Analysis of the thermal regime of converting of copper-lead matte with high-sulfur copper concentrate

According to the earlier conclusions about the possibility of direct processing of high-sulfur copper concentrates with copper-lead matte, analysis of the thermal regime of converting was carried out. It is shown that the traditional calculation methods used to calculate autogenous smelting are not entirely correct and require taking into account the effect of excess sulfur on the temperature regime of the process. It has been established that in the process of converting copper-lead mattes, a wide range of temperature variation is observed - from 1027 0С to 1300 0С. When the concentrate is combined with the matte, the temperature regime of the process is stabilized, which ensures the optimal level of SO2 concentration in the gases required for the production of sulfuric acid. Based on the calculation of the material balance of converting copper-lead mattes using the existing technology and with the addition of a concentrate, the structure of the heat balance of the converting process was established. A strong change in the structure of the heat balance is shown, which is explained by the reduction of magnetite with excess sulfur and an increase in heat due to the oxidation of an additional amount of iron sulfide introduced with the concentrate. A comparative analysis of the technological parameters of the 1st converting period of copper-lead mattes calculated by the proposed method with the practical data of a specific metallurgical unit allows assessing the degree of approximation of the processes occurring in the unit until the thermodynamic equilibrium.