Pilot Scale Smelting

Key words Sea nodules, reduction smelting, pilot scale smelting, cobalt, nickel, copper. 

Table IV. Copper, nickel and cobalt recovery in the alloy obtained during pilot scle smelting of sea nodules on 250 ke scale in sranhite lined 150 kVA arc furnace with varvinu coke.

As an alternate process on direct reduction smelting of sea nodules is developed at CSIR-NML to recover Cu, Ni and Co in the form of alloy with about 90% recovery, achieve good result. Using 8 % coke 4 % quartz, 90.4% Cu, 91.7% Ni, 87.8% Co reeoveries were achieved on pilot scale. As a part of iron was recovered in the alloy, the process generate a slag rich in manganese with Mn/Te ratio of about 10, from whieh standard grade Fe-Si-Mn was produced. The metal rieh alloy was further processed to recover Cu, Co and Ni in pure form. 

The Japanese Direct Iron Ore Smelting (DIOS) process. This process produces molten iron directly with coal and sinter feed ore. A 500 ton per day pilot plant was started up in October, 1993 and the designed production rates were attained as a short term average. Data generated is being used to determine economic feasibility on a commercial scale. 

We assume, that at the heart of the dust formation problem in the flash smelting of lead feeds lies the general laws governing the carry-over values actually observed that depend on the scale (pilot or industrial) of the Kivcet unit and the quality of the lead-bearing feeds treated. 

The Outokumpu flash smelting technology is well-known and has been widely applied in the processing of copper and nickel sulphide concentrates since the 1970s. There are now over 30 plants using this technology on a cotiunercial scale in the copper and nickel industries. Initial pilot tests with... 

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