22.65 0.64 0.23 0.36 0.06 0.086 0.014 0.013 0.0017 0.0190 0.003 0.014
Industrial Slag 1.13 0.57 39.08 32.94 0.037 0.46 0.12 0.11 <0.005 0.003 0.00002 0.0008 <0.005 0.002
Predicted Slag 0.90 0.40 45.15 31.43 0.027 0.41 0.09 0.12 <0.005 0.003 0.00002 0.0002 0.00009 0.002
Flash Smelting Process at PASAR in Philippines:
Industrial Matte 53.91 22.77 18.38 - - - 0.017 0.014 0.016 - 0.00371 0.0113
Predicted Matte 53.90 22.28 19.05 0.9 - - 0.017 0.009 0.035 - 0.00375 0.0108
Industrial Slag 0.61 0.9 36.35 31.07 - - 0.008 0.001 0.007 - 0.00002 0.0001
Predicted Slag 0.93 0.4 38.00 30.68 - - 0.024 0.014 0.002 - 0.00004 0.0001
Mitsubishi Process in Japan:
Industrial Matte 66.5 21.7 9.89 - 0.14 0.21 0.034 0.013
Predicted Matte 66.4 21.9 10.4 - 0.22 0.29 0.038 0.013
Industrial Slag 0.62 0.56 42.1 30.0 0.033 0.55 0.069 0.061
Predicted Slag 0.33 0.10 42.1 32.7 0.047 0.59 0.030 0.017
Noranda Matte-making Process in Canada:
Industrial Matte 70.5 21.0 3.7 1.9 2.0 1.7
Predicted Matte 70.8 19.6 3.9 0.8 1.9 1.3
Industrial Slag 5.8 1.9 37.9 17.0 1.3 4.1
Predicted Slag 5.2 1.3 38.2 17.2 1.5 4.2
Noranda Continuous Copper-making Process in Canada:
Industrial Copper 97.0 1.9 0.2 - 0.4 0.04
Predicted Copper 97.2 - 0.2 - 0.3 0.05
Industrial Slag 10.6 2.4 34.0 20.0 2.3 5.7
Predicted Slag 9.8 1.0 34.2 20.0 2.4 4.9
Isasmelt Process at MIM Limited in Australia:
Industrial Matte 59.3 21.8 15.3 0.2
Predicted Matte 59.3 21.6 15.4 0.9
Industrial Slag 1.0 0.7 41.2 30.8
Predicted Slag 1.1 0.4 43.3 28.4

5. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF CuModel

CuModel can simulate the distribution behaviors of Cu, Fe, S, O, Ni, Co, Sn, Pb, Zn, As,
Sb, Bi, Au and Ag, the contents of magnetite in matte and slag, physical and chemical copper
losses in the slag, and heat balance in copper smelting process, matte converting process and
copper continuous smelting process. It can be predicted for any set of controllable process
parameters such as feed composition, smelting temperature, degree of oxygen enrichment and
volume of oxygen-enriched air. It can be used in Isasmelt process, copper flash smelting
process, Mitsubishi process, P-S converting process and Noranda process. Some modeling
examples are shown in the following.

7
5.1 Copper loss in slag
The copper losses in the slag, calculated by CuModel, are shown in Figures 4-5. Obviously,
the copper loss in Noranda process is much higher than that in copper flash smelting process.
The chemical copper loss in the slag, or equilibrium value, is low in the smelting process.

0.6 8

7
0.5

%cu in Slag
0.4
% in Slag

5
Noranda smelting
Cu2S in slag
0.3 4

3
0.2

2
Flash smelting
0.1
Cu2O in slag 1
Equilibrium state
0.0 0
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Matte Grade, % Matte Grade, %

Figure 4. Cu2S and Cu2O contents in slag Figure 5. Copper loss in flash smelting and Noranda

20 -7.2

-7.4
Oxygen Potential, log(pO2)
%Fe3O4 in matte and slag

-7.6
15 Fe3O4 in slag
-7.8

-8.0
10
-8.2

-8.4

5 Fe3O4 in matte -8.6

-8.8

0 -9.0
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Matte Grade, % Matte Grade, %

Figure 6. Fe3O4 contents in slag and matte Figure 7. Oxygen potential and matte grade

30 50

Fe in slag
Fe%, S% in matte

25 45
%Fe, %SiO2 in Slag

S in matte
20 40

15 35

10 30

5 25
SiO2 in slag
Fe in matte
0
20
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Matte Grade, %
Matte Grade, %
Figure 8. The contents of Fe and S in matte
Figure 9. The contents of Fe and SiO2 in slag

8
5.2 Magnetite (Fe3O4) in matte and slag
The contents of Fe3O4 in the matte and slag, calculated by CuModel, are shown in Figure 6.
The relation between the oxygen potential and matte grade is shown in Figure 7.

5.3 Distribution behaviors of Cu, Fe, S, As, Sb, Bi, Sn, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au
Figures 8 and 9 are the effects of matte grade on the contents of Fe and S in the matte and Fe
and SiO2 in the slag.
Figure 10 shows the effects of matte grade on the distributions of accessory elements during
copper smelting. {As}Mt increases with increasing matte grade, while {Sn}Mt, {Pb}Mt,
{Zn}Mt, {Ni}Mt and {Co}Mt decrease, only {Sb}Mt and {Bi}Mt do not have a remarkable
change, suggesting that the elimination by means of slaging is not so significant for Sb and Bi.
<M> Sl (M=As, Sb, Bi., Sn, Ni, Co, Pb and Zn) increases with increasing matte grade,
especially, <Pb>Sl, <Zn>Sl, <Ni> Sl and <Co>Sl change significantly. The proportion of M in
the slag phase, <M>Sl, increases with increasing matte grade mainly due to the increase of the
amount of slag.

