US3365185A - Production of metals from pulverulent materials by flash smelting in an electrically heated furnace - Google Patents

Production of metals from pulverulent materials by flash smelting in an electrically heated furnace Download PDF

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Publication number
US3365185A
US3365185A US340395A US34039564A US3365185A US 3365185 A US3365185 A US 3365185A US 340395 A US340395 A US 340395A US 34039564 A US34039564 A US 34039564A US 3365185 A US3365185 A US 3365185A
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United States
Prior art keywords
furnace
chamber
production
metals
flash smelting
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Expired - Lifetime
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US340395A
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English (en)
Inventor
Elvander Hans Ivar
Sundstrom Erik Olof Albin
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Boliden AB
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Boliden AB
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C21—METALLURGY OF IRON
    • C21B—MANUFACTURE OF IRON OR STEEL
    • C21B13/00—Making spongy iron or liquid steel, by direct processes
    • C21B13/12—Making spongy iron or liquid steel, by direct processes in electric furnaces
    • C21B13/125—By using plasma
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C21—METALLURGY OF IRON
    • C21B—MANUFACTURE OF IRON OR STEEL
    • C21B13/00—Making spongy iron or liquid steel, by direct processes
    • C21B13/12—Making spongy iron or liquid steel, by direct processes in electric furnaces
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
    • C22B9/00—General processes of refining or remelting of metals; Apparatus for electroslag or arc remelting of metals
    • C22B9/16—Remelting metals
    • C22B9/22—Remelting metals with heating by wave energy or particle radiation
    • C22B9/226—Remelting metals with heating by wave energy or particle radiation by electric discharge, e.g. plasma
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P10/00—Technologies related to metal processing
    • Y02P10/10—Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions
    • Y02P10/134—Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions by avoiding CO2, e.g. using hydrogen

