Effect of oxygen enrichment and magnetite formation on bath temperature in P-S converter a

A thermodynamic simulation of the Pierce-Smith copper converter has been developed to predict the melt temperature to study the effective parameters on performance of P-S converter, its energy saving and pollution control. The key assumptions of the model were that all the matte, the slag and the gaseous phases in the converter were in thermal and chemical equilibrium. In this model, the matte components were considered copper, iron and sulfur elements. In the slag making stage, the reacted iron was converted to fayalite and magnetite. The formed magnetite affected on the melt temperature that the value magnetite formation is controlled by air flow rate. The reaction kinetics of iron and oxygen in the slag making stage and sulfur and oxygen in the blowing copper stage were considered to be mixing controlled. The converter temperature was calculated by heat balance over time. The model was validated by a detailed comparison with measured industrial data. A good agreement was obtained. The bath temperature and magnetite formation concerned together. The converter temperature depend on the number of process parameters such as magnetite formation, air flow rate, oxygen enrichment. The results of this research can be used for process automation and optimization.

کلیدواژه ها:

Pyrometallurgy ، Oxidation ، Reaction kinetics ، Modeling ، Optimization