Figure 10. Distributions of accessory elements and matte grade in copper smelting process

5.4 Heat balance

The simulation of heat balance of copper flash furnace in Guixi Smelter has been done, and
the effect of percentage of O2 in oxygen-enriched air on the reaction heat has been shown in
Figure 11. The higher percentage of O2 in the oxygen-enriched air will lead to the more
reaction heat. If the heat loss is fixed, the higher percentage of O2 leads to the lower
consumption of heavy oil. The heat loss of the furnace at Guixi Smelter is about 1400000 kJ/ton
charge. According to Figure 11, the consumption of heavy oil is 17.5 kg/ton charge when the
9
normal air (21% O2) is used, but the consumption of heavy oil is 7 kg/ton charge when the
percentage of O2 in the oxygen-enriched air is 50%. The higher percentage of O2 in the oxygen-
enriched air will also lead to the higher content of SO2 in the off-gas.

3500000

3000000 100% O2
Heat (kJ/ton charge)

80% O2
2500000

70% O2
2000000

21% O2
1500000

27% O2
1000000 30% O2
40% O2
500000 50% O2
60% O2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Heavy Oil (kg/ton charge)

Figure 11. Percentage of O2 in oxygen-enriched air and reaction heat

6. CONCLUSION

A thermodynamic model and computer program, CuModel, has been developed to model the
distribution behaviors of Cu, Fe, S, O, Ni, Co, Sn, Pb, Zn, As, Sb, Bi, Au and Ag, copper loss in
the slag, magnetite behavior in matte and slag, and heat balance in copper smelting process,
matte converting process and copper continuous smelting process. The predictions by the
present computer model are compared with the known commercial data from Guixi Smelter in
China, PASAR Corporation in Philippines, Horne Smelter in Canada, MIM Limited in
Australia and Naoshima Smelter in Japan. The agreements between the computer predictions
and the commercial data are excellent. It can be used in Isasmelt process, copper flash smelting
process, P-S converting process, Mitsubishi process, and Noranda process. The applications of
CuModel in the copper metallurgical industries have been presented. CuModel has been used
by Daye Smelter and Guixi Smelter in China, and by PASAR in Philippines.

LIST OF SYMBOLS:
Ai,k : number of the kth constituent ∆ Gi , ∆ G j :
o
the standard Gibbs energy of the
o

element in the ith independent component ith independent component and the jth
Bj,k : number of the kth constituent dependent component, respectively
element in the jth dependent component kj: equilibrium constant for the formation
reaction of the jth dependent component
from the set of independent components
[M] : weight percent of M
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Qk : total molar amount of the kth element Zm : total molar amount of the compounds
in the system in the mth phase
R : gas constant Greek:
m(i), m(j) : phase number which the ith i,j: Raoultion activity coefficient of the ith
independent component and the jth independent component and the jth
dependent component belong to, dependent component, respectively
respectively Subscript:
N : molar fraction Cu: copper phase
j
S i : weight percent of suspended phase i in g: gaseous phase
bulk phase j Mt: matte phase
T : smelting temperature Sl: slag phase
Vj,i : coefficients of independent reactions Superscript:
Xi, Xj : molar amount of the ith independent ap: apparent
component and the jth dependent o: value in standard state
component, respectively

REFERENCES

1. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Modeling of Accessory Element Distribution in Copper
Smelting Process. Scandinavian Journal of Metallurgy. 1997, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 115-122
2. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Thermodynamic Analysis of Copper Smelting Process.
In: Ben Q. Li. Eds. Processing of Metals & Advanced Materials: Modeling, Design, and
Properties. San Antonio, Texas: The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). 1998.
pp. 109-120.
3. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang, etc. Computer Simulation of Direct Lead Smelting. In:
Yu Zongsen, eds. The International Conference on Modeling and Simulation in Metallurgy
Engineering and Materials Science. Beijing: Metallurgical Industry Press. 1996, pp. 515-
519
4. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Thermodynamic Modeling for Direct Lead Processes. In:
B. Mishra, eds. EPD Congress 1998. San Antonio, Texas: The Minerals, Metals and
Materials Society (TMS). 1998. pp. 815-820.
5. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Mathematical Model of Nickel Flash Smelting Process.
In: He Jicheng, eds. Proceeding of the International Symposium on Metallurgy and
Materials of Non-ferrous Metals and Alloys. Shengyang, China: Northeastern University
Press. 1996, pp. 297-302
6. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Thermodynamic Analysis of Nickel Smelting Process.
Journal of Central South University of Technology (English Edition). 1997, Vol. 4, No. 2,
pp. 26-30
7. Pengfu Tan and Chuanfu Zhang. Thermodynamic Modeling for Nickel Smelting Process.
In: Ben Q. Li. Eds. Processing of Metals & Advanced Materials: Modeling, Design, and
Properties. San Antonio, Texas: The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). 1998.
pp. 101-108.
8. Pengfu Tan and Dieter Neuschuetz. A Thermodynamic Model of Nickel Smelting and
Direct High-Grade Nickel Matte Smelting Processes: Model Development and Validation.
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, 2001, 32B, April, 341-352
9. Pengfu Tan and Dieter Neuschuetz. A Thermodynamic Model of Nickel Smelting and
Direct High-Grade Nickel Matte Smelting Processes: Distribution Behaviors of Ni, Cu,
Co, Fe, As, Sb and Bi. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, 2001, 32B, April, 353-
362

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10. Pengfu Tan, Inaki Hurtado, Dieter Neuschuetz and Gunnar Eriksson. Thermodynamic
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank Prof. Chuanfu Zhang (Department of Metallurgy, Central-
South University, P. R. China) for his constructive suggestions.

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