Smelting cement copper in an electric-arc furnace. Report of investigations FY 1978

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6346283

Paulson, D L; Anable, W; Hunter, W L

Electric furnace smelting of blister copper directly from copper precipitates (cement copper) was investigated by the Bureau of Mines. Copper concentrations in five different lots of cement copper in the investigation ranged from 62.5 to 82.6 wt-pct. Laboratory scale smelting tests were made in a 50-kV-A electric-arc furnace to establish the reductant and flux requirements. Best recoveries were realized by adding 60 pct of the carbon required to combine with the contained oxygen in the cement copper. Operating parameters established during the laboratory-scale smelting tests were used successfully in smelting 20 tons of cement copper during 12 pilot-scale tests in a 800 kV-A electric-arc furnace. Over 98 pct of the contained copper was recovered as blister-grade metal. The projected energy consumption for a commercial size furnace was 380 kW-hr/ton of cold charge.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Albany, OR (USA). Albany Metallurgy Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6346283
• Report Number(s): PB-283856; BM-RI-8284
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320303* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Equipment & Processes
COPPER
COPPER ORES
ELECTRIC FURNACES
ELEMENTS
FURNACES
METALS
ORES
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POWER DEMAND
PRODUCTION
SMELTING
TESTING
TRANSITION ELEMENTS