Relationship between copper content of slag and matte in the SKS copper smelting process

• Published in: International journal of minerals, metallurgy and materials Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 301 - 308
• Main Authors: Wang, Qin-meng, Wang, Song-song, Tian, Miao, Tang, Ding-xuan, Tian, Qing-hua, Guo, Xue-yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing University of Science and Technology Beijing 01.03.2019; Springer Nature B.V; School of Mineral Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China%School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China%School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Resources Recycling, Changsha 410083, China; School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
• Subjects: Ceramics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Copper; Copper mattes; Corrosion and Coatings; Entrainment; Glass; Industrial production; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Metallurgy; Natural Materials; Oxygen enrichment; Slag; Smelters; Smelting; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Tribology; copper smelting; SKS process; oxygen-enriched bottom-blowing; matte grade; Cu loss
• ISSN: 1674-4799; 1869-103X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12613-019-1738-4

In the newly developed oxygen-enriched bottom-blowing copper smelting process (also known as the SKS copper smelting process), Cu loss in slag is one of the most concerning issues. This paper presents our research results concerning the relationship between the Cu content of the matte and slag in the SKS process; the results are based on actual industrial production in the Dongying Fangyuan copper smelter. The results show that the matte grade strongly influences Cu losses in slag. The dissolved and entrained losses account for 10%–20% and 80%–90% of the total SKS industrial Cu losses in slag, respectively. With increasing matte grade, the dissolved and entrained Cu losses in the SKS slag both increase continuously. When the matte grade is greater than 68%, the content of Cu in the smelting slag increases much more dramatically. To obtain a high direct recovery of copper, the matte grade should be less than 75% in industrial SKS copper production.