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the production of metals from finely divided oxidic or sulfidic ores and more especially flotation concentrates or other dressed products, by directly feeding the reactants to a reaction chamber maintained at reaction temperature by electric heating.
  • a characteristic of those of the methods of said type which are based on some kind of flash smelting resides in the fact that, on one side, the process has been entirely autogenous, i.e., the exothermic heat of reaction has been sufiicient to impart to the reaction products the desired temperature as well as to maintain the reaction chamber at a proper temperature (if necessary by preheating the reactants charged and/or by using reaction gas enriched with oxygen) or, on the other side, the energy demand has been satisfied by the addition of solid, liquid or gaseous fuels.
  • the present invention relates to the case in which, for one reason or other, such as when it is desired to maintain the volume of gas leaving the reaction chamber at a low value or when it is desired to attain a heating which is more advantageous from a technical point of view, it is not desirable to compensate the minimum heat demand of the reaction by additional fuel combustion but rather to generate the additional heat required by electric heating.
  • electrically heated furnaces have a low height of the roof so that, within the restricted space, it is not possible without special precautions to perform the operations of drying, preheating, ignition and reaction within the short period of time at disposal.
  • the increased amount of waste gas resulting from the change to flash smelting conveys an increased amount of heat from the furnace which heat, however, is recovered by an increased steam production in a waste heat boiler connected to the smelting furnace.
  • the invention involves a further advantage because of the possibility of producing the reaction gas within the furnace and from cheap fuels such as coal breeze, peat and brown coal, whereas in conventional practice the reactive gas is produced from coal and coke outside the furnace.
  • the slag formed may be reduced directly bythe introduction of solid or gaseous reducing agents into the furnace.
  • the slag formed from sulfidic ores is refined in a corresponding way.
  • the method according to the invention involves reduced attacks on the walls.
  • the temperature of the furnace chamber as well as the amount of gas are adapted to the concentrate to be smelted.
  • the amount of oxygen supply may be controlled, the gas if necessary preheated and the material dried completely or to a suitable moisture content.
  • the number of vortices may be varied in dependence of the desired output, and the injection and charging, respectively, may be effected through the furnace roof or through inlets located at a high level of the furnace walls.
  • the furnace may have a rectangular, square or circular horizontal cross-sectional area.
  • the approved form of electrical heating by means of Stiderbergelectrodes provides a heat generation within the slag bath according to the resistance principle.
  • FIGURE 1 is a horizontal view of an electric smelting furnace adapted for flash smelting of lead concentrate according to the invention
  • FIGURE 2 a cross-sectional view of the furnace along line Il-II in FIGURE 1
  • FIG- URE 3 a detail view showing a nozzle device for creating a vortex and feeding lead concentrate into said vortex.
  • the furnace shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprises a rectangular furnace chamber of small height in relation to the horizontal cross-sectional area of the furnace chamber and provided with a number of heating electrodes 1-4, for instance of the Soderberg type.
  • the electrodes extend downwardly into the furnace chamber through cooling boxes 6-9 disposed on the furnace roof 5, said cooling boxes having conduits (not shown) for the supply and withdrawal of cooling water.
  • the basic construction of the furnace is known per se and used in lead-smelting.
  • the novelty of this furnace resides in the provision of a number of nozzle sets arranged within the furnace chamber for the creation of upright tornado-like air vortices.
  • FIGURE 1 between the electrodes 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 3 and 4, respectively, three such sets of nozzles 13, 14-17 and 18-21, respectively, are shown.
  • the nozzle device shown in FIGURE 3 comprises a vertical blowpipe 22 extending through the furnace roof and terminating below the roof in a bend 23 of a direction such that the jet stream of air is blown tangentially in relation to an imagined horizontal circle between the respective electrodes.
  • a charging tube 24 for lead concentrate debo-uches at the roof level In front of the mouth of the blowpipe a charging tube 24 for lead concentrate debo-uches at the roof level.
  • a branch pipe is connected to the charging tube :with one of its branches 25 extending coaxially with the charging tube 24 and the other branch 26 sloping.
  • the end of the branch 25 is covered by a lid 27 which may be removed for inspection purpose.
  • the charging material is introduced through the branch 26.
  • FIG- URES l to 3 has merely been advanced as a suitable example.
  • Another possibility is to provide pairs of opposite air nozzles at the long sides of the furnace to produce upright vortices between the electrodes, and to charge the concentrate through an opening above the centre of each vortex.
  • the depictured device may also be used for reduction of oxidic ores, for instance in reduction of iron ore concentrates, wherein the iron ore concentrate is fed into a gas vortex established by injecting hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide containing gases, if necessary admixed with solid reduction agents such as coke breeze.
  • the reducing gas mixture may then be provided by injection of solid or liquid reducing agents with an oxidizing gas, preferably air, if desired enriched with oxygen and if desired preheated.
  • an oxidizing gas preferably air, if desired enriched with oxygen and if desired preheated.
  • the iron ore concentrate if desired admixed with powdered coal, is fed into a gas vortex provided by the injection of the preheated hydrogen and/ or carbon monoxide containing gases.
  • a reactor for the production of metals from finely divided ores comprising a rectangular furnace chamber, means for heating the furnace chamber comprising electrodes inserted through the roof and depending into the furnace chamber wherein the electrodes are arranged in at least One row extending lengthwise of said chamber, at least one set of nozzles for charging finely divided ore to be treated into said chamber, means for discharging reduced metal, means for injecting reactants into said chamber comprising at least one set of at least two nozzles each directed tangentially to an imaginary horizontal circle within said chamber and adapted to inject a gas at high velocity, whereby at least one upright detached gas vortex not supported by the walls of the furnace chamber may be established, the sets of nozzles intended for the formation of the upright gas vortices and the nozzles for charging the ore, respectively, being arranged between the electrodes.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
  • Vertical, Hearth, Or Arc Furnaces (AREA)
US340395A 1963-01-31 1964-01-27 Production of metals from pulverulent materials by flash smelting in an electrically heated furnace Expired - Lifetime US3365185A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE110263 1963-01-31

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US3365185A true US3365185A (en) 1968-01-23

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US340395A Expired - Lifetime US3365185A (en) 1963-01-31 1964-01-27 Production of metals from pulverulent materials by flash smelting in an electrically heated furnace
US676894A Expired - Lifetime US3563726A (en) 1963-01-31 1967-10-20 Production of metal from pulverent material by flash smelting in a vortex

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US676894A Expired - Lifetime US3563726A (en) 1963-01-31 1967-10-20 Production of metal from pulverent material by flash smelting in a vortex

