Proceedings of AIME 114th annual meeting

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6735506

Antonioni, T N; Blanco, J A; Landolt, C A; Middleton, W J

Inco's Copper Cliff Smelter processes nickel and copper concentrates at rates of about 770,000 and 400,000 tonnes/year, respectively. The main products from the plant are a Ni-Cu white metal and blister copper. Current annual rates are about 110 million kg of nickel and about 120 million kg of copper. Processing facilities at the Smelter consist of multi-hearth roasters, reverberatory furnaces, an oxygen flash smelting furnace and Peirce-Smith converters. The purchased energy required to operate the Smelter accounts for about 40% of the energy input to Inco's Ontario Division, including mines, mills, smelters and refineries. In recent years, poor market conditions, coupled with SO/sub 2/ emission restrictions have led to a decrease in the tonnage and an increase in the grade of the nickel concentrates, while fuel costs have risen at an annual rate of -- 20%. The Copper Cliff Smelter initiated a major energy conservation program in the late 70's. As a result, specific purchased energy requirements (MJ/tonne nickel) have been reduced by -- 40% from 1980 to date, in spite of a decrease in the specific thermo-chemical heat input. This paper deals with the actions that have led to these results: the development of heat balances for key process units and flues, and the implementation of periodic energy audits of the system; the increased use of oxygen in reverberatory furnaces; the improved productivity of processing equipment; the decreased circulating loads; and the decreased air inleakage to the flues, attained by rationalization and improved draft control of the system.

• Research Organization: Copper Cliff Smelter
• OSTI ID: 6735506
• Report Number(s): CONF-850211-
• Resource Relation: Conference: 114. AIME annual meeting (includes Society of Mining Engineers), New York, NY, USA, 24 Feb 1985
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FURNACES
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
SMELTERS
AIR FLOW
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
COPPER
DRAFT CONTROL SYSTEMS
ENERGY ANALYSIS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
HEAT LOSSES
LEAKS
NICKEL
OXYGEN ENRICHMENT
PERFORMANCE
PRODUCTION
SULFUR DIOXIDE
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
CHALCOGENIDES
CONTROL
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LOSSES
ENRICHMENT
EQUIPMENT
FLOW REGULATORS
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
LOSSES
MANAGEMENT
METALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
320304* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Waste Heat Recovery & Utilization
500200 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)