Flash smelting process

Fig. 5. Flash smelting process and equipment, (a) The Mitsubishi process. Courtesy of the Society of Mining Engineers (23). (b) Cutaway view of an...

The Inco flash smelting process produces a very high strength sulfur dioxide gas by using pure oxygen for smelting. Liquid sulfur dioxide is obtained upon compression. 

Kivcet [A Russian acronym meaning vortex oxygen electric smelting ] A flash smelting process for sulfide ores, using oxygen. In 1990, three plants had been built in Russia, one in Italy, and one in Bolivia. 

Outokumpu [Named after a hill in Finland, near Kuusjarvi] A flash-smelting process for sulfide ores, ft is an energy-efficient process (also called an autogenous process), using mainly the heat of combustion of the contained sulfur to sulfur dioxide, rather than ary external source of heat. Developed R Bryk and J. Ryselin at the Haijavalta works of Outokumpu Oy, Finland, in 1946. Used mainly for copper ores, but also for nickel, iron, and lead by 1988, 40 plants were using the process worldwide. 

Antonioni, T. N. etal., Control of the INCO oxygen flash smelting process, copper smelting — an update, in Conference Proceedings, TMS-AIME Meeting, Dallas, Feb. 1982. 

The Allied Chemical process uses natural gas as the reductant, which is undesirable in the face of the diminishing supplies and increasing costs of natural gas. However, there is no obvious reason why the process cannot be operated on a producer gas generated from coal, as was done earlier with other processes (10). Another process using oil or pulverized coal as the reductant has been developed by Outokumpu Oy for use in conjunction with the Outokumpu flash smelting process (17). 

The Kivcet process is able to treat a wide variety of raw materials. The reported ratio of primary to secondary materials was 73 27 in one plant (Portovesme) and reversed in the second (Cominco). At the Cominco plant, the bulk of the secondary material consists of zinc leach residues. The flash smelting process, however, requires drying the feed material, prior to its being charged into the furnace, to a moisture content of less than 1%. 

Y.I. Saimikov, M.A. Liamina, V.A. Shumskij and Y.A. Grinin, A Physical and Chemical Description of the Kivcet Lead Flash Smelting Process, CIM Bulletin. Vol. 91,1998,76-81. 

Processing of PGM containing Ni/Cu bulk concentrates in a sustainable way by Outotec Direct Nickel Flash Smelting process... 

Outotec Direct Nickel Flash Smelting Process... 

Processing of PGM Containing Ni/Cu Bulk Concentrates in a Sustainable Way by Outotec Direct Nickel Flash Smelting Process.325... 

Jamsa-Jounela, S-L., Kojo, I., Vapaavuori, E., Vermasvuori, M. and Haavisto, S., 2001, Fault Diagnosis System for the Outokumpu Flash Smelting Process, Proceedings of 2001 TMS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA, pp. 569-578. 

The Outokumpu flash smelting process for lead is an extension of the successful flash smelting technology developed by Outokumpn for copper and nickel and applied to lead concentrates. It was developed and piloted at a 5 t/h treatment rate in the late 1980s bnt has not been commercially applied. 

Weenink, E M, de Puy, E R and Duyvesteyn, W P C, 1990. Computer modelling of mass and energy balances for the Outokumpu lead flash smelting process, in Proceedings Lead-Zinc 90, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Symposium, Anaheim, pp 597-606. 

The nickel smelting industry has drawn public attention to emissions of sulfur dioxide, which are detrimental to the environment. The Finnish company Outokumpu has developed a nickel flash smelting process, totally without converters. There were several economic motives for this, but the main reasons were to reduce sulfur emissions and to improve the working conditions. 

With the advent of oxygen-enriched flash smelting processes came a resultant increase in... 

Figure 9. Comparison of the net energy consumption, defined as [Energy Spent] - [Useful Work Produced], for Looping Suifide Oxidation " and the conventional flash smelting process. ISO reduced the net energy...

Furnace, Converter and Anode Furnace. Investigation results showed that direct enrichment rates of Au in these production processes were 90.03%, 95.47% and 92.01% respectively, and that direct enrichment rates of Ag in these production processes were 82.52%, 93.5% and 94.95% respectively. In flash smelting process, carryover of Au Ag into dust were 9.62% and 12.29% respectively. Lan Lin studied movement and distribution of Au Ag in ISP process, and noticed carryover of Ag in dust at 5.07 %. 

Jianlin Lai. Distribution of Au Ag in Flash Smelting Process , Jiangxi Non-fetrous Metals, 1990, No. 1... 

This technology is based on a flash smelting process, using a single furnace with a partition wall between oxidation and reduction chambers. 

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