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BE (1) BE643239A (en))
ES (1) ES295904A1 (en))
FI (1) FI41875C (en))

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3563726A (en) * 1963-01-31 1971-02-16 Boliden Ab Production of metal from pulverent material by flash smelting in a vortex
US4422624A (en) * 1981-08-27 1983-12-27 Phelps Dodge Corporation Concentrate burner
EP0097993A1 (en) * 1982-06-22 1984-01-11 SAMIM Società Azionaria Minero-Metallurgica S.p.A. Process for producing an aluminium-silicon alloy from leucite

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2922189C2 (de) * 1979-05-31 1981-05-27 Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG, 5000 Köln Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Verhütung von schmelzbaren Stoffen wie Erzkonzentrat
FI65807C (fi) * 1980-04-16 1984-07-10 Outokumpu Oy Foerfarande och anordning foer aotervinning av bly ur ett sulfidkoncentrat
SE444184B (sv) 1980-12-01 1986-03-24 Boliden Ab Forfarande for utvinning av bly ur sulfidiska material blyramaterial innehallande fororeningar av vismut, arsenik, antimon eller tenn
FI63780C (fi) * 1981-11-27 1983-08-10 Outokumpu Oy Saett och anordning foer att bilda en riktad och reglerad suspensionsstraole av ett aemne i pulverform och reaktionsgas
US4521245A (en) * 1983-11-02 1985-06-04 Yarygin Vladimir I Method of processing sulphide copper- and/or sulphide copper-zinc concentrates

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US817414A (en) * 1905-10-24 1906-04-10 Horace F Brown Process of reducing ores.
US860512A (en) * 1906-09-24 1907-07-16 Henry Arden Process of pyritic smelting.
US1007990A (en) * 1911-05-31 1911-11-07 Filip Tharaldsen Method or process for the reduction and smelting of ore and arrangement therefor.
US1847527A (en) * 1926-07-08 1932-03-01 Albert E Greene Combustion-arc process
US1904683A (en) * 1927-01-07 1933-04-18 Albert E Greene Combustion-arc process and apparatus
US2184300A (en) * 1937-10-06 1939-12-26 Hodson Frank Method of beneficiating or reducing ores to metal
US2283163A (en) * 1941-02-07 1942-05-19 Brassert & Co Shaft furnace and method of operating same
US2630309A (en) * 1950-07-25 1953-03-03 Frederick C Ramsing Centrifugal reverberatory furnace

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3365185A (en) * 1963-01-31 1968-01-23 Boliden Ab Production of metals from pulverulent materials by flash smelting in an electrically heated furnace

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US817414A (en) * 1905-10-24 1906-04-10 Horace F Brown Process of reducing ores.
US860512A (en) * 1906-09-24 1907-07-16 Henry Arden Process of pyritic smelting.
US1007990A (en) * 1911-05-31 1911-11-07 Filip Tharaldsen Method or process for the reduction and smelting of ore and arrangement therefor.
US1847527A (en) * 1926-07-08 1932-03-01 Albert E Greene Combustion-arc process
US1904683A (en) * 1927-01-07 1933-04-18 Albert E Greene Combustion-arc process and apparatus
US2184300A (en) * 1937-10-06 1939-12-26 Hodson Frank Method of beneficiating or reducing ores to metal
US2283163A (en) * 1941-02-07 1942-05-19 Brassert & Co Shaft furnace and method of operating same
US2630309A (en) * 1950-07-25 1953-03-03 Frederick C Ramsing Centrifugal reverberatory furnace

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3563726A (en) * 1963-01-31 1971-02-16 Boliden Ab Production of metal from pulverent material by flash smelting in a vortex
US4422624A (en) * 1981-08-27 1983-12-27 Phelps Dodge Corporation Concentrate burner
EP0097993A1 (en) * 1982-06-22 1984-01-11 SAMIM Società Azionaria Minero-Metallurgica S.p.A. Process for producing an aluminium-silicon alloy from leucite

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FI41875B (en)) 1969-12-01
US3563726A (en) 1971-02-16
ES295904A1 (es) 1964-05-01
FI41875C (fi) 1970-03-10
BE643239A (en)) 1964-05-15

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